productivity

How to Pick Up New Skills & Why It’s Hard

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

I’ve tried a lot of new things this school year, and I’m glad I have. That being said, every time I would go to try something new, a little voice in my head would hope this would be my “thing”, the thing I was good at from the get-go, the thing that came naturally to me. I know it’s important to start new activities with an open mind because it takes practice and hard work to perfect a skill, but I couldn’t help wishing I had some sort of specific talent or activity I was known for being good at.

If you’re trying to pick up some new skills of your own, you’re in the right place. It’s definitely challenging to dive into something new, but I’m here to help you guys out. I’ve definitely been there, and I still am constantly trying to master new skills, so we’re all in this together!

  • Be open-minded – I know, it’s basic, but it’s so important. Keeping an open mind is crucial because you’re never sure if you’re actually going to like something or be good at it until you try and put in an honest effort! Even if something seems difficult, give it a full shot before you write it off as not being for you.
  • Put the work in – As I mentioned before, you don’t have to be a superstar at the first practice/meeting/whatever it is that you’re doing. Make sure you’re giving your best efforts and don’t complain or get discouraged based on your beginning skill level. Be willing to try it out a few times/for a while if possible.
  • Think about what you like the best – What do you genuinely enjoy doing? Find activities or pastimes that would serve those interests- you’ll probably end up being better at these things anyways.
  • Make time for it – If your activity is kind of an afterthought and you’re always rushing through it, you can’t expect to be fully proud of the results. Don’t commit to something unless you know you have the time for it, and make sure you can fit it into your schedule.
  • Enjoy it!! – Have a positive attitude towards whatever new thing you’re doing. It will most likely make it at least twice as fun and you’ll have an easier time picking up the skill and mastering it. Don’t see everything you do as something to conquer- enjoy the experience while you’re there, and be grateful for the learning opportunities you have.

I hope this helps you guys out if you’re intimidated by getting out of your comfort zone and trying new things. I was always like that in middle school and even freshman year, but this year I pushed myself out of my little bubble and tried so many new things, and it’s been the best thing for me. Every experience you have contributes to your overall learning experience, so don’t worry about being an expert at everything you do! That being said, picking up new skills is wonderful and useful, so I wish you all the best in doing so 🙂

Brooke

What to Do With An Idea – 5 Steps

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

Before I say anything else, I want to clarify that this post is inspired by the children’s book What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada. I came across this adorable book in fifth grade when we had to choose a children’s book to memorize and recite in front of the class. I was recently brainstorming for blog post ideas, and I realized it would be interesting to write about ideas themselves. I used to consider myself an uncreative person, and even I have tons of ideas that cross my mind everyday; for you especially creative folks out there, I can only imagine what your minds are cooking up. If you’re wondering how to put your ideas into action, keep on reading.

  1. Write it down – You want to make sure you don’t forget your great idea! Write it down and anything else that comes to mind when you first think of it. I have an ongoing document of ideas that I can come back to later when I have time to actually flesh them out.
  2. Brainstorm more to see how it’s realistic – This is a crucial step because depending on how many details you can flesh out, you may have to leave your idea on the back burner for now. You can always come back to it later, but it’s important that it’s actually feasible to get it started if you’re going to go ahead with it now. Think about cost, the current connections you have, time commitment, and more before taking the next step.
  3. Talk to others who might be interested – It helps a ton getting an idea off the ground if you have people with experience. If your idea pertains to a certain industry/field, call up anyone you know who works in it. Also, reach out to your friends- they’d probably be happy to help and interested in taking part in whatever cool idea you have.
  4. Take the first step – Now that you have other people to help you and an outline of what you need to do to execute your idea, start the first step! Make some posters, start a social media account or website, host your first event and see who else is interested. Just start, because it will only continue to grow from there.
  5. Make connections and get more people involved – As your idea grows, you’ll meet more people trying to do similar things/who have similar interests. Be open to meeting new people and adapting your idea as your audience changes and trends change. Overall, do what’s best for you and the original intent of your idea.

I know these tips were a little vague, but that reflects the vast possibilities of whatever cool ideas you guys might have. Remember that the important part is that you came up with a creative idea- that’s basically half the work! Don’t be afraid to take the next leap if you’re confident in your idea. You never know what could become of it 🙂

Brooke

Having an “All or Nothing” Mindset: Good or Bad?

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

All or nothing, go big or go home- these two common phrases mean the same thing. There are some people who either have to go full out, or would rather do nothing at all when working on something, rather than splitting things up or having a more balanced lifestyle. I’ve worked on doing things in moderation more as I’ve gotten busier and had to adapt my schedule, but I used to be very “all or nothing” in my mindset. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Keep on reading to find out my opinion.

My mom always told me that the “all or nothing” type mindset could be toxic, but I didn’t really believe her until I started high school and I got busier and more overwhelmed in my daily life. I figured as long as I worked hard in long chunks, I could chill and not really do anything the rest of the week/time. When new tasks or responsibilities landed on my plate, I wanted to get everything done immediately and then return to have nothing on my mind. I quickly learned this strategy would not work in high school, and I had to adapt to a more “normal” balanced schedule of working a little bit each day.

I still feel like my “dream” lifestyle would be to get everything done as soon as it comes up so I never have anything on my plate for too long before it gets completed, but I know that’s not realistic with the amount of schoolwork I have and other things I’m involved in. I think this mindset can be toxic since you feel like you have to be working super hard for long stretches of time, which can turn out counterproductive since it easily burns you out.

However, from personal experience I know it can be difficult to shift away from this mindset. I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that life is not all or nothing. There are tons of shades of grey in between, if you will, and it’s all about making the most of your time each day. Don’t feel pressured to dive into things immediately- it’s okay to just dip your toe in at first. I’m sorry for all the cheesy mixed metaphors, but it’s the best way for me to relay what I’m trying to say.

Instead of worrying about going full out on things, start with what you need to get done in the moment/that day. Then, you can spend more time on or pay more attention to detail with a few things after you’ve gotten everything that you needed to done. Just remember to be gentle with yourself and don’t stress yourself out. The all or nothing mindset may work for some people, but it definitely weighs down your mental state over time.

I hope this helped some of you out who have gone through similar things with your mindset. Remember that different things work for different people, and some people may be able to productively utilize this mindset without a problem. Let me know if you have any questions as always 🙂

Brooke

How to Fix An Unproductive Week

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

If you’re trying to have a productive week, this is the right post for you. We all have those weeks where we set ourselves up to be super organized and hope it all works out how we planned, yet somehow things go awry and you feel like you haven’t gotten anything done. But don’t fret! That doesn’t mean it’s all over, and you can still put your week back on track. Here are a few ways to turn an unproductive week on its head and make it as productive as ever!

  • Make a more realistic to-do list – Sometimes our mile-long to-do lists intimidate us. I know mine does. Make a more manageable list for what you need to do that day or that week, and you can start tackling the tasks one-by-one without feeling the pressure of what’s next.
  • Clean your space – I find that it’s way easier to be productive when your workspace is clean. Clean out your desk, make your bed, clean your whole room, whatever you have time for- just make it a better and more comfortable space to get stuff done in.
  • Go to a new environment and try and get things done there – Go to a Starbucks or even a cute coffee shop if you prefer a local café near you, and bring your work. I think this is a good environment to work in because lots of other people will be working around you and there’s nothing else to do but grind- plus, you’ll have caffeine right nearby.
  • Go for a walk or do any form of exercise – First of all, this can be something that you feel you’ve accomplished- you’ve gotten a workout in and done something nice for yourself. Also, the adrenaline and endorphins will give you motivation to do your other work.
  • Do all your tiny, five-minute tasks – These can seem like a lot, but when you just nip them in the bud and get them done, it takes quite a few small items off your to-do list. Things like putting away laundry, returning emails, and such are examples of tasks like this, and it’s refreshing to be able to cross something off your list.

I hope these tips help you out and inspire you to have a productive week this week! It’s crazy how the weeks are flying by, but I guess that’s just a good indication of how busy and productive I’ve been 🙂

Brooke

5 Little Ways to Organize Your Life in 2020

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

At the start of a new year, it’s always nice to do some cleaning. I find it makes me feel like I have my life together and am prepared for the year ahead. However, if you’re already a pretty organized person or just don’t have the time to do a major deep cleaning of your room/house, here are a few little ways you can organize your life and feel like you have it all figured out (even if you totally don’t).

  1. Organize any surfaces in your room – This sounds like a lot at first, but you probably don’t have that many surfaces where things are out in your room. For me, I have my nightstand, my bookshelf, my desk, and my bathroom counter. Your room will look so much neater if you just clean off these few surfaces and minimize the amount of stuff you have on top of them. Put things back that have been left out on these areas (put things into drawers, etc), dust them or wipe them down, and organize them.
  2. Choose some sort of planning system that works for you – Whether this is a physical planner, Google Calendar, the Apple calendar app, or some other system, find what works best for you. Having a record of all your plans and responsibilities is super helpful, especially for remembering everything that’s on your plate. For us students especially, it’s an easy way to monitor all your schoolwork.
  3. Go through papers – This sounds vague, but I mean exactly what I wrote: go through all your papers. Old receipts, manuals of electronics, schoolwork from past semesters or even past years, random paperwork, flyers, mail- recycle everything you don’t want and don’t need anymore, and organize what you still want/need in some sort of file folder system. I have a few different folders- I have a huge accordion one for all my current year school stuff so I can keep it and study for finals, I have a smaller folder with important school stuff I still reference from past years (notes from math and Spanish, etc), and a folder with all my extracurricular stuff and/or extra school information.
  4. Do a technology clean-out – I’m going to make a post on this very soon detailing how to do this most efficiently, but get old stuff and apps that you don’t want off of your phones! This is helpful especially if you don’t have a lot of storage. I’m going to leave it at this since I’ll go into detail in another post, but basically just delete stuff you don’t want off of your electronics.
  5. Clean out backpacks and purses – This is a really good idea for your school bag before the new semester, but it’s also nice to clean out any other purses or bags you may use. Check all the pockets, take everything out, and dump them out upside down once empty over a trash can to get rid of crumbs and other trash. You may find things you’d lost a while ago, like your old favorite chapstick.

I hope this inspired you to go do some cleaning. Trust me, you’ll feel so much better once you see the fruits of your labor! I’m an organization-lover and I’m trying to up my game this year, so you’ll definitely be seeing more posts about cleaning and organization soon.

-Brooke

The Passing of Time & Our Expectations of Productivity

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

As I have mentioned a few times on this blog in the past, I write all of my posts for an upcoming week the weekend beforehand, scheduling them to go up in advance. The day this post will go up is my last day of winter break, when I will most likely be writing my posts to go up the following week. You may be thinking, why would I bring this up? Well, there’s a few reasons. Winter break flew by, and I had all these expectations of things I could get done: tons of volunteer opportunities, tons of homework and extra credit assignments, studying for finals, holiday parties and fun plans with friends and family, summer program applications, blogging, cleaning, and writing with the intention of submitting to competitions.

Yes, it sounds like a lot- but 16 days of no school also sounded like a lot of time to do it all. To no one’s surprise (not even really my own), I wasn’t able to do everything. Time flew by, slipped through my fingers, and what I thought was a huge chunk of time still wasn’t enough to do everything I thought I could, regardless of how productive I was or wasn’t. I always feel like time is passing me by because I just want to do so much, and even at my highest levels of productivity and motivation, it’s impossible to do it all. Balancing fun things and obligations and things that fall under both categories is a lot no matter who you are, but I’ve also found that I almost want to overload myself since there’s so many things I’m interested in and I constantly discover new things I want to be a part of or think of ideas I would like to execute.

I don’t know whether to blame myself for time management issues, or blame myself for having unrealistic expectations- maybe I should be doing both? I would make a list of things I wanted to get done each individual day and I would take everything one step at a time, but I just never ended up knocking enough things off the list. I guess the “culprit” could’ve been the fact that I made a lot of plans with friends, but it’s winter break and the holiday season; it was kind of a given that I would be going to holiday parties and such. I shouldn’t feel guilty for wanting to be social on one of the only substantial breaks from school of the year. On a normal weekend, I don’t see my friends at all- I’m shut up in my room doing homework and other work on my computer or writing, and then I’ll possibly go out for food and volunteering. I knew there wasn’t going to be another opportunity for me to have this much time to just do something fun, so I said yes to all the plans my friends asked me to participate in.

It scares me how fast time has been passing in general. My first semester finals are in a couple weeks (a huge reason why I had so much work over break), and that means I’m about to be halfway done with sophomore year. I had so many plans and ideas and thoughts about how I wanted to approach this year, and it’s flown by so fast that I couldn’t even try to implement most of them. Sure, I’ve had a full schedule and it’s not like I was being lazy, but I’m confused how I never have time to do anything. How do some people have time to manage a full and difficult course load, a social life, their hobbies, and tons of other random activities and responsibilities both inside and outside of school? I’m managing things okay, but not with a good balance between work and play, and with barely any extra breathing room.

This is more of a question almost than a real post. I’ve offered my situation and my thoughts for you to mull over, and now I’m asking: what am I doing wrong? Am I doing anything wrong? Are any of you experiencing the same thing? Feel free to let me know, we’re all in this together!

Brooke

5 Fun and Productive Ways to Spend Winter Break

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

Winter break is upon us, and it’s finally a good, long, hard-earned break from the craziness of school. It’s time to indulge in all the things I love about the holiday season- especially hot chocolate and movies. That being said, there’s a lot of other fun ways to spend your break that are also productive! In case you’re searching for another activity to supplement your Netflix-bingeing, keep reading.

  • Volunteer for a good cause – The holidays are a great time to give back to your community since there’s so many people in need. You can serve a holiday dinner at a soup kitchen, help collect donations for a toy drive, work with charities that help veterans and foster kids get presents- the possibilities are endless, and there’s so many worthy causes.
  • Spruce up your room for the new year – This might not be fun depending on who you are, but I plan on doing a deep clean and some reorganizing of my room over the break. If there’s decorations you get as presents or something you’ve been wanting to change in your room, now’s the time to put that all together!
  • Make plans for the summer – You can get a head start on planning summer trips, or applying to summer programs since applications open soon. I’m personally trying to figure out what I’m going to do over the summer, especially since there’s so many options and things I’m interested in doing. This is the perfect time to figure it out and do research if you’re not sure where to start.
  • Exercise and get a head start on your New Year’s resolutions – We all get busy and end up cutting exercise out when we’re short on time, but we also all make “be healthy!” and “exercise more!” our New Year’s resolutions every year. While I have the time, I’ll try and have a more consistent workout routine over these couple weeks. It’s probably a good idea with all the holiday food I’ll be eating anyways, right?
  • Start a passion project – Do whatever that thing is that you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t had time to. Read a book series, write something, make art, start a mini-business, start a blog! The hardest and most time-consuming part is getting started, so this is the time to do it so you can keep it up easily once break is over.

I hope this gives you some ideas for how to spend your break. Remember to keep a balance and spend lots of time with family and friends, enjoying the holiday season and celebrating each other’s presence. Personally, I have to study for finals, so I am going to have quite a busy break! Happy holidays 🙂

-Brooke