Monday, November 27, 2017

How to Become a Morning __________ Person


A few months ago I felt really deprived of time. I was trying to figure out how to make time to do all the things necessary to keep up with a healthier and more productive lifestyle. I felt like I didn't have the capacity for an-y-thing. So I decided I need to make changes to my daily routine. I evaluated what I could change and what I could not. It was after that that I discovered it'd be beneficial for me to become a morning person! I was trying to cram grocery shopping, meal prep, working out, keeping up with my shows, talking to loved ones, and other activities all after work. Not to mention I have a commute that's between an hour and hour and a half. Something had to give. So I decided to to try working out in the morning before I go to work. I knew it would be a challenge because I really like sleep. But my goals had become a little more important to me than sleeping later because I could. Now you can use the morning to do whatever you want, hence the space in the title. I chose to use that time to workout. Here are the steps I took to do it.

1. GO TO BED

I know I function much better as a human when I get 7-8 hours of sleep per night (6 hours is possible but it's not the best for me). So knowing I still needed to get that much sleep I decided to move my bedtime up. I had to sacrifice staying up to watch my shows on the nights they first aired and any other unnecessary things and start going to sleep earlier than I was at the time. You will have ZERO desire to get up if you are tired. There's a difference between just wanting to sleep and being tired. So set yourself up for success by making sure you go to bed the night before. Catch up on your shows on a Friday night or over the weekend. Personally I multitask at the gym and watch my shows LOL

2. MAKE THE CHANGE GRADUAL

It's not very comfortable getting up super early when your already not that type of person. So don't feel like you need to jump out the gate and get up two hours earlier than you normally do on your first try. I suggest working in 30 minute increments. Start the first two days off waking up 30 minutes earlier than you already do. Everyday going forward get up 30 minutes earlier than the next until you reach goal waking hour.

3. REMAIN CONSISTENT

Consistency is key. You must be consistent if you want to build a habit. If you're going back and forth on your time it will be uncomfortable and non-habit forming. Worst of all, you just might be more tired than you were to begin with! So keep it up, you'll never know how you do until you try.

4. REMEMBER YOUR WHY

Remembering your "why" is what's going to get you out of the bed in the morning and help you combat all the excuses. In the morning after I perform my built in snooze time (yes I snooze, no I'm not perfect lol) I go ahead and get up because I know getting up is helping me towards gain traction towards my why. Your why may be because you need to get to the gym before the day starts or you'll never make it. Your why may be because you need some alone time before you deal with the kids and your mate. Your why may be because you just want to beat rush hour traffic. Your why may even just be because you want to be a morning person. It doesn't matter, just remember your why!

I am not a doctor and none of this is backed by medical or professional studies. This is purely what I've done myself to become a morning person, take my advice at your own risk. But I believe it's great advice! Try it out! I'd love your feedback, comment on how this works for you! Let me know your why!




Monday, March 21, 2016

INSPIRE: HELLO MONDAY?


Hello All :-)

So yesterday I started a new Instagram for House of Cramel (exciting!). The purpose of it is to take a more focused approach to things I want people to see from me rather than just seeing random post (but if your still into my random post I still have that IG account: Cramel_The_Great). Anyway I set out to do my first motivational Monday post and I have to admit it was a little bit of a struggle. So many of the images and quotes were so negative! And then I thought no wonder we Mondays are so mundane, we're going at this all wrong! Don't get me wrong I get it, many of us are coming off fabulous weekends of doing everything or nothing and Mondays are hard to face. However, Mondays don't have to be so bad. We just need to change our approach to the dreaded Monday. My suggestions? Glad you asked! Here they are even if you didn't:

1. THINK OF MONDAYS AS A FRESH START

I can't tell you how many times in life I've just wanted to hit the reset button on so many things. Think of Monday as the RESET button! You have the chance to start over...EVERY WEEK!

2. BE POSITIVE

If you start the week with a negative outlook, the likely hood that you'll have a positive outcome is a little lower. Yes many pull it off, but it's never pleasant. So make a conscious effort to start positive and you just might FINISH POSITIVE. Not so "Damn I'm glad this week is over."

3. PREP! PLAN! PREPARE!

If there's one thing I've learned time and time again it's that if you fail to plan you plan to fail. So many of us approach Monday blindly every week and we wonder why it takes so much for us to get going! On most Fridays before I leave work I make a list of anything I have pending or need to remember to follow-up on when I come back in. I do this because my work brain is pretty much off during the weekend and it's hard to recall everything on Monday. Another thing I do on Sunday evening, I take about 30 minutes to glance at my email to see if there's anything pressing I need to jump on Monday. I know, I know, it's the weekend, it's the last day. But that 30 minutes of checking my email the night before is my saving grace for some Mondays. I'm not caught off guard and I'm prepared to take on the fire drill (believe me we have a lot of them where I work). 

Thanks all loves, hope this helps you next time you're manic on Monday :-)

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Style: SCAD Brings High Fashion to Atlanta



Gown worn by Taylor Swift

Back in October I had the pleasure of being among the first people to view one of the most exciting fashions exhibitions. Savannah College of Art and Design, affectionately known as SCAD, opened it's newest museum at its Atlanta campus called SCAD FASH. SCAD FASH debuted with a phenomenal exhibition of the works of the late Oscar de la Renta.

The museum was filled with some of the designers most infamous designs, many worn by prominent public figures and celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Beyonce!

Gown worn by Sarah Jessica Parker
SCAD FASH will transform it's new museum at year's end. Don't miss out on viewing this fantastic exhibit.

Gown worn by Beyonce Knowles-Carter



Worn by Oprah Winfrey
                 


Monday, November 9, 2015

Inspire: Know You Before There's No You


Okay, So I'm single. It's not a secret, it's been about a year. Of course it was a struggle for me in the beginning, but the days have gotten much brighter and there are so many things that I've learned being in this phase of my life. One of the biggest things that I learned about myself is how dependent I became on someone else to make me happy. This was evident in the degree of turmoil I experienced after the break-up. And it's interesting because I would have never admitted or realized that while in the relationship. While I understand there is a level of heartache that I would experience after this happened, I felt so lost, so lost it was sort of irrational. And everything I'd accomplished up to that point felt like it was for nothing, because I no longer had anyone to share it with. This was a serious problem. Why did I feel like this? The desire for companionship is natural, but needing damn near complete validation? That's not okay.

For the majority of my high school, college, and post college years I was in relationships. There's was maybe a little over a year of time where I was actually single, but that a lot of time to always be "with someone". Being single as an adult has allowed a lot more time for growth. I know a hell of a lot more about what I want, what I expect, and most of all more about myself. I'm actually a pretty dope individual with or without a man LOL, seriously I am!

I listened to an interview that Keke Palmer gave on The Breakfast Club, she addressed being single. I couldn't have summed it up better myself. Basically she states being single is fun because you find yourself. And you develop a self love that so great that you don't depend on another individual for happiness. And once you do find yourself in another relationship you able to give love without expecting the other person to fill certain voids. Do I think she saying you shouldn't expect love from anyone else your in a relationship with? No, but what she is saying is that someone else's love for you shouldn't validate your happiness. Listen to the interview here,

To sum this up, and get to the title of this post, get to know yourself. Whether your single or not it's important to know who you are, as a single human being. Learning who you are, accepting yourself, and most of all loving yourself are essential and creating the healthiest relationships with others. You won't just have happiness, but you'll have something even greater: Joy. So get to know yourself before you lose yourself in someone else.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Motivation Monday: Be Unique!

Happy Monday everyone! This Monday's motivation came from the monthly newsletter sent out by my job. At the end of every issue is an inspirational quote and I really liked this one. I mean it's hard to argue with Coco Chanel!

Ms. Chanel says be different, to me this means be you. Last time I checked everyone was born as their own unique being. I also really like the quote "Be you, everyone else is taken". You won't stand out in the world mimicking everyone else. Being inspired is great, but at the end of the day make sure you are still true to yourself.