How to Tackle That Workload| Carenza Bramwell

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when the workload starts to pile up. As someone graduating in four months, I can relate a lot to the feeling of everything piling up and not knowing what to do. So in today's blog post, I thought I'd share some of the things I do when I feel overwhelmed and unsure how to tackle that workload. This is mostly aimed at students, but can apply to other areas of life.   

My work set up at home

Lists

I am a strong believer in the power of lists. I find that by making a list I can easily organise everything I need to. When I start making a list, at first I just jot things down. I like to write a first draft digitally, so I can go and add things if I need to. If it's a to do list, I will write down all the things I need to do. Often, there is quite a lot and it isn't just for one thing. It could be for uni, within that there's my different modules. It could be blogging or random things I need to do. I then sort it into categories. After sorting it into categories, I then write it on paper. 

My most recent to do list, split into days and colour coordinated 

My favourite thing about physical lists is colour coordinating. I've come to learn that I'm a very visual person. Above is a photo of a recent to do list. It's broken down into days and then tasks that need completing on those days. Lists help keep track of everything and have helped me to stay on top of things. Plus there are so many different ways to make a list which means you'll be able to find the perfect way for you.   

Time Management

This might seem fairly self explanatory and to some degree it is. Learn how to manage your time and that workload will vanish overnight. Or that's how it seems. I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm actually not very good at time management. I try to be, but it really isn't one of my strong suits. So if you're anything like me, here are some tips for how to get better at time management and use it to help with that workload. 

The key I've found is to break it down into manageable chunks. Again, this seems obvious but it isn't always. When things start to pile it up, it can be overwhelming and hard to work out how to tackle it. By breaking it down into manageable chunks, you make something that seems impossible actually possible. Work out how much time a task will take and how much you actually have to give. These are two similar but different things. Say a task might take you twenty minutes, give yourself thirty just in case you need a bit of wiggle room. It takes a long time to become good at time management, years of practice. Don't beat yourself up if you haven't mastered it overnight. 

Organisation Methods  

There are lots of organisation methods out there, so this part is about finding a method that works for you. Personally I am a physically writing it down type of person. I have a planner that I use to write stuff I want to get done and if I have any work that needs completing for another date. I also use it to keep a track of my deadlines and see what I've got coming up. I have a wall calendar as well that I use to keep an overview of everything. Colour coordinating is a big part of how I stay organised. Each of my modules has a different colour, so from a glance I can see what is due when. Within my planner, to do tasks are in a different colour to things that are happening on certain days. It's taken me a while to cultivate this system but I have found that it does help me keep on top of work.  

It may seem like procrastinating but take some time to find out what sort of organisation method works for you. Once you've found something, it will stick and you'll be able to use it to keep on top of that workload. I'd recommend trying seeing if you're a digital or physical person. You could like more traditional planners or you might like the bullet journal style. There's so much out there which means you'll find something that works for you. 

Take a Break

It can be hard when everything starts to get the better of you to give yourself breaks. They are so important. I am just as guilty as the next person of having the mindset of getting everything done then essentially passing out afterwards. This is a really unhealthy mindset. It doesn't have to be a super long break, even five minutes can be enough to give yourself a rest.

I'd recommend the pomodoro method. I know a lot of people who trust this method. It's where you work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break. You are encouraged to use these five minutes doing anything that isn't work related. It could be making a cup of tea or feeding a pet. Give yourself those small breaks that you deserve as you'll be able to do more work without feeling tired or burnt out.

The main take aways from this post to tackle that workload are that a lot of what goes into it is planning. It's working out how to get stuff done, rather than getting stuff done. I spend a good chunk of time planning what I'm going to do each day. It's also vital to take breaks. To anyone out there looking to find ways to tackle that workload, I hope this post helped. 

Carenza :) x  

How to Stay Creatively Motivated| Carenza Bramwell

As the world continues to stay bleak and depressing, it can be hard to stay motivated. Something I've spotted in the past year is that it can be hard to stay creatively motivated when the world feels so gloomy. I study creative writing, I create content online and work on a student magazine, my whole life revolves around being creative. Yet, with the latest lockdown the UK finds itself in has drained me of all my creativity. In today's blog post, I thought I would share some thoughts and tips on how I stay motivated to create when I really don't feel inspired.

I just want to preface this post with that there are times when I don't follow my own advice. There are times when I don't feel I can. It's important to acknowledge that there are times when things aren't as easy as we'd like. Only try and follow these tips if you feel able to.

Acknowledge Your Feelings

Something I've been trying to do when I start to feel creatively demotivated, especially of late, is to acknowledge my feelings. We are living through a pandemic, these aren't normal times, it's alright to not feel normal. I am not a mental health professional, but I would say it's okay to feel frustrated, worried, scared, whatever you are feeling. I had a huge motivation boost after Christmas, but as soon as lockdown hit again, I could barely do the work I wanted to do. Instead of trying to make myself do the work when I was in no shape to do so, I took some time to acknowledge my feelings. By taking this step, even though I wouldn't say I'm back at full motivation levels, I've been able to chip away at my workload.  

Revisit Inspirations and Favourites 

When lacking motivation, a tip I would recommend is to revisit inspirations and favourites. I get inspired and motivated from the creative pieces I love. This could be a book, TV show, film, whatever, but I like to surround myself with it. To me, it's a happy reminder that people can go onto create great things. Often after revisiting something I love it makes me want to go on and create something. I would also recommend looking at some creative/motivational quotes. Again, it's a positive reminder that you can and will go onto work on something you're proud of.   

Break It Into Manageable Chunks

Let's face it, but we aren't going to write our masterpieces in a day or a week. It takes a lot of time. It can be overwhelming when you are lacking motivation to start a task that seems insurmountable. So breaking it into smaller chunks can help with motivation. It can be to write a hundred words or a certain amount of pages. I find that breaking bigger tasks into smaller chunks makes me more likely to work on it. If something feels too big, then I won't want to work on it. Take the time to work out how you are going to approach the task. Then let the words/creativity come to you.  

You Don't Have to Be Creative Everyday  

Something I am trying to learn is that you don't have to be creative everyday. It's okay to give yourself time to feel mentally refreshed before retuning to a project. This is similar to what I was saying in the first point. Creativity takes a lot of mental thinking, so let yourself feel mentally ready to be creative. Just like more "traditional" career paths and interests, it is key to take time away. I try to take one day a week away from doing anything creative. It gives me that time to process and refresh before diving back into whatever I'm working on. 

Those are some tips and thoughts on how to stay creatively motivated when times are difficult. Do you have any tips and thoughts on what's been discussed in this blog post?

Carenza :) x  

A Typical Day in My Life as a Uni Student| CarenzaOnBooks

As someone who watches a lot of studytubers, I thought it would be interesting to share my experiences and day to day life as a Creative Writing student. A lot of student bloggers/vloggers etc I feel are studying more "traditional" courses and often we don't get to learn what it's like to be an art student. I thought that it would be helpful for anyone interested in studying Creative Writing or wondering what it was like to study Creative Writing to share what a typical day in my life looks like.

I would like to start this with a tiny disclaimer- obviously, every day of my life isn't like this and I am going to be merging what I do to give a broader picture. My experience is also unique to me, so what I do as a Creative Writing student might be very different from what other people do.

Gym, 6-9am, 4 times a week

Depending on what my day looks like, I like to try and go to the gym. I have a membership to my university gym, which is a 10-15 minute walk from where I live. I am not your typical gym buff, I don't think I really know how to use the gym properly, but I try my best. At the moment, as I haven't been to the gym at all over the summer and I'm getting used to being back at uni, I'm only going for 20 minutes in the morning. I like to use to cross-trainers and that's about it. I am hoping to increase my time at the gym once I've worked out my schedule properly, but for now, I go for 20 minutes 4 mornings a week. Typically, I try to get there around opening time and I like to be home by 9am, ready to start working. I started going to the gym in my second term of uni as I wasn't getting any exercise and by paying for it, I feel that I need to get my money worth out of my membership. It's a really nice way to start my day.

Lectures, 9am-5pm, 3 times a week

Due to the nature of studying Creative Writing, my contact hours are a lot smaller than some other degrees. I have 12 hours a week split between 4 modules. I don't always start at 9am, but I do finish at 5pm every day. Typically, on my longer days, I'll be in uni all day and work in between my lectures. I'd recommend this rather than going home as it means when you go home you have less work to do and you have a clearer separation between work and home. I will say that this is very different compared to my first year of university. Second-year is a lot more intense and you are expected to do a lot more by yourself. I quite like my timetable this year as the amount I'm in uni isn't daunting but it feels like I'm still learning lots. I've also discovered that I do quite enjoy spending more time at uni and getting work done there.

Studying, various, almost every day

Most of the time when I get home from uni, I try to get as much work done as humanly possible. I do have a bit of a problem when it comes to working, but I am trying to fix it. Sometimes I only do under an hours worth of work, others I work until I am exhausted. It depends what I have to do and when I have to get it done by. On Monday's, for example, I have a lot of lecture notes to write up, so I spend a lot of time on that. But on Tuesday's, as I have the next day off, I feel less bad about taking time off and not working. It all depends on what I've got the next day and what I want to get done, whether that's for uni or for my own personal enjoyment.  

Other Activities, various, almost every day

Obviously, my whole life isn't eat, sleep, study, repeat, I do do other things with my life and I have to try and fit them in. Typically these activities can involve- blogging (I set aside three days a week to work on my blog), running my social media accounts (I have been bad at this recently, but I do tend to do work on at least one of my accounts every day), work (I have a casual part-time job), chores (sadly I have to do these every single day) and reading (I also have to do this every single day). Typically, I'll tidy my room up first thing in the morning. I'll also make sure that at some point during the day, I do my dishes. Reading I tend to do just before bed and although I've been really bad at reading, I always try to make time for it during the day as it's something relevant to my course but it's also something that is important to me as a person.

I hope that this depicts an accurate picture of what my a day in my life is like as a Creative Writing student. I know that this looks daunting, but I promise you that this is a manageable load and is just what it's like to be a Creative Writing student.

Carenza :) x           

How to Stay Motivated as a Student| CarenzaOnBooks

Since starting my second year of university, I've been feeling very overwhelmed and I've only been back for two weeks. I feel the jump between the first and second year was huge and that there is so much to do. So as a way to get out of this slump, I decided that I would write a post about staying motivated to motivate myself. This could just be the biggest form of procrastination, but we're going to roll with it.  I've come up with a few tips to help you stay motivated when your workload could actually crush you.

Set Achievable Goals

This is something I always struggle with is setting achievable goals. I am terrible at this. Setting achievable goals means your workload won't be as intimidating. At the moment, my homework (also known as independent study) usually takes me about three hours per module (I have four modules) and that is a lot of work. So what I do is spread out when I'm doing my work. I have one lecture on a Monday morning and then nothing till the afternoon, so I use that time to work. It means that when I finally finish for the day, I can just come home and chill. I also try to do my homework on different days so I feel like I have a bit more time to myself. Rather than trying to cram everything into one day, I set achievable goals for each day and spread my workload out. It means I don't feel as stressed by how much work I've got to do.  

Take Breaks

This is something I am also terrible at. Half the time I sit down to work, I don't move from where I'm working for several hours. I'm not exaggerating at all. I genuinely have worked for six hours without stopping. This a really bad thing to do and I do not recommend you follow my example. Something I am going to start implementing into my study sessions is breaks. By taking little breaks it means you feel a bit more motivated to continue. I don't know if you can get this app on Android, but if you have an iPhone you can download an app called Forest that helps with productivity but you can use it for making sure that you take breaks. I have it on my iPad and my iPhone. During my GCSEs, I swore by it and I'm pretty sure it's part of the reason why I did so much work. I am going to start using it again as it was very motivational. As the name suggests, you plant a virtual tree and watch it grow. I'm fairly certain after a certain point, the virtual trees you grow start being actual trees through a partner company. I found it really motivational and I am going to start using it again.

   

Make a Work and Fun Schedule 

I have made one of these and once I have settled into a routine at uni, I am going to start using mine religiously. It allows you to see what you should be doing at certain points of the day. As important as it is to see when you should be working, make sure you schedule in some fun or you will go mad. I did this during my early academic years and I did go a little bit mad. I have scheduled in two nights a week off to have chill nights. So far I have been terrible at sticking to these. Once I've got more of routine, I am going to make sure that while I am getting lots of work done, I am also going to be making sure I have downtime as university is stressful. Having a balance means you can live a more well-rounded life and not just be a ball of stress. 

I hope these tips have been helpful and if you have any more tips that you think I should add to this post, let me know in the comments below and I will add them.

Carenza x :)