Press Reset

The first week back at the office after a whole month of being on vacation is tough, to say the least. No matter how much you love your job, settling back into your routines and daily rhythm is never that easy-breezy, at least for me. But the good thing about having to start from scratch again after a long holiday is that it gives you the opportunity to break your routine and improve your way of doing things.

One major learning for me during this month away was that I need to give myself more offline time. As I mentioned before (and several times on the blog already, like here), being present in the moment and living right here & right now is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. Making time for the people, activities and things that matter most to you is crucial to be happy and to live a fulfilled life. On this very special trip to Hawaii I realized how consumed I can get to take enough photos and videos to share with the world, and although it’s something I absolutely love doing and lucky enough even call part of my job, I realized that I sometimes loose myself in the whole process.

At some point I had my phone in my hand during sunset and was trying to film a Hyperlapse, which I wanted to share on my Instagram story later on. But then this thought hit me: Who am I doing this for right now? The brutal truth: Not for myself. 

While I would not consider myself a very selfish person, it stroke me that maybe being selfish from time to time is important and perhaps even a big part of self-love? Maybe we should dare to put ourselves and our very own needs in front of everything else sometimes. Maybe that would help us to focus more on ourselves and on the things we really need, instead of looking around what everyone else does and comparing ourselves with each other?

It was right in this moment at sunset that I decided to turn my phone off and just enjoy the view of the sun going down without a little screen in front of my face. This moment extended to a day and the day extended to a week. And to be honest: This week of not constantly having my phone with me and desperately trying to catch all the memories we made was one of the best weeks I’ve had in a long time.

So back to the thought that it’s a blessing to be able to reset yourself after a holiday:

I’m currently creating a new habit for myself by putting my phone on downtime from 9pm until 7am. It’s easily done in the settings of the new iPhone software and allows you to set a schedule for time away from your screen. During this downtime, only apps that you choose to allow and phone calls are available. I basically don’t allow any apps except for my Notes since that’s the place I write down all the random thoughts that hit me throughout the day (and night), and so far it’s been great! Now that I think about it, checking my e-mails and Instagram last thing at night and first thing in the morning doesn’t really seem like the healthiest and best thing to do, and I’m glad I finally realized that myself. It took me long enough.

Even if the first week of settling back in at work has been rather bumpy, I’m thankful for all the new habits and routines it’s been bringing along. Also, I’m very thankful for fall and the fact that I’m living in a country that has four different seasons. Wearing jeans, boots and a soft cardigan was a bliss this week and can we please take a moment to admire this beautiful golden fall weather we’re having right now? I guess you can feel my excitement… Of course I also couldn’t help it but had to do some major (online) window shopping at my favorite shops. Although I’m still quite happy with my fall wardrobe from the last seasons, a few new pieces were allowed to move into my closet and I can’t wait to hopefully receive them next week. If you’re curious to see what I got, make sure to check out my fall boutique here to see my selection of favorite pieces this season.

With that being said, I’m off to my very first weekend back at home since our wedding and can’t wait to spend it with my husband (it’s still so weird to say that, but it’s also the best feeling ever). Wishing all of you a very happy weekend ♥

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SET cardigan // Closed jeans // Edited sweater // Givenchy boots // Chanel WOC (pre-loved here) // Ray Ban sunglasses // Anna Inspiring Jewellery necklaces

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