With the current situation, you might feel overwhelmed or not your usual self. Who can blame you, right? The good news is, there are several ways you can improve your mood and be happy even when you are at home.

1. Give to others. Have you ever experienced giving to other people in need? Or even just helping your neighbor or giving a hand to a stranger?  When we do these things, we usually end up feeling happy and blessed. If you can't give what you have to others, saying a simple prayer for them could just be the same.

2. Surround yourself with positive people. I used to surround myself with negative people (and at that time I didn't think they were). I suddenly found myself super unhappy and starting to become negative myself; my family was noticing it too. Hence, I chose a different set of friends and tried to be my old happy self again.

3. Smile more. As they say, fake it 'til you make it. But don't force it though, when you find yourself in an upsetting situation, try to look at the brighter side of things.

4. Do things that make you happy. It may be a hobby, a job, anything really. I work a 8-5 job and I sometimes find myself wanting a different scenario in my life. That's why I have my blog and Youtube channel, my two hobbies that make me feel happy when I make a new content and press publish every single time.

5. Cook or eat your favorite food. When we eat our favorite "comfort" food, we immediately feel so much better than we used to. But don't overdo it, ok?

6. Eat more fruits and veggies. Did you know that diet affects your psychological health? Studies show that eating lots of fruits and vegetables is correlated with a substantial gain in mental well-being, happiness, and overall life satisfaction.

7. Go for a walk or do a fun exercise. When you feel sluggish or not yourself, go for a walk outside or do a fun exercise. When you're done, you will instantly feel a lot better, happier and proud of yourself for accomplishing it.

8. Sleep more. Getting a good night's rest can actually improve your mood and health as sleep lowers your blood pressure.

9. Care less about work when you are not working. If you're working from home like me, try to detach yourself from work when it's not you're scheduled time to work.

These past few days have been a bit challenging. I have been minimizing my time online and the news to lessen the stress and be motivated to do things like I normally do on a typical day. But I've also been doing a few extra things to make me feel better:

1. Catching up with friends and family. Since my post grad days, I've always been an introvert. But isolation has been a bit better when I chat with my friends and family. Sometimes we have a netflix party and it feels like we are in a cinema.

2. Yoga and meditation. I haven't been to the gym for a while since I started doing yoga. I relaxes my body and I usually end up sweaty and clear headed. If yoga and meditation isn't for you, maybe an at home exercise using body weight or brisk walk around your neighborhood (with social distancing) could be a good option.

3. Baking or eating sweet treats. During the weekends, I often spend my time baking some pastry that is good for a week worth of snacking.

4. Spa-like skincare routine. I usually end my day doing my skincare routine and I prefer to have a spa-like routine by using a detox mask or massaging my face using a rose quartz roller.

5. Playing with furry friends. My dog and I don't really walk outside but we often times have a fun game to play like catch or chasing each other :)

If you're stuck at home, know that there's more to life than watching Netflix all day. You wouldn't want community quarantine to pass by feeling lazy or in a slump. There are several productive things you could do:

1. Catch up with friends and family. As most of us are staying at home, make some time to talk to your loved ones by catching up, ask how they are doing, etc.

2. Work out at home. If you have workout equipment and all, you are very fortunate. But if you don't there are currently tons of workouts curated online especially in Youtube. It's important to find a workout that is fun or doable.

3. Read books. Everybody has a mini library of books they want to read "someday". Let me tell you, that someday might be today.

4. Walk. Not all have this opportunity to do so as some cities are more strict than others, but if you can, find some time to walk around your neighborhood really early in the morning (when others are still asleep).

5. Cook healthy meals. If you've been saving those Tasty Recipes you find in social media, then its time to relive them.

6. Work from home or learn something new. If this is also possible for you, take this opportunity to catch up with work or learn something new. There are tons of free courses from coursera, MOOC, or datacamp (if you're a researcher or programmer).

7. Clean and organize. If it's not possible to work from home, why not deep clean, declutter and organize your bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, etc.

Due to the CoVid-19 Pandemic, more and more employees are working from home. Not all could do so, but as a researcher and lecturer at a state university, I have been advised to start working from home last week and I find it a bit challenging to do this since the environment at home is so cozy. But I have been doing my best in following my 8-5 duties as much as I can at home. Here is how I effectively work from home:

1. Create a daily schedule.

Just like any regular work day, I created my work from home schedule and made clear that I would only be working on certain hours at home. This is my schedule:

5AM Wake up and call family members that are living abroad, 6AM Active Yoga, 7AM Tend to garden and take a bath, 8AM Cook and eat Breakfast, 9AM - 12NN Work from Home: Administrative work

12NN Lunch, 1PM-4PM Work from Home: Prepare lectures and study on research, 4PM Clean room/house, 5PM Cycle or at home workout. 6PM Dinner, 7PM Learn Dutch, 8PM Restorative Yoga, 9PM-5AM Sleep

I do have an 8 hour typical office work but now I have been working from home, as you can see I only work for 6 hours daily (for 6 days a week). I didn't want to overwork myself and still want to be active at home. Sometimes, the schedule changes especially when I have online classes or research group video calls.

2. Pretend as if you are at your workplace.

I like to pretend as if I am going to work. I wake up and realize we are still in community quarantine but the night before, I already listed the work related stuff I need to do for the day. So I would wake up and prepare for work the way I usually do on weekdays, take a bath, eat breakfast and start working on the appropriate work hours.

3. Choose a dedicated and comfortable work place. And stay away from bedroom and kitchen.

I personally chose to work at my study desk at home which I rearranged to face opposite my bed to avoid feeling sleepy and thinking about sleep. I also invested in a comfortable office chair. Back in college and grad school, I used to study at the dining table, kitchen counter top or living room. Which I realized was a bit inappropriate since counter top chairs are too high and I keep slouching and studying at the dining and living room wasn't ideal as well as I keep moving my books and notes when somebody needed to use the room.

4. Plan out what you will be working on.

As I mentioned in point 2, I always create my to do list during the last minutes of my work time. The work mode is still ongoing so everything is still fresh on my mind and I get to see what things needs to be done the next day.

5. Use pomodoro during work.

It is important to take breaks in between work hours. As they say, sometimes the most productive thing to do is rest.

6. Prepare your meals the night before.

I usually cook twice a day (breakfast and dinner) to save on gas, energy and time. For lunch, I would heat up leftover breakfast or dinner.

7. Exchange time during travel to exercise.

I realized, so much of our time is wasted when traveling to and from our workplace. In my case it takes half an hour in the morning to work and hour (or more) going back home. Since, I'm working from home, the time I would have spent to travel would be allotted for exercising.

When trying to adopt a zero waste lifestyle, most people think its expensive to do the change. I, on the other hand, had an open mind and searched for ways not to do any major damage on my wallet. Honestly, it will cost you a bit of money with buying some eco-friendly stuff at first but if you compute the cost, you eventually save more money as time passes by. And with some products, you barely would spend a penny on it. Here are some ways on how I spent and saved when going zero waste:

• Investing and Using Reusables
  Buying quality reusable products were my first step in going zero waste. Finding alternatives to single use items were a bit tricky but thank goodness for the internet and I was able to find stores to buy reusables or discover ways to make alternatives (see DIYing section). Buying these reusables cost me a hefty amount at first but as I computed the total (lifetime) cost of a particular item, I would save soooo much more in the long run. My collapsible cup cost me almost Php1000 and I sometimes use an insulated water bottle (gifted) when I used to spend P20 per weekday/ Php5140 per year on 500ml water. I used to spend Php85 per month (Php 3060 per year) for my napkins during period and I only bought my reusable menstrual pads for Php 588. On top of that, I never buy cloth rags for my cleaning supplies since I reuse worn out clothes to wipe surfaces. 
• DIY stuff
  I used to buy cleaning products at stores and skincare products abroad. But now, I make my own cleaning product/solution from essential oils I bought two years ago. I also make some skincare products such as toners, masks, conditioners which saved me thousands of pesos. 
• Buy Second Hand
  I steer away from fast fashion brands since they are unsustainable, made of low quality, and trendy. Second hand shops or we call it ukay-ukay here in the Philippines are so much cheaper and are usually made of better quality. Also, I purchase items that are timeless so that I don't have to change my style as fast as the fast-fashion brand styles are changing which prevents me from buying, hoarding and disposing clothes or items quickly. 
• Reduce food waste by meal planning
  I used to buy a lot of items from the grocery store and I usually find myself throwing so much rotten produce or left-overs that have gotten bad. The problem is this: I thought I'd like to make a new recipe (which has complex or rarely used ingredients), I shop when I'm hungry hence I grab so many food without thinking intuitively, and I don't plan my meals practically. When I lived alone, I would sit down and create a list before going to the store. I'd write down the meals that are quick, healthy and I most likely eat then list its ingredients. AND I eat a meal or grab a snack before grocery shopping. 
• Start a garden using kitchen scraps
  This started when I was also living alone. Seeing all the fresh produce scraps that I have, I started looking up online how I could replant these and make my tiny garden. In the long run, I no longer need to buy some herbs and ingredients needed when cooking. 
• Buy in bulk
  There are times when I would visit big cities or zero waste stores and buy bulk products of laundry detergent, plant-based milk, oats, liquid soaps, etc. Because based on my calculation, you could save money than buying these products in smaller packaging. 
• Less trash
  By composting (or planting) kitchen scraps, buying package-free or in bulk, reusing containers, you minimize the plastics and packaging that you have to throw out in the trash. That means paying less for garbage to be thrown or recycled. 
• Not shopping often
  Since I have been buying some products that could be reused and making some of my own products, this prevented me from visiting beauty stores or malls and buying unnecessary stuff. In fact, I've never been to Watsons since I started this journey.
• Cleaner bum and no more toilet paper
  Did you know that your bum is so much cleaner when using a bidet? Since we installed one in our toilet, I haven't bought a toilet paper. 
• Be smart with energy
  One of the situations that I have thought of is my diffuser. Before, I would use my diffuser every single night to eliminate the odor from our kitchen (since my room is the closest). When I looked for a zero waste infuser and bed room spray, I know this has helped lower our electricity bill. Some people also save energy and resources by switching to LED bulbs and catching the shower water or laundry water to flush the toilet. 

Last year, I realized that I haven't been reading that much. Well, I've been reading a lot of journals related to work but I haven't read books to learn outside work since I've been spending most of my time watching Netflix or Youtube.

Hence, I want to shake things up by spending less time online and doing more reading, to inspire me to write more and publish more content here in the blog. I don't want to overwhelm myself but I'll be reading 12 books a month which means I'll be focusing on 1 book a month. If I'll finish these books before the year ends then I'll add more.

Zero Waste:

- Zero Waste Home
- Zero Waste Lifestyle
- My Zero Waste Kitchen: Easy Ways to Eat Waste Free
- Zero Waste: Simple Life Hacks to Drastically Reduce Your Trash

Minimalism:

-The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life is Worth More than Anything You Can Buy in a Store

Personal Growth:

- The Power of Habit
- Getting Things Done
- The Dip
- The Power of Now
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
- Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

As you can see most of the books are on Zero Waste, Minimalism, and Personal Growth. I'm still doing my decluttering process from time to time (I think it never stops, really), and I'm still in the process of learning a Zero Waste Lifestyle and I wanted to improve myself hence, the personal growth books.

I graduated from grad school two years ago. But there is this desire in me that still wants to learn. Ever since I started working, I listen to podcasts on my everyday commute. One, it is cheaper to listen to podcasts than buy books; Two, I can multitask - it takes at least 30 minutes for me to travel to work.

Here are my top three podcasts that taught me tips and tricks on productivity:

1. The Ground Up Show by (the Award winning filmmaker) Matt D'Avella is a podcast that inspires creatives to make meaning content & pursue their passions. He sits down with creators, authors, entrepreneurs to talk about their process, the lessons they've learned & how to make an impact.

2. Secrets of the Most Productive People by Fast Company deputy director Kate Davis and assistant editor Anisa Purbasari Horton help listeners try to figure out how to work smarter instead of harder and dissect exactly how to get it all done. They also interview experts that give these tips and tricks.

3. The Productivity Show by Asian Efficiency is a weekly podcast where they tell you ways to save time, increase your productivity and happiness. They cover topics on goal setting, time management, personal development and efficiency.

Have you made resolutions during the new year and found yourself not doing them after a month? Have you wondered why some people get so much done? Have you ever thought about doing something new or changing a bad habit for this week?

Building habits could be quite tricky sometimes. During the first week we are so motivated and pumped up, we don't doubt ourselves we're going to fall off our track. But in a week or two, we find ourselves back to where we were before we thought about the change.

In today's post, I'll be sharing to you how to create and build sustainable habits in the simpliest way possible.

1. Start Small. When you are trying to build a habit, start it with baby steps. Start with habits that are easier for you and try doing it once or twice a week. When I started going to the gym, I started with twice or thrice a week and in a couple of months I went to the gym 5-7 times a week.

2. Simplify it. One of the things I learned from building habits is to make it easier to perform the habit on my end. For example, I wanted to drink more water at work or at the gym, but I realized it makes me lazy to keep refilling my glass from time to time when I find it empty. So I would bring a 500ML or 1L water bottle and fill it with water but I honestly prefer having 500ML than the latter so that I have to stand from my desk to the water dispenser more.

3. Keep a habit tracker. Find a motivator by downloading a habit tracker that would remind you to do the habit and help you keep track of how you are doing.

4. Remember the reason why you started your habit. Sometimes, when we are a couple of weeks in our habit, we start loosing motivation or inspiration to keep going. That's why its important to write down in a piece of paper or in the notes of your phone the reason why you started doing this habit and its positive outcomes so you could read it when you don't feel doing it.

5. Step into the behavior and the mindset will follow. When I started my weight loss journey, I had a difficulty of dragging myself to the gym or yoga. One tip I learned was to wear gym clothes at home or during sleep or wear yoga leggings to work to motivate me to exercise.

6. Try to hack it. I got this tip from Matt D'Avela by listing down the habits I want to build, find similar habits or connect habits that you could do at the same time. If you want to drink water, read books and do cardio exercise more, then listen to an audiobook while working out. Watch the video here.

7. Celebrate small wins. Reward yourself on each step in the right direction, no matter how small they be. When I go to the gym on a certain day I would reward myself a small chocolate or a relaxing bath right after. These tiny celebrations actually releases key chemicals that make me feel that I have achieved something even though I am so tired.

According to research most millenials are not morning people but more and more of these young adults try to improve their career, well-being or life, in general and they start by waking up early. Here are 7 reasons why you should start your bright and early too:

1. Successful people wake up early. Most successful CEOs or entrepreneurs start their day really early and even try to wake up before the sun. This way they would win over a lazy mind, help you become more disciplined and start your day earlier than other people.

2. Great time to exercise. According to an article from Popsugar, the optimal time to for working out - for most people - are in the morning and sometime in the afternoon. Back when I was still in school, I used to workout at 6 or 7 in the morning then I would eat breakfast with my mom, and go to school for class or study. I feel so energized throughout the day. Currently, because of work, I would go to the gym at 5 to 6 in the evening and end at 7 to 7:30. Its enough time to cool down during dinner and a movie before sleep.

3. Better grades. One of my dad's study tip is to study at dawn, when your mind is refreshed, your body is energized, and the house is quiet.

4. Morning people are more optimistic, night people are more pessimistic. Research suggests that morning people are happier, there's no exact explanation to this but people assume that night people experience more stress and social jet-lag resulting to poor health and moodiness.

5. More time to plan and start your day. By waking up early, you get an hour or two to head start of your day. Some people make time to meditate, plan their day, cook breakfast, etc.

6. Early morning are the great quiet time. As we all know, not all people wake up early, so chances are you have the entire house for yourself and drink that hot cup of coffee.

7. Early risers are more proactive and more likely better leaders. The early bird really does get the worm. Early risers get more things done and most CEO or leaders are early risers.

Some people say what you do and when you wake up in the morning affects your entire day. For me, I believe how you spend your night has a huge impact on your morning or your day, in general. What you felt the night before is still what you (usually) feel when you wake up. What you did last night such as watching 2 seasons of your favorite TV series, shows on your face and your actions the following day.

What should we be doing at night before sleep?

1. Read books. As they say, growth requires learning. Most successful people read personal growth books to improve themselves, their business, their career, or their hobbies. By allotting time to read, you get to expand the horizon of your mind in a relaxed way.

2. Spend quality time with family/friends. By spending time with your friends and family, you get to stay connected with the people who really care and support you.

3. Plan and get ready for the next day. The key to prevent forgetting things and having a stressful morning is to plan the night before. Simple things like planning and ironing your clothes, creating your to do list, prepping your bag and lunch for work, setting an alarm, and more could lead to a stress free morning.

4. Clean Up. This habit was a rule by my mom. By cleaning up (even for a few minutes) before bedtime helps minimize the clutter in the room. You don’t step or tumble on anything when you wake up, you know where everything is so you don’t have to rummage through your barrage of stuff when you’re in a hurry.

5. Unplug from the world. We know that the blue light from our phones mimics the brightness of the sun. Hence, the brain stops producing melatonin (the sleep hormone). By disconnecting from the world such as not checking your email or social media before bed helps signal the brain that its bedtime and prevent distractions.

6. Meditate. I just recently started meditating purely because of its amazing benefits. I started with 5 minutes in the morning and at night. Now, I feel like I have less anxiety, less stress, I could focus and internalize ideas better.

7. Disconnect from Work. When I get home, I usually don’t do any work related tasks. I already spent 8 hours of my day for work, I would rather spend the rest of my day pampering myself, wind down, or doing things I love.

8. Prioritize Sleep. By not getting enough sleep, you don’t get to replenish your energy which leads to feeling tired or sluggish. Thus, it could lead to low productivity and sometimes headaches.

Do you find yourself constantly procrastinating with your studies or work tasks? Do you find yourself unmotivated on a Monday morning? When I started learning more about minimalism and its benefits, minimalists constantly talk about how they are more productive and get things done efficiently, how they are more inspired to work and how they feel more fulfilled or satisfied with their life. I always respond to saying "Oh! I want that!". Hence, I delved into decluttering my way to productivity. And here is how minimalism can make you more productive:

1. Staying Organized. By eliminating physical clutter in our work or study area, we also create a visually clean space that gives you more physical space to work on, and promotes thought and creativity.
2. Prioritize. When you are about to start working, it is important to double check your list and prioritize what needs to be done, what is important and decide whether to delay or cancel a certain task that isn't so important for you.
3. Eliminate Distractions. By shutting out the digital distractions such as social media and physical distractions (i.e. clutter), you get to minimize procrastination and get things done. I don't eliminate social media fully but I schedule four 15 mins scroll time for twitter and instagram as a break from work or study.
4. Finding Passion. Some people think minimalism is all about not having a day job, meditating for the entire morning, travelling, etc. Minimalism actually helps identify what matters to you the most and discard the things that don't add value to your life. Hence, most minimalist I know quit their 9-5 jobs that are making them miserable and now they are doing the things that they love such as blogging, travelling, opening their business. I, for example, replaced my regular day job (that has also led me to weight gain and stress) and I am on my way to doing what I want to do with my life. Currently, I do have a 9-5 job but it is not as stressful and demanding as my previous job and I am maintaining my blog as a creative outlet. The point is, do something that makes you happy, that doesn't ruin your health because at the end of the day, we need a job or business that will make us live (financially) or feel alive (satisfaction).
5. Minimize decision fatigue. We start making decisions even before going to work.  We decide what to eat for breakfast, what to wear, what to do with our hair, etc. We make so many decisions in a day that it sometimes affects our productivity and focus, it drains our energy as well. Hence, minimalists suggest creating morning, work or evening routines to (kind of) put our actions into auto-pilot, decluttering your clothes and plan your outfits during the start of the week, meal-prep your meals to help lessen prep time, etc.

Tips to Become More Productive Through Minimalism:
- Start with a clean work space.
- Create your to do list. Identify your most important task, do list queuing, omit a task that is not important.
- Do a "mind dump".  Write on a piece of paper your "mind dump" of things that pops out of your head that may be dealt with later.
- Learn to say "no" to things you don't want to do.
- Stop multitasking. Focus on one task at a time.
- Take meaningful breaks. Such as a 15 minute snack or walk break.