How gorgeous is April – the season of new life and new hope? It’s hard not to feel your spirits lift when you see a drift of blossom on a cherry tree, or a blaze of daffodils or tulips and a blue sky.

If anybody says they’re actually looking forward to sitting their exams, you can safely cross them off your Christmas list for good. Exams are high pressure environments and sometimes it seems they’re designed to stress us out, not test our knowledge.

Let’s face it, this last stretch of winter is the hardest. The world’s still cold, grey, and drained of colour. It’s so easy to feel negative about everything just before spring comes breezing in. We hate our jobs, we’ve lost our mojo, our motivation, and we’re not sure how to start feeling positive again.

February is a hard month to love. Shorter days, longer nights. Who wants to brave the elements and meet up with friends who live close, let alone those who aren’t just round the corner?

We’re going to be upfront about this – the colour of Valentine’s Day isn’t red for us at Zebra Pen; it’s rose gold. We’ve lost our hearts to that subtle, sophisticated shade that says ‘romance’ without shouting it from the rooftops.

When we’re at the beck and call of deadlines, to-do lists and other people’s demands, it can be impossible to think more than short term. We just need to get things done. But finding your purpose in life, your vocation, is what makes sense of everything else. It’s the thing you were born to do, where you feel fulfilled and truly yourself. No pretenses.

Nobody ever said January was their favourite month. And Blue Monday – January 16th – is officially the UK’s most depressing day. You can just about coast along on the Christmas high for a couple of weeks, and then the world drops off a cliff.

At Christmas, the sight of a slowly growing pile of presents massed under the tree is part of the mounting excitement. For the giver, wrapping the present is the final finishing touch – and sometimes a last-minute scrabble for the Sellotape! But, for the person on the receiving end, opening a present is part of the Christmas magic. Suddenly we’re 8 years old and it’s Pass the Parcel, all over again.

We make a lot of lists at Christmas. There’s our own personal list, a list of what to buy for other people, a list of cards to write, and then there’s the to-do list for all that delicious Christmas food and drink.
We all promise we’re going to be more organised this year…but then work, studying or socialising get in the way – and suddenly there are only 10 days to go and we’re SOOO-NOT-READY!

We can’t believe it’s been eight months since we welcomed our Zebra Pen UK Brand Ambassadors – the Magnificent Seven! Each of these inspirational women has been unbelievably generous and supportive with her time and input; with everything from real-life reviews of our top pens, to brilliant ideas and tips on everything from study planners, journals, and effective notetaking.

When it’s colder and darker in the mornings, we all find it harder to motivate ourselves to get going– especially if you don’t have a set time to be at work, college or university. Tempting as it is to wriggle back under the duvet, the best way to have a rewarding and productive day is to create a personal morning routine that works for you and leaves you in the right frame of mind for whatever the day has in store. Here are our top tips to find your morning mojo!

Stocking up on stationery mid-term? Here are five of the best from our Zebra Pen Brand Ambassadors. Whether you’re taking a class or teaching it, right around now your carefully chosen stock of pens, highlighters, notebooks and organisers is often starting to run low.