Wellness Blog

Self-Care | Chats With Cath

/ Catherine / 10 Comments

Welcome back to blogmas day 16!

A couple of weeks ago I posted this to my Instagram story. It had a very positive response and I think it is worth sharing here of WordPress too.

Because my blog so often talks about productivity, it’s important to define what productivity is. 

I would say it’s using a given set of time effectively in any situation.

For example, I have a headache but I have lots of school work to do. In that situation, I would take a rest and wait until the headache goes away before I tackle any work. It’s listening to my body. And if I need to rest, I need to rest.

On Saturday I had a lie-in until 9 which is very unlike me. I was disappointed in myself for not waking up at the right time, but then I winded back a few steps. My body needed that rest. My mind needed that lie-in. And without it, my day would have been less energised. 

I felt it was important to address this as my blog so closely focusses on studying! I’m not always working at my desk. I’m not always happily working at my desk. Everyone has bad days.

By the time you’re seeing this, it will be my last day of school in 2020. That’s crazy. 

This year has flown by. There have been some moments that felt slower than others and they stay alive in my mind.

I can’t wait for the new year. Though of course, I don’t want to wish away the end of this one. 

2021 excites me with its uncertainty. Hopefully it will be a better year for the world. But if not, let’s support each other. Love. Kindness. I will be carrying those two on my back in 2021 like wings. 

Enough about the future, let’s talk about the now. More specifically, self-care.

I asked you in my post the other day how you like to practise self-care. Your comments were a joy to respond to. 

This time last year I shared a post named ‘these aren’t your regular self-care tips’ and it’s a post I am still to this day proud of! 

However, in 365 x 24 hours a lot changes, so let’s talk about how I practise self-care these days.

  • Eating nutritious food, less of the processed stuff that makes me feel rotten
  • Waking up and going to sleep at consistent times
  • Always preparing for the following morning
  • Exercising. Making myself go outside even when I don’t feel like it.
  • Taking breaks form social media guilt free
  • Journaling
  • Taking photos of precious moments, or by taking photos turning things into precious moments

Self-care isn’t a face mask on a Sunday. It is what you consistently do. 

This post flows like a stream of consciousness, and stutters and stalls like a conversation. 

I just wanted to write something from me. Almost like a letter. And I hope you enjoyed reading.

What have you been up to today?

Along with some boring things that you wouldn’t care to read about, I baked some gingerbread men! I am yet to ice them but I think I’ll do that when the Strictly Results come on. 

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Catherine x

Find me elsewhere on the Internet:

Instagram: @cathjaneblog

Goodreads: @cathjaneblog

Pinterest: @cathjaneblog

Email me! cathjaneblog@gmail.com

5 Easy Ways You Can Be An Organised Blogger

/ Catherine / 6 Comments

Welcome to blogmas day 15, today on the subject of productivity.

I am a student and blogger, and with those things come many responsibilities. Beside my side-hustle and studying, I am part of a GirlGuiding unit and I also take cello lessons. But most importantly of all – I’m human! You might be wondering how I juggle it all. Later on this week I will be sharing another installation of my Chats With Cath series. In that post I will be going into more detail about how I’ve pushed out 1 blog post a day, and the stress of December. At this time of the year I love to address the notion of self-care. It’s important all year round, of course, yet when things get the most hectic is when we need to be the most mindful about how we look after ourselves.

This post includes 5 ways I stay organised as a blogger. Hopefully you can use my tips to make you more time efficient, and therefore being able to carve out more time for yourself, friends and family.

Keeping a list of post ideas

Keeping a list of blog posts ideas you get on the go is really handy, especially when you come to the keyboard not knowing what to write. I have a list in my Notes that I add to every now and then. Once the ideas have formed, I add them into a calendar. My three content buckets are sustainability, wellness and lifestyle. I don’t like to clump posts of the same niche together. Seeing my posts a month at a glance allows me to spread out the different ‘type’ of posts – so that you come to my blog seeing a range of writing. It’s also refreshing for me to write in different styles!

Drafting Instagram posts

Thank you Instagram for this marvellous feature. I will right my captions in Notes first, then copy and paste into an Instagram draft so it’s all ready to go. Instagram drafts allow you to add the location, tag people and select the chosen photos all at once. When it comes to your posting time you just hit publish, paste the hashtags in the comments, then you’re all good to go! 

Google Calendar

I set reminders with the title of each blog post and when it goes live. This way I know what to write in the correlating Instagram post. But, most importantly, my calendar reminds me what to write and when for! When I’m doing IRL school, Google Calendar is helpful. Otherwise I get so lost in school work that I forget I have a blog… (I’m not joking)

Spending half and hour doing blog related admin everyday

30 minutes goes a long way! I shared in my Cosy Night Routine post (please read it here if you haven’t already) that I enjoy doing this in the evening. Depending on the day I’ll either respond to emails, reply to comments, read your posts or reply to DMs. Ideally I would get all of them done but I just leave it up to future me. 

Master to-do lists

Every weekend I make the most mammoth to-do list with every thing playing on my mind that I know I need to complete. From this long list, I can divide the tasks up depending on urgency. Then they will be allotted a certain day in the week for me to get it done. This way of weekly planning I find keeps me on track. If you have any time to spare, you may want to take a look at Holly Gabrielle’s video on weekly planning because I use the same method as her. It is much easier to explain through dialogue than typed words! I’ll link it here for those curious.

Hopefully you will find these tips applicable to your current blogging ‘routine’. Everyone is different so these tips may not work for you, but I hope you can mould and adapt them to fit your lifestyle. 

What apps do you use on a daily basis?

I’ve seen Notion flying around a bit lately! I’d love to know what apps you use regularly. You might see me try them out in a future post 😉 Please leave some suggestions so I can make that post happen for you.

Have a very happy Tuesday!

Catherine x

Instagram: @cathjaneblog

Goodreads: @cathjaneblog

Pinterest: @cathjaneblog

Email me! cathjaneblog@gmail.com

5 Effective Ways To Be Productive on Dark, Rainy Days | Collab With Zainab Chats

/ Catherine / 20 Comments

Winter in the Northern hemisphere is kinda tricky. As soon as you get back from college/school/work, it’s dark. And since your mind associates dark with sleep… you feel less energised to complete work. It’s hard enough as it is, never mind pitch black outside. That’s why I thought it might be useful for any of my northern friends, to share ‘how to be productive while it’s dark’. Some people work at night anyway, which is so credible. However, on a recent Instagram poll, most of you preferred to work in the daylight!

This post is brought to you in collaboration with my main man, no.1 supporter, incredible blogger Zainab! We’re both delivering a post about studying/producivity. Her’s is a Productive After School Routine – so they both tie in together which is perfect. I would have done an after school routine but I’m not going into school right now due to COVID isolation. That’s the reality of so many of our lives right now and I hope you find this post relatable and informative!

Let’s jump into it!

Nice lights

Working in the dark requires a light on, that’s agiven. However if you can – jazzing up your space with ‘nice’ lighting such as strings of fairy lights, candles, LED lanterns makes the late night working much more appealing! I enjoy lighting a candle or having my fairy lights turned on to feel extra special. It makes me look forward to studying/being productive.

A small to-do list

The last thing you want is an overwhelming to do list! That is why I strongly believe in weekly planning. Dump everything you need to do into one mammoth list. Then pick a few to do each day. If you’re working after school, set a max of 5 tasks. The more you add the more resistance there is between starting your task and getting it done.

Take breaks when something becomes mundane

If you’re getting bored by your task, take 20 minutes to do something completely different then return. I might want to tackle a biology paper, but then get bored in the middle. At that point I might start writing a blog post, then return to the biology paper in a couple of minutes. Or tidy your room! Something small, not too distracting. You could call it procrastination but it’s effective, right?

Do two things on rotation

This one works for two large tasks, and doesn’t necessarily apply to working in the dark. For example: I have a history assessment to write and an English presentation to pull together. I do the history for half an hour, then switch to the presentation for half an hour, then switch back to the history. Then you’ll never reach a point of boredom! I think this is a more efficient way of doing something, as opposed to doing one after another.

Snacks 

TW: food. If you’re suffering from any form of disorded eating and food triggers you, please do what is right for yourself and skip reading the next paragraph. 

Food = energy. Energy / work = productivity. The more energy you have, the better your productivity will be. It might not be dinnertime yet but you still need a boost to carry you through. Listen to your body, have that snack, and feel much more confident in completing your work. You deserve a snack and you probably need one after all of the effort your brain has been putting in!

I hope these tips help you to be productive while it’s dark outside. I know I need these tips every now and again! Working with pitch black outside isn’t that fun but you gotta do what you gotta do. Let me know if these tips make it easier for you to work in the dark!

Please check out Zainab’s half of the collaboration! She’s so wonderful and amazing, and would dearly appreicate a follow from you. Her blog is linked here, her Instagram here and if you want to be friends with her on Goodreads you can do so here. 

Thank you for reading!

What’s your favourite time of day to study?

Find me elsewhere on the Internet:

Instagram: @cathjaneblog

Goodreads: @cathjaneblog

Pinterest: @cathjaneblog

Email me! cathjaneblog@gmail.com