Tom Newton

I’m soon approaching that age in life when women start feeling an urge to splash out on high-end skincare products... and when things that never mattered to me now matter. Things like Alpha Hydroxy Acids, Collagen, Propylene Glycol Hylorounic Acid and lots of other complicated jargon.

Though the thought of being forever young sounds inviting to some, what resonates a lot more with me is the chance to age gracefully and naturally.

Lines of expression are exactly that. Marks on our faces that say we’ve laughed a lot, that we’ve had a full life. That we’ve aged—therefore we’ve had the privilege to LIVE.

The “beauty” industry is there, waiting for us to start questioning how to go about flash-freezing our age (on our faces) so they can fill our minds with more doubt and more worry—making it seem glamorous and necessary to buy the most expensive “miracle” products; products that contain things we cannot even pronounce, let alone pinpoint what it really is that we are putting on our faces.

The one thing they do not tell us, though, is the most important and least glamorous secret... and that is that good skin starts from within. Literally, health starts from your gut. Isn’t that so enticing? I know it isn’t, but that is the honest truth. Your gut is the most responsible for your immune system, where detoxifying enzymes and nutrients are created—so smothering a detoxifying mask on your face every week or spending a ridiculous amount of money on masks containing rich live nutrients serves no purpose if you are not eating well.

Your skin is very telling of how well you eat and how much water you drink. So before you make an appointment with your facialist or ask your dermatologist how many creams, balms, serums etc. to buy, make sure you are battling the war from within:

1. Start your day with lemon I know coffee is a bare necessity or at least it is for me... but do not run to your coffee machine as soon as you wake up. Instead grab a tall, lukewarm cup of water and squeeze in half a lemon. This helps flush your digestive system and re-hydrate your body after your 8 hours (you better be sleeping at least eight!) of sleep.

2. Take it down a notch Have a de-stressing routine daily, whether that’s hardcore exercise, yoga, meditation, a walk through the neighborhood or time of prayer. Look for ways in your day to find balance and peace; this does very well to your soul AND gut.

3. Drink a lot of water (duh!) Like you’ve never heard this before. I know you have but, really, DO IT! Water is the best way to detoxify your system, it hydrates your skin and helps your digestive system—and who doesn’t want that, right?

4. Eat probiotics and lower your sugar intake These 2 go hand-in-hand because sugar depletes good bacteria from your gut... so while you might want to introduce yogurts and some sort of pickled vegetable to your diet in order to produce good bacteria, you may also want to make sure that those are not filled with sugar.

5. Hail to all vegetables! Make sure that the biggest portion of your meals is a good amount of vegetables (preferably steamed or sautéed). Why put a Vitamin C mask on your face when you can be eating delicious berries, tomatoes, baby spinach…

Finally, let me tell you this: Beauty products, in general, should be there to enhance your natural beauty, not to change or mask your best traits. Show off those freckles, be proud of how thin or plush your lips are. Leave those eyebrows alone and please, protect your skin from the sun and clean it with love.

Non-optional to have at your disposal: A mild cleanser, a good balm and sunscreen (always!).
How do you take care of your skin? Care to share?

Photography and Styling © Karina Dimas

For most people home ends on the outside of one door and work starts on the inside of another . . . but that's not the case if you, like me, work from home.

We are the envied few, viewed as the lucky hipsters who get to work from bed. We lived in a falsely romanticized life by those who believe we get to work from cozy beds decked out in Egyptian cotton, free to work or play at our leisure.

The testy truth is that working from home is far from glamorous. It is instead an endless race to meet deadlines and oftentimes a setting aside of the conveniences a home office might bring. It wraps around us like ivy and makes us feel guilty for enjoying the everyday things that others working outside of home enjoy: An 8-5 schedule, an hour-long lunch or even a 30 minute break away from our computers.

So yes, working from home is one thing, but managing it successfully is another. It is very common, in fact, for most of us who work from home to feel like we'll never get a hang of it. We often use all of our energy and resources burning ourselves out, only to accomplish the same level of success as others who do less.

I've personally found in my own pursuit of success on the work-from-home front that the secret to doing it successfully is inviting in a contradiction and holding to structure as if we were working outside of home.

The 2 main areas where we need those limitations are:

01. Space Designing a specific space for work might burst your expectations bubble and feel trivial if you believe the best thing about working away from an office is the freedom to work anywhere you want—but in assigning one space for daily work, whether that be a room, a workshop or a section of your living room, you automatically also create the ability to switch on and off work by acknowledging that as soon as you step away from that space you finish work and when you are in it . . . to log into it.

Doing this doesn't take away from your freedom to occasionally spend a day of work at a cafe, to do it from a hotel room or even while on a plane ride to your vacations. It simply gives your brain an automatic way to switch off from your responsibilities.

02. Time This one is a hard one but it is probably one that's the easiest to take for granted or to not value, depending on your schedule.

Having a set time to work and structuring your online hours in extremely important—even for us creatives who might have a fantastic idea in the middle of the night or might feel a rush just before meeting a deadline.

Time is were we have the most freedom when we work from home; we don't have to comply to a set schedule, we just have to put the hours in. So, playing with that freedom and missing the mark is often what happens. Delimiting your time can bring you not only a feeling of accomplishment every day but also actual accomplishments. Why? Because you will be giving your 100% to each task without the interruption of a billion other things.

If you determine a clear work schedule and commit to it, you will welcome the daily pauses and breathers with a whole lot more peace of mind—and that will help you make the wheels spin with more ease on a daily basis.

In short, freedom cannot survive without structure and structure deserves a little bit of freedom. To succeed at working from home, we need to understand where our limitations lie and enjoy our work and the fruits thereof fully and freely.

What is your secret?

Photography © Nina Holst I wanted to tackle a topic that I know interests most of you and after a bit of lurking I came to the realization that Productivity is general concern, and rightly so. Most of us who blog are usually multi-passionate which puts a lot on our plates every single day.

Having a custom strategy is important to ensure that you don't have deadlines coming out of your ears, it's also essential in preventing burn out – but sometimes just taking the time to build a realistic plan is far from possible.

I'm not an expert when it comes to time management and productivity but I haven't gone insane... yet. I believe that at least qualifies me to tell you which bits and pieces of productivity advice have worked for me when I didn't have a strategy or at times when life's challenges have thrown that carefully planed structure out the window:

01. Write Sh*t Down

Dave Kolo's WSD productivity method is the thing that makes the most sense. If you have something in writing to remind you of what you're supposed to be doing and when you're supposed to do it chances are, you will do it.

02. If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it now!

Is part of Davi Allan's GTD philosophy. Why write it down or stress out about it when you can get it out of the way? Quick calls, short emails or even small household tasks. Get them out of the way before seeing them in writing overwhelms you. Now, this is only successful when you focus on 1-2 tasks. There's no point in this if you end up spending an hour doing 2-minute tasks.

03. Eat your frogs

"If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first." – Mark Twain.

Certainly Mr. Twain didn't paint the prettiest picture but it's great advice for those of us who constantly feel pushed to the point of not knowing where to get started completing our tasks. Work on the most difficult task first.

Simple.

04. Focus

This is something I've always done, even before reading more about productivity. My approach is similar to the Power Hour technique. It's about limiting yourself to focusing on one task for 1 hour – my only exception is that I change the time-frame according to my needs.

This works only if I don't reply to messages, personal emails or even worry about other work that might be queued. If you're a natural multitasker and you're happy juggling things all the time, this will be difficult but it's done wonders for me.

After completing the task, I allow myself the time for out-of-work activities for 10 minutes, I use those to stretch, fill up my water bottle or maybe send out a quick tweet about something completely unrelated to work and then carry on with the next task.

05. Relax and drink water

Believe or not one of the things that stop us from being highly productive is that we are in constant reaction mode, to the point in which our productivity becomes sporadic through out the day without letting us maintain a healthy pace.

We're also trained to think that caffeine equals alertness, therefor ups our productivity. The reality is that caffeinated drinks not only make our stress hormone go off the charts it also dehydrates our bodies. Dehydration causes mental fatigue which results in lack of concentration. I make it an every day ritual to drink at least 2 liters of water and you should too.

Not taking care of our minds and bodies is the perfect road to hitting brick-walls. When you are not working it is important that you give yourself true relaxation time, be as intentional with the "doing nothing" part as you are with the work. Make it a practical and mental exercise to disconnect from your lists and deadlines.

Whether you want to take your weekend off or a couple of hours of your every day, this will change your complete approach.

Try it.

You can apply one or all of the tips above by determining if it fits your lifestyle or not. The key thing to understand is that we will either run our day or the day will run us. Reclaim your productive life back by making it work for you.

How do you keep yourself from getting distracted throughout the day?

For more advice, tips and a full productivity strategy: Purchase my book 30 Days To Minimal Blogging.

Photography © Ana Degenaar When it comes to leading a balanced life, I'm a true believer that while this is a very romanticized and idealistic thought in my own personal life, perfect balance is seldom achieved. This would mean I'd have to give equal attention to everything and everyone at all times... and being that circumstances are constantly changing, this might never be the case.

The reality is that we only look for balance because we live in constant pressure. If we learn to live intentionally we immediately take that out of the equation and automatically learn to live in the in-between.

A couple of years ago, I was working 20-hour days both at home and outside of home and doing extra hours, often consisting of 8 hours on a Saturday and 8 on a Sunday. Needless to say, I didn't need to have someone telling me I was going to have a breakdown. I did. 


Life and work are sometimes a matter of redefining and reshuffling to me. The same way I rearrange my living room, I rearrange the how, when and where I do things. Focusing too much on balance itself deviates from doing what’s important when it's needed.


I’ve always thought about this subjet with a bit of guilt - that is until I realized there's nothing wrong with shifting my focus and giving my undivided attention to what feels to be the most important thing to me at that time. In order to do that, I needed to learn not only to be very perceptive and aware of the needs of those around me, but also my own needs. 


For the most part, this advice will sound like a list of no-brainers but more often than not it’s the simplest, most practical things that we overlook that brings us the highest benefits:

You
The first shift you need to make is realizing that taking care of yourself is not selfishness – it in fact allows you a sense of readiness when it comes to taking care of things and people other than yourself. There's no point in trying to achieve so much and slide towards a breakdown.

Limits
Just as kids need boundaries, we – the infamous breed of workaholics, also need them: carefully planned 8-10 hour work-days with breaks in between and a way to draw a line between work time and personal time are crucial.

I’m not saying you should have it all together but you should strive every day to see your work tools (desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone) as your "place of work", understanding that if you’re off the clock, you shouldn't even be near those tools. Making a pledge to simple shifts like: Neither will you eat at your desk nor take it with you while I'm on holiday.


Move
Although I find exercise to be of utmost importance in my life, this point has nothing to do with it. It has to do with being stuck in your office for long periods of time.

This little change will make an incredible difference in your life.

I frequently use my office for my design work but once I'm in the replying to emails stage, I move to a different location every day. I set my times and I dedicate myself to that – fully aware of what I’m doing.

These tiny shifts of location can help you, honestly, not to lose your mind.

Relax
When a pressing matter consumes your every waking moment or you get sick (as with every other human being), you need to learn to listen what your body is trying to tell you. Be safe that the internet will be OK without you and that you will be OK without it.

If something goes terribly wrong, then you'll have the time to explain yourself, apologize and move on. Of course, I could only get to this point after getting sick and realizing that although I am a very responsible and hardworking person, we all experience misfortune and have our ups and downs.

There’s a time to be productive but there’s also a time to feed our bodies and our souls and the latter shouldn't be at the mercy of how much we are able to get done in a day.


Wrap It Up
At the end of each day, go through all the things in your productivity list. If there are things you didn't manage to do within those 8-10 hours, simply move them to the next day.

Closing off your day means you have already gone through your set work hours and that you need to regroup. Forcing yourself to work further can result in sloppy work and work that you’re not proud of. Don't be ashamed to log out – confident that you did everything you could and enjoy some special time of cell regeneration, otherwise known as sleep. 


Restart
When you start your days, Do not jump in with both feet too fast. Waking up early and allowing yourself a leeway of 30 minutes to 1 hour can benefit you more and make your mind and home less frantic in the morning.

Easing into your routine is something you can condition yourself to. Maybe even try a few minutes of meditation, sitting in the quiet and stillness of the morning. 


After these bits of advice, the most important advice I always give, is to do whatever's best for you and your family. Remember that all of this will one day pass... so treasuring everything in the mix, not only work is important. 


Be honest to yourself and to the ones who rely on you. You cannot do everything but you sure can do enough.

How do you maintain balance?

Photography © Adidas Originals Full disclosure: I’m writing this post as I eat my third zucchini cookie of the day – and experiencing zero guilt.

To be fair, for someone who’s job statistically labels her as “sedentary” - and completely backing up that fact – I have a moderate to good relationship with fitness and health. But let’s face it: Blogging, designing and running a creative business from home sets up the perfect atmosphere for a sedentary lifestyle, especially when squeezing in an extra hour of work is sometimes a bigger priority in our lives.

I believe that the place where we put *ourselves* on our mental priority list directly dictates how good of a relationship we have with exercise and spirituality (or at least that has been true in my own life). Awareness plays a lead role in making us believe we deserve something and in understanding that one hour dedicated to ourselves is an hour gained, not an hour lost – or that eating healthy is not a temporary quick fix but a life habit.

Being aware of ourselves first when it comes to a healthier lifestyle is (surprisingly) not just about vanity and shedding the pounds, although it’s a nifty side effect, don’t you think? Being aware of ourselves makes us uncomfortable enough with our sedentarism to provoke us to action.

The secret to effortless exercise is learning to redefine the way we see effort itself, not as something that sucks the life out of us. It changes from, "There’s no time for it" to, "I’ll make time for it". That’s where the rubber hit the road and makes us more prone to creating a realistic system for ourselves that fits into our lives and that we can maintain.

You exercise and live healthy effortlessly when you:

1. Ease into it – Most people fail at creating healthy habits because they don’t ease into it. You need to start from the beginning when it comes to building a healthier lifestyle, no exception. Start with something that your mind recognizes as effortless. For example, move at a slow pace for 15 minutes today rather than signing up for a military style boot camp... or switch out white bread for wholewheat bread. Simple is always smart.

2. Redefine your limiting beliefs – Our beliefs are shaped by past experiences, logic and emotion. Once a belief is formed we reject the thought that something can be any other way: If you believe that you can’t do something, you speak and act like someone who can’t, so you actually can’t. Reshaping a belief is about changing the way we speak about things and ourselves. I love the way Tony Horton puts it: Instead of saying, “I can’t” say, “I presently struggle with...” - then act on that new belief.

3. Be present – Creating healthy habits is a day-by-day process. It’s about what you’re doing today that’s good for you... not about what you will be able to do, feel or look like a year from now. Practicing mindfulness inherently allows you to find the process itself satisfying not only the outcomes.

4. Align it with your personality – If your actions and habits don’t align with your personality you will soon lose your interest... and you know how that goes. First despondency... and then you'll jump ship. It’s key to recognize how beautifully different we are and how that triggers what we fall in love with. I love yoga and practice it once a week for 1.5 hours - but doing that every single day just doesn’t align with my personality. Things that have me jumping, moving and rolling on the floor are more *me*. Like Plyometrics. So that's the highlight of my week. The same can be applied to healthy eating. If you’re not someone who loves smoothies, why drink them? Eat the way you like and make smart healthy choices.

5. Condition yourself for it – A lot of us have all these good intentions but when it comes time to put them into practice, we find something better to do or to eat because we don’t condition ourselves and our lives for action. For example, you are much more likely to exercise if you intentionally focus on simply putting on your gym clothes and shoes. Just the way you're more likely to eat better by planning your meals in advance. Conditioning is setting yourself up for success which in the end is winning.

Keep in mind that this is not all about getting shredded abs... it’s about creating new habits and new beliefs so that exercise is always effortless no matter it’s shape, form or level of intensity. No fitness Guru in the world is going to talk you into making the shift to living a healthier life style if you don’t set yourself up for success.

Do you have any limiting mindsets when it comes to exercise and healthy living?

Please, let me know if you want the recipes for these cookies. I tell you, they’re scrumptious.

Photography © VittVittVitt

I pride myself on my ability to happily survive Mondays and usually have all the energy in world to dive into my to-do lists when the day starts and go as far as to look forward to it on Sunday evening but let's get real... Monday also means all those precious hours of rest and weekend fun are painfully over. I've developed a system that makes things easier for me and has helped me enjoy the day... As much as one can enjoy Monday that is.

First and foremost I have to mention and admit I'm a bit OCD so the first thing I do before bed on Sunday or early Monday morning (if I had to put in an extra hours of work on the weekend) is to re-organize my office and take some fresh flowers to place on my desk in order to set the mood for the next morning. There's truly nothing worse than walking into a messy office when you're about to dive into all the emails and work that was left from the weekend.

My next step is to create a Monday to-do list with only 4 items, which usually consists of the 4 most important things I have to do every day work-wise. I usually get more than 4 tasks done but it helps keep my sanity intact.

As contradictory as this may  sound, I do not sleep those extra 15 minutes on Monday. I try my best to wake up early, get dressed and ease into the work piles comfortably.  I segment my work hours as I do every day but... I also let myself indulge a little with good music and a bit of day-dreaming.

Bottom line, there's no reason why we shouldn't enjoy Mondays and look for practical ways to make the day meaningful and productive.  The key here is not to bite off more than we can chew and to remember that even if the littlest efforts leave you feeling drained there are always ways to reward yourself after a long day of work... Take out, a nice bubble bath and a glass of wine come to mind as I write.

How do you survive Mondays?