I am that extremely annoying person that's up at the crack of dawn and is irritatingly chirpy (most of the time). Skipping down the stairs, dancing around the kitchen, the odd twirl here and there.... Here's a few tips on making the start of your day less of a challenge!

1. Leave a little gap in your curtains so the natural light wakes you up. I always feel so much fresher if I wake up naturally compared to having an alarm screaming in my ear!

2. Make your bed as soon as you get up. It'll stop you being tempted to jump back in, make your room instantly look tidier and you'll already start to feel productive.

3. Open your curtains wide to let in all the light :)

4. Plan a delicious breakfast...food motivates me to do a lot of things, getting out of bed is one of them. I recommend trying my  Lazy one pan mexican brunch  or cheesy bacon and egg cups!

5. Make a feel good playlist to listen to whilst getting ready. Here's some of my favourites to start the day *warning: they're pretty cheesy*:

• Perfect Day - Hoku
• Charmed Life - Leigh Nash
• Victory - The Weekend 

Yes they're all soundtracks from films...what can I say, I like to pretend my life is a movie...

6. Jump in the shower (and the blood starts pumpin') - Dolly Parton knows the score...there's nothing like a shower to wake you up. Singing and dancing helps.

7. It's common sense really but having an earlier night really does make a difference to how you feel in the morning. Know how many hours you need to feel decent and make sure you get them. I aim for 7hrs minimum - we're all different.

8. Get up around the same time every day - routine is key! I usually wake up around 7-8am during the week and usually end up getting up around then at the weekend too. Have to make the most of any time off :)!!!

If you'be got any other tips, let me know in the comments!!

p.s. I now have a facebook page which you can find here

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Surviving Exams - some revision tips

It's here. The dreaded exam season. You get your exams done after Christmas and then before you know it, you're crying at your desk again...but it doesn't have to be that way! Here's a few little tips to help!

1. Buy some new stationary! I don't know what it is about new coloured pens or an unused notepad that suddenly makes me WANT to actually work! I usually pop to my local Ryman's or Staples when I lose motivation.

2. Change your environment. Sometimes being stuck in the same room all day every day can send you a little doolali. I've started doing some days in the library just to get out the house and change my surroundings.

3. Plan some time off. It's horrible having the feeling of guilt hanging over you when you're not studying and it means you're not properly relaxing. Decide on when you're having your time off and actually switch off when you do without feeling guilty. You'll be much more productive when you do start studying again. At the moment, I'm keeping Sundays as my day off :)

4. Eat something. It's no good trying to learn when you're feeling light headed! I find bananas and apples make great guilt-free snacks...but if you're studying a particularly horrific topic then just crack open the biscuits..you deserve them!

5. Get some Zzzzzs...I won't ever be one of those people that stays up all night studying. I just cannot do it and value my sleep too much. And so should you. When you sleep, all the stuff you have learnt during the day has time to be stored in your mind and allows your brain to rejuvenate, ready for your next study session!

6. Have a break! It's usually better to concentrate really well for 40-50 minutes and take 10 minute breaks in between that to force yourself to stare at your work for hours and hours on end. Focus on a particular area of your work and then once you've got it, take a little break. Even just the time it takes to make another cuppa should be enough of a breather.

7. Put your phone away. The amount of times I decide to 'quickly read a text' and then before I know it, I've been on instagram, liking away at photos for a good 15  minutes!! If you're a bit of a phone addict, just check it whilst you're making that cup of tea (see previous tip)

8. Shift things to suit you. Speaking to friends, some find they work much better in the afternoon/evening, whereas I am definitely more of a morning person. For that reason I tend to do harder work in the morning and 'lighter' topics in the afternoon. Decide when you work best and use that for more challenging pieces of work.

9. JUST DO IT! I know how easy and tempting it is to procrastinate...I'm guilty of it too but don't you feel so much better when you know you've been productive and have earned your time off. Try and remember that feeling..no one likes feeling guilty. Picture results day and how good you'll feel that your hard work has paid off!

Reading back, a lot of these tips are pretty well known and that's for a reason :)

Good luck to all of you that have exams/coursework deadlines coming up, you can do it!!

10 ways to worry less

I am such a worry pot. Like seriously, anyone who knows me will vouch for this. When I make plans, I like to know absolutely every little detail or I'll worry about it. It's ridiculous and unhealthy. Soooo I've been trying to take little steps to just chill out, relax and realise that things aren't actually so bad!

1. Write it down - One of my fellow worrier friends told me to do this. You know when you're lying in bed, going over and over something in your head. It's silly because there's usually nothing you can do about it at that time so write your worry on a piece of paper and then deal with it in the morning. By writing it down, you feel like you've taken some action.

2. Prioritize - Writing a check-list of whatever you're worrying about can help you work through each issue systematically and individually so it's all a little less overwhelming. Deal with one issue at a time.

3. Switch off - It can be hard to forget the worries of everyday life when you're constantly checking social media on your phone - I'm guilty of this one! I often find that watching a film or reading a book, phone free, helps me to escape a bit and unwind.

4. Talk to non-worry pots - I always feel better after talking to my more laid back friends. They make you realise that you're being a little OTT and you can really learn a lot from them. When I'm worrying over something silly, I try and think what that friend would do in my situation - would they find it a big deal?

5. Put things in perspective - Is this thing you're worrying about going to be an issue by this time next year? Most likely not! I look back a lot and realise how daft I was to worry so much about the silliest of things that no longer even matter!

6. Get moving - Exercise releases endorphins > endorphins make you happy > if you're happy then you're probably not worrying!! 

7. Distract yourself - If there's nothing you can do about your worry then just put your energy into something else - something that you enjoy, whether it's baking, reading, going to the cinema...

8. Get some headspace - During exam time, I found it hard to stop thinking about things, so as well as writing my little to do lists for the next day, I also listened to an App called Headspace, which teaches you the basics of meditation. It really helped to clear my head and the first 10 sessions are free!

9. Cuddle a pet - Studies have shown that animals decrease our stress levels. If you're feeling like things are getting a bit much and your day isn't going well for you, go and cuddle an animal. They will take your mind off things and if you realllly want, you can talk to them without any judgement!

10. Accept it - If you can do something to take control of what you're worrying about then do and if you can't, then just accept that. Is there really any point in letting something eat you up so much when either way you can't change it....plus remember that the vast majority of things we worry about never actually happen!!! :)

I realise it's not always that easy to stop worrying if it's part of your personality but I hope these tips can help a little!!

Have you got any advice about dealing with stress and worries?