“Oh, I’m Just Too Busy”

“Hey, are you free to catch up with me on the weekend?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m just too busy.”

We’ve all had that conversation, or something extremely similar. The frank reality is that it’s generally very far from the truth. Yes, maybe you have a lot on but most of us spend more time telling people we’re ‘too busy’ than actually, you know, doing the things we’re ‘busy doing’. Whilst it’s definitely vital to not overwork yourself, you shouldn’t work up a mindset that you’re always ‘too busy to do anything’ because you’ll miss out on opportunities that you’ll very likely regret missing later. We all have the same amount of hours in the day, it’s how we choose to use them that actually matters. I’m a firm believer in having wind down time, so definitely let yourself have an hour of Netflix each day, however, don’t tell somebody you’re ‘too busy’ and then proceed to watch Netflix for five hours. I myself am definitely an over-committer, I reached this conclusion when I realised I’d double booked myself for the about the tenth time, I’m not suggesting my approach, it suits me as I like being busy, however probably isn’t the healthiest approach to time management. What I am suggesting is saying yes to a few things every once in a while, go on that jog with a friend, sign up for that school club or say yes to the volunteer opportunity you’ve been wondering about. This is an approach I’ve adopted within the last year and it’s meant I’ve had some amazing opportunities to do some things I wouldn’t have generally experienced. You’re very unlikely to regret giving things a go but you will regret not taking the opportunity, and on that corny note, have a great week!

 

The Benefits of Being Organised

Organisation. It brings me joy. Yes, I think I’m funny, yes, I know I’m not. Anyway, being organised is so important in achieving a productive lifestyle. If you’re living in a mess of a bedroom where you can’t even see the floor, you definitely won’t be prodcutive. It’s so important to keep your spaces tidy so that you don’t waste time searching for things.

There’s a few simple ways you can keep your spaces organised but it all starts with organisng your things in the first place, I love to use the bed method, which means I get everything out and put it on my bed, ready to sort through it. I go through and declutter, then place everything back in an organised way. After you’ve actually organised your space it’s very important to then keep it that way. This requires getting into the habit of putting things back were they were, do I sound like your Mum yet?

When you’re organised, everything goes smoother, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and it will be one hundred times easier to get things done. When you’re sitting at your desk doing your math homework, it’s so much easier to quickly grab your calculator that’s sitting neatly in your drawer than search through the pile of clothes sitting on your floor, plus you’ll save so much time, which means you’ll get your work done much quicker and have more time to relax. Being organised is just so important for living an easy and productive life.

De-stressing

After a long week, you know the kind I mean; three tests, an essay and two extra sports trainings, collapsing on the couch and basically lying there for the whole weekend is often what we tend to do, however, there are certainly better ways to de-stress.

Take care of yourself: Wash your hair, moisturise, put on a face mask. Doing these things will make you feel clean which will help you feel less stressed. I personally have one night a week where I do my full on shower, I wash my hair, shave my legs, have a Disney singalong using my hairbrush as a microphone (we’ve all done it!) It’s good to take care of yourself and your hygiene plus you’ll feel amazing afterwards!

Treat yourself!: Have a little ‘you time’ binge-watch Brooklyn nine-nine and all the Harry Potter movies, or any other movie or show you like they’re just my personal favourites! Read a book. Eat your favourite food, even if it is a little unhealthy. After a week of self-restraint from Netflix and chocolate, we surely deserve to be a little indulgent!

Do something creative: Forget all those math equations for a couple of hours, don’t forget them altogether or else that math test you have next week might not go all that well! Instead, put your brain power towards something creative you enjoy doing; bullet journal, do some calligraphy, write a song (if you’re musically gifted, unlike me) or even scrapbook! Doing something artsy will get your mind off everything going on for a little while.

Exercise: Look, I’m a pretty honest person so I’m not going to pretend I do this as much as I should but exercise is proven to have positive benefits on your mood and is definitely a good way to get out the stress. Head out for a jog, swim a few laps, invite your friends over for a game of volleyball or kick a football with your brother or sister. Exercising will help you feel less stressed.

“When in doubt go to the library,”-Hermione Granger

 

 

How I Organise My Notes

I often mention organisations systems and note taking in my blog posts, so I thought I’d do a post on what my organisation system actually is. The system I’m currently using is working well, better than anything else I’ve used before so I’d definitely recommend it to someone looking for a neat and coordinated way to organise their notes and schoolwork.

I use a binder system. Just two binders, one for current classwork, basically the equivalent of having a notebook and a folder for worksheets, and one for each semester that I keep all the work for all my classes in.

My current classwork binder is a small two ring binder that I take to school everyday, I have five dividers, one for each of my four main subjects and one for paper. The way I use this binder is that I keep paper at the back, which I take my notes in and then clip into the section for the class I took them in, I do the same with worksheets, albeit not until I get home as it’s really not realistic to carry a two hole punch around all day! I keep all the notes and worksheets in my binder until we finish the topic that they’re from. I then transfer all the work into my large binder, which also has a section for every class. I basically just grab the whole stack of papers and stick them into my semester binder, which is more of a lever arch file that I keep on my desk. This system works really well because it means I have everything within easy reach when trying to find old notes and I’d definitely recommend it!.

Let me end by saying, I really, really, really love binders!

“When in doubt go to the library,”-Hermione Granger

 

How to memorise an essay

I have to write an essay on Monday and I was terrified, until I started memorising it. Essays freak me out, especially if they’re ones you write in class. As much as I enjoy writing, I always fear running out of time and not completing my essay or completely forgetting what I wrote in my draft, I actually had a nightmare about it, no kidding! I was wondering what I could do to help myself remember my essay and came up with a few ideas I thought might help. I can’t say that they work yet but all will be revealed on Monday morning!

Step one: read it! I know, self-explanatory but it’s a definite way to embed information in your brain, read it until you’re sick of it.

Step two: say it, out loud or in your head just keep going over it, whether you’re with friends and feel like annoying them or trying to fall asleep at night, just go over it.

Step three: write it out. Remember look cover say write check in primary school? I know, the traumatic memories that come with those five words but you can basically do it with memorising an essay. Look at the sentence, cover it up, write down what you remember and then check it, you can skip the ‘say’ did anyone ever do that anyway?

Step four: practice! As if you were in class writing it, set a timer for how long you’ll have and then write it out using only the notes you’ll have in the essay, or no notes if that’s the requirement. Do this a couple of times and you’ll ace that essay!

Anyway, this post was slightly different to usual but I thought I’d write about something I’m still learning about. As I said before, these methods are not guaranteed but I’m really hoping they work for both me and you!

“When in doubt go to the library,”-Hermione Granger