Healing Is Not Linear

So today I started a habit tracker. Personally, bullet journaling is a bit too large of a task for my current schedule, however, I liked the idea of this spread. So, I made a stand-alone habit tracker.

What I’m tracking: 🍎Clean eating- based on overall food consumption 🗑Clean room- I live in a dorm so this is a daily reminder to tidy up 📚Reading- trying to read at least one chapter of a book daily for pleasure 💕Lotion- moisturizing is important #treatyoself 💧Water- 100% bandwagoning… I hate drinking water and I see it as a chore, but we’re trying 🎨Art- doing one creative thing a day 😴Nap- either pulling an all-dayer or only taking 1 nap (an hour or less) 💪🏻Fit- working out 📓Log- logging food and journaling 😊Mood- how you feelin’? ✏️School- doing productive school things 🌜Make bed- obvious 💡Learn- trying to learn something outside of class (today I watched a TED talk on YouTube) 🌷Plants- remembering to water my plants 👯Social- staying in touch with friends even when you’re busy ➕-trying to impact someone positively every day

How do you find the motivation to study?

Hi there lovely! Oh, goodness, motivation can be such a tricky thing, can’t it? I’ll be honest with you: it took me the longest time to realise that I wasn’t always going to be motivated to study. I mean, sure, there’s the days where things go exactly as you planned and you cross a million things off your to-do list - which, in turn, makes you super motivated - but it’s mostly about the days where you just can’t seem to find any motivation to get anything done. 

So here are some tips to get you through days like that:

Write it off as a “Dark Day”. When things get super overwhelming and you can’t find any motivation to get anything done and it’s possible, it might be time to have a break. Don’t do anything, and just enjoy time with a good book or your favourite TV show and your favourite snacks - have a dark day! Sometimes, it’s just what you need and I’m a really big advocate for taking days off!!

Try the Pomodoro method. Okay, so you might not always be in the position to take a day off but you still need to get stuff done and you’re super unmotivated. One of the things that’s always helped me on days like that is the Pomodoro method. Basically, you set a timer for 25 minutes and commit to studying for just 25 minutes. Don’t do anything else. Just sit down and study. I’ve found that getting started usually helps me get into the groove and say, okay, I’ve already started, let’s continue. You can also start with 10 to 15 minutes, if you feel more comfortable with that.

If neither works, promise yourself a reward. Sometimes, it’s as simple as saying, okay, self, so that thing you’ve been coveting forever? You get it if you study all week. All week, no excuses, just sit down and get your work done.

I’ve also got a whole tag dedicated to motivation - I hope this helps a little! xx

you have been visited by the seven magic dragon balls your biggest wish will be granted but only if you reblog

Bullet Journal Spread Ideas

New Year

New Year’s Resolutions How to actually achieve those resolutions Highlights of 2016 Things to look forward to in 2017 Reflection of 2016 How you can make 2017 better Things you did in 2016 that you shouldn’t in 2017 Favorite pictures of 2016 Memorable quotes from 2016 Achievements in 2016 Favorites of 2016 (e.g. music, movies, books, art, food, new activities) New things to try in 2017 (e.g. hobbies, food, places to travel) Upcoming releases in 2017 (e.g. music, movies, books) How you want the world to change in 2017 Important dates in 2016 People you met in 2016

Mind/Emotion

Stress-relieving activities Curiosity page (questions you want the answers to) What if? Page Happiness page Things to do when sad (or any negative emotion) Sleep tracker Mood log Dream log Gratitude list Self care activities Un-do list (stop doing) Unexplainable emotions page (e.g. that feeling when…)

Academic

Grade tracker Vocabulary Achievements list Plan for the school year Revision schedule and progress Things to self study

Life/Experiences

Long term goals Short term goals (e.g. this week/month) Travel log Bucket list Reflections (daily/monthly/yearly) Places you wish to visit Friend lists + about them

Money/Finance

Spendings tracker Savings tracker Financial goals Wishlist

Inspirational Stuff

Brain dump Favorite quotes Recipes Pieces of writing (e.g. news articles, poetry, etc.) Favorite words Story ideas OC ideas

Art/Journaling

DIY and project ideas Handwriting experiments Color swatches/palettes Bullet journal page ideas Doodle page Testing stationery/washi tapes Six word stories A sentence a day Blog post ideas

Entertainment

Playlists (e.g. playlist of the week, song of the day) To read To watch Already read Watched Hobbies to try Favorites list (e.g. movies, albums, songs, books)

Senses

General observations (e.g. people, places, things) Overheard conversations Music/melodies you heard Things you see Different textures/things you touched Things you tasted (could be food, drinks, or inedible things) Interesting/foreign smells

- for anybody who needs to see this ♡

my masterlist of 'how to life’ tips

Cleaning & Tidying

Make your bed in the morning. It takes seconds, and it’s worth it.

Reset to zero each morning. 

Use the UFYH 20/10 system for clearing your shit. 

Get a reed diffuser and stick it on your windowsill. 

Have a ‘drop-zone’ box where you dump anything and everything. At the beginning/end of the day, clear it out and put that shit away.

Roll your clothes, don’t fold them - or fold them vertically.

Automate your chores. Have a cleaning schedule and assign 15mins daily to do whatever cleaning tasks are set for that day. Set a timer and do it - once the timer is up, finish the task you’re on and leave it for the day. 

Fold your clothes straight out of the tumble dryer (if you use one), whilst they’re still warm. This minimises creases and eliminates the need for ironing. 

Clean your footwear regularly and you’ll feel like a champ. 

Organisation & Productivity

Learn from Eisenhower’s Importance/Urgency matrix. 

Try out the two-minute rule and the Pomodoro technique.

Use. A. Planner. (Or Google Calendar, if that’s more your thing.)

Try bullet journalling.

Keep a notebook/journal/commonplace book to dump your brain contents in on the regular. 

Set morning alarms at two-minute intervals rather than five, and stick your alarm on the other side of the room. It’s brutal, but it works. 

Set three main goals each day, with one of them being your #1 priority. Don’t overload your to-do list or you’ll hit overload paralysis and procrastinate. 

If you’re in a slump, however, don’t be afraid to put things like “shower” on your to do list - that may be a big enough goal in itself, and that’s okay. 

Have a physical inbox - a tray, a folder, whatever. If you get a piece of paper, stick it in there and sort through it at the end of the week.

Consider utilising the GTD System, or a variation of it.

Try timeboxing. 

Have a morning routine, and guard that quiet time ferociously. 

Save interesting-looking shit to instapaper. Have a set time where you read through the stuff you saved to instapaper and save the shit that you like from instapaper to evernote (or bookmark it properly). 

During your working hours, put on your footwear, even if you’re sat on your bed. (Why?)

Have a folder for all your important documents and letters, organised by topic (e.g. medical, bank, university, work, identification). At the front of this folder, have a sheet of paper with all the key information written on it, such as your GP’s details, your passport details, driving licence details, bank account number, insurance number(s), and so on. 

Try using StayFocusd and RescueTime (or similar apps/extensions). (I promise, you’ll find that you’re not as busy as you think you are.)

Schedule working time and down time alike, in the balance that works for you. 

Money

Have. A. God. Damn. Budget. 

Use a money tracker like toshl, mint, or splitwise. Enter all expenses asap! (You will forget, otherwise.)

Have a ‘money date’ each week, where you sort through your finances from the past seven days and then add it to a spreadsheet. This will help you identify your spending patterns and whether your budget is actually working or not. 

Pack your own frickin’ lunch like a grown-up and stop buying so many takeaway coffees. Keep snacks in your bag. 

Go to your bank and take out £100 in £1 coins (or w/e your currency is). That shit will come in useful for all kinds of things and you’ll never be short on change for the bus or the laundry. 

Food & Cooking

Know how to cook the basics: a starch, a protein, a vegetable, and a sauce.

Simple, one-pot meals (“a grain, a green, and a bean”) are a godsend. 

Dried porcini mushrooms make a fantastic stock to cook with. 

Batch cook and freeze. Make your own ‘microwave meals’. 

Buy dried goods to save money - rice and beans are a pittance. (Remember to soak dried beans first, though!) 

Consider Meatless Mondays; it’s healthier, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.

Learn which fruits and vegetables are cheapest at your store, and build a standard weekly menu around those. (Also remember that frozen vegetables are cheap and healthy.) 

Learn seasoning combinations. Different seasoning, even with the exact same ingredients, can make a dish seem completely new. 

Don’t buy shit for a one-off recipe, especially if you won’t use it all. If you really want to try out a recipe, see if a friend would be interested in making it with you, then pool for the expenses. 

Make your own goddamned pasta sauce. Jamie Oliver has a decent recipe here, but the beauty of tomato sauce is that you can totally wing it and adapt the fuck out of it. 

Misc

Have a stock email-writing format. 

Want to start running, but find it boring? Try Zombies, Run!. 

Keep a goddamn first aid kit and learn how to use it. 

Know your OTC pain relief. 

Update your CV regularly. 

Keep a selection of stamps and standard envelopes for unexpected posting needs. (It happens more regularly than you would think!) 

Some final words of advice:

Organisation is not a goal in itself, it is a tool. Don’t get caught up in the illusion of productivity and get distracted from the actual task at hand. 

Routines and habits will help you. Trust in them.

You have the potential to be an organised and productive person, just as much as anybody else. It just takes practice. 

“People say that I have fake boobs when trying to insult me”

Things to distract you from feeling sad:

make playlists of songs that make you happy 

eat some fruits and mix them in yogurt

have a long cry if you’ve been holding everything in

don’t go on your phone, brew some tea, sit in a warm comfortable spot and read a book 

don’t stay in bed too long

write a list of things that make you excited or happy

listen to music and go for a walk if it’s sunny

watch a feel-good movie and drink a mug of hot chocolate

reminisce good memories, they’re proof that life can be lovely

spray some perfume

read posts or quotes that inspire you

Stop waiting for Fridays, and stop waiting for someone to fall in love with you. All of these things will happen, but in the meantime try to enjoy right now.

Cwote (via cwote)

make me choose ⇢ @jeonbegins​ asked: jungkook in black or jungkook in white