Time managing

Time management is one of the most important skills you will ever learn in your lifetime. It allows you to do the things you want, and accomplish your short and long term goals. Below are 4 rules I like to follow in order to juggle my advanced diploma, working almost 30 hours a week, 15 hours a week in homework (at the very least) and a social life.

The first step is following a To-Do List. The To-Do List was my first post because I find it so very important. By creating a list I’m able to delegate the most important tasks that need to get done immediately to the ones that can wait a day or two so I can pick up a shift or hang out with friends.

The second step is to set deadlines. Now this step and the first step go hand in hand with one another because if no deadlines are set you have a never-ending To Do list and that just screams anxiety to me. I usually gauge how long it’ll take me to finish everything, and to be honest I never usually finish ticking off everything on my list, but it serves as a reminder for the next day that those tasks need to be finished ASAP. Long story short, deadlines help you finish accomplishing your goals so you can move on to the next day.

The third step I use to help me juggle my life is using your downtime. I try to delegate an hour or so every night for me to catch up on my Vampire Diaries addiction (last month was Friends).  This helps me unwind and really appreciate the day and everything I was able to accomplish.

Lastly, the fourth step ties into the previous one and it is rewarding yourself. Taking the time to appreciate everything you’ve accomplished really sets the bar for the next day to get you to accomplish equally as much if not even more to get that same high you did when the day was over… Well that’s how my mind works anyways.

I hope that these 4 tips were helpful in helping manage your time. Once you get the hang of it, it gets easier and more rewarding! There are just so many hours in a day taking advantage of what you have is so important. So is sleep…. Don’t forget to sleep!

Doing Grownup Things

You’re in your twenties. You’re looking to start your career.  Interviews are the next step after sending out resumes. Since I’ve started searching for employment, I’ve been on a few interviews … and they weren’t as scary as I thought they were going to be.

My first interview was in Toronto at 8am. I live in Brampton and there was absolutely no way I was driving down the 401 at that time in the morning so I took the GO train. There were two trains I could take to make my interview, so I took the earlier one just in case I missed the first one. I ended up being 45 minutes early - so early that the office wasn’t even open. It’s better to be 30 minutes early than 2 minutes late. You can never take back first impressions.

The interview went well. We chatted and I realized that my interviewer was a normal person and not the scary dinosaur in a suit I imagined her to be. I met with my second interviewer and she was even cooler (Or equally as cool). These people are just looking for someone to help them out at their job. That was it and when you go for an interview that was the person you need to be.

These people that are looking for positions are looking for someone they can invest in to do the job right, and can also do their own work properly. They’re normal people that want to be able to work with you and like working with you at the same time. Take a deep breathe and show them how awesome and kickass you’d be in that position. Because you will be.

Dat Ass

I’ve spent countless hours on Facebook and Instagram and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I was so distracted by the world of Instagram that I couldn’t concentrate on anything without opening the app first.  I ended up deleting my Instagram account for a month and it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made all year. 

It made it easier for me to focus on the important things as opposed to envying other people halfway across the world. It made me appreciate the people that were in the room with me at that very moment instead of drooling over people and their lives in other countries. I realize that every generation has their way of really appreciating those around them, but it has never been so distracting than today. I’ve found many people have goals and relationships that deteriorate because of social media and the idea that the world is right next door. 

Don’t get me wrong, social media is great for getting things out there for everyone to see, but not so great when you’d rather be with Jen Selter than your girlfriend. It’s not realistic, and with Instagram being at the tips of our fingers everyday… it gives us the sense that it is indeed reality. Which it’s not.  And I get that I sound like a crazy girlfriend saying this but it’s the truth because I’ve lusted over something on the Internet that I thought was within my reach when he was actually Leonardo DiCaprio in real life. Merp. Tough luck there.

There are so many things out there that make us envy other people and their lives when we should really be appreciating what we have and who we’re with. Why lust over someone who you’ll never get the chance to be with because you can see what she does everyday on her account? Not cool.  Or check out that guy with the guns that’s at the gym everyday when in reality that’s literally all. He. Does. All he does! That’s all! He doesn’t even eat real food! Imagine all the criticism you’d get for that Mcdouble dressed like a Mac well done with extra pickles and a large fry on the side? YEP. Thought so. I’ve learned to appreciate what I do have, and work for what I want. Being online too often creates a sense of reality that really isn’t there. If you want something then go out and get it and get off that screen!

Drugs 4eva

It’s definitely that time of year when everyone you know is catching the flu or losing their voices. It’s especially hard to get through a sickness when you’re a full time student and have a part time job on the side… along with a bunch of other things to juggle. The other night I went out and woke up the next morning with my voice half gone. Half-gone meaning I sounded like the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. Not cool. Initially I thought it was because I had gone out the previous night, but Monday hit and I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t talk, couldn’t breathe and felt like a big bag of crap. I decided to go to class because it sounded like just another case of the cold but as I was driving to school it was hard to breathe and my lungs tightened. I went to the school nurse and she couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, and a doctor wouldn’t see me without an appointment, which was unavailable until the next day. I ended up skipping my second class for a date with my bed and the never-disappointing Nyquil. That stuff does wonders. It knocked me right out from 1-7pm and had me feeling 10 times better afterwards. I swear by it! I took another one last night before I went to bed and woke up so well rested. It turned my drowsy-cranky Monday into a productive Tuesday and I am so so grateful. Moral of the story? Take your vitamin C pills when your healthy and get some rest with some Nyquil when you’re not!

Life Hacks

There are so thousands, if not hundreds of blogs that exist in today’s digitally governed world. It is so easy for us to find something online, research and uncover things our parents and grandparents never in their lives would have thought to learn. The world is literally at our fingertips with uncapped knowledge available at our demand. We know random tidbits of facts from all different categories. We wake up every morning and know pretty much know all important news that has gone on while we slept.

This being said, our time is precious to us so any vice we can find that can save us time is a real lifesaver. With the thousands of blogs available to us now, there are so many different “life hacks” that have surfaced on the Internet that can help us all in saving time that we can do other things with. The websites below show us different, interesting and time saving ideas we can all incorporate into our busy lives.

Things you should know!

 

We’ve all been there before and bought a new pair of shoes that inevitably we never ended up wearing because they just hurt our feet so damn much. This post on Buzzfeed shows examples of everyday issues many girls have and ways to fix them! (Although personally I would never paint the bottom of my expensive heels with nail polish for colour …to each her own!)

 

Click for beauty tips!

 

As humans we all want what we can’t have. If you have straight hair you want it curly, if you’re short you want to be taller, if you’ve got perfect skin you want smaller pores. This site shows us how to perfect the little things that can really make a difference in our day. It’s perfect for when you’re having a bad hair-day. Lifehack gives you easy examples on how to fix your everyday mess without much effort.

Click for more beauty tips!



Your makeup can always be improved. Here are more life hacks from Buzzfeed! The essential beauty tips that help you bring your best for whatever you have going on in your week!

 

Love you bunnies

The most important thing I’ve learned thus far, is to keep in contact with my girlfriends. It’s hard to do so, especially when trying to juggle school, work, family and just life in general… But your friends will be the ones who are there for you when you’re feeling down. Sometimes we as girls have emotions that take over us and the only other people who will understand is our closest girlfriends.

Your closest girlfriends will be the ones you can call over to finish off a bottle of wine (each) after a long day at school, or work or both. The friends you make in your twenties are friends that help define who you are and are the ones that help mold you into the awesome person grow up to be in 10 years, and having that one friend that you can call in times of terror (too much wine + boyfriend + fighting + interview the next morning = madness) is priceless.

These friends are the ones that you can vent to – without any judgment. Sometimes I think the most horrible of things about people (a lot of the times it’s because they give me good reason to) and think about how mean I am for thinking it… but obviously need to get it off my chest. Good friends are the ones that think the same thoughts that both of you don’t want to say out loud (because you’re both actually really good people).

You’re closest girlfriends are the ones that you enjoy spending time with…. Even more than your boyfriend (but won’t admit it). They’re the girls that can pick you up whenever you’re down. The girls that are there for you when you get into a fight/break up with your boyfriend on New Year’s Eve/Your birthday (YEP!) They’re the ones that want to show you the bottom of the bottle and pass no judgment when all you want to do is drown your sorrows away (in fact, they’ll be the ones ordering the shots!). These are the best of friends. They make you forget you even have a boyfriend.

I love my friends. And I know that sometimes life gets in the way, but we always seem to find our way back to each other and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Packing your lunch is only uncool in elementary school

Before I started college, I used to work nights at a bar 5 days a week. I would sleep in until 3pm, eat bar food and drink excessively (8am who are you?). So when I went back to school last January it was hard to get used to the shift. It was like I was jetlagged. All. The. Time.  I quickly learned that if I didn’t eat properly I wouldn’t be able to get through my day. It has been so weird to eat like a normal human being again that I thought I would share my meal accomplishments with you all!

Breakfast:

Ciabatta, and Blackforest Ham with a Banana on the side.

This combination keeps me full until lunch. All the time. I usually have two slices of ciabatta with one slice of ham on each. For some reason there is always an abundance of  bananas in my house so I usually finish one of those in the car after I’ve eaten my breakfast, but any fruit will do really. Fruit is your friend! I swear.

Lunch:

I’ve recently come to love those pre-packaged salad mixes you can find at all the grocery stores nowadays. The combinations of the kale, spinach, cranberry and nut packages topped off with poppy seed dressing are my all time favourites. They’re so easy to make when you’re in a rush in the morning because you don’t really have to do much work at all! What’s pretty awesome about these salads is that if you go with the larger sized package (which is usually a buck or two more) you can make 3-4 meals as opposed to the 1-2 meal you can have with the smaller sized ones. These are my favourite because they’re so damn easy. Plus, veggies keep you regular ;)

Dinner:

I’m lucky because I live at home and most of the time my mom has dinner prepared or there are leftovers from the weekend hiding in the fridge. But with two 20-year-old brothers living in the house, the food always goes fast. If I get home late there usually isn’t much left to scavenge. In these situations, I can always find bacon in the fridge (because well, lets face it. Bacon is God to all us all.) I am then able to make myself a BLT sandwich. And homemade BLTs are so so so much better than Tim Horton’s’… especially if you make them with maple bacon… zomg. This is also the perfect time to pull out the leftover salad you had from lunch. There you go! Easy meals that will keep you on top of your game throughout the day!