Why You Should Drink More Green Tea

To many, including me, green tea seems like a miracle drink. The health benefits are exactly what you can wish for in a drink and I'm about to tell you why...

• It has almost no calories (technically it has 1 calorie that you will burn off by making your green tea) plus it increases your metabolism which makes you burn off calories faster.
• It contains antioxidants that will flush away all of the bad toxins in your body.
• Because of the antioxidants, it's very good for your skin and will help prevent imperfections from spots to wrinkles.
• The small amount of caffeine it contains is the right amount to keep you feelings energised all day. It actually contains half the amount a cup of coffee has so you can have it if you're sensitive to caffeine.
• This amount of caffeine also produces a more focused "buzz" than coffee meaning you'll be more productive sipping on your green tea than your coffee.
• Studies have shows that drinking green tea often can reduce your chance of getting type 2 diabetes, cancer and Parkinson's disease. 

Too good to be true? Well maybe there are a few cons but the pros easily outweigh them. I'll go through them to pre-warn you before you start a green tea binge.

• A lot of the pros can only be completely felt by drinking about 5 cups a day over an extended period of time. That being said, I know people who can drink that many cups of coffee and fizzy drinks in a day so if you're the same then simply replace them with the greener alternative.
• When you first start having green tea the taste can be really hard to stand. To make it taste better, you can add honey or lemon (both of which also have health benefits). You can also buy green tea that is already mixed with other nice tasting things such as salted caramel although I'm not sure I would be that keen on it....

Try doing a green tea challenge and replace two of your drinks a day with this healthier alternative and let me know how you get on!

Spring into Action | 6 Ways to Be More Productive This Easter

With the mornings getting lighter and the sun making more appearances in our skies, spring isn't just a time to enjoy chocolate. I don't know about you but I always find myself feeling more motivated to do things at this time of the year although I never know how I can do this. 

If you're like this or want be more productive this Easter weekend then I have some tips to help with just that.

Spring Clean Your Stuff

Sometimes, simply going through cupboards and drawers to sort out your possessions can make you feel like you've accomplished something. Go through what you want to keep and what you don't. For the things you don't want you can give to a charity shop or sell online.

Embrace the Earlier Mornings

Waking up in daylight completely shook me the other day and I thought I had slept in until I realise it was my alarm that had woken me up. During the winter, I would spend an hour laid in bed after I woke up but now it's hard to stay in for 20 minutes (I'm not able to jump straight out of bed the second I wake up just yet...). It feels like the day is starting earlier when the sun rises at the early hour of 6am so take the opportunity to start your day earlier.

Do Exercise 

Exercising for 20 minutes to start your day is said to make you feel more energetic and motivated for the rest of the day than without. With warmer and brighter mornings, take the opportunity to go for a quick 20 minute run in the fresh air.

Eat More Fruit

There's nothing quite like the feeling you get when you eat fruit. Even if the rest of your life is spiralling out of control, I think eating a banana or an apple makes me feel like I have got my life together. Nonetheless, fruit has so much more healthy nutrients that other 'healthy' snacks can't give you. So go ahead and swap a chocolate bar for an orange! (Easier said than done.)

Spring Clean Your Life

Do you ever feel like there are just not enough hours in a day to do everything you want to do, or even need to? Recently, I realised I was spending way too much time on social media so I gave them all up (apart from Twitter and Tumblr because I use them the least). You can do this by making a note of what you have done in a day and how much time you spent doing it.

I did a similar thing in a previous post to help you eat the right things. Once you have made the list, notice what changes you could make to your lifestyle e.g only go on Facebook for that spare 5 minutes you'll have at breakfast or spend 20 minutes after tea going through your notes from your lessons. These little changes have made me feel like I'm achieving a lot more in a day than I used to.

Organise Your Work

In England, the Easter holidays is one of the last chances we get to revise for exams. Thankfully, I'm doing a diploma at college so I don't have exams but I do have coursework and I know I will need to organise when I'm doing that work so I can also have time to do other things I want to do.

Make a quick timetable of what day and how long you are going to spend doing each piece of work. I think that even just doing this makes you feel much more productive and motivated to do work and revision than without doing so.

Do you have any other ways that you make yourself motivated?
Have a happy Easter!