#elrood

Dune: Casa Atreides

(House Atreides) #7

7.05.2021: Huh okay first original post after like 2 years (?!) of not posting anything of my own stuff... people on here are always like “sorry I haven’t posted all week” and I am like “hold my beer!” so, yeah I should probably receive a medal for that... I hope you are all doing well, are healthy and keep rocking life despite the whole COVID-19 pandemic situation since last year! :)  My dog and I have been back in my home town and living with my sister and parents since last March (aka when everything went chaotic in my uni town and every intention student ran back to their home countries), which has been pretty nice but also sometimes really stressful but c'est la vie, am I right?!) 

Btw I just realized that the light in my uni flat was the absolute bomb, especially in the early mornings and I really miss it (next to my friends from uni to whom I couldn't even say bye in person, because we all just went back home spontaneously last year and thought “we will be back in 2 weeks”)....

Just a short update about my scandalous life: I’m still studying psychology, still unable to multitask or develop a sense of direction, still otherworldly beautiful (okay I gotta deal down the sarcasm in the future haha), still a hardcore caffeine addict (it even got worse during the last few months which I thought wasn’t possible - is there some caffeine drinking record competition that I can enter?! Please let me know if you have heard of one - I would be a really strong competitor...! :)), and currently looking for master programs in forensic psychology (which, considering Brexit and COVID, is not super chill right now). Wow I just summarized a few years in one single sentence - what an accomplishment!  

i miss my chaotic diva loki :’(

so i had a couple weeks where my motivation just... seemed to have taken time off. these 5 tips are those that helped me the most when i couldn’t seem to bring myself to start studying. i hope they’re helpful to others as well!

SO HERE ARE 5 TIPS FOR WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO START STUDYING

have a ritual

i’ll bring myself as an example: before i study i always follow these steps, in this order: i clean the desk, even if the books i need are already there, i clean it; i take a glass of water and a small plate with some almonds and 1/2 chocolates; i get a timer for the pomodoro technique (i’ll talk about this later); i brain dump (i’ll talk about this too); start a playlist; take a deep breath, sit down, and actually start. now, this is mine, it doesn’t have to be yours, but it was to help you understand. when you’re on the couch with your phone and you just don’t want to start an afternoon of studying, just... try the first step. clean that desk. then get the glass of water. and from then on it will be easier and easier to actually get to it. the important thing is to start.

start small (the pomodoro technique)

if you feel that your brain just... refuses to focus on that textbook, don’t strain it. start small. if you’ve never heard about the pomodoro method, i suggest you look it up online, i’ll try to explain it briefly: all you need is a timer; you study for 25/30 minutes, get a 5/10 minutes break in which you get up, go to the bathroom, drink, do a mini-workout... then you start again. it really helps if the idea of sitting at your desk for ours makes you want to vomit. if even 25 minutes seems too much, don’t worry. study for 5 minutes. have a break. try studying for 10 minutes. but maybe you won’t even need to do that: like i said before the important thing is to start. just that will set your brain in motion, and it will actually be harder to stop.

brain dumping

this simple tip has really helped, maybe more than all the others i name here. you have a lot of thoughts rushing through your mind that you just can’t lock away so you can start focusing on that homework? brain. dump. just grab your planner, your bujo, a random piece of paper, and write down what’s on your mind without worrying about the form. just write. write until your mind is blank. then try to start again.

give yourself a reward (if...then)

it can be a small thing like “if i finish this maths equation i’ll eat a candy” or a larger-scale thing like “if i study this chapter i’ll watch another episode of my favourite tv show”. our brain tends to choose the path that requires less effort and gives a bigger reward. but facing a task knowing there’s a reward at the end might help make it seem more effortless.

just don’t wait to “feel like it”

[November 01, 2018]