How to help yourself become a morning person

I never used to be the best at early mornings. Perhaps it's because I've been living the student life for the past three years and it's basically the law to be bad at getting up before 10am. Now, however, I have joined the adult world, filled with 6:30am wake-up calls and very little time in the evenings to call my own (before I make a joke about how hardcore I am at being in my twenties and fall asleep some time around 9pm). The struggle is real, my friends, but here are some handy tips to help you through (and ensure you don't turn up to work with your underwear outside of your clothing...):

1. Prepare the night before
Rushing to get things done in time to get out of the door will only stress you out. By preparing things like your outfit, make up, accessories, bag and any food before you catch your z's the previous night, you'll have plenty of time in the morning to properly wake up and catch yourself up so you're ready to start the day.

2. Replace your alarm clock with Sleep Cycle

There is nothing worse on this planet than alarm clocks. But Sleep Cycle is different. Sleep Cycle uses the censors in your iPhone to monitor how you sleep and is able to pick the best time to wake you based on your time period preference. It becomes a lot easier to rise and shine when you're not shocked awake, and the wide array of pleasant alarm sounds within this app is a welcome change.

3. Let the light in
Getting up and getting going quickly is the biggest favour you can do for yourself, and letting in that all important vitamin D will only help perk you up, it's scientifically proven so you have to believe me.

4. Get that H2O and O2
Breathe some fresh air into your lungs and get a nice cool glass of water down your throat (Nutritionists say it helps kick start your metabolism, you know). Don't you feel more awake just thinking about it?

5. Know your schedule
It's a good way to *ehem* get your head in the game (yasss High School Musical reference) if you look over your agenda for the day and plan what you need to do and where you need to be.

6. Make time for breakfast
It's true what they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It helps kick-start your system and powers it up again after a good nights sleep. There are loads of super quick and easy breakfast recipes online if you're not the cereal type, because being hangry is the worst.

7. All about that coffee
If you don't have time to sit down with a mug, put some in a to-go cup and drink it on your commute. Obviously, I'm not trying to get non-coffee drinkers to sign-up to a lifelong addiction to caffeine, but if you're already on the train, it's probably best to stay on board.

8. Pump some tunes
What's that? You don't have a kick-ass morning playlist on Spotify? Even if you just turn on the radio in your car, blaring some musica will help get that brain in action as you whip and nae nae while sitting at traffic lights. It's good to get your body moving and grooving, even if it does cause your fellow road users to raise their eyebrows at you...

Here's to early mornings and even earlier nights!
~ Eleanor xo

Link Love #6

If the Spice Girls taught me anything, it's that Girl Power is King. Or Queen? Whichever. So I'm loving seeing all this empowering women stuff surfacing all over the place, and anything with '#GirlBoss' written next to it is totally up my street. It's like Leslie Knope always said, "Hoes before bros. Ovaries before brovaries. Uteruses before duderuses".

1. The latest news on the Pottermore relaunch. How mysterious and exciting... {via Hypable}


2. 11 times Disney characters showed us all how to be the best BFFs {via Brit + Co}


3. In the mood to feel inspired? Listen to the words of these wise gals #GirlBoss {via Self}


4. How to make the perfect strawberry and banana smoothie, according to Pret {via Pret a Manger}


5. Have a thing for picturesque front doors? This photographer has got you covered {via Town and Country}


6. Ever wondered what your Starbucks order says about your choice in home decor? Well, wonder no more... {via Lonny}


7. Prepare to wail while watching this fan-made video of all the emotions experienced in Pixar movies, a la 'Inside Out' {via Vimeo}


8. 5 reasons why you should keep a journal (make it 6 if you count the need to buy more cute stationery!) {via Brit + Co}


9. The secret to Anna Wintour's success is not what you may think {via Quartz}


10. Because Anne Hathaway is (and always will be) the bee's metaphorical and literal knees, here's what we can learn from her (frankly fantastic) movies {via Career Girl Daily}

And if you need a bit of cheering up, on this day in exactly three months, it'll be Christmas Day. Holla!

~ Eleanor xo

Advice About Job Hunting

Looking for your first adult job is unbelievably daunting. Picking up the phone to strangers telling you they've seen your CV online and feel you'd be perfect for a role they're recruiting for; your inbox being flooded with emails titled "1000 jobs in your area matching your search credentials" (quite how 'Forklift Driver' matched my search of "advertising account executive", I'll never know); and endless hours of waiting, searching, driving, smiling, lying, dressing smartly, re-working your résumé and so much more. Keeping your sanity is definitely no easy feat.

Still, I somehow made it out alive and I picked up some handy tips along the way:

1. Lose the bullshit
Every person looking for a job is "hard working", "a fast learner", and every other cliché under the sun, so don't waste space on your CV proving to an interviewer that you have zero individuality. Either provide relevant proof, or cut it out altogether. It's not an accomplishment to have "IT literate" on your CV anymore; this is 2015.

2. State your achievements loud and clear
Make the interviewer pay attention to you; I chose to create a small section on one side of my CV briefly listing four of my best (relevant) achievements. Interviewers won't read all the mindless body copy, but they will take notice if you state that an advertising campaign you helped create won an award in Antwerp.

3. Have confidence in yourself
This is something I struggled with; I still do, in fact. But once you realise that oh wait, you are ready and more than prepared to do this, it'll be so much easier to tackle any question an interviewer has for you.

4. Don't let the recruitment agencies boss you around
Or tell you what you want. I had one agency tell me which roles they'd be seeking out for me and neglected to hear when I tried to suggest otherwise. This is your career, don't let someone else tell you what you should be doing.

5. The perfect job does not exist
But the one that's perfect for you, will absolutely find you.

6. Be prepared to put up a fight
I have no shame in admitting that I fought very very hard for the job I have now and I don't regret casting my ego aside for one moment. In order to get this role I had three separate interviews and wrote an email to the MD stating the reasons why, although they had doubts about hiring me, they really needn't. Turns out they liked my ballsy attitude and my desire to not give up, and lo-and-behold, I now get to call them my managers.

7. Always ask at least one question at the end of an interview
Something I realised far too late, frankly. It is so important to ask your interviewer questions, either about the job, the company or what you can expect from your life at work. By doing this, you're showing you're interested, you're keen and you have a drive to impress. Just make sure they aren't questions you should A) already know the answer to, or B) something they've already covered. (Or C) "What's the salary" - that'll get you struck off straight away).

Job hunting is one of the most unenjoyable experiences there is, but what you learn will be invaluable.
~ Eleanor xo