how many tasks to do today?

and if that is not enough, what is enough?

@underwata, Vincent van Gogh, Dreams (Akira Kurosawa), Ocean Vuong, Close Up (Abbas Kiarostami), Charlotte Brontë, Leslie Zhang, Mary Oliver, Bright Star (Jane Campion), Mary Oliver

if you’re like me (and most students), when you have an essay or dissertation to start, or even when simply beginning a new section of your writing, the blank page can look overwhelmingly daunting. you procrastinate, you fiddle with the formatting, you do anything except what you should — that is, actually writing. here’s how i trick myself to get over this panic:

use a crappy notebook: it breaks your focus from the word document staring you in the eye. tell yourself, ‘i’ll just scribble down some notes here, no pressure’. don’t use a fancy one either! i often want to make the best use of my fancy notebooks, which in turn stresses me out in its own way.

write your notes in pencil, not pen - this ties in with my previous point, but your goal here is to make things feel as low-pressure and low-commitment as you can. embrace the messy handwriting!

write fast, almost stream-of-consciousness notes as if you were explaining what you know about the thing you’re writing about to someone else. it’s okay if you use informal language, just get the backbone of the information down on the page! try to think of everything you need to talk about to make your writing coherent.

bullet points and sectioning will make it easier to navigate your notes when polishing up the content for the final text, but again, don’t sweat it.

make a post-it note of things you need to look up/ask someone about later, but don’t get stuck on them when you start typing the final text, just insert a little note when writing, and be sure to make it stand out (i.e. use a different colour) so you don’t accidentally leave it in

you’ve done all of this, now all you need to do is rephrase your notes to make them sound fancy! don’t overthink this either, i find it preferable to come back to your text after a while and do the final editing with a fresher look. and congrats! you’re pretty much done! the trick is not overthinking it, and remembering: 

done is always better than perfect.

10. Mahler 6th Symphony

9. Beethoven 5th

8. Brahms 4th 

7. Brahms double concerto

6. Shostakovich 5th Symphony

5. Chopin piano concerto 1

4. Prokofiev piano concerto 2

3. Prokofiev Sinfonia concertante 

2. Mahler 5th symphony 

How to Study when Sick

A week or so ago I fell sick and of course I still had a mountain of work to do, so during that time I found a few things that helped me when studying while I was sick. Without further ado here are a few tips on how to study when sick…

Before studying

Fluids

When you’re sick, your body needs fluids! Sometimes water can taste really gross when you have a sore throat so grab some tea; either herbal tea or good old English breakfast or try some hot water with lemon and honey; it does wonders for the throat! Make sure you have a big old cup next to you that you can grab for often.

Comfort is key

Dress comfy for your study sess! If that means your daggy sweatpants and oversized jumper or even pyjamas, do whatever is going to keep you warm and comfortable. But not too comfortable where you will fall asleep haha.

Eye drops

If you need to use computers while you’re sick make sure to have some lubricating eye drops on hand! You don’t want to get sore, tired eyes or even a headache when your body is already run down.

Gather supplies

Gather what ever supplies you will need when your studying. Here’s a list of some things might be helpful (of course just get whatever works best for your sickness!) :

What you are studying! (Flash cards, notes, computer)

Stationary (highlighters, pen, white out, ruler, sticky notes)

Tissues

Blanket

Cough drops

Tea/fluids

Snack

Medication

Deep heat

Hot water bottle

Hand sanitiser

Eye drops

Nasal spray

Humidifier

When studying

Small tasks

Do small tasks that require less brain power, so you don’t over exert your brain. Think easier tasks like flipping through flashcards, writing flash cards, organising notes, re-writing notes, planning your week, compiling lecture notes with textbook notes, making quizzes for yourself, an easy work sheet or going through last week’s class content.

Set timers

Set timers for when to take breaks and medication. You could even try using the Pomodoro technique to keep you motivated and productive.

Have a small do to list

Along with doing smaller easier tasks, have only a small to do list or maybe 2 – 4 items that will only take you 1 – 3 hours to complete in total, depending on how well you are feeling. By doing this you will feel more motivated to complete the small to do list as you know the tasks are simple. Additionally, by adding in breaks or using Pomodoro you are taking extra precautions against working to hard which will slow down recovery.

Ambient study sounds

The best thing I found to help me stay focused is to listen to ASMR ambient sounds. I found some great channels that make ASMR ambient sounds based on different rooms from movies, tv shows and books. Here are my two favourite channels ASMR Rooms & Story Ambiance. Some of my favourite videos (all harry potter themed, so I can feel like Hermione haha) are Hogwarts Library, Studying in the Great hall, Gryffindor Common Room, Potions Classroom and Sitting in a Hogwarts Class.

After studying

Make a to do list for tomorrow

After you have finished everything from today, make a to do list for tomorrow. This is an opportunity to brain dump anything in terms of school that you are worried about completing and gives you direction for the next day.

Have something to look forward too after your session

Have something planned after your study session that will be relaxing and enjoyable. Something like watching a movie, reading a book, calling a friend, watching a YouTube video; basically, anything you enjoy and look forward to doing. This can act to motivate you to get work down yet also be a much-needed winding down reward for you brain and body.

Take a nap!

You worked hard, made a dent in your to do list and feel productive so take a nap! Your body needs to rest so give it what it needs and take a nap. This will help your body recover quicker and will help your mind to relax from working for a long time.

Extra tips

Be easy on yourself

If you only complete one item before getting too tired, or if you couldn’t even complete one to-do, then that’s fine! Have some self-compassion and realise that you’re sick and won’t be able to be as productive as normal. Once when I was sick, a task that took me normally 45 minutes to do took me 2 hours because my brain was so foggy, and it was hard to concentrate. You’re not alone in being unproductive, we all go through it went sick and run down.

Don’t overwork yourself

Nothing is worse than over working yourself when you are sick, it will only make you stay sick for longer! Do not push your self to be a productive super human when your body can’t handle it, its only going to make you less productive in the long run

So let’s say you’re in the same boat I am (this is a running theme, have you noticed?) and you’ve just got, like, SO MUCH STUFF that HAS to get done YESTERDAY or you will DIE (or fail/get fired/mope). Everything needs to be done yesterday, you’re sick, and for whatever reason you are focusing on the least important stuff first. What to do!

Take a deep breath, because this is a boot camp in prioritization.

Make a 3 by 4 grid. Make it pretty big. The line above your top row goes like this: Due YESTERDAY - due TOMORROW - due LATER. Along the side, write: Takes 5 min - Takes 30 min - Takes hours - Takes DAYS.

Divide ALL your tasks into one of these squares, based on how much work you still have to do. A thank you note for a present you received two weeks ago? That takes 5 minutes and was due YESTERDAY. Put it in that square. A five page paper that’s due tomorrow? That takes an hour/hours, place it appropriately. Tomorrow’s speech you just need to rehearse? Half an hour, due TOMORROW. Do the same for ALL of your tasks

Your priority goes like this:

5 minutes due YESTERDAY

5 minutes due TOMORROW

Half-hour due YESTERDAY

Half-hour due TOMORROW

Hours due YESTERDAY

Hours due TOMORROW

5 minutes due LATER

Half-hour due LATER

Hours due LATER

DAYS due YESTERDAY

DAYS due TOMORROW

DAYS due LATER

At this point you just go down the list in each section. If something feels especially urgent, for whatever reason - a certain professor is hounding you, you’re especially worried about that speech, whatever - you can bump that up to the top of the entire list. However, going through the list like this is what I find most efficient.

Some people do like to save the 5 minute tasks for kind of a break between longer-running tasks. If that’s what you want to try, go for it! You’re the one studying here.

So that’s how to prioritize. Now, how to actually do shit? That’s where the 20/10 method comes in. It’s simple: do stuff like a stuff-doing FIEND for 20 minutes, then take a ten minute break and do whatever you want. Repeat ad infinitum. It’s how I’ve gotten through my to do list, concussed and everything.

THIS SHIT WORKS OKAY, I AM DEAD SERIOUS.

The last time I saw this on my dash, I didn’t think it would happen, so jokingly I wished I could go to a fun. concert.

AND GUESS WHAT, I WENT TO A FUCKING FUN. CONCERT.

I SAW THIS ON MY DASH THE OTHER DAY AND THOUGHT “ITS WORTH A TRY” SO I WISHED I COULD GET A 3DS

LITERALLY LIKE 4 DAYS LATER MY DAD SENT ME A PICTURE OF THE 3DS XL HE BOUGHT FOR ME WHILE I WAS AT SCHOOL

GUYS.

HE FUCKING CALLED ME 20 MINUTES LATER

20 FUCKNG. MINUTES. LATER.

“that guy behind us is following you,” she said. “he was watching you leave the train car and followed you up.”

i hadn’t noticed him, or at least not noticed him following me. when we stopped outside a grocery store, he stopped half a block back and loitered. the woman linked her arm with mine and walked me several blocks out of her way to my front door and made sure i got inside safely.

another time, nocigar and i were walking home and at a stoplight a stranger grabbed my arm when i wouldn’t respond to him and tried to physically drag me over to him. she—who is, by the way, not a very physically imposing girl—ripped his hand off my arm and snarled, “don’t fucking touch her.”

“Those guys behind us were talking about following you. We can walk with you.”