#mine: study

14th March 2024

Here it is: the current productivity tag! On a two-month break from school and buckling down on my wellness and routines. I’m focusing on a handful of priorities:

physical wellness— locking down my sleep schedule, consistent hydration, exercising regularly, eating healthy

mental wellness— med consistency, journaling, meditation, reducing screen time (particularly with recreational reading!)

routines— morning and evening routines, study routines (trying to Pavlov myself into a scholarly headspace)

productivity— simplifying/solidifying my planning and task management practices, researching study tools/resources, instituting time tracking

life management— tightening up my finances just a little (moving right after Christmas/boyfriend’s birthday/anniversary season really left a girl strapped), firming up an errand/chore schedule, closet clean out/declutter

Basically just like. Getting my life all the way together, so that by the time school starts I am absolutely maximizing my available energy. I’m genuinely excited to be a student again, but I also started college almost 17 years ago and I just. Want to be done lol. So I’m clearing the path as much as possible before I embark.

So all of that said, here’s what I did today!

did a load of laundry

watched my Tar Heels knock Florida State out of the ACC Tournament (have I mentioned that March basketball is my favorite part of the entire year?) and ran out for coffee at halftime

trimmed my cat’s nails

emailed my admissions coach confirming next steps for summer enrollment

talked to a very nice lady at public works about my garbage can disappearing with the bags today, got that sorted out, and set up recycling in the process!

journaled

finally picked a book from a to-read pile that has only grown for the last 3+ years (starting with Another Day’s Begun, a book that profiles a number of productions of my favorite play of all time, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town)

I have a little more than two months off before I start my next session, and I’m nervous. I’m an undergrad transitioning from a fairly unstructured earned enrollment path (submit all coursework by the end of the session, no discussion posts/participation component) to a much more traditional program and schedule (weekly due dates, participation, live office hours), and I’ll be enrolled full time.

I struggled with the self-paced nature of my previous courses, so I’m honestly excited for that element— but I also work 30 hours a week, and my previous ability to knock a course out across a few long Saturdays means I haven’t actually figured out yet how to effectively balance work with my academic demands.

30 Days of Productivity: Day 3/30

It was a longggg day, but I made some shit happen!

took my anthropology final after one last study push— I got a 96!

finally made an appointment to sort out the IUD drama

worked a super productive, drama-free shift

started getting packages from my big order of stuff for the house

journaled for the first time in years

finally located the xTiles manual

The last several weeks have been rough. Mental health is not great right now, work mostly sucks, and I’m still super unsettled/behind the power curve in the new house. But! I finished my class with a B, and I’m on a break from school now until summer. I really wanted to push through and take another class in the second session, but I really need some time to just situate myself, manage my mental health, establish new routines, and rest.

I have a lot to do around the house, and I’m looking forward to doing a LOT of recreational reading in my downtime! I’ve also got a weekend trip with my boyfriend coming up that I’m super excited about.

30 Days of Productivity: Day 1/30