So firstly, apologies for how slow I’ve been with the posts… OH MY DAYS I’ve been non-stop at uni so I just haven’t had a chance to even collect my thoughts and get it down on paper but here it is.. It’s real, the mid-semester slump is something that I think nearly every student comes across… About six weeks into the term you start to feel super overwhelmed, drained and exhausted. You seem to be sleeping enough but no  matter how long you sleep for, it’s never enough. You wake up everyday dreading going to uni and feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do even if it’s not a lot. As I realised how hard things were getting, I started doing a few things which just helped each day be a little easier and feel just much more put together. It’s so hard when you get into a negative mind set to get out of things, and I must admit, I’m not the best myself at getting myself out of sticky situations but it’s the kind of thing that you only get better at if you keep going with it rather than just giving up before you start. As I said earlier, the last couple fo weeks have been a little tought but it’s so weird, I’ve suddenly got the motivation to get myself together and to get my mental health and happiness back where it was. After all, it’s Christmas, so it’s the best time to sort your mind out and to get on top of it. It’s that time of year where you want to spend time with your family and friends and be as careful as possible; so it’s the perfect opportunity to truly understand what’s going on in your head.

In this blog post, I’m just going to share some tips on how I make each day a little better and a little happier. Yep, it can be hard but I promise you, these small things will make each day a little brighter and happier ! So, I guess let’s just dive right in and I promise I will try my very best to make you feel a bit more organised, put together and hopefully a little better !

1) Make Your Bed!

Weird… I know, you would have never thought that making your bed would actually do anything but surprising what making a bed can do but it can do wonderful things. Sometimes it’s the small things that make the biggest difference and are often the bets things to start with. Baby steps, no point in taking big leaps because they might not be the best way forward. I actually do this every morning and I had no idea how much of a difference this made ! It gives you that feeling that you’ve already done something to kick start your day and feel accomplished. It might be small but even the small things can make you feel more organised and give you that sense of “oomf!” It might only take two minutes and be so small but it makes a huge difference ! I always feel so disorganised and “messy” both in my head and literally when I don’t make my bed. I mean honestly, I had no idea that so much thought went into making a single bed ! Hahaha. A weird thought is that it can also lead to better productivity, making your bed is always going to be a good decision, so if you start your day off with a good decision you’re more likely to make good decisions for the rest of the day. Fun fun, but did you know that you spend roughly a third of your life in your bedroom, so the state of your room directly reflects your room ! A tidy, clean room makes you feel organised and well put together. But a messy, unorganised room makes your mind think just like that. So it’s important to try and keep your surroundings like you want to keep your mind, organised and put together. That’s a good analogy actually, your mind truly reflects your room so if you look after one you’re going to look after the other 😉 . Having made your room and kept your room organised, it can help reduce stress. Weird to think that but, if you feel more organised it generally does lower your stress levels because you feel that you have everything put together and you almost have a plan even if you don’t ! Another thing I noticed is that it just puts you in a good mood, this is going to sound so cheesy but I always feel that something is missing and that my day hasn’t really started yet lol… For example, when you go to a hotel, you enter a room to a perfectly made bed and a tidy atmosphere and it suddenly just elevates your mood ! That’s exactly what happens when you make your bed, if you’ve had a tough day and you’ve made your bed, you’re just ensuring that when you get back home you lift your mood… Even if it’s just by the slightest amount every little helps right ?! Also something really random that I read up on, but making your bed prevents embarrassment… Weird to think, but after thinking about it for a bit, I realised that it totally makes sense ! Imagine you invite a friend round and then you go to your room to I don’t know paint your nails or something and you step into your room and BOOM, it’s a pig sty… Well, isn’t that awkward ?! I mean it’s not the biggest deal but I guess that’s the last thing you want is to embarrass yourself especially if you’re already a bit on edge…

So do tell me, are these enough reasons as to why you should make your bed ?! 😉 It honestly is the little things that make the biggest difference.

2) Make a Plan for The Day

I feel like this is a pretty obvious but I still don’t do it sometimes… Planning your day, I usually on;y do this if I know I have a lot do to and I want to get everything done. But planning your day out definitely puts you on the right track for having a good day. Firstly, planning your day allows you to have everything organised so you can sail through a day rather than having little mishaps and problems because you have no idea what to do. It actually gives you a shot on having the perfect day rather than rolling into a day with no idea what you want to do or how you want to do it. Not only does planning give you a head start on having a good day, it also gets you motivated. I always find that if you plan your day out you’re so much more motivated to get everything done on the plan and to actually stick to the plan. I use to plan things out mentally but then I started to actually forget what my plan was and go totally off track. So now I usually try to plan my day out the night before in my little planner so that I know exactly what I’m doing ! So once I’ve already got a plan set in stone I can absolutely SMASH it ! Planning also helps you prioritise what’s important and what needs to be done straight away compared to the things that aren’t actually important and don’t need to do right away. I don’t know if it’s just me but I generally automatically plan according to priorities, I don’t necessarily do it consciously but still some how do it!

Just remember that when you are planning, make sure to plan in extra time and give yourself some leeway when it comes to what you want to do. No point in planning your day to the exact second because that doesn’t give you any leeway if you have a little hiccup in your plan or require last minute changes. I always find that giving yourself some leeway means that if you’re ahead of schedule you absolutely amazing, but if something goes wrong and you need to sort it out; you’re likely to still be on track so it’s still all good ! So it’s basically a WIN WIN situation !

How do you plan your day? As I said earlier, I usually start by prioritising what’s important and then plan to the hour or half an hour, I usually give myself an extra 30 mins of leeway for each task just in case something goes wrong. It’s also important to plan when you go to sleep, because having a distinct sleep pattern is really important for your head and is proven to help elevate your mood. Your body requires a regular time it goes to bed and wake up, so you have to think about that too 😉 . Don’t forget about exercise … and leads on really nice to my next point 😉 .

3) EXERCISE!

I know that there are people who hate exercising and there’s nothing don’t want to do more than exercise… but the truth is that exercise has so many benefits, not just health benefits physically but also in terms of mental health. I always find that even an hour of exercise makes me feel so much better. It gives me an achievable goal outside of work and is something totally different to what you’d usually do on a daily basis and it’s important to have that sense of achievement in various different aspects of life. I think it’s pretty well known that exercise is an amazing way to produce endorphins (which is the hormone that basically makes you happy lol.) When I mean exercise I mean intense exercise so you can just walk you dog… That doesn’t count, it has to be something that gets your heart pumping, your muscles burning and basically you want to feel tired. But on the other hand, that doesn’t mean push yourself so hard that you collapse, and if you’re new to ease your way in. So that could be a nice and easy run ,maybe just start of at 1k and work your way up. Or join a chill fitness class, you want to start with something that breaks a sweat but doesn’t freak you out so much that you never do it again. I’ve recently started going to the gym before lectures (if I can get myself out of bed lol) and I find that it really does help ! It’s also really odd , but most people think that exercise makes you super tired, but I find it does the opposite ! It wakes me up so that I feel re-charged and ready for the day! There are definitely times that I find it hard to get myself to the gym but I never regret it ! I think that a lot of people get nervous at the idea of going to the gym as they think that everyone else at the gym will be watching and judging them… which is totally wrong ! Honestly, i’ve been to the gym for years now and no one could care any less what you do. You could be super unfit and or super fit (physically 😉 ) and no one is going to even think twice. Even if you’re sweaty and look “horrendous” (because I’m sure you don’t!), NO ONE CARES! (In the best way possible lol.) So if  you’re one of those people who get super nervous about the idea of going to the gym just remember that everyone’s in the same boat, to go to the gym and then to go home all sweaty. It’s not about the environment, it’s about making you feel better and feel like you’ve achieved something. So if you’re one of those people who get really nervous about going to the gym, or if you already have a gym membership and don’t use it… NOw is the time to change that because it will honestly make you feel SO much better ! (ps. I also find that exercise of any sort is the perfect stress relief 😉 .)

4) Give yourself a Break!

Sometimes you just need to give yourself a break… When there is a lot going on, and you have so much to do, you just sometimes just can’t do everything  that you might want to do. I mean literally this blog post is a perfect example. I’ve been wanting to do this blog post for AGES but I’ve just been so busy with about one billion lab reports and essays; and by the time I’ve had the chance to sit down and actually do it… I’m so mentally drained and “done” that I just can’t get myself to sit down and actually do it ! My brain is just go fuzzy and drained I just know that I’ll be writing goboldy goup… So I’m obviously very sorry about that and it annoyed me so much that I can’t do something that I really want to do. But then I realised , “OMG Izzy just give yourself a brand !” I can’t do everything I want , and I definitely can’t do everything that other people want , so sometimes I just need to allow myself to put my feet up and relax. Actually allow myself to take time out, have a bath and relax. We all live such busy lives and we need to learn to just be and be happy with the small things.

I also learnt that sometimes you just need to learn not to pack too many things into a day. I usually like to plan my days to the minute and I try to do as much as I can in one day … Purely because I want to be “productive “ and get loads done. But in reality I just don’t have the brain capacity to get it all done … So why stress myself out ?! 😂 Just got to chill once in a while to allow myself to revuvenate and allow myself to take some time out. So yes, give yourself a brand and feel that your day is going so much better !

So firstly , I hope this was useful and gave you some tips on how to make everyday a little better! I’m also so sorry for how late this blog post is … But as you know , my brain has been fuzzy 😂 . But I’m so excited for the next couple of blog posts that are coming up ! 😍

See you in my next one , Izzy xxx