DIY Desk Decor

Summer is quickly approaching, and it'll be here before you know it. Did you know that the summertime is when bloggers start lagging and get lazy in general when it comes to writing every day? One major factor that could contribute to productivity is a cute and organized desk... And DIYs are the best way to accomplish that!

-DIY Desk Calendar by Home Made by Carmona

-Desk Organizer (as shown in photo) by Sugar & Cloth

-Floral Mouse Pad for Spring by The Crafted Life

-Desk Organization Command Center by Tatertots and Jello

-DIY Iron Mesh Mood Board by My Paradissi

-Modern Hanging Desk Organizers by decor8

-Free Encouraging Quote Printables by AKA Design

-DIY Gold Pattern Desk Organizers by Homey Oh My!

You will literally have so much fun decorating your desk area and finally organizing it- right now mine is littered with notebooks, colored pencils, papers, etc. It'll be nice to finally get to put that mess into an organized pile~

xo Savannah

How to Be Productive on Lazy Days

Lazy days- usually on Sundays- are the highlight of most people's weeks. I bet you've read the title, and are saying "But they are supposed to be lazy.", and I agree with that 100%. You're right. Everyone needs a break. But if you are a person who would like to be getting work done on an otherwise lazy day, like, it's becoming lazy without your control, then this list is for you. Think of it as a checklist~

-Limit the distractions around you. I like to listen to music, because it makes me less likely to daydream and look around and realize I need to clean something instead of finishing an overdue blog post- I have Spotify on my computer & phone & tablet for easy access, in case one of them isn't working properly. Also, sometimes I move my phone out of sight, because if I get bored with something then I'm likely to stop working and pick it up. 

-Don't work overtime + take a couple of breaks here and there. It's been proven that lowering your work hours from 10 to 5 and working 5 days a week instead of 6 can really increase productivity. You can't argue with science, kids. Also, take frequent breaks; it's good to refresh your brain every once in a while, so take a 20 minute walk, then come back to something. It's like hitting refresh on a malfunctioning page- it's gonna work better if you refresh it, trust me.

-Don't try to multitask! Writing 3 blog posts at once plus editing stock photos is going to make you work slowly, not even quicker- not to mention you're gonna make three times the mistakes than if you would just do one thing at a time. Make a list of what needs to get done, and then do things in order, without skipping over and multitasking.

-Change up your workplace. Try moving over to sit by a window and get some natural light, or even head on over to your local coffee shop for a complete change of scenery. It's good to change things up because it can really boost your creativity, plus I bet the cat has been driving you crazy, stepping all over your keyboard and all. Remember that time you had the rewrite the longest blog post ever because your cat stepped all over the keyboard? No? Just me? 

-Take a nap! You could probably use the rest anyway- getting lots of sleep will make you more prepared and at least your brain will be functioning properly. Napping has been proven to make you feel sharper when you wake up. 

-Get something to eat for Pete's sake, who can actually think straight and get anything done on an empty stomach. Have a good breakfast, and maybe snack on a granola bar while you work. Maybe even get up earlier so that you can make scrambled eggs and bacon? Everyone deserves bacon if they're gonna be working all day. Well, actually, everyone deserves bacon anyway. 

-Drink some water. It's gonna hydrate your brain, and you can actually think properly then, instead of sitting at a computer for 10 minutes trying to decide how to spell "restaurant" but being too lazy to Google it. Infused water would be amazing, just throw in some mint and strawberries and sip it all day long. 

I hope these help you out, because they help me whenever I have a full day of editing and blogging to do but how can anyone get any of that done when there are distractions everywhere? 

xo Savannah

How to Get the Most Out of Your Morning

Ah, mornings, my favorite time of the day. It's just nice to be awake early in the wee hours, ESPECIALLY in the summer time because it's warmer and the sun rises so early, plus it doesn't get interrupted by school so I can just sit in the dewy silence until it gets too hot to bear. I like mornings so much better than nights, they have more light involved and caffeine. Nights don't have enough caffeine- and not enough light. And too loud. See why I like mornings so much? Here's how to get the most out of YOUR morning. 

-Write a list of things to do the night before. It helps keep things organized when you wake up- and don't just write the big things, like "Write blog post" and "do morning work" and "walk dogs". Do the little things, like "Make coffee" and then "Finish editing blog post", "Post blog post on social media", "Write email to Jacob", "Walk dogs to big pond with coffee". The little things make it seem like you're accomplishing a lot more.

-Get up a little bit earlier- depending on how early you get up right now. For example, I get up at 7:30am every day, but imagine how much more I could get done if I got up at 6:30am. Don't be too drastic here, seriously. Sleep is the most important thing you can get when it comes to being healthy. But going to bed a little bit earlier every night and getting an extra half hour out of your morning can make all the difference...

-Turn all the lights on when you get up. If it's dark out when you wake up, like me, then turning on all the lights in the house can make your home seem awake and it'll make you waking up easier, too. 


-Have some breakfast. Even if you're one of those people who doesn't feel like eating in the morning, just sip your tea and read a book- take some time for yourself before getting to work, and appreciate the temporary silence of the world. Even better, have a glass of water- you just went hours upon hours of not drinking anything, so hydrating your body is one of the best things you can do in the morning. Add a lemon slice, make it snazzy. 


-Take a walk. You don't always have the time in your day to take a walk, so mornings are great for this, especially because it's all cool out and every thing is so quiet and mysterious. Put your coffee in a to-go cup and hit the trail, even better, bring the dogs- they'll appreciate it even more than you will (I know my dogs do). 

-Do some yoga; relaxation will add an amazing start to your day. Bonus: you can Netflix binge while you downward dog, if soothing music isn't your thing. I know I would rather watch The Walking Dead than listen to some weird music that's gonna make me fall asleep probably. 

That's all you have to do to have an amazing morning. Add a couple of these to your routine, and you could be making every single day even better than the last. 

xo Savannah

How to Be More Productive Over the Weekend

Weekends are great- like, really great- but they're notorious for being, er, not productive enough. Nothing ever gets done. I just started my Thanksgiving break, which is kind of like on giant weekend, but I have to write practically a novel and it sucks, but it has to get done. There's a ton of stuff in the way of this, e.g. my new favorite addicting app (King of Thieves), FOOD, my cat, ...... yeah. So here are a couple of tips that will help you to crack down and get to work~

1. Unplug for a bit. No, not your computer, unless you're not working on it. But if you're like me and you charge your phone right next to your computer, either put it somewhere else across the room so that you're not tempted to use it or just turn it off completely. 

2. Close ALL additional tabs. I know there are a couple of programs that can keep you from going to certain sites for a certain amount of time e.g. Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, etc. but what you can also do is go into Google and put in a timer for how ever long you'd like. (type in timer 5 minutes, for example) Now just work without stopping until that timer goes off! It's easy as pie. 

3. Try going someplace else for a change. Instead of your kitchen table, head to your bedroom for some peace and quiet- or if you're feeling uninspired and NOT productive whatsoever, maybe head to your local Starbucks and chill out there with some calming music and a latte. A simple change of scenery can make all the difference. 

4. Like I said above with the change of scenery, put on some headphones and turn on Spotify so that you aren't distracted all the time with your cat meowing or your family chattering away. Block all of that out with a peaceful playlist and finally FOCUS!

5. Finally, clean up your workspace. If you don't, you'll be distracted and driven crazy by the mess and you won't get anything done, trust me. So just take a couple of minutes before you get to work and declutter a little bit and you'll finally finish that blog post or reply to that email without being distracted by the newspapers and dirty dishes in the way of your productivity. 

I hope this encourages people to boost their productivity over the weekend, or maybe even over Thanksgiving break- it sure helped me (haha). I just cleaned the entire kitchen, moved my phone across the room, and I'm listening to some serene music. 

xx Savannah