How to be productive at work and at home

Source: swiss-miss.com via xtinelane on Pinterest

I have many blog post topics that are currently in development. Yet, I find myself unable to finish very many of them.  I had a great weekend so naturally I am know too exhausted for my hobbies.  During the week I had long work days, and my camera wasn’t charged so I failed yet again to post any outfit posts, bla,bla,bla. The excuses go and on as you can see.

There are a few things I have discovered in this blogger/wannabe writer journey.  One thing no one tells you, is that you have to read things other people write in order to get the creative juices flowing and then you need to meet self-imposed writing deadlines. It’s hard to keep up with the many other deadlines I need to meet at work- , at home, and to my creditors and thus it seems hard to add even more deadlines to my life. 

When the enemy of all productivity, procrastination, rears its ugly face it can become so overwhelming to think about all these of tasks that it’s easy to just put it off all together and just watch HGTV. Here are some things I’m trying to do to get back on track:

1)      Just Do It- Sometimes you just have to force yourself. Earlier in the week my Dr. told me that the times when I really don’t want to work out are the times when my body needs it the most. Same thing with those things you keep putting off, the more you put them off the more you will develop anxiety over not getting things done, so then you go and have a cheeseburger because you feel so out of control in your life. Then you don’t sleep because you are ridden with guilt because not only have you put off tasks, but you also consumed a meal that added more fat to your thighs.  Then you wake up the next day feeling icky because you ate an unhealthy meal so you drag yourself to work and are tired and moody all day. Then that to- do list becomes even longer and so this pattern of self-loathing, self-destructive behavior repeats itself! 

Read the rest of the article  at Examiner.com

Fashion Ethos

For the first time this season, I have felt the cool, crisp Fall air. When you live in Los Angeles you long for real seasons and the beauty the bring with them, orange tinted leaves, frost on windows and spring blooms. As much as I enjoyed my summer wardrobe I had been mentally preparing for Fall for a few weeks.  I haven't blogged about fashion and have been doing more "serious" career focused entries. Im still trying to figure out how I will successfully merge the two topics on here.

However I have been studying other blogs and taking mental notes of what works. There's so many great blogs out there it's important to make sure I am finding "my authentic voice" Today I read a piece on Glitter Guide ( one of  me new favorite sites). Each month they feature a different "Glitter Girl and this month they chose Laney, of Downtown Romantic. I was crushing on her cute style and her adorable apartment. In her article she discusses how a friend of hers once told said, "your style is so downtown romantic." Once she realized this friend was right she had a much easier time further developing her own style expanding on this phrase! I loved the idea of identifying your style ethos in only 2 words. My homework for the week is to try to do this for my own style. Im looking around my room and I guess the few options based on what I see would be:

Crazy Scarf Lady

Neutral Shoe Lady

Belt Collector

Jewel Tone Maven 

Skirt and Dress Gal

None of these are it!  While I put some thought and creativity into this. Take a look at how my Fall lookbook is evolving...

xoxo,

Betsy Aimee

Sally Hansen, Diamond Strength, Nail Polish/ I love the burgundy/purple color contrasting with the Leopard. I have declared Leopard to be my favorite fall neutral!  

I couldnt decide on booties! There was so many option. I was really, really trying to keep the purchase under 100 dollars.
I finally settled on these Kensie Girl Booties in "Chocolate." I liked the zipper on the side that allows me to fold them over or wear them unfolded under pants.

I fell in love with these on Asos.com (They have a sale right now!) They are a great juxtaposition of lady like and bad ass! The studs and off centered bow down play the daintiness of the bows.  I wanted to build my silver jewerly so I picked up this amazing plated necklace and metal bracelete at Forever 21.

These shoes are a perfect example of how you can incorporate existing iems and have them work for different seasons. I found these on super sale at Banana Republic this summer and they are just what I needed for Fall 2011. Im honeslty in love with these! I like to pair them with my new Navy blazer. Yes, not groundbreaking perhaps but remember we are talking about work appropiate clothes here. :)

Here are more closeups of my Forever 21 finds!! I love all these things and I probably wear too many of them at the same time. But as Rachel Zoe would say, "more is more is more."

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Fear Factor

Last Wednesday, I attended my first Creative Non-Fiction writing class. I showed up giddy, super excited about that I was finally, finally doing this. I had been putting off pursuing my aspirations of writing for so long and pretending like it was something I would pursue later. In this case, later meant when I won the lottery and had loads of free time. The first step of this new endeavor was my blog, and this course was the 2nd step. I had been secretly counting down the days until the class began.

After conducting the usual roll call, and syllabus review we delved into the fun stuff. One of the first things we did, was an exercise during which we discussed why we wanted to write and answered a series of questions which elicited hilarious, creative responses from the attendees.

That’s when it first happened. I felt the blood rushing to my face, my heart started beating a little faster and I suddenly felt like I had walked up a few flights of stairs. (Okay one of flight of stairs, I’m not in the best shape at the moment) I knew that there were the physical manifestations of my feelings of inadequacy. But this was no time to accept defeat and I pushed myself to keep calm. However, when it was time for me to speak, I muttered, “Well I won’t be as funny as the person who just spoke before me.” There it was again the self-doubt and I actually verbalized it to my entire class. Ugh.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Fear Factor - Los Angeles career coach | Examiner.com

Fall Accents Preview

It's officially Fall. Yay! I've been looking at Fall fashions for a while so it's hard to believe it arrived a little less than two weeks ago. Last week was crazy and thus I neglected to update my blog. Which is sad cause it's so much fun. Im working on actually doing outfit shots. I'm a bit intimidated by all of the skinny, super model look alikes that blog successfully.

While I muster up the courage, I want to preview some of the make up styles I have been experimenting with and my Fall Accents. Fall accents are the things that will complement my Fall wardrobe and make it unique, (Well as unique as you can be with items that are mass produced)

I'm also looking into buying a better camera as it has recently come to my attention the one I currently own, sucks for the purposes of being a fab blogger.

I'm all over the place at the moment. I hope you caught my article on The Examiner! If not check out the previous post.

Enjoy the photos! Let me know your thoughts.  

Rocking the side pony tale and bold necklace!

Burgundy and Leopard- One of my favorite color combos for Fall.

Experimenting with bold jewel tone combinations

Layering the bracelets. The more the merrier!

Never thought I would be playing with pink eyeshadow again! lol