Category: The Real World

Anything pertaining to “adulting” & my adventures in the real world.

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Type A’s Guide to Going With the Flow

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I’m assuming if you’re reading this article, you’re also a Type A. Welcome. You’re in good company.

Let’s be real right off the bat: sometimes being Type A is hard. Sure, we’re really good at doing well in school, excelling at our jobs, achieving our goals, etc. etc. but we’re really, really bad at letting life happen & going with the flow. And while it’s good to have our strengths to help us out in most areas of our lives, if we can’t go with the flow & accept the unpredictability of life, we’re going to be miserable. No matter how organized/color-coded our planners are.

Personally, as a Type A pseudo “adult,” this go with the flow thing has really become a challenge in the real world. I want all the answers. I want to know how it all plays out. I want a plan that I can follow. I’m good at plans. Plans make me happy. But life never goes according to plan (duh).

True confession, in the past, I’ve tried to find the answers via Google. I’ve literally Googled “how to be patient,” “how to trust life/the universe,” “how to not freak out when everything isn’t going according to plan and I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing,” etc. etc. And honestly? All the articles I found were bullsh*t. They didn’t help at all. (They said things like “just let it go” and “be patient.” OKAY, SURE RIGHT. GOODBYE.) So I decided to write my own guide about how Type A’s can go with the flow (which is hilarious because of course Type A’s need a GUIDE on how to LET GO. The irony is not lost on me).

Now, this is not a comprehensive cure-all guarantee. Obviously, my experiences are very different than yours, but here are a few things I’ve learned (the hard way, mostly) & some things I’ve personally done to help myself cope with uncertainty and “let go” just a little bit. I hope it helps. If not, you can put me in the bullsh*t category with all the other Google articles ;) Enjoy.

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Your 2018 Digital Detox

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Helllloooo & happy 2018! It’s a few days into the new year so hopefully you’re still feeling energized & excited about your resolutions (maybe we can all make it February this time??) I’m personally not a big new year’s resolutions fan (if you are, more power to you!) but I do love a “clean sweep” at the beginning of every new year. Last year, I started 2017 by completely  cleaning out my room/closet which was awesome/refreshing (10/10 recommend). This year, I’m focused more on the digital part of my life. It started off a few weeks ago actually when I realized I deleted the same 10 junk emails out of my inbox every day. Every. single. day. I deleted the same emails without opening them. It got me thinking–why don’t I just unsubscribe so I don’t have to do this every morning? Yea, it took a little bit of time to click through all the annoying unsubscribe links, but I’m way happier now looking at my inbox.

So with that in mind, here are 5 easy ways to do a 2018 digital detox. Let’s face it, a large majority of our lives is digital so might as well make it a little more positive. Oh, and after you read this post, take a break & do something that doesn’t involve looking at a screen ;)

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2017 In Review: 20 Positive Changes & 17 Adventures

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*Hi there! Super excited to have another guest post~ here on Ampersand. Just like how I love sharing cool new things with you, I love when people share awesome ideas/tips/events with me! Meet my friend Emily–a good friend from college & huge fan of Ampersand. She asked to share this story with you, and I know you’ll love it as much as I do!! Y’all can throw her a follow on Insta here. 

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IT’S NEW YEAR’S SEASON PEOPLE

Hi. My name is Emily, and I love New Years. I’ve always been a fan of documenting firsts (don’t doubt I have a first day of school picture for every year), lasts (had to insta the last beer of the summer), and any significant milestones along the way. I love paying attention to time and how things change, and I think New Years is a great opportunity to reflect and look back on great lasts, weird firsts, and exciting changes.

Last year around this time I was in quite a funk–unhappy with my job in a city I couldn’t quite call home, I decided that I was going to make 2017 the year of 20 positive changes and 17 adventures (cause 2017, hah). Despite the amount of jokes that were made about this, it has been quite the year. As the year comes to a close, I wanted to share some of what I learned from my endeavor!

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