The First Planning System: Bullet Journaling

Bullet journaling has become a trend in social media such as Pinterest and Youtube nowadays. I personally love it due to many reasons. Bullet journaling is simply to help you track the past, organize the present and plan for the future. From to-do lists to habit trackers, it is really easy to use. I use my bullet journal every day particularly to make to-do lists and fill in my habit tracker.

I have the Leuchtturm1917 squared paper notebook.

Pros

• It is very flexible so you can buy any notebook or binder to start it up.
• You can make to-do lists as detailed as you want and in any layout.
• It is very personalised and you can decorate it however you like.

Cons

• There is a big misconception that you MUST decorate your bullet journal. 

The Second Planning System: A One Line A Day Journal

A One Line A Day Journal is literally in the name! It is when you write one line every day and this can be anything from a thought, a specific event, or gratitude of that day. It only takes about 30 seconds to write that line and it is very easy. I personally use the Wilko One Line A Day Journal.

Pros

• They are a summarised version of what happened that day and you don’t need to write an essay every day. You can read these in a few years’ time.
• It is extremely quick to use and it gives that one minute in the day to sit down and reflect on your day. This means it is easier to sustain as it won’t take off time from your schedule.
• The one I bought is A6 size so it is portable and lightweight to take anywhere.

Cons

• Many people say that doing this method does not relieve stress like normal journaling so if you want to relieve stress, you may want to write everything down.

The Third Planning System: My School Planner

As I live in the UK, my secondary school provides me with a school planner. I believe that they do this with most secondary schools in the UK. This is a planner which you need to bring to school every single day and write down your homework and deadlines. I think this is extremely useful and even if this planner was not compulsory, I would probably still have something like this.  

Pros

• It is compulsory so I don’t forget it and I have it out on my desk during lessons to write down any homework I have. This also ensures I don’t forget my homework. 
• My school planner has an organised system as it has tables every day so we can write the subject, the homework and the deadline.
• I have made it a habit to check my school planner every day after school and do my homework.

Cons

• It is not very flexible but it is very easy to use.

These are the three planning systems I have been using this year and tye have been working out for me well. I advise that you try different planning systems and choose which one works best for you :). Make sure to share this article with your family and friends if you enjoyed it. Please check out my other articles.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

So I set myself a challenge to drink as much water as possible for a week (not counting weekends)  to see if it had any changes on me. This was very interesting and do remember that everyone is different so if you do a challenge like this, you may not get these specific benefits. These benefits may not also have just been from drinking more water, but I did try to keep it as fair as possible.

The average teenager, I believe, should be having 2 litres of water daily.

So these are my results:

Day 1: Drank approximately 1.5 litres of water

• I felt that my skin looked a little more hydrated or glowy.
• I felt that I had a little more energy so I felt awake.
• I think I felt less bloated after eating.

Day 2: Drank approximately 2 litres of water 

• I felt less hungry as I was drinking more water.
• I still had that slight glow on my face.
• I felt more energised.

Day 3: Drank approximately 1-1.5 litres of water as I wasn’t having a very good day so I forgot to drink more water.

• I felt thirstier and drier on my throat.
• That glow from my skin was fading slowly.
• I had the same fewer energy levels than before I had started doing this challenge.

Day 4: Drank approximately 1 litre of water as I actually forgot.

• My skin felt a bit drier.

Day 5: Drank approximately 1 litre of water.

• I had a glowing skin even though I hadn’t had that much water and this could be the side effects of drinking more water than usual consistently.
• I had more energy as I walked very long distances that day.

So these were what helped me and again this may not happen for you and you may want to research the benefits.

Drinking water is crucial for everyone and I think it could be a good New Year’s Resolution if you want to maintain a wholesome lifestyle. 

My aim is to drink in school days 1 litre of water in school and 1 litre after school. 

I hope you enjoyed this article. Please check out my other ones:

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

Sleep helps you to be more focused

Just think about it… the last time you had a good night’s sleep, did you feel unfocused? Sleeping can help you to be more attentive and sharper. 

Sleep helps you to maintain your weight

When you don’t sleep enough, there are changes in the levels of hormones that signal hunger and fullness throughout the day. This means that you are more tempted to choose unhealthy foods and this can slowly make you gain those extra few pounds.

Sleep helps your immune system function

Your immune system is important to keep you healthy and protect you from diseases, so therefore, sleep will allow that power in your body to be strong.

Sleep helps to protect and strengthen your memory

If you forget the simplest things, maybe it is because you are not having enough sleep. Two stages of sleep can help with creative thinking, memory processing, long-term memory and procedural memory. Wow…

Sleep helps to keep your heart healthy.

Heart disease, stress, inflammation to your cardiovascular system, high blood pressure, stroke or heart condition… sleep reduces the risk of these problems.

Sleep can kill pain

When you are sick, sleeping can sometimes help to recover so it is really important to relax. So that may help if you have a broken ankle. 

Sleep could reduce your chances of diabetes

It affects how your body processes glucose. Therefore sleep can impact how your body works.

Sleep can maintain good relationships

If you don’t sleep well, you can end up feeling grumpy. This means that you may vent your anger and bad mood to people around you, which can break good relationships.

Sleep may help prevent cancer

Melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle, is thought to protect cancer as it appears to suppress the growth of tumorx.

Sleep can make you ‘look better’

You will hopefully not have those tired bags under your eyes after sleeping, so you have that refreshed glow on your skin and it may possibly make you look younger too.

Sleep, as you can see, is vital and it may be hard sometimes to get those 8-9 hours of sleep but remember all these benefits. Try to turn off your devices one hour before sleep and also have an alarm to avoid oversleeping.

If you enjoyed this article, make sure to share this article with your family and friends. Check out my other articles:

http://surobiscribbles.com/how-i-travelled-to-39-places-in-6-weeks/

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

‘Eat Suhoor, for in Suhoor there is blessing.’ [Sunan Al-Nasa’i.]

Have you ever realised that you are very hungry throughout the daylight hours of Ramadan? And then you end up having a food coma after eating Iftar? This is not very healthy during Ramadan as you are not following the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). In order to feel more energetic and healthy during Ramadan, and if you are also trying to maintain or lose your weight, I would recommend reading this article.

These tips are based upon my research through Youtube and the Internet, and some information is from my own experience.

Never skip Suhoor – As said in the Hadith above, it is extremely important to have Suhoor. This will help you to not feel hungry throughout the day, earn blessings and let you fuel up on energy and nutrients.

Avoid overeating – This is a simple tip yet it’s so helpful to keep you healthy during Ramadan.

Stay hydrated – Staying hydrated is vital to keep on going through the day. Water is the best choice so try to drink at least 8-12 cups of water per day.

Avoid working out during the fasting hours – This is useful as your energy levels can drastically decrease while fasting so instead, try to work out like 2-3 hours after Iftar, to digest the food. Drink lots of water during your workout.

Make sure to have your medicines correctly – If you are pregnant, or you have certain medicines to intake throughout the day, you should consult your doctor before fasting to know when you will have those medicines. You should adapt fasting to your physical condition.

This table will hopefully help you understand some meals or food that would be good and bad to take during Iftar and Suhoor, to keep more energetic and healthy during Ramadan. Use this table to your own risk.

Take your meals slowly. Start with some water, a few dates, and after a few minutes, start your meal, which could be a soup with vegetables. Incorporate some lean protein and go from there. Eat slowly and make sure to monitor your sugar levels if you are diabetic.

That was my article today on how to keep healthy and energetic during Ramadan. I hope this helps you. In Sha Allah, more articles will be coming soon so stay tuned. Use these tips to your own risk. Check out my other Ramadan articles too:

http://surobiscribbles.com/the-ultimate-ramadan-dua-list-2019-my-ramadan-series/

http://surobiscribbles.com/start-preparing-for-ramadan-from-now-my-ramadan-series/

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!