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FEBRUARY FAVOURITES

1. SATIN PYJAMAS

Ever since I have been all about self-care and making myself feel put together, I decided it was time to get matching pj’s! I don’t know why this was one of the first steps I took but I have no regrets. If I’m in no mood to pick an outfit, I just throw these on during the day.

Before satin sets I was so against wearing pyjamas, I was a bralette kinda girl because I couldn’t stand the feeling of feeling restricted as I slept. But, there is something about the material that makes you feel so free. If you want to slip and slide in your sheets, grab yourself a pair of satin pyjamas!

2. OWND HOOPS

This year, I’m really trying to get into accessories. In the past, I didn’t see the necessity but now I cannot leave the house without throwing something on. I found a new and upcoming jewellery busiess on Instagram and decided to give it a go!

I decided on gold hoops because I was in need of a bigger hoop to wear everyday. It’s safe to say that I am obsessed, I’m wearing them as I am writing this! This is definelty my first pair of many. If you are not interested in hoops, they also have rings and necklaces for you to choose from.

3. FLORA

Online university has really been a struggle this month, I’ve been finding it difficult to stay focused for long periods of time. So, I decided to start using Flora again.

Flora is essentially a free version of Forest (an app that I mentioned in my university resources post). You pick how long you would like to focus for and within your chosen time period you have to stay on the app. So, no TikTok, no Instagram, no Twitter. If you get distracted and divert to a different app, your tree dies.

A MONTH OF ESSEANDMORE.COM

SITE GROWTH

I’ll get into this more in my life update, but I have not been able to keep on top of Pinterest this month which has meant that my monthly views has decreased. I usually use Tailwind, which I have raved about time and time again, but I have had to use the time I would usually use to create graphics to do my uni work or catch up on sleep.

March is a fresh start to get back into Pinterest! If you are not sure why Pinterest is so important to grow your site, I get into it all in this post.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: “BLOWING MY WAY TO THE TOP” WRITTEN BY JEN ATKIN

Jen Atkin is known as an incredible celebrity hairstylist and the founder of OUAI, a haircare brand.

In her book, Jen goes all into the steps she took to get to where she is (spoiler alert, it was a treacherous journey), what she learnt as a hairstylist and business owner, money management and so much more. Even if you arent into business, her story alone is a reason as to why you should give this book a read. I learnt so much about what adulthood has waiting for me and mistakes to try and avoid in the future.

MY TAKEAWAYS FROM “BLOWING MY WAY TO THE TOP”

• “Gratitude is one of the most important qualities a person can embody…cultivating an attitude of gratitude takes practice”
• “Success rarely favours the passive or lazy, and it is very, very rarely instantaneous”
• “Focus on working hard and developing your talents without buckling under the pressure to keep up with the Joneses…nothing comes easy”
• “When that kind of nonstop grind becomes the standard, it’s bad for everyone”
• “There’s a difference between working hard and burning out”
• “You can’t let self-doubt become your baseline and dominate your headspace”

As you can see, I found myself constantly highlighting and bookmarking pages to go back to. It really was a struggle to pick my favourite parts of the book, I mean I got through this book in 2 weeks (this has not happened in a very long time)!

PODCAST OF THE MONTH:

GRACE BEVERLEY: HOW TO BUILD A MULTI-MILLION POUND EMPIRE AT 24

This episode left me speechless, I first came across Grace 4 years ago and I have been following her journey ever since. Not only has she accomplished so much for a 24-year-old, but her drive, mindset and transparency are incredible.

In this episode she goes deep into her struggles with entrepreneurship, the consequences of hussle culture being glamorised and say much more. My favourite quote was when she explains how “productivity can be a practice self-care”. This quote can easily be taken the wrong way, however, Grace explains her whole though process behind it in the podcast.

Again, I’m not going to say anymore, I want to podcast episode to speak for itself!

A LITTLE LIFE UPDATE:

As I said before, February has been a very strange month for me. Honestly, my productivity and motivation have both been very low and as a result my screen time has increased a lot. Ultimately I think it is down to my lack of routine.

HOW I AM REALLY FEELING…

In January’s overview, I mentioned how I had come up with an effective morning routine that suited me using the steps I wrote in my morning routine post. To be very honest with you, in February, my morning routine is practically non-existent! All of my drive and motivation was gone and I was left feeling very lethargic.

I was hesitant at first to mention all of this, but I thought it was imperative to show that I’m not perfect and there are days where I don’t want to open Google calendar and write my to-do list and that is okay! At the end of the day, it is essential that you don’t get too comfortable. Constantly performing at your optimum is not realistic, if you feel yourself getting burnt out, take a break.

Consequently, all the tasks that I need to do for my blog and business had to take a huge back burner for the moment. Sadly this meant that my Pinterest reach has decreased quite a bit in comparison to previous reports. At first I really upset about this however I told myself that this is temporary and I can catch up over the holidays.

And that’s it!

I thought I would be very transparent as to where my head is currently at. Despite feeling as if I am aggressively treading water trying to stay afloat, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. If you are also feeling this way, this is your reminder to not give up, for every uncomfortable moment in your life a lesson is learnt.

I wish you all a blessed month, see you in March for my next monthly overview!

OTHER POSTS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN:

• OCTOBER OVERVIEW 2020
• NOVEMBER OVERVIEW 2020
• 2020 OVERVIEW
• JANUARY OVERVIEW