quills-and-tomes

[quills-and-tomes]

Study diary:

I'm so glad that my uni has a very forgiving system for retaking exams, because I couldn't make the deadline for my latest exam. I'm doing my best to not beat myself up over it, but it's still difficult.

The new "course-section" started yesterday, and this part of the course has the most reading and is the part that I have the least knowledge of beforehand so far. So I'm gonna have to buckle down and get ready.

We've got 2 more lectures this week, 1 tomorrow, 1 Thursday.

My plan for today is:

Studying:

• Make a more in-depth study-plan for this and next week

• Read the articles for tomorrow's lecture

• Look at the PowerPoint for tomorrow's lecture

• Revise my notes from yesterday's lecture

• Use the PowerPoint to prep my note-taking for tomorrow's lecture

• If I have time over:

• Glance at the articles for Thursday's lecture

• Do some more work on the old take-home exam (so that I'll have an easier time re-taking the exam later)

Other things:

• Fold & put away my clean laundry

• Call Mom

• Answer messages

• Do the dishes

• Hydrate

• Eat properly

• Exercise

• Stretch

• Meditate

• Go for a walk to get some fresh air

• Get to bed early

Since today(tomorrow) happens to be the u.s. election day, I should try to avoid being on social media or news sites too much. As a European, I'm not as immediately affected as the u.s. Americans, so it's no use for me to let that distract and affect me today, especially since I do still need to recover from the take-home exam period.

I can call mom while folding the laundry - that way she can be my body double, I'll have something to occupy my hands while on the call, and I'll save some time.

I can listen to a fun podcast while doing dishes, thereby making it easier for myself to wash the dishes and minimise my strain today.

Doing the chores I had to downprioritise over the take-home exam is also a type of self-care, but I can FEEL how my body's started to build up stress, so that R&R is integral for me to be able to keep going on in the long run. I'm gonna need to stretch and exercise, replenish my body (note to self: check if I need to store up on more ORT tablets), and actually rest.

So, today I need to balance my study workload, my chores, my R&R and a little bit of my social life.

Easy peasy.

Alright, let's get to it

[quills-and-tomes]

🍁🍂 How I Prepare for a New Semester 📚

whether you're keen to maintain your stellar academic record or make a mean comeback this semester, i hope these questions help guide your planning process, lovelies 💛

⚔️ Battle Plan ⚔️

What do you want to achieve this semester?

What routines will you follow as you work towards your goals?

How will you hold yourself accountable?

Who or what can help you?

😤 War Cry 😤

How does this semester fit into your larger dreams?

How are you going to remember what's truly important when you're in the thick of it all?

🕊️ Safe Harbor 🕊️

When will you make time to gain back your energy?

What will you do to recharge?

Who can you rely on for support and motivation?

💌: have a missed anything? or what's something that's absolutely essential for you when preparing for a new semester? 👀

[quills-and-tomes]

Hi, can you give some tips about how to keep busy myself all over, if I just a little time my mind try to overthink horrible things.

So can you help, like with that.

hi anonie, sorry for the late reply! i was sick the last few days and am still recovering 🤧 i know how you feel, i tend to overthink a lot as well and that's part of the reason why i like to keep myself so busy 😅 but one thing i've re-learned as i worked myself sick recently is that this kind of lifestyle is really not sustainable 😔

so i will share some ideas for things to keep you busy and happy as you've asked, but also some suggestions for how i try to stop overthinking even in my life's more quiet moments. i've amassed a lot of these different “toolkits” for managing my overthinking in the last year, so i hope they help you 🥺💛

how to stay busy 🐝

chill but fun activities that give you more energy to do the next thing!

more on energy management so you can keep doing things all day long

ideas for when you're lazy but want to keep doing things

productive procrastination ideas (technically for my writing hobby, but it lends itself to serving as inspo for how to productively procrastinate in other areas too 🤭)

make yourself very very busy using toxic productivity (because in theory, there is a non-toxic way to do it)

consistency

how to stay sane 😌

journal (but be kind of unserious and chaotic about it)

journal but artsy so that you also kind of stop thinking too, pt. 2 with template ideas

self-care to turn your brain off but also because i do my worst overthinking when i'm being mean to myself, so if this is you, this might help, pt. 2

overthink on purpose by framing it as something to keep you busy and productive like “working on yourself”

how to not wake up and immediately start overthinking

[quills-and-tomes]

how to use “toxic productivity habits” the right way

there are so many ways to be productive that often end up labelled “toxic” because they result in burnout or demotivation, but from personal experience (i.e., lots of cycles of toxic productivity -> demotivation -> burnout -> repeat) i believe it's because you need to use these strategies the RIGHT way. you wouldn't try to use a spoon the way you use a fork and vice versa! 🍽️ so here's how i keep my plate FULL while maintaining my sanity 😌

🏃‍♀️ multitask the right way 🏃‍♀️

certain activities lend themselves to stacking together while others do not

as a general rule: mindless activity x mentally engaging activity

🌸 some examples from my life:

doing readings x stretches or getting steps in

watching lectures x eating meals

laundry or other chores x language lessons

🗓️ overbook yourself the right way 🗓️

this strategy is best used in conjunction with that of booking in buffer time and prioritizing must-haves vs. nice-to-haves

sometimes you underestimate how long something will take simply because you're dreading it or doubting your own abilities, so this is a great way to get around that if you're that kind of person!

i like to make a dream list of everything i want to get done in a day so that i can keep track of it all and i'm never left wasting my free time because i didn't plan something

also, because it's a dream list, i know i can cut things if i can't make it all happen and there's no pressure or regret

🍨say yes to everything the right way🍨

use this for external accountability, but ONLY for things you actually want to do anyway

do it scared, do it alone, do it imperfectly, as long as you do it, you will see growth, i promise!

🌸 some examples from my life:

i wanted to get my driver's license, so i booked and paid for my lessons and the exam ahead regardless of whether i felt scared or tired (but not too tired, practice safe driving, guys!!), and i got my license with just 2 months of practice

i wanted to start my own engineering project at work, so i told my entire team that i would take charge of it before i had any clue about a solution for the problem we were facing or who would even want to work with me, and i figured that shit out because i had to

💌 bonus tip: once you get really comfortable with using these strategies, you can start bringing it all together! say yes -> overbook -> multitask — you'll find you can accomplish far more than you think! 💓

[quills-and-tomes]

good morning!

[quills-and-tomes]

𝔰𝔱𝔲𝔡𝔶 𝔰𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 💋