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Amelia Wilson

Lifestyle | Reviews | Travel | Entrepreneur | Author




Do you struggle with staying organized and maintaining a routine? I know I do. I’ve decided to whip up a little post about what online organizational tools I use to keep my ish together. I want this post to be inspirational and to help give you an idea of what’s out there and how these tools can help you become more organized and in control of your life.

Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post includes affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you. 

Online Organization Apps that are truly lifesavers

Calendar by Luni

      This is one of my favorite Calendar apps to date. At the moment, since school is only online and my hours at work are relatively steady, I haven’t been using it. However, it has been one of the BEST calendar organizers I’ve ever used. 
      There are so many great features and functions with the pro access ($1.99 a month) like group calendars (that you and the family can contribute to together), monthly overviews that are clear and labeled, reminders, connections to Facebook and iMessage, etc. I love the layout the most, it’s super compatible with iPhone and Facebook and resembles the iPhone calendar except in a more concise and easier to understand layout.

If you're looking for physical planners (which I use just as often as digital ones), Erin Condren is an amazing site with beautiful, affordable, and customizable planners!

Productive - Habit Tracker

This is by far my FAVORITE app in the entire apple store. Productive helps encourage routines and offers so many amazing ideas, inspiration, and info. There are trackers for drinking water, exercising, night routines, morning routines, chore lists, work lists, etc. You can create your own custom list OR you can use a pre-made one.
      Productive has really changed how my daily routine looks. It’s a great app for notes and for recording your time spent doing certain things. I can set timers and alarms to keep me on track. I can set limitations on phone usage and duration for my work or for chores. This app is brilliant!
     The only downside is that it costs money to use these amazing features. I was turned away at first because of the price (I don’t remember it off hand). However, I do think it’s worth the buy even if you decide to use only the free portion and gather inspo when necessary.

Time Planner

      Time planner is another Calendar app that I love and it’s free to use. Hear that? FREE! It’s a really simple calendar that can connect to apple calendars and provides small alerts for events. I use it mostly to plan out the hours of my day, specifically for events outside of the house. I track my work schedule, my classes, my family visits, and any other big events using this app. 
      The great thing is that you can view your day in an hourly overview, add commuting time, and set alerts for yourself before the event. It’s easy to organize each event by color and title with a little icon depicting each. You can also set reminders and create notes. 
     Super simple app, but really helpful!


Lifesum

      Somehow, I keep coming back to Lifesum. I delete this app a lot (mostly because I’m a cheapskate and don’t like to spend money) yet, I keep re-downloading Lifesum because it’s great. I got this app years ago before they restricted a lot of the features for paid access only. Let me tell you, even though I’m cheap, this app is totally worth the monthly subscription.
      Lifesum lets you track your diet and set dietary goals for yourself. You can track water, veggies, fruit, and meat intake. You can scan barcodes on packaged food to add to your food diary. You can look up recipes. Create diet plans. Track your weight, calorie intake, body mass, and so much more! The app is easy to follow and super visually appealing. I love all of the emojis and the calming setup.
       Lifesum is great even if you don’t purchase the subscription! You can still use the food diary daily and can view some recipes/create dietary goals. It’s really helped me push myself towards cleaner eating.

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Mealime

      Another meal app and one of my recent favorites! Mealime is a simple and sophisticated way to create meal plans, grocery lists, and view delicious recipes. It’s so much easier to find good recipes on this app compared to scrolling through long winded and ad-ridden food blogs on pinterest. You can favorite dishes that work well for you and your family and can create a sense of easy meal-prepping.
      I love it mostly for the fact that I can schedule days for my recipes so I know when to prepare them. But, it also makes grocery shopping a little less stressful and I’m thankful for that as well.











Egenda

      I exclusively use egenda for homework assignments. I stopped using a paper agenda after high school because I didn’t need it. My college classes only met once or twice a week and I never felt the need for a daily planner. 
     Egenda works wonders for me because I can write down each assignment and color code it by class. I can list whether it is a test, project, homework, or quiz and can mark the assignments by priority. It’s an easy way to view my homework by the week. I’ve also found that it is better to have my homework on my phone so that I can view my assignments on the go rather than having to wait when I get home to do them.


Preview app (Instagram)

      It is so hard for me to build an honest instagram following. I lost two followers the other day after posting a photo session with my little sister on my stories. Look, I’m not great at this instagram thing and will likely never be one of their influencers and that’s okay!
      Even still, I’ve found the preview app to be extremely helpful. It makes cataloging and scheduling pictures easier whilst also allowing me to “preview” how my instagram will look before I post any photos. There is also a great hashtag feature (that I no longer use, sadly) that has been really helpful when it comes to building a following, if you’re into that sort of thing.


And that’s all I have for this post! I hope these online organizational tools benefit you or provide some sort of inspiration for getting your life together. Not that it isn’t already! 

If you like this post, check out some similar posts of mine below:



Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know any good online organizational tools you prefer! 

You can also email me with questions or concerns you may have at info.amelia.wilson@gmail.com

Also, check out my poetry book, The Lights are on but Nobody’s Home, available now on amazon for $6.99!

Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored.

Thanks again

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I’m not going to lie, I’m unsure as to whether or not I’m writing this for you or myself. As I write this, it is 11:30am and I am laying in bed in my pjs. I had intended to be up at 7 or 8 am this morning to have a nice breakfast, work out, work on my blog a bit, tidy up the house, and tackle some homework that is due next week. None of that has been done yet!


(Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post includes affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.)


At the moment, I’m currently working on my free ebook (the one that will be sent to subscribers on my blog) which is titled, My Guide to a Productive Lifestyle. I felt I was qualified to talk about this topic because I strive to live each day as fully as possible. This has enabled me to do many things:
  • I’ve self-published a book
  • Created a blog
  • Continuously received straight A’s in college
  • Have maintained a decent work schedule at target
  • Have grown to eat healthier
  • Have maintained a work out schedule
  • Have two books in progress
  • And have submitted articles for freelance work

This is actually A LOT. And I really do mean A LOT. It can become overwhelming at times. 

I used to confuse being “productive” with “doing things.” And in a way, productivity IS kind of like that. But my view of productivity was warped. I conflated money with being a sign of a person's productiveness. I also warped the notion that “productivity looks different for everyone.”

Productivity DOES look different for everyone.

But I took this statement a little too far.

Here’s an example: my boyfriend’s productivity includes doing dishes and working long hours at his job. He feels most accomplished after working a 10 or 12 hour shift. My friend, Ariana, feels most accomplished after thrifting some decor from goodwill and completely redecorating her room (which looks stunning, I might add). 

My sense of accomplishment is derived from my creative outlets. I feel most accomplished when I have created a few blog posts, written a newsletter, created an ebook, written 1,000 words for my novel, or have created a nice YouTube video. These are the moments where I feel I’ve done something useful with my day. 

Here’s the problem:
I started over-associating these things to the idea of “productivity” so much so, that I no longer felt accomplished in my day if I hadn’t done ALL of the above.

Essentially, one blog post was no longer enough, I had to create three! Not only that, but I couldn’t just stop there, I had to write the 1,000 words, create a whole new project, make a video, etc.

This extended so much that after a while I began to juggle EVERYTHING at once and became super stressed. I felt overwhelmed by the amount of homework and house chores piling up. I began to think that since I wasn’t seeing any progress or reward for my hard work, that it wasn’t worth anything. 

I connected my sense of achievement with monetary gain.

Ah, capitalism at its finest. Am I right?

There was a moment when I was laying in bed with a throbbing headache, knowing that I had to get up and go to work, write an essay for school, eat something healthy, clean the house, etc. The list went on. In that moment, I realized that I was beyond over invested and overworked. 

I cried.

Yes, I’m a big baby!

And you know what? I learned that productivity is not based on how much you do. It’s not even about what you are doing. 

Productivity is a mentality.

When you glance back at your day, right before bed, it’s easy to slip into the idea that you have done nothing.

Our society has sort of warped our ability to feel useful. We think that if we are not working our butts off for a company, or earning money, or doing SOMETHING useful for ourselves or society, we feel defeated. (Pretty sure someone told me this sentiment once).

I’m laying in bed right now, typing this ON MY PHONE! And you know what? I can accept that I am productive.

A lot of us struggle with the idea that we are not being society's ideal of “productive.” Especially right now with Covid 19 and self-isolation, many of us are falling into a sense of depression due to our lack of action.

But you know what? That’s a load of BS!

Here are some ways to count your productivity!
  1. You got out of bed (very difficult, super productive)
  2. You ate breakfast
  3. You ate something healthy
  4. You worked out
  5. You washed your dirty dishes
  6. You organized a part of your house
  7. Maybe you cleaned your whole house? (Good for you!)
  8. You painted something
  9. You wrote something
  10. You did homework
  11. You practiced your target language
  12. You went to work
  13. You called a friend
  14. You hung out with your family
  15. You did a puzzle or at home game
  16. You finished that netflix series (I don’t care what people say, tv series are not just a waste of time. They’re so similar to books except minus the reading and you can become passionate and inspired by tv shows. Don’t relate netflix watching to laziness!)
  17. You watched a YouTube video you’ve been eyeing
  18. You read a book (even just a few pages!)
  19. You went outside
  20. You smiled 
  21. You did your hair and makeup
  22. You watered your plants
  23. Your worked on a passion project
  24. You found a new song you like
  25. You made your bed

These things are so simple and you know what? They count as being productive! 

Productivity is not about doing EVERYTHING and feeling exhausted afterwards. It’s about thinking “what is one thing that I did today that either a) made me feel good or b) was necessary to accomplish.” I mean, homework does not make me feel good. But it IS necessary. And I can respect myself enough to consider homework an achievement.

I always thought that I had to see results in order to feel productive. But that is such a stupid thought!

Being productive is a mentality. It’s in your head! You decide what productivity looks like for you! Some days, it’s the fact that I went to work and earned my wage. Some days, it’s the fact that I got out of bed. Each day is different. 

If you’re struggling with feeling productive, get a journal or a planner. Jot down your daily reflections. Circle the things that made you feel productive or were so in hindsight. You’ll be amazed. 

A good place to start is to get a product from Erin Condren or Minted. Find accomplishment on embarking on this little journaling feat.

Check out my post “Beginners Guide to Journaling” if that helps.

Or, subscribe to my newsletter to get a copy of My Guide to a Productive Lifestyle.

Honestly, opportunity is limitless. It’s up to you to change your state of mind about what productivity means to you.




If you like this post, check out some similar posts of mine below:

click here to view


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Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know any good Chicago restaurants you’d like me to review and try! 

You can also email me with questions or concerns you may have at info.amelia.wilson@gmail.com

Also, check out my poetry book, The Lights are on but Nobody’s Home, available now on amazon for $6.99!


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How to create New Moon Intentions

I have been invested in astrology for almost seven years now. I really got into it once I discovered @scorpiomystique on Instagram. I’ve been reading her horoscopes almost daily since the seventh grade and let me tell you, it took me years before I started taking a lot of her advice seriously.
     I’m not quite sure why, but I didn’t start investing my time into full or new moon energies until recently. But I’ve found that it’s a really powerful and encouraging act.

Why should we care about taking part in these energies?

       I’ve learned that creating goals and watching them manifest is ultra rewarding. Specifically what I’m talking about here is utilizing the moon's energy. The moon operates on a cycle, as does pretty much everything in life. This cycle rotates around a wheel of aspirations (as I like to call it). During a new moon, you set your intentions. The world is a clean slate and you begin your process for the month. The full moon is where you reap the benefits of your manifestations and congratulate yourself on how you’ve grown.
      These ideas have really inspired me recently and have helped me to schedule myself around a higher power of routine. Like the seasons, I change and grow with the celestial bodies and I do my best to follow the moon in its waxing and waning. 

Here’s what I’ll cover in this post:

- how to write new moon intentions
- How to follow the moon’s cycle to reap the benefits of your manifestations
- A small ritual to do on a new moon (for my witchy friends out there)

**Alright, before I get into this, I want to share a little disclaimer that I am new to Wicca and the craft so I may get a few things wrong. Also, as I’ve heard/read/experienced from others, wicca practices vary greatly between each person so what I do/believe may be different from someone else’s ways of doing/believing. I’m not here to say that my one way is “correct” over another. I’m just here to offer guidance and aid for those who are interested. Thank you!**

How to write New Moon Intentions

      First, find something to write them on. I use my grimoire/book of shadows as a journey as equally as I use it to jot down information on wicca. Therefore, that’s what I use when I write my new moon intentions. I like to decorate the page with fancy lettering, stars, stickers, and doodles, but really, even a simple and plain sheet of paper will work!
      Once you have your writing materials, title the page. I like to write “new moon intentions (date)” so I can look back on it when the full moon comes around. I also enjoy writing the word intentions because it forces my mind to go “intentions, intent. What do I intend, desire, aspire to manifest this lunar cycle?” 
      Then I make a list. Sometimes I meditate for a while on what I want my monthly goals to look like. Today’s new moon is April 22. The full moon falls on May 7. So between now and May 7, what do I want to achieve? 
      Meditating can take a few minutes. I really want to soak up my intentions and sort through them. I don’t necessarily want my first few ideas to be the ones I write down. I like to think about it.
      It’s also important to think small. The full moon is only about fourteen to fifteen days away. Therefore my goals can’t be too over dramatic. For example, I can’t write “I want to earn $1 million before the full moon” or “I want to own two dogs who end up having puppies so I can re-enact the Airbud: Buddies movie.” That is simply unrealistic.
       Here’s a list of goals I wrote last new moon:

  • I want to spend one hour of my day dedicated to physical activity (dance, walking, yoga, etc)


I want to use my meal planner app more effectively (maybe for 3 meals out of the week)

I want to focus on creating more blog content, writing at least two to four posts a week and creating one newsletter a week

I want to dedicate at least an hour each week to talk to my friends (more would be nice but I’ll aim for an hour)

That’s it! That’s a bit shorter than what I wrote but I felt these were the most useful and abundant. Each one focuses on a different area of my life that I want to improve upon. I then spend fourteen to fifteen days trying to implement these desires into my lifestyle. By the full moon, I reflect and decide what is working and what isn't. (The specifics of the full moon manifestations will be better discussed in a different post). 

Here’s some tips to help you formulate your list:


  • think short term actions to reach long term goals

Be as specific as possible

Choose a way to measure results (I.e. talk to friends for one hour a week)

Focus on areas of your life where you’re seeking improvement

Focus on ways to improve those tough spots

Be mindful of what you can realistically achieve

How to follow the moon’s cycle to reap the benefits of your manifestations

      As I mentioned earlier, the full moon comes about fifteen days from the new moon. The full moon is where you congratulate yourself on how far you’ve come. It’s a space of joy and positive energy. Here, you reflect on your growth and enjoy what has been prosperous. As the moon begins the waning phase, you begin to nurture and focus on these goals, working on both what you’ve accomplished and what has been challenging.
      I’ll have a post dedicated to the full moon and the waning phases later on. For now, just know that the cycle will go back around to the new moon again where you’ll be able to start fresh and renew or alter past intentions or create something entirely different!
      The new moon is all about intent and manifestational desires!

A small ritual to do on a new moon (for my witchy friends out there)

I’ll keep this short and simple:

What you’ll need: candles (4 if you can), a piece of paper, a pen, crystals (like citrine, aventurine, or carnelian)

*Note* citrine represents abundance, aventurine represents new beginnings, and carnelian represents creation


  1. Set up your candles in each cardinal direction. You can also use only one candle and substitute the others with the elements (air-incense, earth-gems or rocks, and water-a cup of water). I sometimes do this. But typically for a new moon ritual, I like to wait til nightfall and set four candles around me.
  2. Call your deities/close a circle: this is just a nice way to get into the ritual, cleanse the space, and add protection for yourself. Do this however you normally would.
  3. Sit in the middle of the candles facing whichever direction is calling to you most. I associate each direction with an element and with a feeling. These are listed below. I face the direction with the feeling I want to manifest. For example, with my above intentions, many focus on personal growth, so I might face North for my ritual. (Additionally! I like to have my crystals present in front of me to either look at or hold during the next step!)
South=fire=energy and ambition

North=earth=material/physical and growth
West=water=emotion and relationships
East=air=intellect and communication

4. Meditate on your intentions for a while. Let your mind focus on what you want to achieve. Also give consideration to what you want to cleanse and what no longer serves you. Both are important.

5. Once you think you have a grasp on your intentions, get out the small piece of paper and pen and write down what you want to manifest. When you’re finished, read them aloud. You can do this as a prayer or a smell or just simply a way to read them to yourself.

6.  Take that note and fold it up. Stash it away somewhere safe where you can use it again on the full moon.

7. Next, take a piece of paper and write down what you want to let go of or cleanse from yourself.

8. Once that is written, burn it. Or, a safer method, cut it up. Discard it in some way. This symbolizes your ability to let go of what holds you back.

9.  When you’re finished, thank your deities and close your circle as normal. I also like to reread my list when I’m finished and tuck it away with my new moon intentions in my grimoire. It's a nice reaffirmation for me.
And there you have it! A simple spell that you can include in your new moon intentions! It’s super helpful and symbolic for me to do and I really enjoy it. I don’t do it every month but it is a nice pick me up!

I hope you found this post helpful! 

If you like this post, check out some similar posts of mine below:

Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know any good Chicago restaurants you’d like me to review and try! 

You can also email me with questions or concerns you may have at info.amelia.wilson@gmail.com

Also, check out my poetry book, The Lights are on but Nobody’s Home, available now on amazon for $6.99!

Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored.


Thanks again

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