ironic procrastination

studyblr or something

[aeqo]

exam tomorrow. last minute #study on my bed

[aeqo]

a cosy #study afternoon

[aeqo]

I studied with a mate yesterday... this is how many pens he uses to make his notes. 

Also, I have instagram now, feel free to follow if you want

[aeqo]

morning #study ft. too many beverages #university #studygram #coffee

[aeqo]

morning #study ft. too many beverages #university #studygram #coffee

[aeqo]

reading recommendations #1 (june 8 2016)

reading recommendations is a thing I’m starting as a way of sharing cool or thought-provoking shit I find while studying/procrastinating. sharing knowledge is powerful and good, especially when it’s free (I’ll do my best to provide links and/or instructions on where to find this stuff for free, though if you have the $$, support writers/artists). you can view all my recommendation posts as they accumulate here, and you can suggest things for me to read over at my ask

stuff to read: 

e unibus pluram: television and u.s. fiction, an essay by david foster wallace. DFW is a bit of a wanker at times, and in a lot of ways this is a frustratingly ~white dude~ take, but he’s a beautiful writer and there’s a lot to think about in this essay. recommended if you’re trying to get out of a writer’s/creative block, if you’re interested in television, if you’re interested in procrastinating by having a long hard think.   

stuff to watch: 

two american families, a documentary about working class poverty in the US. important and very good. 

requiem for the american dream, a documentary about inequality in america as discussed by noam chomsky (if you don’t know who he is, google is your friend. he’s produced some very interesting work, especially in linguistics). this is a good primer on the forces that create and produce inequality in society. it’s available on netflix, which offers a 30-day free trial if you have a spare email address handy.  

that’s all for RR #1. my inbox is always open if you have thoughts and feelings, drop by any time. 

[aeqo]

throwback to an earlier assessment. glad this is over #study #studygram #university

[aeqo]

a note on why I haven’t posted much recently

hey there. if you’re still hanging around this blog, you may have noticed...not a lot happening this semester. the short version: I got busy. 

the long version: this semester has been one of the busiest of my life. I’ve been taking fewer subjects, but a much higher extracurricular load. it’s been incredible, and stressful, and very worthwhile. it’s also made me realise something I think we all probably know but sometimes ignore, which is that real productivity =/= studyblr. study time this semester has been scarce, which has made it fiercely productive, and fiercely productive is not glamorous - it doesn’t occur in flatlays, and it rarely occurs with my phone around to take pics anyway. so that’s one thing. 

the other thing is that posting to this blog has seemed a bit pointless in that it’ll usually end up being a similar pic to one I’ve already posted. I don’t buy a tonne of new stationery, and I’ve never found artsy notes a good or productive fit for me. my study looks pretty similar a lot of the time. I’m not interested in faking prettier or more interesting study, and I’m a bit squeamish as is about contributing to a trend that focuses more on consumerism and aesthetics than learning and knowledge. there have been some very good posts by other studyblrs on this, and while it’s certainly not true of all studyblrs (and is also not a condemnation of people who enjoy buying stationery and having pretty things), it’s important to keep in mind, especially in considering who this community locks out. 

all this said, this is not a goodbye post. I’m going to try to get back into this blog, and I will continue to post pictures because I enjoy taking photos (I’m also going to try posting photos via instagram, for ease - feel free to follow me there if you want). I’m also going to try, time permitting, to do some things that bring this blog back into line with things I value. that means I’ll continue to answer questions, if you have them (though I’d prefer you send them via my ask rather than messaging me). I’m also going to try to do some reading recommendations etc., to try to find a way to share the great stuff I stumble across. hopefully this is something you can get into too, we’ll see. 

[aeqo]

i stood on a rolling office chair to take this pic it was dangerous

two days until hell assignment is due. so keen to be done with it.

[aeqo]

you can do it!!! i believe in u and u are doing so so great 💕sending u lotsa positive vibes and light and love from melbourne xx

<3 thanks!

[aeqo]

the state of my to-do list says a lot about the work I’m (not) getting done 

presently doing a v stressful assessment, give me strength

[aeqo]

~studying~

[aeqo]

doing some planning

[aeqo]

hello hi, long time no post! semester started up again a few weeks ago but I’ve been absolutely swamped with work. I’m back now, though - here’s a pic of my friend’s notes from a joint study sesh a few weeks ago :) 

[aeqo]

hi there! I've gone through your FAQ for this because I feel like you may have mentioned this before - my apologies if I missed this! I remember some notes you had printed from onenote - would you mind sharing how you formatted them? for some reason i can't get get mine to format correctly for printing (the margins are way off)

Hey :) I generally print my notes from onenote either straight from onenote, or by saving from onenote to PDF and then printing the PDF. Either way, I don’t touch the margins at all, just leave it on the program’s default settings. If you want to send me a pic of the problem you’re having I’m happy to take a look, but otherwise I don’t know if I can help much, sorry! 

Also thanks for reading the FAQ :) 

[aeqo]

bullet journal pages you could start in 2015

(or at any time, really, but lots of people have new journals now and it’s nice to get something happening in them) 

books to read this year

books read this year (as a record) 

films to watch

a self-care and self-rewards masterlist so you have something to refer to when you need a break or something nice 

things to learn

things learnt 

music to listen to 

music discovered 

wishlist of things to find while thrift-shopping 

list of life reminders, to accumulate all the advice and good things you find this year

a list of dream aesthetics because why not, who said a bullet journal has to be practical and work-focused always

a list of resolutions, if that’s your kind of thing 

a list of road-trips to make 

a list of charities or causes to donate to (to return to and work through whenever you have extra money) 

a list of friends’ birthdays and important dates to remember 

a list of the names of new people you meet

a list of the things that comprise the person you would like to be

a list of things you want to do that are not about school or work, just about what you would like

a list of ideas you find difficult but important

a list of simple things you have every right to be proud about, be that getting out of bed one more time a week, or surviving all the small things. 

a list of small and large things that have happened to you this year, so at the end you look back and see, condensed, some of the things that changed you.

whatever you want 

[aeqo]

It’s been a year since this post. With a change of date, it still applies. Happy new year, everyone :) 

[aeqo]

Hey! I've just started my blog and I would like to ask you for advice on how to stay motivated and not procrastinating. Thanks 🙂

I just wrote a long answer about motivation that you might find helpful, but the short version is this: motivation isn’t magic, it’s a muscle. Break things down into small chunks, break your goals into manageable steps, and do a little bit at a time. Do what you can do, forgive your mistakes along the way, and persist. 

(Also put your phone away when you’re studying, block or sign out of distractions, investigate the pomodoro technique, use momentum to get the next thing done, take breaks)