Prologue: I am required to write an essay for an university course every week. Some turn out better, some turn out worse. We can choose the topic, and I have been struggling three days until I had an interesting idea and got into the state where my hands could not scribble as quickly as my thoughts rushed. I find myself quilty of all these sins.
Get up and goddamn, look at this wonderful life with so many opportunities and such beauty.
-Vill du se stjärnorna ta dig en titt omkring -
How university and home should function - Tips and tricks
Part One: the morning
Out of nowhere, an unusual and unfamiliar scenario has become an everyday life situation, a word usually only used in political campaign speeches has suddenly become daunting reality:
Online University
Many are struggling with this new setting, there is a lot of restructuring and rethinking needed, we all need time to get used to everything after all, right? People are insecure and need some kind of guidance, and luckily, I will share my experience with you.
I will show you some habits and structures you might find helpful and want to adopt.
Let's go along the course of the day, starting in the morning today, with more advice following soon!:
As someone schooled in the ways of good sleep and how to promote it, I know how important it is to wake up refreshed and energized in the morning. Your personal optimal time will most likely lay between 6 that 8 a.m., experiment with those times until you find the right one for you (or sleep until noon because you spent way too much time the night before watching stupid YouTube videos).
After waking up, it is best to directly get up and out of bed, so that your brain only associates this place with sleeping. You should not do other things in your bed or spend too much awake time there (yes, I know it looks comfy and tempting, but napping does not count as hobby! Also, do not go straight to the couch to lay there!).
Open up your window to let fresh air and light in, since you have drained the oxygen the whole night, and the photoreceptor cells in your brain will make you feel more awake. Sunlight is important to set the inner clock, too, but we will talk about that in another chapter (or maybe you will complain about the way too bright light hitting and burning in your eyes and the cold breeze freezing off your toes and crawl back under your duvet).
A great advantage here is is that you get to experience the sunrise, which I personally like a lot, just as a reminder for a new start. Take a few minutes to go outside or stand at your window with a cup your favourite tea and just breathe in and without a few times slowly. It is important to preserve mindfulness in hectic times. Try to experience fully. Smell and taste the tea aromas, feel the wind in your hair and the first sun rays on your face. Maybe you will also enjoye lighting a candle (or you will try to hide away from the world and work in your bed, maybe it will work)?
Morning routines are very important, still, people vary in their opinion, how long it should take, but when you find some activities to make you happy and ready to start the day, that is all that counts!
I found myself trying to establish a short meditation in the morning, to calm and clear my mind in times my head is to contained with stressful thoughts. Positive mantras and a list as to have an overview on what to do for the day may also work for you (though some people rather choose to be overwhelmed and procrastinating by all their tasks for the day. Do not "meditate" on your matress, no it does not count, when you doze).
Further, make your bed, so you will already have started the day accomplishing something, and you will like going to bed in the evening more. To have an orderly, clean feeling is worth more than you would believe, many also cannot function without a cold shower (or you will leave the sheets messy to mock you and your inability).
Another thing many celebrities and coaches swear by is clearly sport. Physical activity is especially important when we are sitting with hunched backs at our desks all day long, but you should have light exercise no matter what, according to an institution which has been of great interest because of another matter: the World Health Organisation recommends 150 minutes weekly, which is about 25 minutes per day, not too much, eh? Especially spread over an entire day. Often, the favourable option is Yoga, as it combines meditation, stretching and light muscle training using one's own body weight. It is a humble and slow start into the day, taking only quarter an hour and making you more comfortable in your own skin. But, again, whatever makes you feel good is the way to go! Do some crunches, sit ups, push ups, jumping jacks! Turn up your favourite music and have a wild dance session! (or you will later slurp to the bathroom mirror, nearly out of breath from getting up and curse the image you see, wondering why your clothes fit so poorly).
Something I really like, I picked up that idea from an amazing artist, @zenpencils on Instagram (take a look below for that post and click right to explore the story), is to do something you want to pursue, you want to archive, one of those things you always want to do but say you dont have the time.
Read that book, write that blogpost (hehe), draw that picture, learn that language. 5 - 10 minutes in the morning is not that much but can go a long way, and it will make you feel good, especially when you have archived something.
Follow your dreams, one little step at a time. You do not need to be perfect, every master has started small, rather even enjoy learning and discovering what this life has to offer (or do not and become a bitter person, ranting about the unfairness in this world and how others, circumstances, work, time etc. have hindered you from becoming the famous artist you have wanted to be, or stopped you from finishing that book series).
Lastly, do not forget about a tasty, healthy breakfast! You should not feel as if you have a load of bricks carrying around, but your brain simply needs energy to work, as well as your body, to build those muscles you have just activated (or you will not feel a healthy hunger through lack of movement, your body is still in “sleep mode”, and then you stuff yourself with greasy junk food and sugary drinks)!
Something I really like, I picked up that idea from an amazing artist, @zenpencils on Instagram (take a look below for that post and click right to explore the story), is to do something you want to pursue, you want to archive, one of those things you always want to do but say you dont have the time.
Read that book, write that blogpost (hehe), draw that picture, learn that language. 5 - 10 minutes in the morning is not that much but can go a long way, and it will make you feel good, especially when you have archived something.
Follow your dreams, one little step at a time. You do not need to be perfect, every master has started small, rather even enjoy learning and discovering what this life has to offer (or do not and become a bitter person, ranting about the unfairness in this world and how others, circumstances, work, time etc. have hindered you from becoming the famous artist you have wanted to be, or stopped you from finishing that book series).
Lastly, do not forget about a tasty, healthy breakfast! You should not feel as if you have a load of bricks carrying around, but your brain simply needs energy to work, as well as your body, to build those muscles you have just activated (or you will not feel a healthy hunger through lack of movement, your body is still in “sleep mode”, and then you stuff yourself with greasy junk food and sugary drinks)!
All in all, I hope you appreciate the advice and can implement it to your daily life (or you just keep laying lazily in your bed and scroll through memes on your phone for hours until you really need to pee and get up from your blanket fort)!
Have a wonderful, productive day and I will see you in part two!
Wonderful read and some very nice practical tips :) thank you for writing this!
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