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Introducing My Work Space!

Tuesday 29 May 2018

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I always find that working at a desk, with my notebooks beside me and earphones is where I'm the most motivated. Before I put together a "work space", I would either sit on my bed or sit in the living room working on either a video, writing my book or blog post. And I found they were both places where I would become easily distracted. I found that my work flow just lost its momentum in less that 30 minutes of starting, which then created a backlog of things I wanted to be done, but were extremely delayed.


So after a few months of begging and planning in my head, I decided to bring over the small desk I bought for my mum's that never got used there, and create a small working environment for myself to remained focus. I chose my old bedroom for two reasons. 1: the room is only used when my brother visits with the rest of the family and 2: the internet is poor. Which might make you wonder how that's a good thing. One of my many distractions is my phone, like the rest of my generation. So the further in my room I am, the worse the internet connection is. So it's a win-win. 



So my office essentials are:

  • Laptop
  • Earphones
  • Book/Magazine holder (holding all my notepads that are essential)
  • Storage boxes (holding my organiser and smaller notepads - the smaller one is to hide the phone LOL & glue and tippex)
  • Storage bin (other small stationery stuff)
  • Pen pot
  • Stationery equipment (paperclips, pins, etc)
  • Memo pad
  • Hardrive
If you don't know this by now (seriously how could you not?!), I'm currently writing a book. So S P O I L E R  A L E R T name of the book has been revealed LOLS! But anyway, I sometimes find myself stuck a little and need a little bit of inspiration. So above my desk, I have a vision board of the book, with little edits I've put together and outfit inspirations. When I'm about to give up for the night, I find myself looking up at the board and hoping for inspiration. I also have fairylights around it so I can turn them on and off, as if I'm "on and off the clock". When the lights are off, I'm done. If they're on, I'm working and I'm not available.

The "peace, love & vodka" is a card I saw in Paperchase in the Sale section and I just instantly fell in love with it. I decided it would be a nice addition to my office space.




These books are basically my saving grace! I wanted to do a little section on  these, as I wouldn't be able to function without them!!! So let's talk about them from top to bottom!

  1. My organiser; aka the one thing that keeps me on top. This little diary was bought for Christmas by my mum and I LOVE IT! I'm not gonna lie, I'm getting worse as the months go on to keep on track, but I AM TRYING!!!! I just need to learn to stick to it! This little book has every appointment in it, everything I need to do to get shit done on time (lol this post is 3 days late. Blame Bank Holiday!) I know what needs done and I get to check them off when I'm done. Which, lamely, I really love doing.
  2. My "GIRL BOSS" notebook. In this I basically write down all my blog posts idea and put down all the things I want to write on the post and the idea around it, etc. Joanne bought me this for my birthday, and I'm not gonna lie, I love it for the whole Girl Boss title. Because this is my little "empire" I'm attempting to create. When I've written in my organiser that I'm posting a certain post a few weeks ahead before, going to this notebook helps me remind me the details I wanted to write.
  3. My blog scheduler - not even kidding! So Anna Saconne-Joly mentioned on her Instagram story a method that really helps her keep on track with her videos and blog posts. Basically it's a lot of checking off and obvs it's something I love. I might do another post about it, so if you want that, let me know! This is technically an extra step that isn't actually needed, but I've found it SO HELPFUL! So, thanks Anna!
  4. My "Book Ideas" notebook: My holy grail, my love of my life; my sanity. All my ideas for the book I'm writing goes into here. Anything I want to plan to write in future chapters, description of characters, mood boards. Everything goes in here. And it will continue on with any other book I write afterwards (lol I love this book too much and the thought of writing another story makes me emosh!) This is constantly open when I'm writing, checking over details and making sure everything matches.


And last but not least: candles. A not-so-necessary-but-appreciated addition to my office space. I love a cosy atmosphere when I'm working on something quite late. Late as in, it's getting dark and I'm not working the next day. These three were given to me by Phoebe and I thought they were cute. They say: Relax, Breathe, #LetGo. I thought they were appropriate in an office environment. They also have a generic vanilla smell as well, which I always find relaxing.



And that's my lil work space. Trying to get back on top of things at the moment. With writing a book and wanting to upload at least two decent quality blog posts a week, it's getting hard. See ya soon, folks!
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Is Online Dating Ruining Romance?

Wednesday 23 May 2018

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This is a thought process that I've been toying with for a little while now. As you may or may not know, I am single, and obvs looking for love. (🤢🤮) And of course, when it comes to dating/meeting someone in this generation, it's all about online dating. Aka. My worst enemy. I currently have a love/hate with online dating. Mainly because I'm fighting against being a hopeless romantic and also being lazy.


Cons

I find the modern day dating apps quite shallow. For example; Tinder and Bumble both require for you to look at a bunch of images and decide instantly if you're physically attracted to them in just a handful of photos. Then if you're attracted, you swipe left. If you're not, swipe right. If yourself and the other person both swipe yes, you match. And boom. There begins the conversation. I believe that when it comes to dating, yes you need to be attracted to the person in some sort of sense, however it's also a lot more than just that.

 I talked all about my experience with Tinder on my YouTube. Click below to watch that for my full, honest review.


Call me old fashioned, but I always imagined the story of how I met the Love Of My Life not including an online presence. Not straight away, anyway. I want it to be some epic love story, but I also realise how unrealistic that probably is. But like they say in the films: I'm entitled to have high standards. And why should I settle for less? I want a romance to start like they do in films and in books. Not by saying, "he found me fit, so he swiped left."



Pros

It's only fair that if I sit here completely bashing online dating, that I need some arguments from the opposite point of view.

It's an easy tool to use to either meet new people or start "talking" to someone at the comfort of where you are. You don't need to be outside in public in a bar, or a coffee shop. You can be at home, watching TV, listening to music, etc. Online dating can be transported anywhere. It's a limited tool.

Another pro of online dating is that if you're someone like me and you have social anxiety, it's a good way of becoming comfortable before actually having to be face to face with someone. Being put into situations where I have to sit there, start conversations and keep it flowing actually frightens me sometimes. So spending time online and chatting with them in a comfortable environment, learning their little quirks and personality; will then make it easier when meeting it in person.

There's no pressure. You don't need to reply instantly. You can come back to the conversation once you've thought of a logical response, or something interesting. You're not stood opposite them, them looking over at you and waiting for you to finally respond. Which kind of links me back to the social anxiety thing.



Overall, I would prefer an epic love story like you see in the films or read in the books. But with this day and age and how pro-technology this generation is, I don't really think we have a choice on it anymore.

Let me know what your thoughts are online dating. Are you pro dating apps or against them? Let's discuss it in the comments!
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Finding My Fitness Feet!

Friday 18 May 2018

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Following my previous post (click here to read it), I thought I would follow up with a brand new instalment. These pictures are hard for me to post, because I'm still battling with feeling self-love and all, but eff it. I'm turning a new leaf.

I like to go to the gym 4/5 times a week. That's usually a mixture of attending gym classes or doing my own workouts. I like the variety, because yes I love my gym and I love the instructors that do the classes, but I don't want to be too dependant on them. I have my own journey that I'm working on fitness wise, and when I get there, I don't want to become lazy and then losing motivation. The type of classes I do are:

  • Monday - HIIT
  • Tuesday - Kettlebells
  • Wednesday - HIIT and Body Conditioning 
  • Thursday - (depending on if I'm working or not) Body Conditioning/Rest Day
  • Friday - Rest Day
  • Saturday - (depending on if I'm working or not) My own workout/Rest Day
  • Sunday HIIT
As you can see it's a variety for me. I've purposely started going to the body conditioning classes again, so then it's not all just cardio. I definitely am liking doing some weight work in both classes and on my own. My gym has a weight room and it's so much fun. (If you follow me on Instagram, you'll be able to see some snaps from there when I'm doing my own thing).


I kind of wanted to break down my entire thought process of my gym experience into a bunch of pros and cons. So if you're a nerd like me and enjoy that, then you're in for a right ole treat...

Classes are great, but there's definitely pros and cons to them.

Cons

  • Dependant on a teacher to give you the workout
  • Can't work on the areas you need, as it's a group workout and everyone needs different areas they're working on
  • Can be very repetitive each week

Pros:

  • They're more experienced and know what's good for the class as a whole
  • Motivates you to keep going on when you're giving up
  • A social place 
Those are just a few that I thought I'd mention and add a few on each heading, rather than it being unfair on one point to the other.


If you read my blog, you'll know I do sometimes post my workouts that I've put together. I'm quite aware that I'm no expert and that these are only for what I need to focus on. However, if anyone wants to try them out, that's completely fine. Since I'm constantly changing things up, I'll most probably upload more throughout the year.



I'm still working things out. Figuring what exercises work best for my body. It's a learning process and I want to bring you all along on my journey. Every few months, I'm going to make blog posts all about my progress, what I've changed, etc.

Thanks for reading my long overdue post, and I'll be back with two blog posts next week.
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Learning Self-Love.

Thursday 3 May 2018

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As a person that's lived a life filled with insecurity and doubt, I've realised my priorities have been influenced in the wrong direction. I'm at the age where are getting married, starting families or living the single dream. Me? I'm just kind of stuck at a crossroad, a bit unsure which I road I belong in. And then last week, it hit me. I don't belong on either path. Not right now, anyway. That's the problem with being in your twenties; there's so much pressure. 

Everyone around me are either dating or in a relationship, and it's the moment you sit there in your room and ask yourself: when is it my turn? And then at work, it hit me. How can I expect to be in a loving relationship when all I've done all my life is struggle to love myself? And I think it's time to start that process. To sit down and really look at myself. Instead of cringing when I look in the mirror, point out what I like about myself. Because then, who knows? A miracle can happen and I'll actually like myself more. 

This isn't one of those blog posts where I write a full post about my insecurities and then ask for tons of comments of compliments to boost my self-esteem. Definitely not that. That's another thing you should know about me: compliments. I don't really take them well. This is a blog post that's the start of the future. Learning to love myself and learning to accept my flaws and to not care what other people think. 


I'm not going to lie and say that being 4 foot 7.5 is easy. You get looks, you get comments that people think are funny, but really they're offensive to you and they hurt. It fucking sucks, to sum it up. But at the end of the day, this is me and this is who I am. This is exactly how I'm meant to be and basically, I've got to get fucking over it. It's not going to change. I can't become taller overnight, like I used to wish. This is how I was made and you know what? If 9 year olds want to take the piss that they're practically taller than me, then go for it babes. Because I don't give a damn anymore. I'm short! Get over it, hun. I'm strong enough to deal with this.

And as I wrote that, it was like it hit me. Clarity struck me and I was rooting for the character to understand that she's exactly how she's meant to be, but then I realised. It's not a character... it's me. And I need to get it. 

The more I think about it, the more stupid I feel. My family love me exactly how I am. My brother and I are the complete opposites: he's around 6 foot and I'm not even 5 foot. And we still get along and no one really ever... questions it. (I mean I did genuinely believe that I was adopted for a few years, 8 years ago...) But then I realise, my mum and dad aren't exactly the tallest people in the world. My mum's 5 foot 2, and my dad's 5 foot 5.5. So really, the abnormal one in this situation, is actually my older brother. Right?


Another thing that is a thought in my head that constantly niggles me. Something that gets me so agitated, I literally have to force myself to get out of that dark place: my weight. Being short, you're naturally short and stumpy. It's just a thing that happens and unfortunately, I got a Kim K arse that I never wanted nor asked for. And most of my friends have said that they wished they had it. And like I always say; if you wanna switch, that's fine with me.

As a typical female around my age, the things I hate about my body are the following: my stomach, thighs, arms and bum. And I'm trying my best to focus on this. I don't expect this to all disappear overnight. I'm working on exercises to help me fix these issues in a healthy and natural way. And a hella lot of weights. (Jokes, more like HIIT workouts). But I've discovered a quote that I thought once, and I stick by it:
I am a work in process.
And when I go to the gym, with a low mood and no motivation; I remind myself of this. 


However, moving on from fitness (I’m planning on doing a full blog post separately on this. Yes this is turning into a self-love series). Moving back onto the original point of the post: me. How am I expecting someone else to love me; for all my flaws and all my faults, if I can’t even sit there and love myself? Accept my flaws and realise that’s just who I am? I can’t. Which is why I make sure I don’t get close enough to someone, so I don’t get hurt, and ultimately, neither do they.

It’s a working progress, in the gym and outside the gym. But maybe I should start the process of listing one thing that I like about myself daily. Maybe it’ll turn into something where I’ve run out… because I love everything about myself.




And that’s my little post on clarity. It turned into something longer than expected, however I think I needed it. Whilst writing this post, I’ve had a few realisations – a breakthrough if you will. And I’m already feeling like I’m getting closer to the end.
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