Staying positive

Hey guys!

I hope you're well. And motivated. And positive?!

Believe it or not, I don't always have 100% motivation. I know instagram probably sometimes makes me seem like the most 'on it' person in the world, but remember things aren't always as they seem online. I have days I'd rather just sit in bed and days that things take me ten times the amount of time that they should, just like we all do I'm sure! 

I do have lots of my little ways, tips and tricks about how on earth to stay as best motivated and positive as possible, especially during the winter months AND a pandemic. The days are lonnngggg sometimes at the moment, but amazingly my creativity is still ticking on in my head, so I wanted to tell you some of the simple things I do to just stay human!

1) Get up. As silly as it seems. Even if you don't have to wake up and/or start the day, do it anyway. I always set my alarm for 7am, whether I plan on being in work early or later. Getting up and feeling like the day has purpose helps me so much.

2) Be as positive as possible in all you do. Again, seems obvious, right?! Wrong. It's so easy to look for the negatives in things, even just down to something taking too long or nobody letting you out while you're driving. Try and just, be positive. Look for the beauty of nature on a dog walk, spot the people smiling in their cars, listen to the lyrics of a song, take 5 minutes for a drink when you've got a headache. 

3) Write down your 3 positives. I end my day on 3 positives always, it helps me realise there was AT LEAST 3 things to be thankful for, and to focus on them instead of the rubbish bits.

4) Get outside. Without fail, I get out on a dog walk every day. I've got into a habit of doing it at lunchtime so it splits my 'inside time' up. It makes so much difference to how productive I am at work.

5) Take some social media breaks. I spend a somewhat disgusting 8+ hours on my phone every day. It's my job. My eyes are suffering for it I'm sure! But, I make sure to have time where I plonk my phone down now, in the evenings and weekends. I've also done a bit of an account splurge recently. Follow people that make you happy, delete people that make you feel 'not enough'!

6) Get dressed. I used to wear joggers and scruffy tops for work every day, but I've made a big effort for 2021 to look at least a 5 out of 10 at work, and it's helped me feel better about myself SO much!

7) Tidy up. I always have an 'end of term' de clutter of the studio, and it makes my working so much more productive because there's no clutter to give me any excuse not to feel creative!

8) Talk. To your friends, to yourself, write in your journal. Anything. Vent. Be grateful. Be sad. Feel the feels and chat about them. When I bottle things up, my motivation for all things SUCKS.

And most of all, be gentle with yourself. You're doing fabulous, however it feels.

Lots of love

Leah x