A few months ago, we decided to tackle our master bedroom closet, which snowballed into a complete room refresh. (As all home renovation projects tend to do.) Before we finished decorating, we did several things to cut clutter and increase storage. Today, I’m sharing the simple ways I ensure our small main bedroom keeps feeling minimal and calm. Read on for all my best small bedroom organization tips (and see some photos of our almost-finished bedroom)!
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Finals week is rough. Between the relentless studying, late nights, and impossible tests, it can be one of the most hectic and stressful weeks of the year. Thankfully, this year was my last finals week ever, but I’ve had some real crazy ones in my day! After quite a few successful years of finals-taking, I thought I would share with you some of my top tips on how to survive finals week.
Sleep is so important, and it’s also thought to play a huge role in our memory! Getting less than 7 hours of sleep slows your thinking and reaction times down, and you need to stay sharp during finals. The effects of not getting enough sleep can also compound (so a week of 6 hours of sleep is just as bad as one night with 0 hours of sleep).
I think it’s also really important to get your body to slow down before bedtime. This yoga video is really relaxing and a great routine for before bed.
I know this is easy to say but really hard to do, but it’s really important! Finals are a super stressful time and it’s too easy to get caught up in everything and not take time to slow down. Chronic stress has tons of adverse effects on your health, so being able to de-stress will not only help you survive finals week, but also positively impact your health in the long run!
Each person manages their stress differently, so you’ll definitely need to find something that works for you. Some of my favorite ways to relieve stress are to take a walk, watch a quick episode of something on Netflix (currently loving Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), take a bath or shower with a few drops of Stress-Away essential oil, practice deep breathing, and do yoga.
Studying for 4 hours straight is pretty ineffective and makes it very difficult for you to focus. It’s much better to study in shorter chunks of time (20-30 minutes is ideal), with at least 10-minute breaks in between. Next time you study, try setting a timer and focus only on your schoolwork until the timer goes off. Remove all distractions like the computer, phone, tv, or distracting music for that 20 minutes. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in that short period of time!
There are several scientifically-backed ways to make your studying more effective. One easy way is to associate a certain scent with the material you’re studying. Scent is a really powerful activator of memories, so it can actually help you recall information better!
Try sniffing or diffusing an essential oil (try Lemon, Peppermint, or Cedarwood) every time you study. This will associate the information you’ve been learning with that smell. Then, when you take your test, add a drop of that essential oil to your collarbone or wrists so you can smell it during the test. This method has been proven to increase test scores!
Studies have shown that the best way to learn is to take tests. While you’re studying, find ways to test yourself. This may be printing blank diagrams for you to fill in, having a friend quiz you on key terms, or finding online tests on the subject you’re studying (I love Sporcle because they have a quiz for everything). Just staring at pages won’t do you much good – you have to use the information for you brain to store it!
I hope these tips on how to survive finals week have been helpful to you. It may be rough out there, but if you work hard and implement these strategies, I know you’re going to kill it!
I am a Young Living Essential Oils independent distributor. To learn more about essential oils and why I chose Young Living, check out my oils website here.
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2016 is coming up faster than I anticipated, and with a new year comes time to start a new planner. I love to keep my planner updated because it helps me feel productive, stay on track, and meet my goals (not to mention, it’s just very satisfying to cross things off). I’ve rounded up some of my favorite 2016 planners to get you started for the new year!
Daily Simplified Planner by Emily Ley
I love basically everything about this planner – if I didn’t already have one for 2016, this is the one I would probably buy. First of all, the gold pineapple print is so cute and clean. I also think the daily page layout is so nice – if you’re like me and want to write down everything you need to do each day, this one has ample space (there’s a whole page for every day!). Each day includes space for the day’s schedule, to-do, dinner plans, and notes, and the layout is simple and clean.
Passion Planner
The Passion Planner was developed to help people achieve their goals, and I think this planner is perfect for small business owners, or anyone who wants to create a better work/life balance (which is mostly everyone, I guess). It features dual work and personal to-do lists, space for weekly and daily goals, and even has space to write down good things that happen each week. Another favorite thing about this planner is that the weekly pages aren’t dated (you date them yourself), so if you’re like me and forget to write in your planner for a few weeks (or months), you don’t have to waste any pages – just continue with the current week.
Birch Floral Planner by Rifle Paper Co
This planner is just so beautiful – it could be totally blank inside and I would still want it. As with anything done by Rifle Paper Company, it’s gorgeous, and it also has pretty but clean monthly and daily layouts. The planner also includes space to write important dates each month and contact information.
Marbled 2016 Planner by A Beautiful Mess
This planner is perfect for anyone who wants a little bright and colorful inspiration every day. There are full pages of inspirational quotes and space to record your goals each season. The planner also has weekly and monthly layouts, is spiral bound, and closes with an elastic band to keep the pages neat and the planner shut.
2016 Kraft Planner by Sugar Paper
I love the week at a glance pages in this planner. There isn’t a ton of space for individual days, so this would be great for people who don’t like detailed daily to-do lists and instead like to focus more on the bigger picture. Each weekly page gives you space to record people to call and email, things to buy, a weekly goal, the week’s top three, and a to-do list for the week.
I’ve linked this post up here:
