GETTING ORGANISED WITH AO

It's the New Year and we're all doing what we can to be the best version of ourselves, I'm no exception. I've spoke about everything I want to be more of in 2018 and it's time to start sharing exactly how I'm achieving those targets, it's all well and good having the thought there but actions speak louder than words. Now I'm working from home I really had to have a solid schedule in place, which days are my 'Mummy' days and which are working, as well as factoring in all the day to day mundane jobs like housework, washing and the boys too-ing and fro-ing from childcare. Having a set routine is paramount to making this work for us all, the last thing I want is lines being blurred and not knowing where any of us stand - organisation is key.

Whilst I worked a full time 9-5 job, I constantly felt as though I played catch up with my blog, I had on average 10 hours a day when I couldn't be active online and then in the maybe 6 hours I would at home in the evening, I had to make that up - even more so on a weekend. Mondays were my day off but even then I was stealing time away from my boys, because if Patrick napped, I'd whizz up on the computer and finish off a deadline I needed to, in order to get paid. I felt guilty, that time could be utilised with Noah to have some one to one moments, it was as though he was missing out because I wasn't focused enough and hadn't figured out what needed to be prioritised. Gone are those days. I asked around, and after finding I wasn't alone in feeling so torn between work life and home life, I knew something had to change. I invested in a tablet, Linx being the tablet of choice, meaning I'm now able to split my time much better, I'm not sneaking off to edit a couple of photos upstairs, glued to my phone replying to emails or even getting lost in a rabbit hole of social media when I'm meant to be 'working'.

I have to admit, when it came to researching tablets, the Linx ticked all the boxes and given that I now work from home, there were a lot of boxes to tick. Life is busy, and I needed a tablet that could appreciate that, I might be working from my sofa in the evenings but with a toddler we all know peaceful evenings are limited, and more often than not, I'm disturbed. I don't have time to plug a tablet in, nor the mental capacity at 11pm to remember, the Linx is forgiving, thanks to it's amazing battery life I can return in the morning whilst I'm waiting for the kettle to boil and catch up exactly where I left off which does wonders for my productivity.

Like a lot of bloggers, I quite often work from my phone on the go, though if I'm honest it's more so for e-mails as a lot of other software just doesn't work how I need it to on my iphone. But I try my best because it's simply easier and more convenient, when John is driving I can work, when we're staying at friends or families houses and away from my computer, I can switch on my phone and manage the basics. Which as lovely as that sounds, it's a problem. Sometimes I need to do just a little more than reply to an email, or send an invoice. I need to edit a photo or curate a post and from a tiny 4.7" screen that's nearing on impossible, especially if you want a job well done. Owning a tablet has wiped away all of those issues, it allows me to do so much more than I can on my phone and it carries the compactness that a laptop doesn't. It's so lightweight that adding it to my handbag feels no different, it's small enough to fit inside my central compartment meaning it will escape from any scratches or scrapes too.

Let's hope my productivity levels stay on the up and that being organised is a resolution I actually manage to keep this year. I know it's key aspect to achieving my work goals, which is something I desperately want to do. I've had to be quite harsh with myself though and have placed a social media ban on it, I'm more than aware that all it takes is a 'quick scroll through Instagram' before hours are lost and I've still not finished that piece of work I had to write. Though I have had a bit of fierce competition for the Linx, as John has suddenly realised that he needs to be really productive too and a new tablet is exactly what he has been looking for. A nice try, but it's not going to work.

*This product was sent to me by AO. All opinions are my own.