So, the first thing I did upon finishing my last post is order a book called ‘Excel for Dummies’, because, in hindsight, my joking about googling ‘Excel for Dummies’ was actually quite a good idea. Well done me. That same day I also discovered that I think I might be mildly suffering with “winter blues”, also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which most people go through this time of the year. The reason I believe this is because I am an extremely self-motivated person, yet throughout the last 64 weeks this is the most ‘meh’ I’ve felt about getting out of bed and doing any work (not that I’m letting it stop me of course). In any case, if you also feel a bit rubbish here are some tips on how to deal with SAD from the NHS, and an article I personally liked as it has a lot more detail. One of the biggest tips is physical exercise, which means today I’m dragging myself to the swimming pool! 🌊
On Wednesday, I had my first dentist appointment in about 3 years, simply because there were NO AVAILABLE NHS dental practices near me for about that long! Sickening. Anyway, all was well, apart from the fact that my dentist told me that I need to take out my labret piercing as it is starting to seriously damage my teeth. I know this sounds like a 1st world problem, but this piercing has been a fundamental part of my face for the last 12 years of my life. It was also my second act of defiance against the world (following running away from home) and I am struggling to recognise myself without it. But, teeth are important, and I have come up with a solution, which involves getting a medusa piercing instead and celebrating the end of an era with a new chapter as I’ll be able to have that piercing in, problem-free, for another 10 years. Yay. 😁
On Wednesday, I also had a catch up with one of my supervisors where I expressed my concerns about my intellectual abilities and skills. She looked at me like I was an idiot (ironically) and re-assured me that I am more than capable of applying the skills I learned in my previous two degrees to this one. We even went through some examples and I left feeling much more confident! I keep on saying this, but having supportive and understanding supervisors is so so so important.
Thursday was a really nice day! Myself, my supervisors, and two representatives from the company that provide us with our water quality monitors went out for a lunch at a beautiful Italian in Sheffield called ‘Cargo Hold’. The aim was for me to get to know the people behind the technology, chat about water, and discuss our future work together. It was a really fun 3 and a half hour lunch with plenty of booze that left me fulfilled, but shattered. Therefore, I decided to spend Friday at home. 🍷
In recent years I have been trying to incorporate a minimalist mindset more and more into my life. I am not someone who has a particularly cluttered home, or wardrobe, but I do feel like I have too many things. Having less material stuff really opens up your life to more time for adventure. It helps you re-evaluate what’s actually important and prevents you from being tied down. I won’t even mention the financial benefit of having less! I am hoping that eventually I will reach a point where I can pack up my whole life in a car, with ease, which includes my cat. Luckily, my partner is of a similar mind-frame, which makes me a lot more motivated. The point of this paragraph is that I regularly go through my things and try and reduce the number of items I have, which I then either distribute across people that I know will appreciate those items, give them to charity, or sell them. I used my Friday to do just that. In terms of my PhD, having a de-cluttered home/lifestyle also really helps with having a de-cluttered mind. Therefore, I share with you a link on some of my favourite TED talks on the matter, and also a blog post by Mark Manson that has really helped me make some fundamental changes.
Because I took Friday off, I went into work yesterday. I didn’t feel particularly great so used most of the day to put together a very thorough GANTT chart, which should get me through the next couple of months. Despite having a marginally rough patch with my work efforts, I understand that if I don’t get over myself, I will fudge myself over in the future. Hence my motto, “do little things often, before they become too big”.
I have actually surprised myself with how much I’ve written this week. It really shows that all you have to do is start.
Anyway, have a grand weekend and an even better week, and if you’re anything like me, try to embrace the winter blues! ❄
Photo: So relevant, it’s weird. Source: Google.
