be the very best version of you

for when the burnout is real and all you really wanna do is lie in bed and watch things but you gotta at least try to study. these are mostly channels i’ve watched and subscribed to! (updated 17/12/2015)

sciences

veritasium

it’s okay to be smart

pbs space time

crash course: astronomy

crash course: ecology

crash course: biology

crash course: chemistry

crash course: anatomy and physiology 

crash course: psychology

the school of life: sociology

the school of life: psychotherapy

scishow

scishow space

asapscience

minute physics

minute earth

khan academy

the brain scoop

sexplanations 

healthcare triage

sixty symbols

periodic videos

deep sky videos

literature / art

crash course: literature

the school of life: literature

the school of life: art/architecture

art assignment

thug notes: shakespeare explained

thug notes: classic literature

history / geography / government

crash course: world history (season one)

crash course: world history (season two)

crash course: us history

it’s history: the industrial revolution

it’s history: the history of pirates

it’s history: battlefields (military history)

it’s history: the cold war

the school of life: history

alternate history hub

crash course: intellectual property

crash course: economics

crash course: u.s. government and politics

geography now

the school of life: political theory

it’s history: the history of china

it’s history: weapons of mass destruction

it’s history: the history of sex

extra credits: extra history

khan academy: history

khan academy: american civics

the great war

tom richey: ap euro review

tom richey: ap us history review

cgp grey

math

numberphile

khan academy

vihart

philosophy

the school of life: philosophy

the school of life: eastern philosophy

philosophy tube

8-bit philosophy

misc / no particular subject

crash course: big history

ted-ed

smarter every day

in a nutshell

vsauce

dnews

test tube news

test tube plus

seeker daily

the good stuff

thoughty2

how to adult

studyign

appsademia

nehrdist

Kitchen

How to clean up kitchen (particularly the sink, burnt pots and small aplliances)

How to take care of kitchen stuff so that it lives longer

10 commandments of a clutter-free kitchen

Organizing kitchen mini masterpost

5 things to do in the kitchen before you go to bed

What is soapy bowl and why it’s awesome

How to organize your fridge (also here, here and here)

Thins you should know about your fridge

Adding more storage space in a tiny kitchen

Cleaning

Lots of cleaning tutorials and tips. And some more

How to clean up pantry

How to make your house look cleaner than it really is

How to wash pillows

Cleaning the bathroom

How to clean the nastiest places (and get rid of bad smells, etc.)

Floor-to-celling guide to spring cleaning

Recaulking your bathtub

Cleaning grout

How to dispose of toxic waste

Cleaning the medicine cabinet

How to make chores more fun

You mustn’t skip these chores, but you can delay these if you’re busy

Easily forgotten things that you should clean/replace

Why you need a catch-up day

Small cleaning tasks to do in under 15 minutes (also here)

Looking for a flat/moving

First apartment checklist

Where too look during an apartment hunt (and some more tips)

Negotiate these things with your landlord

What to do first in a new place

What do clean before moving out

How not to get crazy during moving flats

How to downgrade to a smaller place

Organisation, storage

10 habits for better home organisation

How to store off-season items

10 storage ideas for small spaces (more here)

Storage secret weapons

How to organise your closet

Things to do before twice-yearly closet switchout

How to store and maintain your sweaters

Decluttering

Why it feels great

How to get rid of clutter

How to declutter (not only a flat)

What needs to be thrown away from your flat

How to let go of the things you no longer need

Things you own too many of; you can throw away these too

Decuttering the bathroom

Decluterring masterpost

Decorating

Projects for every room in your home/flat

Add style to your home

DIY decorating ideas

How to use negative space

4 common decorating mistakes and how to avoid them

Questions to ask yourself before buying something new

How to choose furniture that’ll be easier to clean

Season-specific tips

Things to do before the cold season

Household hacks for winter

Preparing for Christmas

Green thumb 101

How to take care of succulents

Never kill a plant again

Living alone / Sharing a flat

How not to be lonely when living alone

12 things you can only do when home alone

What you learn by living alone

Things you learn while sharing a flat

What to pack when leaving for a dorm

How to seamlessly share a kitchen (or a flat in general)

Safety issues to discuss with flatmates

Benefits of living with strangers

Take the first available or last available time slot. The interviewers are more likely to remember the first person or last person they talked to (unless your interview went horribly, of course). Everyone else will blur together. 

Wear something tasteful and professional, but in a memorable color or pattern. Interviewers, especially at a job fair, are going to see many, many people in navy, black, or gray blazers/tops, so going with a vibrant color will help you stand out in their memories when you are going through call backs or ranking prospective employees. 

Never underestimate the power of a well-timed joke or funny anecdote to the question the interviewers will ask. No, don’t launch into your ‘a rabbi, priest, and Donald Trump walk into a bar’ bit, but if there’s a way to share  a story or comment that will make your potential employer smile a little, share it. For every job I have been offered, I made my employers laugh. If funny doesn’t come to you naturally, don’t force it. Also, read the room. 

Always have questions lined up. The last thing that interviews end with is ‘do you have any questions for us?’ Don’t say no. My three go-to questions are: ‘are there any reservations about my qualifications that we did not discuss?’; ‘what support systems are in place to help new-hires acclimate to the company climate?’; ‘what challenges and/or opportunities would someone who is currently serving in this position say they face regularly?’

Follow up. If you feel the interview went well (or even if you didn’t), make sure to send an email thanking your interviewer for seeing you and comment on something specific that happened or was discussed in the interview. If you remember the question you felt you answered best, revisit that topic. 

That thought isn’t helpful right now.

Now is not the time to think about it. I can think about it later.

This is irrational. I’m going to let it go.

I won’t argue with an irrational thought.

This is not an emergency. I can slow down and think clearly about what I need.

This feels threatening and urgent, but it really isn’t.

I don’t have to be perfect to be OK.

I don’t have to figure out this question. The best thing to do is just drop it.

It’s OK to make mistakes.

I already know from my past experiences that these fears are irrational.

I have to take risks in order to be free. I’m willing to take this risk.

It’s OK that I just had that thought/image, and it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t have to pay attention to it.

I’m ready to move on now.

I can handle being wrong.

I don’t have to suffer like this. I deserve to feel comfortable.

That’s not my responsibility.

That’s not my problem.

I’ve done the best I can.

Self-care for English Literature Students:

If you are ill or just having an off day, recovery is the most important thing. Take that nap you really need, watch that film you’ve wanted to watch in ages, read a non-academic book. Over-exerting yourself will only hinder how fast you recover.

Read in bed. Just pick a book, your favourite one you are studying or the one you are currently studying, get in bed and read it. This way, you’re still doing work, it’s just not as strenuous as writing essays or anything else. You don’t even have to take notes, just be reading the book you’ll be able to absorb information without you even realising it.

If you aren’t up to reading, try watching a film based on one of your texts, as it’ll still help enhance your knowledge of the plot and characters to some extent. Or alternatively, you can try watching some critical analysis youtube videos of your texts.

Listen to audiobooks as this can be less tiring than reading, particularly when you are ill. This way, you can still effectively learn the text without doing much work.

Eat healthily, and drink plenty of water. This will help your body recover.

1: Set yourself alarms and reminders for yourself on your phone. e.g at 8am it’ll go off and say ‘you need to read X journal today’ or ‘essay due next tuesday’

2. Make a checklist of everything you need in order to study, e.g textbooks, pens etc. When you leave your house for uni, make sure you’ve ticked everything on your list so you haven’t forgotten anything.

3. Find somewhere quiet to work, if your house/flat is too noisy, head to the library or other study areas. Many universities and colleges have accessable rooms to students with learning differences and disabilities, make use of them!

4. Apply for DSA! It is such a huge help. - DSA is disabled students allowance. (UK ONLY) It is a government funded benefit that enables us access to things such as mental health support, free laptop with learning assisting software, printing credits, book credits etc.

5. Listen to music. I find listening to classical music helps me study, and keeps me relaxed while i am reading/writing. It also helps me to block out distractions.

6. Take breaks! If you are getting stressed because you are losing your focus or there’s too much sensory stimuli around you, take a break and come back to it later.

7. Nourish your body. Remember to eat and drink!

8. E-mail your lecturers if you are stuck, trust me they like it when you ask them for help, don’t sit in silence. I am well respected in my college at Uni because I struggle, yet go to the lecturer when I need help, and they are always happy to point me in the right direction.

9. Forgive yourself, we all make mistakes.

10. Schedule ahead, sometimes tasks take us longer than someone neurotypical, allow yourself extra time to do things e.g reading, or getting to an appointment/meeting.

I hope this helps!

03.12.17 | 19/100 Days of Productivity

170109

I tried using the bullet journal system last semester for daily tasks but I just couldn’t seem to get into the groove of it, so I decided to get back into my happy planner and see how that works out. I still have so many pages left in my bullet journal though, so I want to find something to put in there. Any ideas? 

Hey guys! As requested, I managed to find some time and make some colorful yet simple habit trackers! (I forgot who exactly requested this because my asks were being weird but here you are!)

They come is six different colors: