I need to get organized

Credit to @japanese_with_josh

Remember these dates. #StudentLoans

So if you’re one of those “I can only write when I feel Inspired™” type of writers but you never seem to feel very inspired, and all of the usual “You have to make a schedule and stick to it and sit down and write XYZ words per day” writing tips have never worked for you and only make you feel guilty but you have no idea why,

have you perhaps considered that you might be neurodivergent / mentally ill / have a chronic health condition, and that what you call “inspiration” is what the rest of us call “spoons”?

then I remembered that I have ADHD

so

Christine’s friend: well first I’d get up and take a shower–

Christine: that costs a spoon.

the friend: then I’d cook breakfast–

Christine: that costs a spoon. when they’re gone, they’re gone, and you’re done for the day.

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‘You must include a cover letter’ does not mean ‘write a single line about why you want this position’. If you can’t be bothered to write at least one actual paragraphs about why you want this job, I can’t be bothered to read your CV.

Don’t bother including a list of your interests if all you can think of is ‘socialising with friends’ and ‘listening to music’. Everyone likes those things. Unless you can explain why the stuff you do enriches you as a person and a candidate (e.g. playing an instrument or a sport shows dedication and discipline) then I honestly don’t care how you spend your time. I won’t be looking at your CV thinking ‘huh, they haven’t included their interests, they must have none’, I’m just looking for what you have included.

Even if you apply online, I can see the filename you used for your CV. Filenames that don’t include YOUR name are annoying. Filenames like ‘CV - media’ tell me that you’ve got several CVs you send off depending on the kind of job advertised and that you probably didn’t tailor it for this position. ‘[Full name] CV’ is best.

USE. A. PDF. All the meta information, including how long you worked on it, when you created it, times, etc, is right there in a Word doc. PDFs are far more professional looking and clean and mean that I can’t make any (unconscious or not) decisions about you based on information about the file.

I don’t care what the duties in your previous unrelated jobs were unless you can tell me why they’re useful to this job. If you worked in a shop, and you’re applying for an office job which involves talking to lots of people, don’t give me a list of stuff you did, write a sentence about how much you enjoyed working in a team to help everyone you interacted with and did your best to make them leave the shop with a smile. I want to know what makes you happy in a job, because I want you to be happy within the job I’m advertising.

Does the application pack say who you’ll be reporting to? Can you find their name on the company website? Address your application to them. It’s super easy and shows that you give enough of a shit to google something. 95% of people don’t do this.

Tell me who you are. Tell me what makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work and feel fulfilled. Tell me what you’re looking for, not just what you think I’m looking for.

I will skim your CV. If you have a bunch of bullet points, make every one of them count. Make the first one the best one. If it’s not interesting to you, it’s probably not interesting to me. I’m overworked and tired. Make my job easy.

“I work well in a team or individually” okay cool, you and everyone else. If the job means you’ll be part of a big team, talk about how much you love teamwork and how collaborating with people is the best way to solve problems. If the job requires lots of independence, talk about how you are great at taking direction and running with it, and how you have the confidence to follow your own ideas and seek out the insight of others when necessary. I am profoundly uninterested in cookie-cutter statements. I want to know how you actually work, not how a teacher once told you you should work.

For an entry-level role, tell me how you’re looking forward to growing and developing and learning as much as you can. I will hire genuine enthusiasm and drive over cherry-picked skills any day. You can teach someone to use Excel, but you can’t teach someone to give a shit. It makes a real difference.

This is my advice for small, independent orgs like charities, etc. We usually don’t go through agencies, and the person reading through the applications is usually the person who will manage you, so it helps if you can give them a real sense of who you are and how you’ll grab hold of that entry level position and give it all you’ve got. This stuff might not apply to big companies with actual HR departments - it’s up to you to figure out the culture and what they’re looking for and mirror it. Do they use buzzwords? Use the same buzzwords! Do they write in a friendly, informal way? Do the same! And remember, 95% of job hunting (beyond who you know and flat-out nepotism, ugh) is luck. If you keep getting rejected, it’s not because you suck. You might just need a different approach, or it might just take the right pair of eyes landing on your CV.

And if you get rejected, it’s worthwhile asking why. You’ve already been rejected, the worst has already happened, there’s really nothing bad that can come out of you asking them for some constructive feedback (politely, informally, “if it isn’t too much trouble”). Pretty much all of us have been hopeless jobseekers at one point or another. We know it’s shitty and hard and soul-crushing. Friendliness goes a long way. Even if it’s just one line like “your cover letter wasn’t inspiring" at least you know where to start.

Shut down so you can restart.

Clear off your bed and change your sheets if you need to. Change into comfortable pajamas. Shut down all your devices/plug them in to charge. Drink tea, or warm milk, or drink a glass of water, then do your night skincare routine if you have one. Brush your teeth. Put on deodorant. Go to the washroom. Put a glass of water by the bed. Go to bed sometime before 10 PM. Don’t look at any devices. Don’t get back up. Listen to music, or a calming podcast, if you’re having trouble falling asleep. Set an alarm for 10 AM.

Restart and open up a new tab.

Do some yoga or light physical exercise. Go for a walk. Go for a run if that’s what you feel like. 

Replace the battery.

Eat breakfast. Try to get some protein; avoid sugars and simple carbs. Eggs, brown bread and coffee are a good start. For quick iced coffee, brew strong, dark, hot coffee and fill a cup completely with ice. Pour the hot coffee into the cup full of ice. Eat without reading or watching anything. Once you’re done, immediately wash all dishes and wipe down the countertops.

Clean the hardware.

Get up sometime before 10 AM or at 10 AM. Pick out a nice outfit, something that’s comfortable, clean and that you think looks good. Go to the washroom. Gather all your shower supplies, any soaps or anything. Get in the shower. Wash your body. Shave, if that’s your thing. Wash your hair. Condition. Turn the shower off. Moisturize. Get out of the shower and dry off. Dry your hair or towel it off. Do your skincare. Put on deodorant. Put on your clothes. 

Empty the recycle bin.

Empty out your trash or recycling bin. Go through your pens, your pencils, stuff you have around your room, even your clothes. Throw anything out that you don’t have or don’t need or that doesn’t fit you.

Clear off your desktop.

Put your desk/work area in order. Put your pens in jars, your markers and pencils in other jars. Sort your papers. Clear any clutter away. Put anything that doesn’t belong on your desk away. 

Uninstall programs you don’t need.

Sit down at your desk. Make a list of things you’ve been doing recently, habits you’ve picked up. Write down a rough approximating of the times you’ve been waking up and going to sleep. Write down the media you’ve been consuming. Take a guess at your hours of screen time per day. Circle everything you don’t want to keep doing. Write it down in a list.  Empty out your school bag. Sort out whatever’s inside. Make a list of everything you’re gonna need. Check off things you have. Plan out how to get things you don’t.

Install updates.

Write down your ideal sleep schedule. Write down habits you want to get into. Write down recipes you want to try. Make a list of things you want to implement.

Defragment your disk. 

No, really, defragment your disk. Literally. Delete all temp files. Digitally declutter your devices. Clear out your camera roll, your Google Drive, your literal desktop. Repeat all the steps above- but literally. 

Close any open tabs.

Clean up any small, nagging tasks. Sweep the floor, feed the cat, wipe down the kitchen counter. 

This is a summary of college only using two pictures; expensive as hell.

That’s my Sociology “book”. In fact what it is is a piece of paper with codes written on it to allow me to access an electronic version of a book. I was told by my professor that I could not buy any other paperback version, or use another code, so I was left with no option other than buying a piece of paper for over $200. Best part about all this is my professor wrote the books; there’s something hilariously sadistic about that. So I pretty much doled out $200 for a current edition of an online textbook that is no different than an older, paperback edition of the same book for $5; yeah, I checked. My mistake for listening to my professor.

This is why we download. 

 Alternatives to buying overpriced textbooks

Textbooknova 

Reddit

Bookboon 

Textbookrevolution 

GaTech Math Textbooks

Ebookee 

Freebookspot 

Free-ebooks

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