Equipping People To Chase Their Vision Of Success

💌 AWARENESS

identify the difference between your current and ideal priorities. be honest with yourself. if it helps, keep record of the time you actually spend studying vs. reading for pleasure vs. watching tv, for example. is your routine effective for what you need to accomplish?

💌 PLAN

 for each ideal priority, create 2 goals focusing on them:

                                e.g. priority: coursework

                           ❣️goal #1: write 1 page / day

                           ❣️goal #2: read for 15 min / day 

💌 PRACTICE

set time limits, such as pomodoros (or just regular timers) at first. discipline is about endurance. you won’t be able work steadily for 2hrs or complete 5 tasks in a row at first. i spent this year building my attention span back (in the beginning, i couldn’t even read 10 pages without feeling exhausted). i started with 15 min of reading per day, and kept increasing it by 15 min increments until time no longer mattered.

💌 LEARN

after a month (minimum!), re-analyze your goals. are they working well for you? can you increase them, or add more for each priority? what habits have you changed / added? It took several months to get my attention span back to a decent place, but now i can sit through 3 hour classes attentively (the entire time), and read all day without tiring. 

💌 EVOLVE

self-discipline allows you to create strong foundations for success. motivation is more like ‘how much can i do while this candle is burning’, and you never know how long the candle will burn. self-discipline is a steady supply of logs into a slow-burning fire. you’ll be able to feel confident tackling larger goals, and keep your responsibilities operating even if you don’t feel like it.

Week 1 Spread.

Hello all! I know it isn't really week 1 of 2020, but for organizational purposes I'm counting the weeks of the semester! My school does an 8 week cycle system, so it will be easier this way to track how far I am in my 8 week classes.

I'm trying to keep this bujo simple so that I actually keep up with it. Last year I never really got past January. So I've got just a very simple layout for my weekly spreads. I did the same layout for my future log and I really liked it. I've picked a color for each month's theme and so I'll try to stick in that color family for all the spreads within that month. I'm kinda doing a rainbow, but with added colors so I don't have to repeat the same shades. So January is red! There are some pinks on the cover and the calendar but that's because the gel pen I picked was deceptively red looking and I didn't think to test it first.

|01-19-20|

Must… study…

Must… sleep…

As I am halfway through my honours degree, I though I’d share a few things I wish I’d been told years ago.

Here are just a few points which I think could be beneficial to hear about dealing with poor results and stress.

1. Grades don’t define you!!

Recently, I have noticed the number of study inspired blogs increase dramatically. It is amazing the community that has developed. However, I have noticed that very rarely are poor results shared. I think that many students who have done well throughout primary and middle school years who suddenly seem to receive poorer grades when in high school and college are completely shocked, and upset.

Poor grades, do not mean that you don’t understand the subject, just maybe you need to be able to explain and demonstrate ideas in different ways. Grades also don’t define your worth as a person, and do not make you any less or more intelligent than anyone else.

2. Stressing about the past

Stress is something everyone will encounter in their studies, it is completely unavoidable. The key is managing it! Part of managing stress is deciding what to be stressed about. Often the past is what we stress about most, when in reality we should only stress about the future. You can’t change the past.

3. You can ask for help!!!

Friends, family and teachers are all around you, and you can ask them for help. Most teachers or instructors are more than happy to help. You need to ask though.

If you struggle to speak to people due to anxiety remember the Internet is there. Email a professor. Seek out YouTube videos relevant to your learning. Post questions on forums! Doing these things are not a sign of weakness!

4. You need a life!!!

When starting high school or university you’ll alway be told to “Join social/sporting groups” this is the most important piece of advice. From experience I though “that’s stupid” until second year of university. You have to ensure that you have friends who will support you and help you through your studies, and you should have hobbies ( this also looks better on resumes). As long as study is balanced with hobbies and other social activities, for the most part your mental health will be better.

There’s my advice(rant)

It seems ridiculous, but I’m so motivated to work - but only after my exams are over. As of right now, I’m in a huge slump and simply cannot bring myself to lift a book and revise for my French oral exam that will be taking place on the 29th, which is in two days. As much as I want to do well, I also know that I worked hard throughout the year and as such, will most probably be perfectly fine without sticking an intensive revision period. That being said, my lax attitude towards this (more or less) important examination worries me, so I’m conflicted between being too tired and unwilling to lift up a book, and the sheer fear of failure. But honestly? I feel like I have nothing left to revise, having studied hard for this all year and being comfortable with all the material. So maybe this is what ‘being-really-ready-for-an-exam-and-not-cramming-at-the-last-minute’ feels like - I wouldn’t really know, would I?

On the other hand, I’m so motivated to work on maths and physics after my French exams are over. I’ve set up a whole programme that will allow me to learn as much science as my heart desires (oh that was cheesy), but it’s also a way for me to prepare and complete next year’s school curriculum for my baccalaureate next June (before I graduate, eek!).