Final Year: How I Stay on Top of Things

Hint: coffee.

As I am starting my final week of my undergraduate degree this week, I thought I would reflect on a few things I’ve been doing recently that have helped me stay on top of things.

The first thing is Bullet Journaling. I am in love with my bullet journal. I think this is the third year I have kept a bullet journal pretty much every day. I use it for pretty much everything. I take notes from meetings and random seminars. I use it to plan uni tasks and other projects. The main part of the bullet journal just has monthly, weekly, and daily spreads. Because I have even more work this year, I have adapted my system to work for me.

To keep up with all the readings I have, I print out the references for my readings so I don’t have to look at my course handbook or anything. I then just check them off when they’ve been read. I also have tasks like chores, essays, reading for fun, emails to send, etc. I’ve even added a tracker at the bottom for HSK vocab and going to the gym.

This is what my to-do list looks like this week.

This is what a weekly spread looks like when it’s been lived in.

Some weeks it’s more colorful than others.

This system has been a really good way for me to visualize what I have to do as well as things I have already done.

I then have a daily task list where I write down classes, meetings, tasks, etc. and then try to do as many of them as I can. This is a really good way for me to focus myself. I try to make my daily to-do list in the morning.

I use Google Calendar to keep track of meetings, work, etc. I especially use this to keep track of things that are more than a week away or recurring events.

My number one thing is that I always write stuff down in Google Calendar when I’m going through my emails – tasks, events, etc. – that way they don’t get lost.

I’ve been using a Google Chrome app to help me stay off Facebook and Twitter. It’s called StayFocusd. It’s been surprisingly helpful. I have it set to give me a 10-minute allowance between 9am and 6pm. The number of times it has stopped me from checking Facebook is concerning. But I’ve noticed I’m a lot more focused during the day and I spend a lot less time scrolling.

The last thing that’s been helpful is just having a routine. I get in around 9am every day. I sit at my favorite spot by the window overlooking a park. I have space to spread out my stuff. I usually leave my desk throughout the day to go to class and eat/get coffee, but largely I stay put. I go home between 5pm and 9pm depending on how I’m feeling. I think one of the biggest contributors to staying on top of things this year has just been putting in a lot of hours. It does just take a long time to do my readings, translations, essays, etc. Being in the habit of putting in those hours has been really important.

So those are my thoughts on what’s been working to keep me on top of this very busy and stressful year.

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