improve yourself everyday

18|04|2020

Week 4 of My 2020 Quarantine Challenge!

✨Sat✨ What is your best tip on how to relax?

Have a stupid game! basically even when i’m ‘relaxing’ by reading my mind is not relaxing whatsoever and it is still running a mile a minute. therefore, when i feel stressed and want to relax, i play my ‘stupid’ games which basically take no brain power whatsoever. 

- get dressed and style your hair as if you’re going to school/work - even use the same perfume/ cologne as you normally do  (trick your mind into being motivated)

- plan things out - everything (plan out your week, day, meal, etc. you can make these as specific as you’d like. this will help you stay on top of your work as well as stay healthy, especially if you live alone.)

- make studying/ working the first thing you do each day - best if you can start in the morning (minimize the tendency to procrastinate)

- just start - don’t worry too much about perfecting or finishing anything yet (if you don’t start then there’s nothing for you to perfect or get done. and it will never get done)

- listen to old and simple (aka non-distracting) podcasts, Youtube videos, or café/ chattering white-noise, etc. simply leave them as background noise to create an illusion of being outside your room (bring the presence of people to you. my favorites lately have been slam poems from 2016, Mae Martin’s stages, and Awsten Knight’s crackhead podcasts)

- set timers, for both study sessions and breaks (so that you don’t overwork, burn out, or procrastinate. the Pomodoro technique works great here)

- take advantage of the comfort of your own home (light a candle, have crunchy snacks, play loud music, review notes out loud while pacing around, wrap yourself in a blanket burrito, study on your bed if you can focus there like me, etc. basically anything you can’t do in a classroom, office, or the library)

- if you miss your friends, call/ text/ facetime them, make a study group chat with them, etc. (that is what technology is for)

- choose recreational activities/ self-care for your breaks instead of going on social media (go on walks, make small art, play an instrument, stretch, take a nap, etc. I usually reach for my guitar, brainstorm writing ideas, or sketch very simple line art.)

- if you want to go on social media, do it during meal times - or the 15 minutes after your meals that you can’t work just yet (it also doesn’t make you feel like you’re wasting time)

- study in different rooms for a change of scenery (dining room, living room, the patio, etc. I have an armchair next to the window that I study in whenever I need some sunlight and don’t have to write anything down. however, if you need a designated place to focus on your work, you can also use these alternative spaces as designated “relax” or “creative” place for your breaks)

- use this as an opportunity to take care of yourself (get enough sleep, drink water, exercise, talk to your family, take your meds, be mindful of your mental health, etc.)

Feel free to add your tips. The current situation sure is unpleasant but it is unavoidable. All we can really do now is take care of ourselves, others, and try to make the best out of this.

[04/01/20]

1.10

so we’re a fourth done with 2020 and the world isn’t doing so hot. i hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. ‹ 3

it sucks that we have no power over the fate of this pandemic, but i am always here if anyone wants to talk :)

also just posted an april plan with me, please check it out !

currently listening to:

04.01.20 🌸🐚

Never would have believed I’d be starting my next journal in the midst of a global pandemic when I haven’t been truly outside or to any of my favorite places in weeks, but here we are! I’m sending a lot of appreciation back to my past self for hoarding all these blank Moleskines, thank goodness I had one ready to go ✨

Quarantine has got me feeling a little more in touch with myself, reviving old hobbies and interests, even if it was forced upon me. I can now play and sing Andar Conmigo by Julieta Venegas on my uke, which is neat, I’ve baked some real good banana bread and have been revisiting music, series, and movies I used to like a lot when I was a teenager, which is always fun. 

I had to white out a bunch of dates on my planner bc its uncertain when I’ll be going back to college, and so there seems to be no point on keeping up with the planning in such a structured way, instead, I’ve been using a notebook to write to-dos when I need to. I miss the structure tho. I felt so in control of what I was doing for a couple of months and then this whole situation hit. oof. 

29.11.2017 // I woke up early this morning, after crashing out in bed before 10pm! I’m feeling well rested, and am starting the day working in my college’s new café. 

–

Hey guys-

I’m posting my obligatory “nurse-in-mask” picture and taking this chance to remind you why quarantine is important. Self-isolation and social distancing is hard on everyone, no one is exempt from that. In particular, every night I’m seeing how hard it is on my patients. These people who have no immune system to speak of are working through their cancer diagnosis alone because the hospital currently cannot allow any visitors. The next time you think what you’re doing to help flatten the curve doesn’t matter, remember this: you’re staying home so I can stay healthy enough to continue to come to work and provide them with extensive medical care (as well as a good laugh because let’s face it, I’m hilarious). And most importantly, you’re staying home so their family members can stay healthy enough for them to be able to go home to. Quarantine SUCKS. But thank you for doing it, because what you are doing MATTERS. And it’s truly benefitting some of my most favorite people in the world.

Love,

Hiya everyone!! I have those day six quarantine feels. I hope you’ve all been doing okay and taking care of yourselves. I think I’m feeling a bit more anxious and alone but well, I’m trying to keep my routine on and try not to let little family spats get in the way of my wellbeing during this REAL tough time. I will say though, I can’t wait to get back to London.

Sarah’s / @studeying to-do list printables! [ tag me with #studeying! ]

I was fiddling around a little, so here are just some to-do lists :-) idkidk hope you guys will use it !! (my other printables) 

Download links: (left to right, up to down)

[ one | two | three | four ] 

sept 4th, 2017

apush is HARD wow