Ways to Relax After A Long Day

Hello, 2nd Semester! So far, so good. Well, that's literally because it's the first week. The schedule is still quite flexible, only for this week. The real struggle is starting soon. For now, I'm trying to enjoy these free time I have since there are no practicals, quizzes, presentations, and assignments yet. Next week onwards are going to be hectic!

Whether you're working or studying, sometimes it can be so tiring, right? No matter what type of job you have or what course you're taking, seriously. A long day can be very exhausting. I've been there. Gosh, this is making me miss my high school years so bad. High school years were very fun, and obviously not as hard as this current life I'm having.

1st Semester wasn't that bad because I managed to handle my stress quite well. There were those tiring days where I felt like screaming and crying. It's normal, I guess. I've learned to be more chill and relax! This is very important for our health, physically and mentally. I feel like sharing these ways on how should we relax after a very long day.

Take a long, hot shower
I don't know about you guys, but I'm that kind of person who takes a very loooong shower. Probably around 15 minutes, at least. I love it, no matter what the temperature is. And obviously, it would be even more satisfying after a tiring day. Hot shower is even better. Definitely one of the best ways to freshen yourself up!

Some music can help!
What are your favorite music genres? Well, I seriously don't have any specific ones that I like. Listening to music is a good way to relax. I know it's better to listen to the ones that are more calming but for me, any type of songs that I enjoy can really help me to escape from my mind, even just for a little while. If I'm a bit stressed, I would literally karaoke out loud and guess what, it really works! Hahaha.

Go offline
Sometimes, it's better to have some 'me-time' without any gadgets. Talk to your family, have some snacks or read a book. Turn off your smartphones and laptops! They will just remind you about all the assignments and workload you have. No, I'm not telling you to procrastinate, it's just, you need to at least have some good rest before you start doing any of those tasks back. Don't push yourself too much. 

A cup of coffee?
Hot coffee during the night is so refreshing. My favorite is Nescafe Caramel Latte. Since I'm living in my college, those 3in1 packets are very useful! I enjoy drinking these rather than Milo. But if coffee can cause you insomnia, drink something else like hot chocolate and please, avoid coffee! You will lose sleep and feel very tired during the next day. For me, since I've had lots of coffee throughout my life, 1 cup of it has no effect on me anymore. Lol! Kinda sounds weird, I know.

Deep breathing (Meditate)
One of the simplest and easiest way to relax. Take a moment to sit on your couch, close your eyes and breath in deeply and slowly. If it's not enough, go outside and breath in some fresher air instead! Do this for at least 2 minutes. It is not only going to help you to relax but also very good for your health. After a long and rushed day, taking some deep breath can be very important.

Just sleep!
Okay, I know this one it's pretty obvious. What I'm trying to say here is you need to get ENOUGH sleep. Don't stay up too long until late night doing your work. Manage your work and time properly, as long as you're getting enough sleep then that's fine. Another option is to sleep early and wake up early if you still have not finished your work yet. It is better than staying up and try to push yourself when you're already tired.

So, these some of my opinion of ways on how I relax after a very tiring day. I don't know if they suit you guys but I really hope I've helped! Whatever it is, chill lah, okay? As I've mentioned earlier, don't push yourself too much! Relax!

HOW DO YOU RELAX AFTER A LONG DAY?

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Beating The Procrastination Habit

My sleep schedule is so messed up. These days, I have insomnia, so I will sleep around 4 AM. Guess what time did I start writing this post? 1 AM. I suppose that's why I can't sleep, I've been looking on screen too much. I seriously need to stop, school is starting in less than 15 days. I better fix my sleep cycle now.

Somehow, I only could write at this particular time. Ideas would only come during this hour. I wouldn't have any desire to write in the daytime, which is bad. Plus, I have lots of SPM classes this month, so I'm quite exhausted and tired (but I will still sleep late, lol). My bad. And now, I'm forcing myself to update this blog. I already have a blog schedule, so I'm trying to cope with it.

I mentioned about today's topic in my last post. This topic was also requested by Rasya about a month ago. I'm sorry for only doing it today, I was procrastinating to write about this. Ahhh, that is so freaking irony! Well, I guess I'm writing about this not only for you guys but also, for me.

Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished. It is the practice of doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones or carrying out less urgent tasks instead of the larger ones, thus putting off impending tasks to a later time. Sometimes, procrastination takes place until the "last minute" before a deadline. Procrastination can take hold in any aspect of life and can lead to feelings of guilt, inadequacy, depression and self-doubt. [source]

One of my every new year's resolutions is to stop procrastinating. Every year. Whether as a student, a blogger or just an average person with a healthy life. So, since 2017 is coming and we all have a resolution to get rid of procrastination, I'm going to talk about it. This topic is quite big, so let's talk about this in general and together, we fight this bad habit!

Procrastination can be caused by lots of things. For instance;
→ Lack of motivation - when you don't have any desire to do something.
→ Not knowing or where to start - when you have too many things to get done that you just don't know where to start.
→ Perfectionism - when you're afraid that the outcome might not be good enough.
→ Fear of failing - when you're overthinking the issue might fail.
→ Laziness - when you lack energy.
→ Out of focus - when there are too many distractions.

Those are the main causes of procrastination. Whatever it is, we have to beat them to get tasks done. I know it can be hard, but you'll regret it if you don't try. Here are some solutions;

• Make a to-do list
This is crucial. I used to not recording what I'm supposed to do, which I ended up not doing any of them because I'm such a forgetful person (that's a fact). I started to create a to-do list for every single day, and my routine has really changed since then. I became more organised with my tasks and manage my time successfully. Having a daily to-do list is surprisingly helpful.

• FORCE yourself to start
"I'm with the force, and the force is with me" lol, just kidding, that's a line from the movie, Rouge One - A Star Wars Story. I watched it a few days ago, and it was incredible. Star Wars will never be disappointing. Okay, back to procrastination. This is one of the ways I do when it comes to things like writing, either school work or blog posts. I will force myself to start writing even if it's just a few words. Because eventually, I will continue until the end.

• Get rid of distractions
Most of the time, things are undone because of distractions. For example, this post was in my draft for quite some time because I was too distracted with Korean dramas. I'm currently watching Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, and I swear, that show is so effing cute. Oh God, I'm distracted again. See? So, you need to eliminate all the things that are distracting you such as your smartphone, television remote, music, Instagram, Twitter, and others.

• Plan and prioritise your tasks
Sometimes, lots of things come to you at one time. Too many things need to be done in one particular time which just stresses you out, and you'd feel like giving up. So, other than just making a to-do list, write down your tasks according to the relevant ones first. You need to be able to prioritise your work and manage your time smartly. You can use a planner to sort out your work or just the Notes app on your phone, that will work too!

• Find a comfortable spot
Occasionally, you'll become tired and lazy because of the bad atmosphere you're in. And of course, you'll procrastinate. Maybe you haven't got time, or most probably, procrastinate to clean your room. Or maybe your siblings are too loud that you just couldn't focus on your work. Then, be in a clean and comfortable space. Tidy up your room, spray some air freshener, or just get out of the house and find a peaceful place. It can be a library, a cafe, a park, or anywhere you like. Get yourself in a better surroundings and do your work.

• Don't think too much
Overthinking can lead to procrastination too. Maybe you think that your work would turn out bad, your task won't be good enough, or for example, like me, I would always overthink that my readers would dislike and judge my writings. Seriously, avoid that. Overthinking is wrong in any situation. You will never know what's going to happen next if you don't start, right? So, just give it a try. Remember to always be positive!

• Inspire yourself
When you want or need to do something, but you don't have enough motivation for it. What are you waiting for? Find yourself motivations! For example, when you need to study, then go to Tumblr and search the word 'studyblr', there are lots of original and beautiful notes that will immediately make you have the desire to study. Or when you need to write a blog post, then go to Pinterest or Bloglovin' and find some inspirations by exploring and reading blogs you like. There are many ways to motivate yourself.

• Put some effort
I agree that nothing is easy in this world. Life is full of obstacles that you need to get through. But remember, whatever you're doing in this world, an effort is necessary when you want to achieve something. Back to point #2 where you have to force yourself to start, that's where effort comes in. Fight that laziness and just do it! When the effort is there, procrastination is nothing.

I'm not saying that it's going to be easy, procrastination is something that's quite hard to beat. But hey, let's give it a try, shall we? I procrastinate a lot too, so I hope that this post will help everyone including me. Let us all get rid of this terrible habit and make our 2017 an anti-procrastination year!

What are your ways to beat this habit called procrastinating?

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My 10 Blogging Sins

This post was supposed to be up on either Wednesday or Thursday, but here it is, posted on a Saturday morning. Screw me for procrastinating. Oh, and that is one of my biggest sins not only as a blogger but as a student and an actual person. Ahhh, I hate myself. Whatever, let's get back to the main topic.

It has actually been 5 years since this blog was created in 2012. I was thinking of doing a '4 years of blogging experience' kind of post, but seriously, I can't even think of any point. All I can think of are all the sins that I've made (and still doing) throughout this journey of me as a blogger. I believe that there are lots of other mistakes I've made or even currently doing that I probably still haven't realised yet, but here are the 10 faults I've made as a blogger.

#1 No content

Well, this blog is a personal blog. But honestly, I feel like I lack content. Maybe some people love these personal things, but I want, and I need to write things that are not only enjoyable but also useful for my readers. Plus, I don't have any blog niche. I write what I want. Up until now, my contents are still not good enough. I'll try my best to write more lifestyle and blog-related post. I want my blog to be more than just a personal blog! Insya'Allah.

#2 Horrible writing

I feel like everyone had experienced this (or maybe not). Let's call it those 'boyan' days, where we use all kinds of weird symbols and awful spellings. I used to write like that in 2012-2013. Remember when I said I deleted all my previous posts in this post? Those are all my 'boyan' posts. Well, it's not that they're bad if you're writing like that but those kinds of posts might turn your readers off. Overall, my writing still needs a lot of improvements, tho.

#3 Not being consistent

If you read my 'How did I Start Blogging?' post, or if you've been following me since the beginning, you must've realised how inconsistent I was. I used to blog, then I was gone for a few months, then I came back, then I went missing again, and now here I am. Let's hope that I won't be going anywhere again after this, except for next year. I mean, I'm surely going to be on hiatus for awhile because of SPM. I'm sorry in advance.

#4 Followers are everything
I was crazy about the number of followers. If you don't know, I've actually already reached 1000 followers last year, in 2015 if I'm not mistaken. And of course, I was so happy. Then, Google started to delete all inactive accounts (I believe), so I lost quite some them. Since that, I've realised that those are just numbers. You can have lots of followers but only a few readers and views, which is sadder than having a few followers.

#5 What is this 'stats' thingy?
Talking about views, I used to not even know what's the use of the 'Stats' bar on the Blogger dashboard. Views? Google Analytics? What are those? After awhile being a blogger, now I know that the number of blog views and stats are even more necessary than the number of followers. Now, I actually care about my blog stats and daily, weekly, and monthly page views. I haven't taken it seriously yet, but at least, I care. Hehe.

#6 Not connecting with other bloggers
Back then, I don't reply to my readers' comments. I don't even comment on my followings' posts. I rarely leave feedback. The only thing I would do was leaving a few words in their chatbox, lol. I used to not get that much of comments, but when I get one, I can feel the joy. I'm delighted that people actually respond to my writing. And that's how I realised that comments mean a lot. About replying to comments, although you might not even know I've responded to you, it's important. Our readers took their time to read our post and leave a few words, so, why not we take just a few minutes to reply to their comments, right?

#7 Too lazy to use a planner
I'm not a planner freak. I've tried to use a planner once when I was in Form 3 because I felt like I need to organise myself for PT3, but it didn't work out (as I said, I'm not consistent). I've also tried to type in my ideas and plans for my blog on my phone, it worked out a little bit, but I know that it's not enough for me to improve my blogging life. And for this upcoming SPM year for me, I want, and I need to use a planner. And of course, not only for my studying life but also for this blog. I've seen bloggers using planners and journals to plan and build their blogs, so maybe I should do it too.

#8 Not having a proper blog schedule
This is why I'm not consistent with this blog. I didn't have any specific days for any specific topics to update about (until today, to be honest). Which means I didn't take my blog seriously. I know that writing is just a hobby of mine, but I'm honestly really passionate about it. Of course, it's hard to start because of all of these procrastinating problems, but when I'm writing, I'm happy. Expressing my feelings and thoughts makes me feel relieved. Too bad, I'm not good at time managing. Having a planner + decent blog schedule should probably help. I've already planned my blog schedule tho, it will be up on my blog as soon as possible!

#9 Always, like always, procrastinating
Procrastinating is my huge problem. I procrastinate on blogging, studying, ahhh everything! If someone asks me what my life problems are, procrastinating would be my number one. For instance, as I said, this post was supposed to be published a few days ago, but it didn't as I'm such a procrastination queen. Again, this is also why I'm not consistent. It's such a hard bad habit for me to beat, but I swear I'm trying my best. Procrastination, please, go away.

#10 Not caring about my blog weight
This is a sin that I recently realised. I've tested my website speed and grades and all those kinds of stuff before, but I never actually care. Until one day I noticed how slow my blog loads, and I was so stressed out because of it. Since that, I started compressing photos, which makes a huge difference on my blog weight. Until today, my blog is still heavy. I've compressed every single picture, but my page size is still more than 3MB. I seriously don't know what else to do to make my site faster. If you have any idea, please tell me.

As you can see, that's a lot of sins. I'm still making some of these mistakes, like being inconsistent, no blog schedule and especially, procrastinating. Whatever it is, mistakes are meant to be done, right? That's just how you will learn. I'm still learning and trying my best to improve everything that I'm doing in life. Wish me luck!

What are your sins as a blogger?

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Whenever I Don't Feel Like Writing

Lately, I've been in such a lousy atmosphere, I'm in the mood to stay in bed for 10 years. I felt tired and exhausted all the time. For now, I'm pretty sure I've spent 50% of my time during this school holiday with sleep. I don't really go anywhere, I've only been to my school and tuition centre for extra classes and SPM workshops. Due to my awful mood, I don't feel like doing anything. Am I that lifeless?

All I know is that I will be going to the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale tomorrow! Last week, I pledged to Stop Buying, Start Reading on their website. For every 100 pledges, they will choose 10 lucky people to win the Preview Passes. Alhamdulillah, I'm one of them! The pass admits 2 adults, and it allows us to go to the sale one day earlier before the actual event starts. How exciting is that?

Okay, back to the main topic. I genuinely don't feel like updating at all, and I hate myself for being like that. Another thing I do other than sleeping all along this school holiday is being in front of my computer. Most of the time, I would be on the blog, of course. But recently, I can do any other blog-related things but not write. I feel very bad as I know that I need to update my blog. Just for some reason, I feel so unmotivated these days.

I really want to update every day during this school holiday as I know that I won't be able to update much next year because of SPM, but my current blogging mood is just very dreadful. And here I am, forcing myself to write a 'when I don't feel like writing' post. I guess that's the best post to do in this kind of emotion, right? Here we go.

#1 Update old blog posts
Instead of updating my blog with a new post, I'd update my old blog posts. I haven't got any chance to reformat my previous entries yet since I changed my template more than a month ago. I have to resize the images, change the font and others. I literally laughed at myself when I was editing those posts as my writing was so ridiculous back then.

#2 Find new stock photos
I always love looking and admiring beautiful pictures. Whenever I don't want to write, I would explore some of my favourite stock photos websites and find great images to download to use them in my future posts. The sites that I use the most are PikWizard, Kaboompics, Unsplash and Stock Up. You can read more about this here.

#3 Go through my reading list
This is a way for me to fight my laziness. Going through new posts from the blogs that I followed makes me feel sorry about my blog that I haven't update. I would feel like "gosh, they all have updated their blog and here I am, eating sandwiches while staring at this goddamn computer screen without doing anything" and eventually, I would start writing, just like at this moment when I was typing this post.

#4 Spice up my blog
I think I've mentioned this in one of my posts before, but other than writing, I also enjoy editing my blog. I would find anything to add or change about my blog to improve and make it better. For instance, today, I just added a new CSS for emojis in the comment section! So now, all those boring symbols emoticons have been changed to actual emojis! Check out my past posts' comments or just comment down below with a regular emoticon to see the emojis! You can see the tutorial here. It is as easy as 123!

#5 Plan for my upcoming posts
Sometimes, a few blog post ideas came to my mind, but I just don't have enough energy or desire to start it. Therefore, I would list down all my thoughts in the Notes app on my phone. Not only the main topic, even if I have some subtopics ideas, I would put all of them in a list so that I won't forget anything. Whenever my blogging mood is back, I will definitely refer back to the list.

Hence, these are all the blog-related activities that I do whenever I don't feel like writing a new post. I hope this post had given you some ideas on what to do when you're in this unpleasant mood. I believe that every blogger must have been through this, when you want to blog, but at the same time, you don't want to.

What do you do when you don't want to write?

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How I Overcome Writer's Block

Writer's Block is a universal struggle that everyone experiences. Not only journalists, bloggers, or novelists, anyone can face this horrible moment. As a blogger, of course, I had lots of Writer's Block moments (every time, tbh) and it's not the best feeling. You know what my worst moment of this condition is? Not as a blogger, but as a student.

A throwback to my final exam, I had Writer's Block during English Paper 1 in Section B, where we have to choose one out of five essay questions and this section has a total of 100 marks. That time, for a moment, I felt so stupid. I can't even think of any ideas for each question, and I was staring at that page for like 20 minutes. I began writing 30 minutes after the exam started. Unfortunately, I didn't get to finish my essay for that section. My script was really short. My English teacher said we have to write at least 2 and a half pages for that section and I only got to finish one full page.

After that paper, I was sooooo frustrated. I wanted to cry as I know how many marks I'm going to lose out of that 100 freaking marks. I felt so down and kind of lost my spirit for the next paper. Thank God I have my friends who calmed me down by convincing me to think positive. Alhamdulillah, English Paper 2 was all right. We haven't got our English marks for the final exam yet. From that moment until now, I'm still scared. Usually, I would worry about my Science subjects scores the most, but not this time. Overall, that was the worst Writer's Block I've ever had.

Okay so, back to the topic. I get Writer's Block every time I'm writing a blog post, I swear. I usually start writing a post at like 4 pm and finished the whole thing at about 9pm. I can't write an entire  post straight at one time because of Writer's Block. I will take some breaks between that 5 hours. I do things to overcome this situation. How?

1. Read Other Blogs
Whenever I don't know what to write, I would do some blogwalk to get inspirations from other blogs. It's not like you're copying other people's work, you'll just get some ideas to continue and improve yours. Reading can improve your vocabulary. So, whenever you don't know how to continue your sentences, reading other blogs and learning new words should solve the problem.

2. Watch YouTube Videos
Other than reading, I also do some listening by watching YouTube videos! You know, being a blogger and a YouTuber can be the same sometimes. Bloggers express their words through typing on the keyboard and Youtubers express theirs through talking in front of the camera. Watching videos on YouTube can improve your vocabulary too, it will also give you some ideas to write.

3. Play with My Cats
I know this is weird, but it works for me. You can't write in an unstable mood, right? Whenever I start to feel bored or disinterested, I would get off my chair and play with my cats for a while. My cats are one of my main source of happiness. Just by seeing and hugging them really boost up my mood every time. You need a good mood to write a good content. So, do something that makes you happy!

4. Go on Buzzfeed
BuzzFeed is an online media company delivering news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people around the world. The point here is similar to number 1, it's about reading. Buzzfeed is more to reading news and stories from around the world. They also have fun quizzes and videos you can do and watch! This will not only improve your language, but also cheer up your mood.

5. Take a nap
Getting some rest is important. Have you ever got to those times when you feel so tired and sleepy when you're writing a blog post? Whenever I start to feel it, I would just jump on my bed and get a good 30-minute nap. Your brain needs some rest to work well. So, take a short nap and believe me, you'll feel much fresher and energised to continue your writing!

These are some of the ways on how I beat Writer's Block. I hope these things would give you some tips and tricks whenever you get to this dreadful situation. Let us all bury this plight and write our heart out for our readers! Oh and about my cats and Youtubers that I watch, I will do some other posts about them soon!

What are your ways to overcome Writer's Block? Share them in the comment section down below!

P.s; I had Writer's Block when I was writing this post. *irony*

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