Let’s be real for a second…. LIFE IS HECTIC! Since when did we all turn into adults and legitimately need to say, ‘let me check my diary’ before committing to plans?!
 
I know I never thought I would need a schedule or alarms or future planning just to get through the week but I am 100% serious when I say I would be more lost than Nemo if I didn’t have my wall planner and diary.
 
Going to uni, living out of home, working, volunteering, exercising, having some sort of a social life, writing my blog and finding some ‘me time’ would not happen each week without a little organization. So, without further ado, here’s my tips and tricks to get me through this crazy life we live:

1. Have a wall planner that shows the whole year
   My wall planner is my life. I have everything on mine – uni assignments, work times, payments coming in, payments going out, reminders, birthdays, flights – EVERYTHING!
   
   Having a wall planner that shows more than one month at a time is super helpful. I have been lucky to get them quite cheap through my uni, but they can be a bit expensive at some places so you may have to search a little bit to get one that shows more than one month.
   
   Having a diary or planner can also help with keeping track of money if you’re trying to save or just need some help budgeting. Check out my Ballin’ on a Budget blog post here to see how.
   
   
2. Wake up at the same time everyday
   This may not sound like it has anything to do with organization but it really does help. I always try and wake up around the same time each morning, even when I don’t have to be up early, except Sundays…. Would it even be a real weekend if we didn’t sleep in at least once?
   
   I find that if I get up around the same time each day I find that I not only can establish a morning routine, but I am super productive when I first wake up so I can get a few things done before ‘starting the day’. I use an app called Sleep Cycle which I HIGHLY recommend using! Basically, the app monitors your sleep cycles throughout the night and allows you to set an alarm that will wake you up when you’re in a light sleep phase, making it wayyyyyy easier to wake up.
   
   Through using this app I learned that I usually am in a light sleep phase around 5:30am, so waking up at that time – although it sounds crazy because it’s so early – actually makes my day flow so much smoother. I feel better when I wake up around 5:30am every day, I am so productive and most days can tackle just about anything life throws at me.
   
3. Plan ahead for just about everything and prioritise!
   

Using your trusty wall planner or diary, spend half an hour or so on a Sunday looking at your week ahead. Work out what you have on that week, at what times and where.

When I plan my weeks I usually look at things in order of commitment, so for example:

Work goes on the calendar first (I work the same days each week so that makes that easy)
Then days/times I need to be at uni (also the same days each week)
Time allocated to study
Volunteering time
Work out times (this seems low on the list but that doesn’t make it a low priority! It’s not hard to find half an hour to an hour to work out each day so I slot this in where I can, depending on my other commitments that week)
Anything extra fits in around all of the above

I try and leave my weekends free. Not because I don’t do anything on weekends, I still go to the markets and clean the house on weekends, but because I like to use this time as my time to do whatever I want/need to do. Whether that be going to the beach, hanging with my boy or watching three movies in a row in a pillow fort (or being responsible and studying), I just like to have a day or two where I can wing it.

So there’s my three go to organization tips! I love being organized and knowing what’s going on, at what times and where… Having said that, spontaneity makes life exciting and fun, so as with everything I say, don’t take this too seriously and beat yourself up if one week your less organized than another.

I hope this has helped you in some sort of way in keeping your organization on point. Life can always be crazy but don’t forget that little bit of craziness is always a bit of fun.


Georgia x

I was introduced to the idea of making bone broth by a friend who was telling me that she was hearing more and more about it recently so was looking into making it herself. She was telling me about the benefits of making and consuming bone broth, as well as the nutritional benefits of eating more meat off the bone – basically for the same reasons, those reasons being that there are a number of super beneficial minerals in bones that you miss out on when you don’t cook with bones still in.
 
Within no time at all she had made her first batch and sent me a photo of her before and after broth that kicked my butt into gear to make my own as well.

Check out her inspirational broth coming together in the next three photos.

Bone broth is sort of like a stock that you can use in cooking as a base for soups or when slow cooking meat to keep it juicy and delicious (with the bone in is better remember!). But here's a plot twist... bone broth can also be consumed as a drink that is a quick way to get extra vitamins, minerals and amino acids into your bod!
 
A bone broth advocate and amazingly inspiring woman, Melissa Ambrosini swears by bone broth and encourages everyone to get into having bone broth daily to improve gut health. I have taken her bone broth guidelines to create my own chicken based bone broth that I plan to have daily – either in my cooking or as a drink.
 
Follow me through the timeline of this amazing broth coming together and see my version of a home-made, organic, tasty and super healthy bone broth below!

Picture this…
 
Your own private pilot flies you over Melbourne city, along the coast and lands your plane in a small grass field. Your pilot, who happens to be your boyfriend, then takes you to another grassed area where you set up camp for the night and enjoy a small cheese and cured meat platter and a glass of red wine.
 
Well, this (plus more) was the weekend I was lucky enough to share with my gorgeous partner and since it filled my heart with so much happiness and gratitude I wanted to share it with you all.
 
My boyfriend has been flying planes for about eight years and has almost completed his commercial license which will make him a ‘real pilot’ as some would say.
 
He asked me last year if I wanted to go to the Avalon Airshow in 2017 and since it’s only one every two years and he obviously loves planes, of course I said yes.
 
It was only a few weeks ago though that he came to me with the idea of flying there instead of driving, as well as camping there overnight so we could see the day and night displays. Once again, obviously I thought this was the coolest idea ever!
 
So we flew in to Avalon East, a temporary airstrip just for the airshow, in a small plane called a Piper Warrior and then headed over to our campsite. Originally we had planned to fly in on the Friday morning and go to the airshow that day and throughout the evening, but the weather didn’t agree with that plan so we had to leave later on Friday.

We decided to still fly in on Friday afternoon but go to the actual airshow on the Saturday so we had all Friday afternoon and night to kill some time. A quick trip to the supermarket and we had ourselves a platter and a bottle of red so we were set for some quality hang out time.
 
Our campsite wasn’t too far from the airshow so we could see some planes fly over every now and then, but as we couldn’t see a whole lot we decided to get creative…