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?