HOW I STARTED WEARING THE HELL I WANT TO WORK AND STOPPED BUYING 'ESSENTIALS THAT EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE'

I've been stumbling upon articles about what you should have in your wardrobe, what essentials to get for a while now., but nothing really says ME, no matter how much I want it to.

I would like to own things that would look on me like as they look like on those Instagram photos I'm addicted to browsing. Simple, effortless, amazing... and here I am, trying to get into a pair of pants that magically shrunk overnight (they were perfectly fine when I wore them yesterday!). My clothes crinkle, fade, get dirty on my way to work, you know, all the things that actually happen to clothes in real life. The Instagram reality is tempting, but also super disappointing when you find out it's not reachable.

I used to do business casual when I worked corporate. Really liked it. Delicate tops, super cute trousers, matching jewellery, all that jazz. I had the weirdest reality check when I was asked to go to the HR office for a chat one day.

Our HR lady was a really weird one. Not someone you really want to have a chat with. She was anchored in the era when Human Resources meant that people are expendable and not really important. Hire and get rid of when needed.

I was super surprised that she wants to see me, but ok, why not, let's do it. When I got there she told me that 'people are talking' (wait, what people?) and 'people can see my bra under the tops that I am wearing' (wait...what people are looking at my bra again?) and that I have to wear different clothes from now on. Awesome.

That was the most awkward thing ever.

But ok, fair enough, maybe I didn't notice something, maybe it was too much, there was a lot of maybes in my head at a time. I went shopping for more coverage and decided to look for a different favourite store. Because you never know. Maybe my clothes were all wrong.

A few days later when I walked into the office we had a meeting. A lovely short meeting where my HR lady was wearing the exact same top I was wearing last time.

The 'People Can See Your Bra' Top.

The top that I just bought and had to stash at the bottom of my wardrobe because it wasn't suitable for the office. Joy, oh joy, the HR lady was shopping at my favourite store. And apparently, she banned me from wearing clothes that she wanted to buy for herself. I was seriously not amused.

So I decided not to give a fuck and I started wearing more and more of whatever I wanted. Because after the 'we can see your bra' affair (I am totally going to call it that, it was stupid as hell) I couldn't care less. I transitioned into wearing leggings to work - best decision ever and you can actually get super cute ones if you look online.

Then came loose chiffon tops and I started loving comfort instead of fake corporate style. I ditched heavy makeup sometime along the way and I made extra time in the morning to exercise. On the plus side: I don't have to ever hand wash anything ever again All of my clothes are perfectly fine for the washing machine. I kinda buy whatever is easy to wear and looks good on me. I don't need to think if my outfit is perfect enough for everyone - it's ok for me so it will do well. I kinda love it. Life is good. Much simpler.

And next time that someone will tell me that something I'm wearing is problematic I will tell them not to look at me. Because seriously, I wear what I want.

Have fun!

HOW TO LEARN THINGS THE PROPER WAY - TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE LEARNING

I don't know about you, but I love learning new things, figuring out how to do or not do stuff and slowly getting better as I go. Learning rocks!

But have you ever wondered how to learn things the proper way? 

It's actually quite easy to get the best of your time and effort while getting all the new information in your head. All you need to do is following this super handy list:

1. BEFORE YOU EVEN START ANYTHING MAKE SURE THAT YOU WILL NOT BE INTERRUPTED.

That goes both for interruptions from the inside and the outside. Inside is pretty straightforward - do not shoot your own foot, stop sabotaging yourself. In other words, find some quiet space, relax, don't let any excuses take over (no, you are not hungry, your house doesn't need cleaning right this very moment and the cat videos on the internet can wait) and get your brain in I Can Do It! mode. Outside is even easier to sort out - for your study space choose a location that should be nice and quiet by default, get your phone away from you (or put it on silent, but no peeking!), and if possible, put a 'Do not disturb' note on the door. It will help.

2. FOCUS, BUT TAKE IT SLOW

Do you have to study and read a whole 20 chapters of a super boring book? Is the online course that you are taking 50 hours long? Find a way to make the workload smaller and manageable. Divide it into smaller pieces and go for it - it's way easier to tell yourself to read one paragraph at a time, watch a tutorial video while enjoying a cup of coffee or take notes as you go than try and tackle all of the available material in one go. Remember that you don't have to do everything right now, you just have to finish it at some point. Chill out, slow down and enjoy it. But no slacking either!

3. TAKE NOTES, SCRIBBLE, ARGUE, THINK ABOUT IT - MAKE IT INTERESTING

There is a huge difference between skim reading an article or binge-watching video tutorials and actually interacting with the information that is out there. Sure, no matter what and how you do it, you will learn something, but you can greatly improve your understanding of any topic just by engaging in it more. Try writing some notes as you go, try and come up with a real-life situation where you will be able to apply this new knowledge, think about a way to improve what your instructor is talking about. By making it more interesting for yourself, you are actually getting more from it, so get out there and figure out what will make it fun for you. Then learn like there is no tomorrow!

Have fun!