Hello College2: first impressions

Hi everybody!

It’s Thursday evening and my first week at college is officially over! So I would like to sum up my first impressions and throw in some tips here and there!

My very first day: started off a bit hectic (as you can imagine).: I actually had prepared an outfit but once I put it on in the Morning, I wasn’t satisfied at all and changed my clothes a few times ;). This threw me off my time schedule completely and I wound up leaving the house with no make up on!

Idea: If what you wear on your first day is super important to you, you should definitely chose your outfit and maybe try it on already the night before.

My colleagues/class mates: As my study program is in the tourism field and all subjects are held in English, my class is extremely diverse. We have at least one person from every continent. Up to now I can only say the best about the people in my class! I feel like we have been getting along well and are bound to have a great time together!

Do’s & Don’ts: Do try and “hang out” with as many different people as possible. It’s easy to find one friend and stick to him/her but at least for the first couple of days, I think it’s a good idea to try and get to know as many as you can. Then, later on, you’ll have a better idea and it’ll be easier to find your place in the group. DON’T be the party girl/guy. It’s one thing to be an initiator/organizer in a group and help team building. But I don’t want to be the girl that always wants to go out. The one, that ALWAYS posts the event-ads and that always joins the party.  

Subjects & studies: I’ve already had a few subjects and I’m happy to say, I’m super satisfied and already have learned quite a bit! The lecturers and other staff have been great & kind. I’m looking forward to learning more.

Tipp: stay focused and avoid distractions! You probably don’t have a no-mobile phone rule. But avoid using your phone during class! An important message every now&then is fine, but 1.) It’s rude to the person standing in front of the class presenting a topic, 2.) You are harming your grad and your future. And on a less dramatic note, whatever you don’t learn at class, you’ll have to study at home. This also counts for the use of your laptop. Use it wisely and what it is meant to be used for. Be a responsible adult and eliminate useless, distractions for the time-being.

Time management: For the last few days it has been more difficult to stay on track with certain daily tasks. When I came home I usually had a bite to eat and fell to sleep soon after. This is something I have to work on. I do however think, this can change quickly.

Idea: I think you have to accept that your daily routine/tasks may be thrown off a bit in the first week(s). Make school your priority and go from there. Now that I have an idea what my schedule will roughly look like for the next few weeks, I can actually plan in other things that are important to me, like exercise, work and so on.

So, I hope I didn't bore you too much about my own studies. This is, in a way, a diary. Maybe you can relate to some points and maybe some of the hacks are helpful to you. Let me know! 

♡ Amelie

Halbmarathon ich komme!

Hallo Soulters! :)

Etwas spät heute, aber ich habe es leider nicht früher geschafft! :-/ #sorryaboutthat

Nächste Woche werde ich meinen ersten Halbmarathon laufen und das noch dazu in meiner Wahlheimat Salzburg! :)

Der #Jedermannlauf schien mir dafür die beste Wahl zu sein, denn jeder/e TeilnehmerIn entscheidet erst während des Laufens ob er/sie 7 km, 14 km oder doch die 21,0975 Kilometer knacken will!
Mein großer Wille ist natürlich der Halbmarathon, dafür habe ich auch die letzten zwölf Wochen hintrainiert, dennoch werde ich versuchen auf meinen Körper zu hören. Sollte ich tatsächlich plötzlich Schmerzen in den Muskeln oder in den Sehnen bekommen, dann würde ich selbstverständlich früher über die Ziellinie laufen.

Trainiert wurde entweder 5 oder 6 Mal die Woche mit je unterschiedlichen Distanzen! Samstags fanden immer die längeren Läufe statt und Sonntag war dann mein Tag der Erholung!
Leider mussten auch manche Laufeinheiten aufgrund des schlechten Wetters ausfallen, aber ich habe versucht mich so gut es geht an meinen Trainingsplan zu halten.


Bedauerlicherweise gab es in den letzten 2 Wochen auch starke Motivationsprobleme, aber dazu dann nächste Woche mehr .... #timeforbed



Noch schnell ein kleines update zur #fit4fallchallenge: Jetzt klappt es auch mit den squats!
Leider konnte ich diese Woche nicht auf Eiscreme verzichten, ernährungstechnisch muss ich mir für die bevorstehende Zeit noch die ein oder anderen Gedanken machen! #eatingproblems

Bis nächste Woche!
Eure Michi :)

P.S. Ich will den Halbmarathon unter 2 h 20 min schaffen! #wishmeluck

Hello College1: importance of rock-solid routines

Hey everybody :)

First things first, I'm super sorry for not posting last Wednesday! I spent the week in Vienna, assisting   the event-management company I worked for last Spring with a running event. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work! I do plan on writing a post about my job and position at that company, since I loved it (most of the time ;) ) and it really influenced my future plans (education & career-wise).

Today however, I want to talk about the importance and advantage of having some structure in your every-day life. College is starting for me (and probably some of you) in a few days and I thought it was the perfect time to talk about the subject.

Routines help map out your day and make sure you get the most important things done. The regular repetition gives you the necessary consistency to get into the right mindset. In this situation our brain is kind of simple: after remembering to do simple tasks and making them a habit (by doing them around the same time every day/week/month) our brain saves energy and can put more focus into more important things, like (school) work, creativity, etc. 

Absolutely love my desk area - it inspires me to get more done!

I'm still working on establishing some perfect routines, but these are my top routines to make life easier: 

• Morning / getting ready routine: Starting in an early school age up to any adult, having a perfectly scheduled morning before you get out of the house is crucial. And anyone who wants to be successful at what they are doing or just wants to get sh*t done, should establish a morning routine tailored to their needs.  It should cover a time to get out of bed, breakfast (I haven't breakfasted much for years, but I'm working on changing that!), and getting ready in a certain manner. With routines it's all about consistency. So you should repeat this every mooring you have important things to do (week mornings for most of us). 

• Night-time routine: Your night routine helps you have less stressful mornings and wind-down for a good sleep. My night routine starts after dinner, and I'll set a time for some tidying up, showering, etc., getting things ready for the morning, going to bed and actually turning off the light to sleep. You should definitely incorporate some time to do something you love, like reading or yoga but try to steer away from any screens for a while before you go to sleep. Although I might still watch a show after dinner, once I brush my teeth etc. I'll try (and work on) not using my laptop or phone anymore. You could definitely read!

• Fitness routine: A fitness routine does not have to be a daily thing. But if your fitness is something you want to work on or are passionate about, you should obligate yourself to certain days & times and stick to that schedule. As with all of these routines, sticking to them for a few weeks will make it easier, and you will be less likely to put something off or giving it up all together. 

• Cleaning routine: A cleaning up routine can be tricky (lol, at least for me) but once you have the perfect schedule and have internalized it, it will help keep your house/apartment/room clean without giving you too much stress. Ideally one should incorporate some little tasks daily (e.g. wiping off counter-tops), bigger ones weekly (In my apartment it would be perfect if I did every room once a week), some monthly and you can get away with doing some only yearly (doing things monthly and yearly probably applies more to house-owners). Along side with your cleaning routine would also be a laundry routine. But I think you get the picture. 

And these are some extras that I have found to be really helpful

• Sunday routine: You might not agree with me on this one, and say: "Amy, it's SUNDAY, I have off and I don't want to commit to any boring schedule!" I totally agree with you, if that's how you feel! For me however, Sunday is the perfect day to not only relax, but at the same time to use all that freedom to get ready for the week ahead. Since we (my boyfriend and I) usually either visit my family or his on Sunday, I incorporated a few family hours. Besides that I planned in some time for school work, fitness, week preparation (shopping,etc.), once-a-week beauty regimes, hanging out and doing what ever I want to, etc. 

• EOM routine: I have an EOM routine (End Of Month), So I'll take one of the last (free) days in the month and go through some important things, especially finances. I'll also check my calendar for any important up-coming events, and kind of plan out time to try to avoid any unwanted surprises. Classes haven't started yet, but I think this will definitely come in handy regarding exams and project-dead lines. 

So to sum it all up, to make your life easier and not seem like your following a constant time schedule, it is important to follow through and get used to your schedules for a few weeks (they say we need about 3 weeks to establish a new habit). Once you have done that you will have or will soon be used to all those good habits, they will seem like second nature. It's also just as important to plan in time for family, fun, friends AND YOU-TIME - since that is what keeps us going! 

Sorry for the long post, but it's really a topic I love :D

♡ Amelie

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A quick update on the Fit4Fall Challenge:

Congrats to Michaela for being such a trooper!! And SORRY! working at the event last week and not being at home, basically also sucked out all my energy and motivation for any fitness. So I'm pretty much a week behind. BUT, I did stick to the nutrition rule, and didn't have any unhealthy snacks except for a cheat on Sunday (I believe) when I was invited to a girls night and couldn't say no to chips, chocolate and wine. 

This week I however have already done the Joker for last week's TV shows, I did 8 sets of 25 triangle jumps. (not sure if I watched more than 8 shows last week, haha). I also went for a 6,5k run (my longest stretch to this point-yay!) I can definitely get in those 42k by the end of the challenge :) And I have started to incorporate the toning-exercise in my morning routine! So I should be on the right track now, although a week late! 

#FitScribble - The Fit4Fall Challenge

The Fit4Fall Challenge!

Hey girls & guys - it's Amelie

Originally I wanted to do a “fall fashion fave’s”- post today, but when I was surfing around this morning, I came across all these awesome fall fitness challenges from various sites! (wait- what?? Yup! I am writing in English and probably will continue doing so in the future ;) )

Anyway, we had the idea to change it up and create our own challenge(s) for each other. I will have 4 rules for Michaela and vice versa. We will trigger 1. Cardio, 2. Toning, 3. Nutrition & 4. The Joker. WHOOP, I’m excited! Keep in mind, we want to make this as doable for each other as possible (difficulty, time & effort-wise).

So! Michaela here are the promises you have to keep:

·      Cardio: I know you are a running-rockstar and go a lot. Promise me you will do 30 rope-skips for each time you go running. Before or after, doesn’t matter. Ad 10 Skips per week. (so week 2 = 40 skips, etc.)

·      Toning: Promise me you will do 50 (real) push-ups a week. I don’t care when you do how many. Just get them done J

·      Nutrition: No false-flavored drinks! you can have one cheat per week if necessary.

·      Joker: You love Instagram. The SELFIE SQUAT! For every time you post a selfie, you have to promise to do 10 squats. RIGHT THEN & THERE.

The challenge starts next Monday (Sept 15^th) and ends on Friday, Oct 31st. So about 7 weeks and basically the whole Autumn. We’ll check in every now and then and kick-start the Fit4Fall challenge with a before-pic on Monday. So stay tuned J

Michaela, I am ready for your challenge, (oh boy!) #FitScribble

♡ Amelie