How Tiny Habits Improved My Life

I chanced upon a helpful video on YouTube a few weeks ago. It's about developing 21 tiny habits to improve your life effortlessly (video here). I realized I started to do that in the past few months. I had severe shortness of breath the first half of the year. This was due to the blood clots in my lungs and additional complications. 

I was really keen to get better and started exercises to help my lungs. I started doing wall push-ups. I could only do three in the beginning. Every week I'd try to add two more reps. It took months, but I was eventually able to increase it to 30 reps with additional exercises. I do the exercise while I'm preparing my coffee. I tied it to another routine so I do not forget. My lungs improved and my back rarely hurts because of the daily exercise. 

A friend pinged me the other day and asked how I've been able to go back to blogging. In previous years I'd usually do a 30-day daily blogging challenge. Using the Blogger app helped since I'd usually post while I was on the train to work. I started blogging everyday again in 2020. It started as a 30-day challenge in January which I extended to the whole year. To remember that I have to blog I tied it to my coffee time routine. 

I never had an issue with completing tasks when I was working. I would efficient just go from one thing to another without missing a beat. When I got sick and got depressed things went really bad. I knew I had to get myself out of it when my physiotherapist asked me why I wasn't scheduling to see my doctor. She had me call up his office in front of her. She understood what I was going through and held my hand through it (super love her to bits!). After that day I worked on prioritizing important tasks. I'd usually do it after blogging. Mind you these were simple tasks like scheduling the aircon cleaner to come. It is hard to fight depression led procrastination, so developing tiny habits by following a routine helps. 

Starting tiny habits help a lot and I found it useful to tie them to a routine. I tied it mostly with my coffee time because it's something I rarely forget to do. It all starts though when I get up and prepare my oatmeal. My life completely changed in the past year. Everything I used to do had to change for me to live a healthier life so my body, heart and mind could recover. 

There are still a lot of new habits I'd like to develop, but I'm taking it slow for now. It was really a huge struggle to get out the hole I fell in, so I thought I'd share what tiny things I did to get out of it. 

Don't forget, it's day 2 of St. Jude's novena :)

CB////*Yr2/192 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/213 #NewG258 #Home14 #Xmas66 #StayHome #BeKind

Best Budol Buys

Admit it, have you gotten hooked with online shopping? The pandemic has certainly changed our buying habits. I miss those days when I could go to the mall anytime and do groceries in person. I previously avoided buying stuff online before. I was very wary of using my credit card online because I experienced fraud twice already. I was also paranoid I won't receive what I ordered. 

I was forced to buy things online when we had a lockdown last year. Then I needed to buy some materials for my sewing projects which I also got via Lazada. Soon enough I was looking forward to the monthly sale on Lazada and Shopee. I add stuff to the cart and eventually just buy what I really need (a friend recently saw I have 99+ on my card hahaha).

What interests me are knick knacks that would be beneficial for home use and making sewing easier. Here are some things which I found really useful:

Top on the list, privacy stamp! Sweetie would usually cut up packaging before throwing it away. We also tried using a marker, but you could still see through it. I got the privacy stamp during a flash sale and it's so far been very useful. I also use it to cover my particulars for my medicine boxes. 

Scrabble-like tiles. I super love the letters, I actually made a second purchase. I use it mostly for my blog when I can't find an appropriate photo. I've been keeping them now in a Toast Box can hehe. 

Package opener. I'm not sure what this is called, but I got it from a flash sale. I use it to open boxes. So far it's been safer for me to use this than a cutter. It's easy to clean too. 

Needle threader. I got this out of curiosity. I've been trying many different needle threaders the past year (#signsofoldage). I have a bunch of the traditional one, but it's only good to use for a few times. I got the one with a light from the US, also good for just a few uses. This one looks sturdier (yet to be proven). It's a new sewing contraption, so we'll see. 

Shoes. Ahh, buying wearables online is the least thing I wanted to do. I chanced upon this pair on sale and thought it might be the same one I usually buy at the Taipei train station. It was! This is actually my second pair and it's really comfortable to wear. I also got a budol pair from Sketchers haha. 

Similar pair from Taipei station, really comfy for walking.

Marupok midnight moment.

Fabric. Buying fabric from stores here is very expensive. Then I discovered more inexpensive options on Lazada and Shopee. The cheaper ones come from Indonesia though. Most cute ones are available in South Korea. I hope I could find options from Divisoria when I come home. Anyway, I found a lot of options online (including Amazon). It's better to buy by the meter/yard than buying fat quarters or layer cakes. 

Finally, one of the most useful things I got is my Chromebook's  cover and keyboard cover. It keeps it protected and keeps the crumbs away from my keyboard. 

Sweetie's top pick is his hand massager (#titohitz). He uses it every night. I'm hoping to find something similar for my legs. They used one on me at the hospital and it was heavenly. I think my Mom would want one too. Maybe I'll check for 10.10 noh? Haha. 

What about you? What are your fave online finds? Are you ready for 10.10?

CB////*Yr2/181 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/202 #NewG266 #Home25 #Xmas79 #StayHome #BeKind

My Buying Habits have Changed

So much has changed in the last 2 years. I don't know about you, but I previously preferred to go to the mall and supermarket to buy things I need. Malling was my official exercise on record on my doctor's notes. I made him laugh so hard when I told him what my favorite exercise was. I didn't really like buying things online, but the situation forced me to change my buying habits. 

I started with buying groceries online. It was a huge pain because items were not always available. We also always did not get everything we ordered. Eventually though things improved and we only go to the grocery if we happen to pass by one when doing other errands (like every other month?). I only expanded to buying other things when I needed to buy craft materials. 

Well, that opened the floodgates for me haha. I've joined a couple of online hobby groups and started to learn more about tools that I can use to make quilting easier. Remember, my Mom taught me how to quilt using basic sewing materials and it's been fun to discover that there are things you can use to hasten the process. 

One of my favorite things to do is finding the best deal and sources. Buying craft materials/tools can be challenging. I was so proud of myself when I finally found the right sewing machine extension table haha. I look forward to discovering new online sources when I get home. What I look forward to trying are new food providers, especially the ones that are home made. 

Budol is real every month. I survived 8.8 but not 9.9 haha! I think it's worse than the sweldo sale that malls do back home. We avoided those mall sale days because of the heavy traffic and that's why I think these monthly online sale hosted by Lazada and Shopee is seriously risky! Hahaha. I've learned though and I make a running list of things I need. Hrhrhr. 

My fave Plaza Singapura

I still miss going to the mall. I've been able to still go every other month here in Singapore, but I don't think I'll get to do it when I go home. The funny thing is I've started to take photos of my favorite shops lately. Haha! Do you do that too?

P.S. I'm back home from my daycation at the hospital. Just reminiscing my malling days haha.

CB///*Yr2/152 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/175 #NewG295 #Home53 #Xmas106 #StayHome #BeKind