#studyingwithmila

[kristynstudies]

[43/100 days of productivity]

20.4.24

finishing up my shakespeare final with a “study with me” video in the background :)

[studentbyday]

I'd like to think I made it out of survival mode this semester now that I've finally caught up. But once I'm in it, I always find it hard to shake the mindset of it. As soon as I hear of deadlines, even those I actually have enough time to prepare for, I feel my chest tightening and I forget to breathe, bracing myself for... what exactly?

I can't fall behind after reading week because that's the only break we have before finals revision. Yet at the same time, if I don't exit survival mode, I will surely burn out and find it really difficult to carry on, even post-finals.

So this morning I watched this video for some inspo and one of the most important things I got from it (although everything really was a good reminder because i clearly have issues with work-life balance lol) was the different types of rest. The ones I need most right now are creative rest, mental rest, physical rest, and sensory rest (depending on how busy this week will be, how overstimulating my brain and the rest of my life outside of schoolwork will be, and how much my social media use will be).

So here are some things I want to try/restart:

Sensory rest

Wake up before everyone else does for the peace and quiet and to experience the gentle transition to sunlight (rather than have the sun's rays pierce my eyes lol)

Lie on bed, even during day whenever I need sensory rest. Not to sleep if it will throw off my sleep schedule, but just to decompress 🧸

Creative rest

Get out and soak in the nature when I wake up early since that's when the air is best

Soak in the little pleasant sensations of every day (e.g. notice the beauty in food smells and how it combines with the taste and texture, kitchen/study/any other daily life ASMR)

Read fiction first thing in the morning (will also help me wake up by being smth to look forward to...i can even read while I'm out there soaking in the nature)

Mental rest

Meditate (10-20 mins)

Write out all my remaining worries/stray thoughts at the end of the work day (WHICH CAN NOW BE AT LEAST 1 HOUR BEFORE I ACTUALLY GO TO BED)

Physical rest

Exercise to release the stress.

Sleep as much as I want, worry free since I wrote them all down well before bed and sleeping is the first step to prepare myself to tackle them all one by one

[megumi-fm]

31/100 days of productivity

📚 1 hr of extra credit work 🇩🇪 30min of german practice + duolingo 🌱 45min of walking + sunlight

additionally

🧋bought taro boba 🛍 bought a tote bag 🏠 explored a new mall? and a bookstore ☎️ spoke to my best friend for an hour

[kristynstudies]

[44/100 days of productivity]

21.4.24

i’m writing a paper where i examine the outsiders from the perspective of a petrol-driven culture, and it’s been a blast re-reading it and finding parts to address. i love this book so much <3

[kristynstudies]

[47/100 days of productivity]

6.5.24

an evening study session where i got to watch the sunset from my window while i worked on my chapter notes🩵

[kristynstudies]

[46/100 days of productivity]

2.5.24

celebrating the end of the winter semester by getting a head start on my first summer class, sociology! my study buddy was slacking today and decided to take a nap on my ipad.

[kristynstudies]

22.4.24

[45/100 days of productivity]

happy earth day!🌳💐🧚 i celebrated by finishing up my paper outside. ignore my reflection lol

[studentbyday]

the great reset. (aka reading week*)

this week is dedicated to self-care, including the different types of rest i need and doing the proactive things**. as part of this, i'm letting myself sleep as much as i want all week (but this time, with a consistent early wake-up alarm!!!). i'm so relieved.

**hehe. i may have overestimated how many of those proactive things i can actually do this week. i need to prioritize my list...

also sometimes i feel like making a commonplace book except i don't have a notebook with numbers...so i'd have to number the pages myself. a part of me is like “ugh i don't have time for this” and another part of me is like “but i do really have a lot of quotes and things i'd like to collect! 🐿️” and another part of me is like “numbering pages may be just the kind of mind-numbing thing i need to recover from the first half of the semester 😑👍” we'll see what happens... it's not high on my priorities list rn 😅

*i drafted and queued this post early last week when i was feeling very idealistic about the near future. it's serving as an unexpected reminder to just...take a deep breath. i can handle it if i take care of my basic needs. it's sunday and i had a much longer to-do list for today, but the day will be a win even if i only finish re-organizing my notes for all my courses and the fourth immunology module. oh yes, and a hair mask bc my hair will not survive the winter without a big chop if i don't keep it moisturized. and (1) i don't have time for a haircut and (2) i'm curious what i'd look like with longer hair.