One step at a time,

One day at a time.

Let that sink in for a while. What does that mean to you?

If you've been keeping up with this blog, you'll know that being on a break from Uni definitely did not mean a break from work and responsibilities for me. I thought I'd be stress free for 3 months but that's not what is happening right now. 

At times, I find myself stressed out to the point where I am demotivated beyond words. I stress out about things that have yet to be done, and I just want to do them all in one go. But we all know what that will turn out. There are so many things I want to do and achieve but all I end up doing is nothing.

Trying to do everything at once results to not getting anything done at all.

That's when this phrase comes in handy. 

One step at a time,

One day at a time.

1. I try to be patient with myself.

I am naturally not a very patient person. When things don't go well or according to plan, I lose my temper and drop everything I initially plan to do. I get mad at myself for not being to fulfill my own expectations, and I rush through a lot of things that should not be rushed. This is something I'm trying to improve about myself because a little bit of patience can go a long way. 

2. I try to plan my day.

Every night, I try to look through the list of things I need to get done the next day to mentally prep myself of what I should expect and remind myself of errands or meetings that I need to attend to. I also check upcoming events, speeches or deadlines I have in the next few days or week to keep myself on track. 

Now, this is quite a challenging task for me because as I have mentioned, I am not a very patient person and I can't stand having to sit and look over my planner for just a few minutes because my mind is urging me to go do something else. However, I think this is crucial step that needs to be done every day to ensure that you have an efficient tomorrow! This is another thing I am trying to improve about myself.

3. Stick with it!

It's one thing to plan, it's another thing to actually carry out those plans. If you put that Pro in Procrastination like I do, we both need to work on that! Procrastination is a habit probably 99% of people possess, so don't worry you're not alone! But just because everyone else is doing it, it does not mean you shouldn't try to grow out of it.

4. I try not to stress out on the "have-nots",

Like I have mentioned, I tend to stress out a lot on things that I have not yet done. Whenever I am trying to work on one thing, my mind will drift off and worry about another. This will distract, disturb, irritate and finally cause me to abandon the work I was working on in the first place. Productivity = 0.

5. I try to be realistic.

I have made the mistake of trying to dump everything I have to do in one thing thinking "yeah, I can handle all this. That way, I'll have a productive day and all my work will be done!" Guess how that turned out? Horrible. I couldn't keep up with things and I ended up sulking the entire day.

Now, whenever I plan for the next day, I try to keep my plans realistic and I try to keep in mind time I have for each plan.

6. Be spontaneous once in a while.

After having said all that, it's clear that a well planned out day is better than a messy one. But whenever you find the time for anything besides work or errands, nothing is better than some spontaneous fun with the ones you love. Have a meal out or just hang around with the people who matter to you. Make use of that time before you need to get back to well planned out day! :)

Liyana