Ways to get and stay productive

As one of my 2017 resolutions I wrote down "Get your shit together". By that I mean being more productive, more organized and less lazy patatoe. To even keep track of all my resolutions for this year I needed to get organized and find out some techniques to outsmart myself into being a more effective human being.

1. Get a planner or start bullet journaling

I know, Iphones have a calendar function and belive me I use that too but writing down appointments, ideas and lists with your own hand will not only help to internalize and memorize them better but will make you more productive. Since I started jotting down the things I need to do for a day or a week I've been much more productive even on my days off. I reccommend getting a 'blank' journal in which you can fill in the dates yourself so the pressure to not waste any pages isn't so high. Recently I fell into a Yotube Bullet Journal spiral. I watched at least ten videos on peoples bullet journals and I was instantly intrigued and fascinated. I think maybe at some point in the next months I will start bullet journaling myself. You can track everything from your work, your private life to habits and feelings. Planning and creativity take place in one place and you can't get confused with all the notebooks and planners you have. Also you have an excuse to buy tons of pretty stationery!

Here are some helpful videos on bullet journaling:

2.  Remind yourself of your goals

I find it hard to lose track of my long term goals from time to time and if you don't have any goals to work towards to why even bother? Write down your goals or even create a mood board with pictures of the things you want to achieve in 2017, the next five years or even in your life. Come back to that list or collage from time to time and remind yourself why you need to work hard, go to the gym, eat healthy and get your butt out of bed. 

3. Plan in time for relaxation 

This might sound like the opposite of being productive but to stay motivated and productive you need to plan in time to chill out. This will act as an reward for working hard and also is important to stay focussed and creative. Also, when you schedule your relax time you are not that tempted to squeeze in a quick episode of 'Jane the Virgin' when you feel like it but should be working or stuyding instead. 

4. Make boring tasks and chores more fun

This will probably best apply to household tasks. Doing the laundry isn't very exillerating and probably the reason why every three weeks I run out of clean clothes. Doing the laundry while facetiming with a friend or watching a TV show on Netflix? Much more tolerable! Cooking a real meal instead of shoving a pizza from the freezer in the oven is much more fun while jamming to your favourite music. If you don't find the motivation to do boring tasks, make them less boring.

5. Use Sunday evenings to plan out your week

Before a new week starts I like to think of what lies ahead of me and write To-Do lists. Also I check meetings, birthdays and events that come up in the next week to stay on top of things and not be suprised by a birthday that I dind't buy a present for. A nice thing I started this year is keeping inspired from week to week. I bought the 52 lists project book which asks you to create a list every week to stay inspired and grateful throughout the seasons. It'll make you reflect about the past, the future and your life in general.

xx Laura

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Current Fashion Trends I Love

I not only have a passion for everything beauty but also for everything fashion. I think it's quite intimidating to put your personal style out there so for now beauty posts are more in my comfort zone, but since I fell hard for a few trends and pieces at the start of this year I couln't resist to share some of them with you.

First off which are floral prints. I think we will see a lot more of them this year, especially 70's inspired prints. I personally like the delicate and realistic prints more than the bold and dazzling ones and I've been obsessed with the black Bershka shirt ever since I bought it. It's cropped and has beautiful details at the sleeves and if I could I would even wear it in my sleep.

The next trend has been around a while but doesn't stop me from still being obsessed with it. Fishnet stockings and tights. They are just such a cool detail that jazz up every outfit. It doesn't matter if they show at your ankles, under your ripped jeans or under your cropped jumper, they make you instantly look more put together and fashionable.

Another detail that I love is everything lace but especially lace detailed bras that are too pretty to be covered by clothes. I never understood why people made such a big deal out of bras or even bra straps showing. It think we all know that women wear bras by now. Fortunately most people aren't that prude anymore and stopped commenting on it. The visvible bra trend sure is something I'm still very keen on.

The last trend are silk materials. They've been a big deal in 2016 but I think we're still not done with them. There's just something about a silk slip dress that makes you feel extremely sexy and self-confident.

Black Floral Print Shirt // Fishnet Tights // The bra (&otherstories) and the blush pink top (H&M) are from older collections

xx Laura

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Natural Everyday Winter Make Up

Isn't January the most confusing month make-up-wise? Christmas is over and you're longing for the first rays of sunshine to show themselves. Spring is still two months away and you've had enough of dark lips and golden eyes. At least that's how I feel right now. After months of dark, vivid smokey eyes and berry lips I find myself longing for a fresher and lighter look once the new year comes around.

A dewy fresh look that matches your inner hopefulness and ambition at the start of a new year can easily be achieved with a light base, rosy cheeks and rosegolden eyes. The Garnier Skin Perfector BB Cream provides you with a subtle and leightweight base to work with and gives the illusion of not wearing any foundation at all.

It's quite hard to look fresh and healthy when you're pale and your dark circles appear even more blue and grey through your translucent skin. I recently discovered the Catrice Camouflage Cream in a peachy tone that counteracts the grey-bluish tones of your face. It's basically colour correcting and I'm exillerated that I found a cheap alternative to all the expensive colour correcting palettes out there because I really struggled to cover up my dark circles in the last months and this is a life saver.

For the cheeks a little NARS Orgasm will give you that rosy "I just came back from a walk" look and L'Oreal perfect match highlighter in the shade Icy Glow will supplement you base and blusher perfectly.

For eyes I always gravitate back towards my trusty  Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. It has so many gorgeous neutral shades and you can always experiment with darker and lighter eye looks because all colours compliment each other perfectly.

Finally for the lips a sheer gloss like the YSL Lipgloss in Nude Carat will complete your look beautifully.

xx Laura

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Feminist Books to Read if you need some #girlpower inspo

If you didn't already noticed we find ourselves in a modern wave of feminism. And for a reason, too. Not only one to be quite frank. There are dozens of reasons to fight for and engage in the equality for women and men. Feminsim is a cause that I am really passionate about, parts beacuse I am a very just, fair human being that can't stand to see injustice or inequality in any way and parts because every woman should be a feminist. Why would you not stand up for your own rights, that will not only benefit you but  women and men all over the world as well? I  first started thinking about feminism when I watched Emma Watson speak in front of the UN for her campaign He for She. Her speech deeply resonated with me and moved me to tears. From that day on I never hesitated to call myself a feminist and didn't give a fudge if anyone looked at me funny for saying it out loud. So then, in my attempt to learn more about the matter I turned to books (of course). So far I have a small but deeply inspiring collection of feminist books that I would like to share with you if you lack a bit of girl power inspiration or just want to add some to your own collection.

The Little Book of Feminism by Harriet Dyes 

If you want a quick overview of what feminism is, when it started, which goals have been achieved and how movements and goals changed over the decades this is the book for you. It also gives little biographies of a lot of famous feminists out of every epoch, accompanied by truly inspiring quotes. So if you want to know what it's all about go buy this book.

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Oh Lena, how I love you. Not that kind of girl was actually the very first feminist book I bought and I was not dissappointed. Lena tells a story of growing up and becoming a woman  (whatever that means) and finding her place in a sometimes overwhelmingly sexist world. She tackles body image, mental health issues, sex and many more topics in her book and always keeps on making you laugh even in the parts where you feel like it's not appropriate to do so. 

Bossy Pants by Tina Fey

I bought Bossy Pants right after I discovered 30 Rock on Amazon Prime and realized that Tina Fey is the most hilarious human being in this universe. I think Tina is one of the OG girlbosses of our generation and reading her life story will not only make you cry with laughter but will also give you some serious inspo to take matters in your own hands and kick ass just like her, not trying to be anyobody else. 

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Also funny but a little bit more deep and philosophical is this essay collection by Roxane Gay, who is a "bad feminist", as she calls herself. Gay shines light on her own personal development as well as the current state of feminism, pop culture and race issues. She has a very sharp and clever wit and succeeds to present a very insightful depiction of her own journey as a feminist and our society over the years. She also shows that you can like pink, Vogue and make up and still be a feminist and that there are no set rules for being one except for wanting equality.

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Another collection of essays on personal development, also hilarious. Caitlin Moran tells witty anecdotes from her life, from getting her period to becoming a mother and additionally points out expectations and requirements that  still lie on modern women. This book is really empowering and will make you laugh as well as murmur "yeah I hate that too" or "I feel the same way" or " yeah! why is that again?" to yourself more than a few times. Painfully truthfull at times, though. 

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The last one on my list is a very quick read so you have no excuse for not reading it, really. It's the transcript of the famous TED-Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which was also featured in Beyoncés "Flawless". If you're not sure if you should call yourself a feminist just read this and you will never doubt again. And if you already are sure, read it anyway. It's empowering and insightful and just generally flawless. See what i did there? 

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Good Vibes Only - Why I stopped stalking people online

I think it's safe to say that our generation is proper addicted to social media. Social media holds many amazing possibilities and opportunities but just as well can ruin your day, your mood and your sense of self-worth.

Recently I started thinking about my own social media habits and realized that I am responsible for whatever comes up in my feed or even who I decide to stalk. Shocker, I know. But I think we sometimes forget that we can decide who and what we let into our lives not just IRL but online too. As someone who is not afraid to cut people out of my life when the negative vibes they produce outweigh the positive ones I started to wonder why I wasn't that radical and consequent online. I still haven't found the answer to that but I made a decision to change my social media habits for good.

Just for example I stopped stalking. Everyone will tell you that no good comes from stalking your ex and you know it too so why would you stalk ex-friends or people from high school that you never really liked? It's the same concept. I think it's quite addictive to stay up to date with what the people you don't like are up to but in the end it will only provoke anger. I used to stalk a friend that I had a fall out with on a regular basis, even though I was disgusted at how this person was acting online, leaving mean comments and the works. This was just a reflection of what kind of person this once friend was in real life and it made me sick looking at this egocentric person filled with hate and jelousy. So why did I kept on stalking her in my free time, when I could have filled my spare minutes with pictures of puppies etc. ?

The world is already confronting us with negativity on a daily basis and reading the news makes me angry and frustrated enough so why would I actively create a space online, that belongs to me but doesn't reflect the things that I want to attract and invite into my life? There is no logical reason! Also I don't want to be that person who makes fun of people and spends every free minute gossiping and putting others down in order to feel better about myself. There are far more important things to discuss right now.

So I started unfollowing and blocking mercilessly and resisted the urge to stalk. I've done this for a few months now and I feel so much better and do not miss it a bit. Most importantly I do not feel drained and frustrated everytime I go on Instagram but rather inspired to be and do better. The time I wasted on getting all worked up about what people I don't like posted on Instagram etc. I will never get back and I'm far from wasting any more of my precious time. What the eye does not see the heart can not grieve over, and this is something we all have to and should do for ourselves.

xx Laura

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