Feelings to letters. @talksandlyrics - Tumblr Blog

How to Handle Having TOO MUCH To Do

So let’s say you’re in the same boat I am (this is a running theme, have you noticed?) and you’ve just got, like, SO MUCH STUFF that HAS to get done YESTERDAY or you will DIE (or fail/get fired/mope). Everything needs to be done yesterday, you’re sick, and for whatever reason you are focusing on the least important stuff first. What to do!

Take a deep breath, because this is a boot camp in prioritization.

Make a 3 by 4 grid. Make it pretty big. The line above your top row goes like this: Due YESTERDAY - due TOMORROW - due LATER. Along the side, write: Takes 5 min - Takes 30 min - Takes hours - Takes DAYS.

Divide ALL your tasks into one of these squares, based on how much work you still have to do. A thank you note for a present you received two weeks ago? That takes 5 minutes and was due YESTERDAY. Put it in that square. A five page paper that’s due tomorrow? That takes an hour/hours, place it appropriately. Tomorrow’s speech you just need to rehearse? Half an hour, due TOMORROW. Do the same for ALL of your tasks

Your priority goes like this:

5 minutes due YESTERDAY

5 minutes due TOMORROW

Half-hour due YESTERDAY

Half-hour due TOMORROW

Hours due YESTERDAY

Hours due TOMORROW

5 minutes due LATER

Half-hour due LATER

Hours due LATER

DAYS due YESTERDAY

DAYS due TOMORROW

DAYS due LATER

At this point you just go down the list in each section. If something feels especially urgent, for whatever reason - a certain professor is hounding you, you’re especially worried about that speech, whatever - you can bump that up to the top of the entire list. However, going through the list like this is what I find most efficient.

Some people do like to save the 5 minute tasks for kind of a break between longer-running tasks. If that’s what you want to try, go for it! You’re the one studying here.

So that’s how to prioritize. Now, how to actually do shit? That’s where the 20/10 method comes in. It’s simple: do stuff like a stuff-doing FIEND for 20 minutes, then take a ten minute break and do whatever you want. Repeat ad infinitum. It’s how I’ve gotten through my to do list, concussed and everything.

You’ve got this. Get a drink and start - we can do our stuff together!

allydsgn

WOAH THIS SOUNDS HELPFUL. I’M GOING TO TRY THIS IMMEDIATELY. Also, I made a chart for myself, but if anyone else wants it for reference (or if this is wrong and I misread you can tell me) here it is:

autisticphding

Going to try this.

alluminaudia

Wait for the person who wants to FaceTime you every night because they can’t sleep without you. Wait for the person who always asks how your day was and cares about the details. Wait for the person who knows your coffee order by heart. Wait for the person who knows how to love you when you are sad and can make you laugh when you’re angry. Wait for the person who is willing to go for a drive with you at three am. Wait for the person who gets along with your family and asks how your parents are doing. Wait for the person who energizes you, motivates you, goes on adventures with you, and supports you no matter what. Stop chasing people who can’t be bothered to match your effort.

pbs-r

starting to think about happiness as something that could be attained every day instead of something you chase for years and years until the conditions are absolutely perfect

eintsein

rosepoints

the current mood is me putting on lipstick, telling myself that im a slutty bastard that gets shit done, and then sitting down to slap out my final papers

tbhstudying

Hi seo!

I was wondering if you have any advice on how to tackle a bigger uni assignment like a BA thesis. Studyblr advice seems so fucussed on high school studying and I feel a bit lost. Love your stuff, have a great day! <3

ikr i see so many middle schoolers and high schoolers floating around and i feel like an aged, decrepit woman in her 60s

anyways here’s how i tackle bigger assignments for uni:

figure out any pertinent deadlines asap and mark them down on a calendar. it can be digital or on paper; doesn’t matter.

make secondary deadlines and intersperse them between the actual deadlines. maybe you have the draft due in a month and then the final due a month after that. make up a deadline halfway before that to have the draft done so that you can go to office hours, talk to your prof about it, ask other ppl to look it over, do some extra research if necessary, etc.

PLEASE talk to ur prof abt the work u do for their class!! talk to them to see what they think about ur topic, abt the way ur going about it, etc. ask them all the questions u have!!! after all, they’re the ones who r going to have to grade it in the end, so u might as well get the help from them!!

also ask for help from ur TAs and tutors if u need them! no shame in asking for help!

break that fucker down into tiny manageable chunks. schedule when you’re going to have the research done, when you’re going to have the figures made, when you’re going to have that draft done, when you’re going to have it edited, and when you’re going to have that final, shiny thesis.

don’t procrastinate. don’t you fucking dare. i’m watching you. don’t procrastinate, DON’T PROCRASTINATE, don’t do it bitch.

don’t be afraid to ask for extensions if u need them. be buddies with ur prof ahead of time, participate in class, and then hit them with a request for an extension if u need them. one time during my first year of uni, i thought i couldn’t ask for an extension, ended up having a breakdown in the dining hall, cried into my bland pasta (and hilariously made it saltier), and my friend had to take my phone and send an email to request one for me. my prof literally replied back “sure” and i was like oh my GOD that’s what i panicked over???? tf????

like ideally u get ur stuff together with the whole “no procrastinating, break it down” bit, but sometimes, life gets ya!! life’s a bitch! what can ya do! dw abt it too much and if u get a hardass prof who won’t give u accommodations or help, talk to ur dean or advisor or mentor abt it.

shortycito-deactivated20211022

shelbys-advice-blog

What do I do when I get the urge to do bad things to. myself :( I'm so ashamed of myself

Hi darling,

When I am having urges to harm myself, I use coping skills and things that will distract me/take up time. Below are some of my favorite coping skills for negative behaviors-

Congratulate yourself on each minute you go without harming

Instead of punishing yourself by harming, punish yourself by not harming

Call a friend and ask for company

Give someone a hug with a smile

Eat something ridiculously sweet

Remember a happy moment and relive it for a while in your head

Try to imagine the future and plan things you want to do

Look at things that are special to you

Compliment someone else

Play with a pet

Light a candle and watch the flame (but please be careful)

Allow yourself to cry; crying is a healthy release of emotion

Accept a gift from a friend

Carry tokens to remind you of peaceful comforting things/people

Take a hot bath with bath oil or bubbles

Curl up under a comforter with hot cocoa and a good book

Make affirmation tapes inside you that are good, kind, gentle (Sometimes you can do this by writing down the negative thoughts and then physically re-writing them into positive messages)

Make a tray of special treats and tuck yourself into bed with it and watch TV or read

Recovery projects-

The Butterfly Project:

when you feel like you want to cut, take a marker or pen and draw a butterfly on wherever the self-harm occurs.

name the butterfly after a loved one, or someone that really wants you to get better.

NO scrubbing the butterfly off.

if you cut before the butterfly is gone, it dies. if you don’t cut, it lives.

if you have more than one, cutting kills them all.

another person may draw them on you. these butterflies are extra special. take good care of them.

even if you don’t cut, feel free to draw a butterfly anyways, to show your support. if you do this, name it after someone you know that is suffering right now, and tell them. it could help.

The Paper Chain Project:

For every day you go without self harming or purging, add a colorful link to the paper chain

If you relapse, just add a white link to to the chain and carry on the chain without any disruption

Over time the paper chain will grow in length and you can see your progress, and see that even if you do relapse, the are still days you go without hurting yourself. The colorful links.

Over time and through your recovery watch the amount of colored links begin to increase, and the amount of white links begin to decrease.

If you feel like hurting yourself, look at the paper chain and realize just how far you’ve made it, and realize that if you’ve resisted before you can do it again

Journaling:

DELAY: delay giving in to the urge for a set amount of time. Write down this amount of time and set a timer.

DISTRACT: do an activity that will occupy your thoughts and use your physical energy. Write a list of things you could do.

DECIDE: after the set time period, decide how you’re going to respond to the urge. Write down: advantages, disadvantages, reasons you want to stop, life goals.

You could also try grounding techniques, I have one that I just love! Maybe give it a try and see if it helps you? It never hurts to try something that could help you.

Writing / Saying Grounding Statements: Develop several grounding statements that remind you that you are safe and provide you with comfort. You may want to write the statements on a small piece of paper or “flashcard” and carry them around in your wallet. You may want to write the statement on a larger piece of paper that you will hang on a wall in your home. Write your statements in a color that represents safety and strength to you. You can say the statements out loud, or simply read or think them. Examples of grounding statements include:

This feeling will soon pass.

You are no longer a child. You are an adult now, and you are safe

You are strong; you are safe now

Hope this helps! Stay safe and don’t forget to smile because you’re beyond amazing! :) x