Beep, beep, beep, snooze.

I lived my life by the 'ten more minutes' promise.

'Just ten more minutes and I'll get out of bed'. 

'Just ten more minutes and I'll exercise.'

'Just ten more minutes and I'll start working on that blog post.'

I was a morning person because I woke up super early but I lacked the motivation to get things done. I was the half-caffeinated version of myself - permanently. I blamed everything under the sun: not enough hours in the day, too cold, too hot, "I'm a single mum, damn it!'. The list goes on.

Then, one day, the excuses ran out.

I had landed myself a real life, adult job. One that had responsibilities, people to answer to and clients to disappoint if I slacked for one second. 

So, how did I become an annoying, sunshine-y morning person without one drop of caffeine flowing through my veins?

01. Utilise your phone settings.

It sounds silly, but playing around with my alarm settings helped me turn into a morning person. Recently, I discovered iPhones have a 'bedtime' setting in the alarm application. I use this every day so I can wake up to the sound of birds chirping instead of a foghorn alarm that makes me want to punch someone. I also set my alarm to start ten minutes before I have to get out of bed so I can: a) wake up gently, b) press 'snooze' once, and c) scroll through Instagram at a ridiculously early hour (hi, 5am Instagram users!).

02. Prepare

Source: Shanna Camilleri / Unsplash

Set aside an hour at night to prepare for the next day. Prepare your breakfast, lunch (and dinner!), pack your work bag and organise what you're going to wear. It's 'just another thing to do' in your already busy day but it makes your morning run smoother. It's easy to be a morning person when you know all you have to do is get up, shower and eat your (pre-made) breakfast. Can I get a 'hell yeah!'?

03. Create your routine

Routine, routine, routine. I swear by my morning routine. I love waking up and knowing exactly what I have to do for my morning to be as productive and stress-free as possible. Some people like to drink coffee, some like to exercise, some just roll straight into getting ready for the day. Find out what makes you feel good and do that first. Always. I scroll through the news or read a chapter of my book before getting out of bed. It makes me feel 'connected' to the rest of the world and I have a great arsenal for conversations with work colleagues. Win-win.

04. Make your bed

It's like brushing your teeth at nighttime. It's a signal that the day is about to begin and you need to go kick some ass! An unmade bed is a) messy, and b) just an invitation for you to crawl back under the covers. I don't know about you, but I hate messing up my bed once I've wrestled my 1,622,325 blankets into place.

05. Eat breakfast

Source: Brooke Clark / Unsplash

Fuel your body with what it needs in the morning and it will thank you. I'm not hungry at 5:30am, so I'm eating breakfast at my desk. I've found that eating breakfast is much like making my bed and working out, it's just another signal that it's time to work. Being time-poor is no excuse as there are many breakfast ideas that are quick, easy and tasty to boot.

06. Set rewards

I'm a person who is motivated by extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. I like knowing that I'm getting something for something. By getting up earlier, I know I can take my time with my hair and makeup and still be able to spend some quality time with my son before he goes to daycare. 

This goes hand-in-hand with my extrinsic reward: coffee. I'm a coffee-lover. I drink it like it's going out of fashion, which is why it's the perfect 'reward' during my working week. If I'm early to work every day of the week, I'm allowed to splash out and buy a coffee. If I'm late, I can't buy a fancy coffee that week. Simple, but motivating. Choose something that motivates you and I bet you'll be a morning person in no time!

That, my friends, is how long it has been since I have been on this blog post. There was a flurry of privacy statements, disclosures, additional pages being created and then...life went on. As it does.

I bet you're sitting there wondering what could be so great that it has brought me back to the blogosphere and warrants its own blog post.

Well, my chickadees, I've only gone and landed myself a job! (!!!!!!!)

This isn't just any job. This is one I had been asking for for about a year. It was only recently that I sat down and had a proper chat with the universe and told her what I wanted. We cut a deal - so to speak - and this career opportunity landed in my lap not two weeks later.

Now the paperwork has been signed and I have had my (mini) induction, I can say that I work as a legal secretary. Who would have thought? I've only gone and landed myself a proper, real-life adult job. 

Needless to say, the last month (or so) of my life has been a bit of a whirlwind, so I'll just take you through a bit of a quick life update.

CAREER

By golly, I have one of those now. I officially started a week and a half ago, but I had a significant amount of that off (already). I don't want to say too much about my job for privacy reasons, but I love it. I love it so much. 

I was a bundle of nerves on the drive to the office, but they disappeared as soon as I walked in the doors and met the rest of the team. Everyone was so nice, helpful and patient with all my questions. 

I'm relocating to my new office (in a different part of the city) this week, so I'll be meeting a new team and - essentially - going through the last week and a half all over again! Eeeep.

HOUSE

Gee whizz, I also have one of those! (Kind of). I currently rent a one-bedroom unit under the main house. In essence, there's a two-level house - I rent the lower half and someone else rents the upper half. We have our own areas and 'common areas' we're allowed to share as dictated by our tenancy agreements. I've given my son the bedroom and turned the lounge into my bedroom, essentially turning it into a studio-esque unit, but I love it. 

I've lived here for two weeks so things are starting to come together - slowly - but I'm enjoying this process. Surprisingly, I like moving around furniture and being on hold with various companies because I'm dealing with things relating to my own house. I've never had a space that is 100% my own before so I'm excited, terrified and just all around happy to be home.

EDUCATION

As you know, I'm currently studying to become a registered legal executive. I completed one paper (of six) and sat the final exam. Now it's just a waiting game. However, study waits for no exam result as my next paper starts tomorrow! It's called Law Office Practice and the content is exactly as the title suggests. I've started skimming through the material and have already learned the difference between barrister and solicitor and barrister sole, and how an office assistant differs from a legal executive.

Again - needless to say - I'm really enjoying my studies and I can't wait for this semester to start! I'm working in public law and studying private law, so it'll be interesting to see if I can recognize any overlap, especially as this semester is all about how one practices the law.

HEALTH

I'm probably at my all-time low when it comes to health and overall well-being. I have been shifting house and adjusting to a new work-life balance, so I have been making the occasional poor food choice. I'd take a salad and fruit/veges to work and be a whole foods goddess for seven hours of the day and come home and wreck my effort in .5 seconds. 

Whoops.

I'm very happy to report that the 'junk food' in the house is almost gone and it will not be returning. 

Exercise has also taken a bit of a nosedive. I was attempting the Nike 'start up' fitness plan, but that also got pushed aside as I made way for my new life. However, sitting down for seven (ish) hours a day is going to change my metabolism, so I need to make exercise a priority. Maybe I'll start by wearing my Fitbit every day so I can see what my day looks like from a fitness standpoint, too.

LOVE

WELL. I don't have much to report on this one. I downloaded a dating app - Bumble - and have been on a few dates. One was terrible, one was good. I've been single for two years now so I'm definitely ready to get out there and ~*mingle*~. Watch this space.

FAMILY

My son is sixteen months old and runs everywhere. I swear, this kid does not have a 'pause' button. He is the light in my day and the purpose in my life. He is everything. He handles daycare like a champ, eats whatever I put in front of him, loves to watch Octonauts and enjoys a cuddle on the couch. What more can I ask for?

Mostly, I'm just excited about where my life is heading. 

I have a feeling this is just the beginning of many, many good things to come.

So, give me a life update of your own! What have I missed?

I've talked about why I've started this blog, how I've come to be on this journey and why I love the law. Now, I've decided to start a study session - and you're invited! Every (second) Monday, I'll be writing a blog post dedicated to a particular area of law. This idea was inspired by Daniella of The Law Student Diary as she has a category on her blog dedicated to study notes, too. 

I am, by no means, an expert in any of these topics. I just want to share what I know with other people in the hope that you a) learn something, b) understand why I love it, or c) this helps my study as a form of revision. These notes will be written from my class notes, so it's entirely my own understanding with a little bit of fact and case law thrown in here and there. Proper citations will be given where possible.

Here's our first topic: Introduction to Law

Law is made by a law-maker, recognised by a community or nation, and is binding and enforceable. It is not singularly moral, scientific, ethical or based on religion. It is not decided to favour one person's view of what is right or wrong or any 'club rules'. It simply is and we shouldn't let our perceptions of what is right and just cloud our understanding of what the law is. 

I've heard many, many people say that certain laws are stupid or restrictive, but the fact is: they wouldn't exist if they didn't have a purpose. Laws are necessary for communities to function effectively. It regulates the relationships between community members and the community itself. Some legislation operates more effectively than others, but just imagine what it would be like if it didn't exist at all. Would you knowingly break the law? I don't think so. We stick to the law because (deep down) we recognise its value and we're scared of the consequences.

There are three main types of law:

• Public 
• Private
• International (not part of my study)

• Law of contract
• Tort law
• Consumer law
• Property law
• Family law
• Trusts and inheritance
• Company law

Public law concerns the actions of the state and the relationship between state and individual. Primarily, in the rights and duties of the individual in relation to the state. This is different to private law because cases can be brought by the state on behalf of all members of the public. Public law includes:

• Constitutional law
• Administrative law
• Criminal law
• Tax law
• Environmental law

These are regulated by substantive law and law of procedure. Substantive law explains your rights and obligations. It is the actual content of the law. Law of procedure, as you can guess, sets out how to enforce those rights and obligations.

If you only take away one thing from this post, it should be this: Ignorance of the law is no excuse, as found in the Crimes Act 1961. Section 25 states: 'The fact that an offender is ignorant of the law is not an excuse for any offence committed by him or her'. An "I'm sorry" and batting your eyelashes won't win you any favours in the eyes of the law, sorry. You need to front up, own it, apologise, and never do it again.

Easy enough, right?

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Somewhere near the bottom, between 'cleaning my room' and 'drafting that college essay'. Am I right?

Self-care was one of those things I'd 'get around to someday'. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that 'someday' never came. It took hitting rock bottom for me to realise I actually mattered and taking care of myself isn't selfish. In fact, it allowed me to be a better, shinier version of myself which helped my relationships, college performance and overall happiness.

Being a millennial in college is hard. We're expected to have a full-time course load and a part-time job and we usually create a side-hustle because our part-time job doesn't allow us to be as creative as we hoped. This all comes before actually having a semblance of a life, such as friendships, dating, learning how to cook and how to manage our finances. Sometimes, I feel like us millennials were just thrown into the deep end and told "good luck!"

It's not surprising our practice of self-care fell by the wayside as we tried to figure out how to be an 'adult' in this big ol' world.

01. Write

Create a blog, Twitter account or Instagram handle. Write. Allow yourself to feel your emotions and move through them in a constructive way. Somedays, I feel a certain way and I can't figure out why until I start writing. The whats and whys flow out of me and it all feels much more real when I see it written out in black and white. 

I started blogging as a way of creating a journal for reflection. That way eight years ago. I've met some of my best friends and had some great experiences through blogging. I wouldn't change it for the world. It has helped me grow as a person, connect with other like-minded people and made me realise that self-care isn't selfish.

If writing online isn't for you - invest in a journal, buy an adult colouring book or start a bullet journal. Find a way to express how you're feeling in a way that feels valid for you.

02. Exercise

But I don't have time to exercise! I barely have time to sleep. I feel you. The thing is, Elle Woods was right when she said: "happy people just don't shoot their husbands". This example may be a little extreme, but exercise releases endorphins and they make you happy. Exercising doesn't have to be a scary crossfit workout or the latest 'make you want to die' exercise. It can be as simple as going for a walk around the block or playing in the park with your dog. I've found that getting outside is half the battle but I always feel 100% better for having done it.

03. Do what you love

I love to read, blog, play The Sims 4 (no shame), exercise and bake, so I make time for those activities. Yes, there are things I 'should be doing' but I would not be happy if I only did those things day in, day out. It's all about balance. Find a hobby, join a book club or gym or social sport, or attend a night class. Hell, put aside some time to just do nothing. 

04. Relax

Easier said than done, especially when you're following a hectic college schedule. Sometimes, you have to force yourself to stop. Even if it's only for half an hour every day. You need that time to reflect, celebrate your accomplishments and recharge. 

05. Go tech-free for a day

Wait, what? We're millennials and students. I'm 90% sure I've never gone a whole day completely technology-free. It's just not in our nature, but it could be in our best interest. I don't know about you, but my phone is constantly going off, I'm always receiving emails and my Fitbit watch is constantly telling me to move my ass. I'm grateful for everything that I have and I appreciate technology absolutely, but it gets overwhelming. And distracting.

Put your phone on DND for a day. Don't watch Netflix. Ignore your inbox. The world won't implode, I promise.

06. Talk it out

College is a unique place to build friendships. Most of the time, you're surrounded by people with the same core interests. Try to talk to someone new in your major classes, even if it's just about how you're perpetually late or how you can't survive without caffeine. Heck, you're in the same class so talk about why it interests you! (Or how you're only in this class because it's a requirement and oh my god, make it stop.) 

New or old, friendships (and romantic relationships) are great modes of practising self-care. They're the people who are supposed to build you up, take care of you, and be your sounding board when you need them. Sometimes, it just takes a simple coffee date with an amazing friend to take you back to your perky, sparkly self!

07. Take time out

I'm an introvert (or ambivert) so being around people 24/7 (especially the same people) really drains my energy. I'm a fairly social person and absolutely love connecting with friends and new people, but it is mentally exhausting. By the end of the week, I'm wanting to spend some time by myself. I don't do it to be rude, I do it to survive. Sometimes being with friends is the answer, sometimes being by yourself is the answer. 

Personally, I find curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee to be the perfect recharge. Find a technique that works for you and make time for it every week! A friend of mine exercises every day as her way to recharge whilst my sister loves taking baths (especially with Lush products). 

There's no right or wrong answer to self-care. It's all about what works for you.

How do you practice self-care? Are you an introvert or extrovert? What did you study in college/university?

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That mum should be breastfeeding because 'breast is best'. The 'top dog' of a company still has to answer to a board of directors and corporate. A self-employed person 'works too much' but 'should be working' if they take a break during the week. Hell, my assignments have received a lot of critiques.

Humans are flawed. Fact. Some of us are perpetually late. Some of us take on too many commitments. Some of us interrupt conversations. Some of us can't function without our daily cup of coffee (or ten). How do you feel when you're called out on your behaviours?

Not very good. When we face criticism we see it as an attack on our personality and our very being. Some of us think the person is 'out to get us' and dwells on the criticism into the wee hours of the morning. I've never been that person.

Receiving any form of criticism is never fun, but it's an opportunity to develop through positive action. 

Want to know how I do it?

01. Get out of your head

Receiving criticism sucks. Let's face it. No one likes being told they need to improve in an area, especially if it is one close to their heart. In university, I had to do weekly readings for my creative writing class. We were given a topic and expected to have a piece to read aloud. In front of 10-15 others. It took a long time, but I taught myself to get out of my own head. 

They weren't critiquing me, they were critiquing the material in front of them. It wasn't a reflection on me. I hadn't failed. I discovered worrying about potential criticism held me back. I wasn't motivated. I didn't enjoy writing. It dulled my creative spark. It took most of the semester for me to realise that constructive criticism was a positive thing and I could use it to improve.

02. Own it

Owning the criticism is harder to do. It's actively acknowledging your flaws and admitting it to the world. However, owning the criticism means you can turn it into positive actions. I'm perpetually late. I often underestimate traffic delays, how long it takes to find a car park and how difficult it is to situate the stroller, baby and his accompaniments. Needless to say, I'm almost always twenty-minutes late. Or I was. 

Now, I leave twenty-minutes before I think I need to leave and I end up being on time. About 90% of the time. In regards to the other 10%, I end up calling the other person to say that I'll be late. Owning the criticism took a long time. I'm stubborn, so I don't like to admit my flaws. Until one day, I had a light-bulb moment. I didn't want to be stuck in a perpetual cycle of being late and - subsequently - stressed. 

The simple step of owning the fact that I'm perpetually late enabled me to take positive actions to improve myself (and my relationships).

03. Reflect and reassess

This ties in with the 'owning it' factor. You've admitted there's something you can work on. Now what?

Reflect on your actions and try to pinpoint the areas that need work. Mine was time-management and organisation. Yours might be needing to relax. When you look back at your actions, don't think about it as looking back on failure. Think about looking back as a way forward in your life.

From your reflection, create small goals or everyday tasks that will contribute to an overall positive effect. You'll be well on your way to killin' it in no time!

04. Find a mentor

Find someone in your office, university or friend group who is willing to be a mentor. Ask them questions. Every single question you can think of. Ask them how they got to be where they are and their struggles along the way. You'll learn that everyone faces criticism and it's often the reaction that is the deciding factor in your life. Learn everything you can from them.

Maybe it was your mentor who was offering the criticism. Ask them why this particular area needs work, what you can do to improve and how success is measured. I'm sure they'll be more than willing to help you improve. After all, your success is their success, too.

05. Change up your routine

I'll admit, I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm a part-time student and a full-time solo mum. At the moment, my life is in the home so I have the privilege of being able to adapt my lifestyle in a variety of ways. Some people aren't so lucky; however, a small change to your routine can be all you need.

Try waking up ten minutes earlier and sitting in silence. Morning meditation and yoga can do wonders for the body and mind. Drink a hot coffee without running around the house like a headless chicken. Get up half an hour earlier and do a quick workout, read a book or have a proper breakfast. These are all small, positive steps that are guaranteed to make you feel better and be more productive during your day.

A happier, calmer person is a more productive person. No one can complain about that.

06. Work smarter, not harder

Some people will take criticism as an attack on their work ethic. Sometimes it is, but 90% of the time it is not the case at all. You don't have to work harder to receive praise. Review your work process and see if there's any way you can achieve more without burning out.

How do you deal with criticism? Have you ever had to critique someone else's work? How do you deal with stress?

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