meanderings

Every year when January rolls around I have the urge to simplify – to start the new year fresh and clean and uncluttered. This doesn’t mean getting rid of everything (I’m faaaar from being a minimalist), just getting rid of the things that weigh you down. So, here’s the unofficial guide to simplifying without going full-on Marie Kondo. 

physical clutter

What’s the area in your room that stresses you out when you see it? Start there. A few quick tips on how to clean specific areas:

closet

Take allll your clothes out of your closet, wardrobe, or dresser

Put the things you know you’re keeping back in right away – your favorite jeans, that black dress you wear all the time, etc

Once you’re left with just the ‘maybes’, try every item on.

If you wouldn’t buy it all over again, it should probably go.

Don’t just toss what you don’t want, though! Donate it to a local thrift store, charity, or church with a community closet.

desk + shelves

Again, start by completely clearing off your desk and study area.

Go through your binders and make sure everything is in it’s correct place

Migrate materials from old classes into files out of the way if they’re important, or toss them if you won’t use them again.

 Make sure everything has a home – pencils should be in a bag or mug, papers in files or trays, and notebooks neatly stacked.

Make a point to clean your desk regularly!

If you have supplies you don’t need, donate them! Let’s be real – you have way more pens than you could ever use.

Books are also a wonderful thing to donate! Your local library or thrift shop would be my top pick. 

If you still have old textbooks laying around, list them on your school’s bulletin board to sell, since most thrift shops won’t accept them. 

under your bed

Let’s be real: most all of this can go. Grab a trash bag and toss anything that’s not important.

You can get one of those rolling tupperware under-the-bed organizers, or just stick what has to stay under there in a thin  cardboard box.

Be sure not to leave things loose under there, or you may end up with some unwanted pals living under there ~

digital clutter

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I have a lot of digital clutter. It’s so easy to build it up and forget about all that you have stored on your computer!

Go through your phone and delete photos you don’t need, apps you don’t use, and old messages. 

Do a major computer overhaul! Delete old files and programs so that you have more space.

Put all your files into folders so that they’re easier to find later on.

Take a look through your friends and following lists, and delete all those people that post negative things.

mental clutter

This is the big one. Mental clutter comes from all of the above, plus just living your life. Some tips for decluttering your mind:

Do a nightly brain dump. Before you get into bed each night, open up your journal and write down everything that’s on your mind. Once it’s on paper, you can let it go until the morning. 

Find relaxing habits to practice everyday: yoga, taking a warm bath, going for a run, etc

Practice mindfulness or meditation

Keep a planner!

Practice not letting yourself harbor bad thoughts

Stay away from negative people if you can. You don’t need negative attitudes to be adding your already stressful life!

simplify your schedule

Learn to say ‘no’ more – if you don’t want to go to your friend’s-cousin’s-niece’s dance recital, don’t.

Streamline your daily routine;

Get ready faster by nixing the makeup you don’t love to put on and finding quick and easy hairstyles

Make an outfit idea board on Pinterest and fill it with outfits that you can make from pieces you already have in your closet so you spend less time finding an outfit 

Cook meals in advance when possible, or stick an easy meal in the crockpot before you leave for the day

Tidy every room just a bit before you leave it, so that you don’t have to devote an hour to cleaning it later on

Make time for you each week

See if there are any chores that you can outsource (eg, some grocery stores will shop for you for free, all you have to do is order online and go pick it up)

Don’t feel like you have to participate in something you don’t enjoy. If you don’t love the sport, don’t play it

Hi guys! So a lot of our classes are starting today, even with the eclipse so I thought I’d share some tips my teacher sent out to help everyone get a better grade in the sciences classes, which may or may not be slightly trickier than others. It’s important to realize that no one can get through all of these, so pick what is most important to you.

1) Put in the time. Using the “three-to-one” rule, three hours of studying outside of class time per one credit hour. If your class is 3 credits, you should be studying independently an additional 9 hours. For 4 credits, 12 hours. Teachers expect you to treat studying as your job (even if you do have an actual job) meaning you should virtually be studying anytime outside of meals, class, sleep, work, etc. > To clarify, this is per week. Not at all per day. You will never be able to shove an appropriate amount of studying per class into one day. Do not try, it is not healthy. 2) NO cramming. It is MUCH more productive to study a little each day rather than 9 hours the day before a test. You will remember virtually nothing if you do and will not be as happy with the grade you recieve. Taking it in little bits stores it in long term memory and you will actually learn it rather than just regurgitating it onto a test. 3) Time management is crucial. Especially if you are someone who works or has kids or other priorities that also need attention. Make a schedule and. Stick. To. It. 4) Be prepared and organized. Do not be the person who lost their pencil and doesn’t have an extra, forgot a notebook or textbook, keys, etc. Give yourself enough time so you’re not rushing and make sure you have what you need! Your college professors are not here to attend to your personal needs when some of them have 800+ students a semester. 5) Use a calender. Write down your assignments, projects, class times, anything you need to remember. Use it religiously because it will be so much easier than trying to keep it all inside your head and that way you will not forget anything. 6) Use the book AND the notes. Most professors write things in a different way than the book and reading something in multiple different ways will better help you remember the concept rather than the sentence word for word. 7) Read ahead. Doing so helps you prepare for and not be lost in lecture and it will benefit you as well as the teacher. 8) Attend all/as many classes as you can and be an active listener. Sit up straight, face forward, don’t pay attention to what others around you are doing (I sit up front whenever possible). Keep an extra piece of paper near you in case you have questions so you can either ask or go back later and look it up yourself. 9) Take detailed notes. With permission, record the lecture so you can hear it again later, abbreviate whatever you are scribbling down, and then as soon as you can after class, rewrite it in a neater, nicer way and don’t be afraid to word things differently. A review shortly after class is proven to help it convert to long term memory. 10) Keep your phone off in class. I know we all love our phones and class is boring, but it’s also crucial information. We’ve all been through that period of regret where we wished we had paid attention. Don’t let that happen anymore. Use it only for emergencies and recording lectures. 11) Even if you don’t rewrite your notes after class, review them. Make sure to pay attention to anything the teacher may have repeated or any learning objectives they would like for you to know. 12) Study early and often! This goes along with no cramming but the sooner and more repetitively you relay information to your brain, the easier it will be to remember it. If you don’t look at the information for 2 weeks and then suddenly need to remember it all, not only will you be too stressed to retain it, you’ll also be wasting valuable time. Make your own study guides and test questions. 13) Make flashcards. Flashcards are only useful when you a) shuffle them occasionally and b) take the ones you’ve memorized out of the pile but still review them every now and then to make sure you still remember. Put any back in the pile that you missed. 14) Use mnemonic devices for lists of related terms. 15) Type or rewrite your notes. I’d recommend writing them again, because physical writing by hand is another way to help remember it. 16) Consolidate your material. This means: tables, lists, figures, concept maps. Reasonable chucks. 17) Teach it to someone else. The best way to tell if you have mastered something is that you are able to explain it to someone else correctly in a way that makes sense. 18) Pick a good place for effective studying. We all love our study groups, but let’s be honest. At most the first 20 minutes is talking, then 10 minutes of studying before half the group is surfing Tumblr and the other half is complaining they’re hungry. I prefer to study by myself for this reason. Find a quiet place with minimal distractions and get prepared to work your fucking ass off. 19) Get decent rest before the exam and be sure to get there early or on time, unpredictable situations included. Exams are important and your teacher will not care if there was a traffic jam. If you miss the exam, you miss the exam. 20) Learn from your mistakes. Review your incorrect exam answers and figure out why it was wrong and why the correct answer was correct. Talk to your teacher, TA, resource lab, anyone who may help you if you’re stuck. 21) Review the midterm and start preparing for finals. Most of the midterm material should be on the final, so it’s one of your best study guides. 22) Keep your textbooks and notes. I know we’re all broke as fuck and would like to sell them back, but you never know when that information will be useful in another class down the road. 23) Do NOT discuss grades, quizzes, tests, or exams with your class mates. Of course they’ll complain that they didn’t study, that chapter 6 was this, or chapter 8 said that and it was confusing. This type of conversation will only make you nervous so steer clear of all of it.

If I can, I always opt to ditch my name tag in a dementia care environment. I let my friends with dementia decide what my name is: I’ve been Susan, Gwendolyn, and various peoples’ kids. I’ve been so many identities to my residents, too: a coworker, a boss, a student, a sibling, a friend from home, and more. 

Don’t ask your friend with dementia if they “remember your name” — especially if that person is your parent, spouse, or other family member. It’s quite likely to embarrass them if they can’t place you, and, frankly, it doesn’t really matter what your name is. What matters is how they feel about you.

Here’s my absolute favorite story about what I call, “Timeline Confusion”:

Alicia danced down the hallway, both hands steadily on her walker. She moved her hips from side to side, singing a little song, and smiled at everyone she passed. Her son, Nick, was walking next to her.

Nick was probably one of the best caregivers I’d ever met. It wasn’t just that he visited his mother often, it was how he visited her. He was patient and kind—really, he just understood dementia care. He got it.

Alicia was what I like to call, “pleasantly confused.” She thought it was a different year than it was, liked to sing and dance, and generally enjoyed her life.

One day, I approached the pair as they walked quietly down the hall. Alicia smiled and nodded at everyone she passed, sometimes whispering a, “How do you do!”

“Hey, Alicia,” I said. “We’re having a piano player come in to sing and play music for us. Would you like to come listen?”

“Ah, yes!” she smiled back. “My husband is a great singer,” she said, motioning to her son.

Nick smiled and did not correct her. He put his hand gently on her shoulder and said to me, “We’ll be over there soon.”

I saw Nick again a few minutes later while his mom was occupied with some other residents. “Nick,” I said. “Does your mom usually think that you’re her husband?”

Nick said something that I’ll never forget.

“Sometimes I’m me, sometimes I’m my brother, sometimes I’m my dad, and sometimes I’m just a friend. But she always knows that she loves me,” he smiled.

Nick had nailed it. He understood that, because his mom thought it was 1960, she would have trouble placing him on a timeline.

He knew that his mom recognized him and he knew that she loved him. However, because of her dementia, she thought it was a different year. And, in that year, he would’ve been a teenager.

Using context clues (however mixed up the clues were) Alicia had determined that Nick was her husband: he was the right age, he sure sounded and looked like her husband, and she believed that her son was a young man.

This is the concept that I like to call timeline confusion. It’s not that your loved one doesn’t recognize you, it’s that they can’t place you on a timeline.