This year everything's going to change!

Heya!

January's almost over, so let's have a look at how we are doing so far. Last month we made a list for January. Mine looked like this:

·         Be prepared for all exams

·         Do sit-ups and yoga every day

·         Go swimming three times a week

·         Eat salad + vegetables + a piece of fruit every single day

·         Start searching for jobs after my Bachelor

Did I accomplish this? More or less. I am prepared for my exams, I know roughly how they are going to be and I studied for them. I did my sit-ups and yoga every single day, apart from when I was sick. I didn't go swimming three times every single week, but it was at least twice a week, and afterwards I always felt great. I am doing really well with the healthy eating! Before Christmas I told everybody that I absolutely do not want any sweets. So after finishing the few sweets I got nevertheless or I bought before, I haven't bought any new ones at all, so I haven't eaten any sweets since, which was really difficult some days but made me feel great overall. Most days my dinner consists almost entirely of vegetables, so even if I am not exactly having salad plus vegetables plus a piece of fruit every single day, I am doing very well and feel great about it. During the holidays I started having a really healthy muesli consisting of various flakes additional to the typical oat flakes, spelt instead of cornflakes, pumpkin seeds and freeze-dried banana chips which aren't as sweet and unhealthy as the typical fried ones. I also already ordered a new muesli consisting of cornflakes, barley flakes, poppy seeds, cornflakes, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and freeze-dried banana chips. What else? Start searching for jobs after my Bachelor. I didn't really accomplish that. Already in September I sent out four applications to luxurious hotels in the UK, but since then I didn't do much. The first step really was for my boyfriend to look at graduate programmes in the UK so that I know in which cities to apply for jobs. So, that's all sorted out. Step 2 is for me to actually look and apply for jobs during the next two months and then in Step 3 my boyfriend will apply at the universities. So fingers crossed everything works out! I am so nervous...

How did you do with your list? Ready to make a new one? Keep the ones you didn't accomplish, revise and raise others and create new ones. Mine will be:

·         Do my best in all exams

·         Increase number of sit-ups and yoga exercises

·         Sign up for swimming / sports back in Cologne

·         Continue to eat healthy

·         Start searching for jobs after my Bachelor

·         Choose a rough topic for my Bachelor Thesis

·         Start studying for the classes I will be missing in Germany

(The end of my studies in Spain and the start of my final semester in Germany are overlapping, so I will be missing some classes and have to study a lot)

But to actually successfully have the "This year everything's going to change" experience you need to do more than just having a detailed to-do list. Start with getting up "early". Even on the weekends set your alarm for 8 o'clock or maybe 8:30 or even 9 o'clock. The first couple of times it will be really annoying, you will be tired and won't understand the point of this. But trust me, it will work and will help you to feel better and more motivated this year. Your body will adapt and you will go to bed earlier, and getting up for work, university or school will be a lot more easier if you don't have such a big difference between weekdays and weekend. Get up immediately! Don't keep on turning around and snuggling up under your warm and cosy covers. There are only two reasons you still feel tired: you either didn't listen to your body and went to bed too late, or you slept too much. Start the day early, start it with energy and motivation! Get up immediately, do some yoga, go running, have a shower, don't eat breakfast immediately. In order to live and eat healthy it is important that you listen to your body. Don't just eat. Only eat when you're actually hungry. Your body will thank you. With a good night's sleep (not too long, not too short), an early wake up and a healthy breakfast you can start your day with a lot of energy and motivation. And the best thing is: you have all day because you got up and had breakfast all before midday ;)
Don't ruin this energy by opening your social media sites first thing after breakfast. Actually get some work done and then you can use the social media, YouTube videos and whatever else it is you might do online to reward yourself. Additionally to my monthly lists in my diary/calendar book thingy I have an actual calendar and sometimes even very detailed to-do lists for certain days. I like everything to be planned and organised. You might get some work done without a plan or at an untidy desk. But trust me, nothing will change this year if you just get some work done. Nothing will change if you work like "ah I need to do this" and "oh I forgot that". Start by "wasting" more time, pushing work a little bit further behind. Because it won't actually be wasted time. Tidy, empty, clean your desk / room / flat / house. Throw out all the unnecessary stuff. Create a good, light flooded work atmosphere. Then, take your working materials and do exactly the same. Tidy them, organise them, throw stuff out, make a plan. And then start working by chronologically working your plan. Don't jump because some things seem more fun than others. If you do that, in the end you will be left with only the worst and won't have any motivation left. Stick to your plan, work hard, take breaks, reward yourself, don't work to long. Take walks to get some fresh air, exercise and most important: listen to your body.

I really hope this will help you to really change everything this year. Especially because this isn't just from any magazine, this is me doing exactly the same thing at the same time. The only difference is I started a couple of months earlier, so that I don't recommend you something that isn't working. Keep me updated on your lists, on how you are doing and please tell me if you have any doubts. And of course I will tell you more about healthy living and structured planning in good time.

See you soon,

Jen