Life Update: Settling Into My New Job and Finding A New Routine.

The last six months of the year certainly haven’t been plain sailing but for the last month, I’ve been getting comfortable in my new job and today I wanted to give you a life update talking about this new transition and what I’ve been looking forward to the most. 

As I mentioned at the beginning of July, I was made redundant from the job I had been in for over three and a half years. I was devastated and it took a long time to adjust to that change. I talked about the positives and the negatives of that and during that time while I was going through a depressive episode (not all linked to that particular situation) it was nice to have my writing as an outlet. 

However, as you have read by the title, I’m very happy to say I’m in a brand new job! At the time of writing this post (in early December) I’ve been in my job for just over a month and it’s so strange to be learning the ropes again.  In my previous job, obviously because of my experience, I was so used to helping new employees and trainees but now it’s the other way around. I’m now working in sales distribution and I have zero experience in this sector but I’m more willing than ever to learn. We know that we’ll never know everything but starting from scratch has been difficult at times and I have admitted it to my team a number of times. Not because the job is hard, it’s not, it’s more so because there are so many systems to pick up along the way and I haven’t got to that point yet. I’m very fortunate that my team are extremely supportive and I can’t stress enough how much a supportive team can really help or hinder you. Over the last month, I have finally realised how much pressure I put on myself to pick up everything right away and that’s not how it works. It’s not going to happen overnight or even in a few weeks, that’s my perfectionist side coming out and not being able to come to terms with it but I will get there eventually.  

Remember when I wrote about routines a few weeks ago? Well, it’s something that I am absolutely over the moon to have again. Of course I know that you can still have a routine when you aren’t working but when I ease going through my depressive time in the Summer, sometimes it was hard pulling myself out of bed, but I can appreciate that a routine will be different for everyone depending on your circumstances. We really do under-estimate the role of a routine in our lives until we don’t have one anymore.  

For anyone reading who is heading into the world of work for the first time or is changing jobs soon, I wanted to talk about the routine aspects that I personally love and I’m so glad to have back.  

Meal Preparation 

If you only implement one important aspect of a routine, I would highly recommend that you look at meal preparation. There seems to be a myth or two knocking about that makes people think they don’t have the time, and it’s not about trying to add extra time to your morning or even your weekend, it’s about choosing how to spend our time that we already have.  

Since I’m starting out again, I’m going for really simple meals and I’m trying to keep my preparation to a minimum. I make a pasta salad which simply contained cucumber, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peppers and macaroni pasta. I use an already bought dressing (but I am hoping to start making my own) and I microwave sweetcorn and quinoa bites that come already made. While that and the sauce is technically processed, I’m still aiming for a healthy lunch which I believe I achieve. The longest process is the pasta, and I would say that takes me about eight minutes to cook. I tend to chop the vegetables while the pasta is cooking and I do that in the morning but it could be easily done the night before.   

Leftovers are such a popular choice for lunches the next day and I’ve done that a few times when Scott has made me dinner the night before. It’s so easy to box it up and if you have somewhere to heat it up, then you’re good to go! 

Building my Workout Schedule 

My physical fitness is something that is very important to me and has been for a long time. Even when I was off during the Summer; I really tried my best to get out on my bicycle, head out for a run or take a walk to the gym. As I get older, I’m not willing to give myself the excuse of being too tired after work because I genuinely can’t remember the last time I didn’t feel tired, it’s something I have grown up with. The first week or two in the new job, I did flake out of workouts because I was beyond exhausted but I have come to realise that while it’s perfectly okay to not workout and listen to your body, you have to have the right balance. But hey, we all struggle with it including me, so we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. I know for me that it’s something that I’m keeping an eye on over the next few months.  

Morning workouts are my favourite admittedly and what I love even more is that Scott is embracing them too. Sure, going to the gym at 5:30am may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it certainly works for us and it’s something that I will keep up because it’s so nice to work hard with your body very early in the morning and not have to worry about it for the rest of the day. In saying that, I run better in the afternoon and evening. Figure that one out, eh? 

Changing Up My Work Style 

In my recent quarter goals post, I talked about wanting to refresh my wardrobe and minimise my clothing in general and it’s something I have really concentrated on. Before starting my job, I wanted to find a number of key pieces that I could match together that worked on a professional level but I could wear out at the weekend too. I absolutely love the look of a blouse and skirt but I became too comfortable with a skirt and jeans, and because I never had to dress too professionally, I never tried anything new. I’ve found some key pieces that I love and while I’m currently dressing in Christmas jumpers, I’ll be back in my new clothes in January. (Possibly planning a blog post in the New Year talking about this in more detail!) 

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Now, of course I have to say that everyone’s routine and priorities will be different. If you know me, I’m a twenty something who lives with her cat and I don’t have any children to support yet. I work in a standard office who has her hours pretty much fixed nine-to-five. I’m able to work around my circumstances slightly easier than someone else would who has different circumstances, and that’s totally fine. It’s all about finding out what works for you and what your priorities are. 

It’s been really lovely getting back into working life and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity. The weeks have been flying by and while my weekends have been consumed with Christmas shopping at the minute, it’s nice to really take advantage of the down time when I have it now.  

Thank you for reading today’s post and thank you all so much for your lovely messages through Twitter and Instagram, you have no idea how much I appreciate it! 

SS: Sunday Saves (#62)

Thank you for clicking onto today’s brand new Sunday Saves, I hope you’re having a lovely day so far, whatever you might be doing. If you’re new here, hello! This Sunday Saves has been created by me to come to you on a weekly basis to show you three blog posts that I have found throughout the week (or on the day I write the blog post) that I thought were interesting and I wanted to share them with those who read this blog. Today we’re not working from a theme so I’ll be talking about attitudes towards morning routines, a cruelty free exfoliation method and veganism not being a cure.

1) Kat Horrocks (How My Morning Routine Has Changed My Life)

I just want to gush for one second; Kat is one of my favourite YouTubers and I could honestly sit and watch her all day so if you haven’t came across her YouTube channel, I’ll link it here. Now onto her blog post, Kat is a huge advocate for morning routines and since the beginning of the year, I’ve been trying to experiment with a morning routine myself and I find it really therapeutic. In her post, she talks a little about her actual routine but more so about how it makes her feel, so if you feel like a morning routine won’t make a difference, look at Kat’s post and it might inspire you to look at your morning differently.

2) Pale Girl Rambling (Konjac Sponge)

Since changing my diet to completely plant based back in January, over the last few months I’ve been changing up my skin care, make-up and hair care to be vegan friendly. It’s all a work in progress because let’s face it, if I had the money to completely change everything in one go, I would but skin care, hair care and make-up are all expensive. One thing that has been missing from my skin care routine is an exfoliator; I know LUSH have one or two but I find they can be very harsh for every day use so I want to explore a new avenue. I’ll let PGR tell you about the sponge but she gives it rave reviews which makes me even more intrigued.

3) Spooky Kiah (Veganism Doesn’t Cure Everything)

I remember one of the first things I heard about turning vegan or going plant based was “Oh you’ll have clear skin” or “any digestive problems you have will become a lot better”. Well, as someone who has been eating plant based for almost eight months, I can tell you that neither or those are true and Kiah feels the same way. She talks more about the medication sides of things but it’s definitely an interesting read if you’ve heard this type of vegan myth before.

Thank you so much for reading this week’s Sunday Saves! Remember to have a read of everyone’s posts and give them a follow if you want to see more from them. If you’ve missed any of my other Sunday Saves, click here and you can see my other sixty one editions. Have a great day!