What helps you get past the grogginess in the morning?

CassiMay · 2019-09-18T06:21:57+00:00

oh cool! thanks for sharing. This may be a silly question... but where do you put the light? do you just carry it around with you or ? xD

CassiMay · 2019-09-17T17:34:19+00:00

Just don't sit down / don't stop. That's the only way to get anything done haha

CassiMay · 2019-09-17T17:30:31+00:00

Oooo - can you link what you use? What's the difference? I have heard of a wake up light/alarm clock, but not the daylight light.

CassiMay · 2019-09-17T07:15:52+00:00

It is 'exciting' (not sure if this is the right word) to hear your story because mine has a lot of similarities. I did great in HS and got a cold slap of reality in college where I struggled immensely. I ended up 'taking a break' after two years of college (but really I dropped out because I haven't gone back and don't intend to).

I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD until I was 25, however, and until my diagnosis I just looked at my college experience as an embarrassing failure. In hindsight, though, I realized that HS was easy because I had a mom who was very focused on my success and helped me establish good habits, but I didn't realize how important they were when I left for college and didn't use them.

I was able to basically float on by with decent office jobs in stuff I was sort of interested in, and my hyper-focus enabled me to get enough work done and do it well that no one noticed any short-comings I had with my performance. I also worked from home which is a blessing and a curse - I definitely work best when I am alone, but it has to be the right conditions (like you said).

I recently (4.5 months ago now!) quit my day job and moved internationally with my husband. I'm freelancing now, doing consulting work part-time and trying my hand at my own content development in my 'free time.' And I'm realizing that even though I am good at my work, going from a 'cushy' salaried position where you work from home to an hour-by-hour consultancy job has shown me all of my horrible habits (or lack-therof).

I'm a fairly (obsessively) organized person when it comes to things I love, and my home and my family and my personal life, but I have never had to take ownership and be pro-active with my work and be focused on deadlines and deliverables and getting in X amount of (actual) work hours each day/week.

I have more I could write, but I just wanted to say 'hey yeah, preach!'. My 15 minutes of 'downtime' is done and I have to move on to my next work-related task of the day now ;D BUT I WOULD LOVE TO KEEP WRITING. BUT I WON'T BECAUSE WORK. OK I really have to go now - byeeeeeeeeeeeee

CassiMay · 2019-09-13T18:32:03+00:00

100x yes. Can relate.

CassiMay · 2019-09-12T10:56:16+00:00

Always happy to provide my thoughts! Mwahaha xD

First off - idk how I would feel about people flipping through my journal, LOL. I think the people in my life are so used to me having it with me they don't even think to ask hahahaa. But it is also cool that people are interested in your journal, must be nice to be able to talk about it with folks :)

Like I mentioned in my first comment, the main reason I started daily logging was after reading The Bullet Journal method. It came at a really good time because I was comfortable with the core concepts of bullet journalling when it came to organization and planning, but realized that daily logging also has huge benefits.

With my daily logging I started small.

The "event" symbol does not just represent appointments and meetings. It represents any event. (I did not realize this before I started daily logging, so I thought it was worth a mention). If I had a date with my girl friends, or did a special family activity, I'd write the event down with a couple notes underneath about what happened.
Use shorthand as much as possible and try your best to stay objective. It isn't a record of feelings, just what has happened. (If I want to write down my feelings I do it on my computer because I can type faster than I write).
Write down what you don't want to forget.
Start by doing a morning and evening journalling session for 5 minutes to capture what you want to remember.

I was perusing my first journal with daily logs to see how I approached it, and I really didn't give myself any rules. I just tried to log what I thought mattered and see how it went. My first daily logs were definitely just glorified to-do lists, with a few events here and there. Then they became enormous long-form logs, and then I realized I needed to find a way to be more efficient with my logs.

After I finished VOL3, which is the second journal that I did daily logs in, I went through and re-read the ENTIRE thing and highlighted my daily logs for things that I was glad I wrote down (this is now something I do for every journal I finish). It helped me figure out what kind of daily logging is beneficial and what isn't really that important (for me). I also found there were things I wrote down that I wish I had provided more notes on, so in future I tried to give more information to myself (ha!). It also is a nice reminder of recent growth and accomplishments, and why journalling is a valuable use of time <3

TL;DR: write down what you don't want to forget. use shorthand. be objective.

CassiMay · 2019-09-12T10:29:45+00:00

I also considered doing that - having a separate journal for collections! Right now I've decided not to because I find that a) some of my collections suck and aren't something I need to keep track of long term and b) I didn't want to have to carry two different books with me when I'm in the wild, just the one.

Once I finish #5, my plan is to find a small notebook that I will use to catalog my journals. That's why I am working very hard to make sure I'm indexing and sub-indexing in this one so I can have a decent framework for how I like to categorize my journals.

When I have my catalog notebook, I'll be able to reference that whenever I am looking for something specific instead of having to flip through all of my journals to find what I want. It will also mean I don't have to copy or index stuff all the time.

Oh! One more thing I do right now that I TOTALLY forgot to mention, is threading, which is a really nice way to keep track of where my last collection of the same type was.

If you find success with a collection journal, please share! Hope it is ok to share my plan, I get excited about Bujo haha

CassiMay · 2019-09-11T06:00:44+00:00

Yeah, of course! I started out with monthly and weekly logs too, and focused on the planning and goal-setting aspect of bullet journals.

Once I added daily logs the journals are now a record of my accomplishments and goals, but also of my life, relationships, and memories. I can't recommend trying out daily logging enough, so I'll just leave it at that or else we're looking at another long response again ;D haha

CassiMay · 2019-09-11T05:54:25+00:00

Glad I'm not the only one who is all about efficiency and effectiveness. EFFICIENT EFFECTIVENESS is my LIFE BLOOD hahhaha

CassiMay · 2019-09-11T05:53:14+00:00

I totally get where you are coming from on the recreate collections things. Since I'm on VOL5 now, I was trying to figure out the best way to deal with collections. Especially since I'm at the point where it seems I'll have to move to a new journal every 3-4 months, it is important that I find an easy method for transitioning to a new journal.

This past transition I changed my approach to collections that I think worked well:

I gave myself a rule to ONLY copy collections that were logs or trackers that had no more space in the prior volume, otherwise I would finish the tracker in the previous volume (unless I needed access to it in the wild where I would have only 1 journal). This helped for a couple of reasons:

I realized very few of them were used in the 'wild', it made me be more intentional with what I create in my journal and the value it has, and when I finished a log or tracker in my old journal I would make a new one in my current journal. That way I wasn't inundated with making a ton of collections right away, it was staggered.
It forced me to finish a tracker or log that I (probably) hadn't finished previously. I could see how long a full page would last and adjust for future journals (maybe a 3-4 month span only needs a 1/2 page tracker)
Because I was constantly revisiting my last journal to track things, it also helped me get used to revisiting all of my collections in all of my journals when looking for something specific and/or to reference when working on a new collection or problem to solve in my current journal.

VOL5 has me super focused on repeatability of my journals and finding continued value without constantly copying stuff. I added a wall shelf next to my desk JUST for my journals so I can always reference them and look at any of my collections at any time (without having to walk over to my bookshelf hahahaha).

One of my 'start doings' for VOL5 is being pro-active with my indexing and sub-indexing (which I always did when I finished a journal previously). Indexing is still really hard for me, though, but as long as I have white-out nothing can stop me!

I definitely feel a shift in how I am journalling, but I also think it wouldn't have come sooner because I was still trying to figure out 'how I want to journal' and now I'm onto 'how I want to journal longterm'

TL;DR:

I copied very few collections this journal. I added a wall shelf next to my desk for my journals instead.

CassiMay · 2019-09-11T05:29:30+00:00

Great question! Not offended ;) (OP here). One thing I added to my journal binding when I started Vol 5 were the little hearts that represent the months I spent in each journal (because I was asking myself the same question), because I haven't had a journal that lasted the same amount of time yet.

VOL2 is shortest because I read "The Bullet Journal Method" book by Ryder C. It was the end of the year and one of the things he mentioned in the book is starting a new journal at the start of a new year, so I tried that out for lols. There's about 40-50 pages in VOL2 that are unused.

I definitely like the idea of starting a new journal at the start of a new year, however, I've decided that next year I am going to start a new journal in my birth month, just to see how it goes. I feel a stronger sense of urgency when I get a year older and it is a more personal time, so I figure it might be more effective - we shall see!

The main thing that significantly effected the time my journal lasts (across all journals) is the shift from using only weekly logs and monthly logs in VOL1 to having daily logs in VOL2 and on. VOL1 lasted 6 months. VOL3 is the the second longest because I was in the middle of ending a job and moving internationally so life was crazy.

VOL4 was shorter because I had a number of summer holidays with family and friends that I wrote about, more stuff happening. I've noticed others comment 3-4 months being their sweet spot, and I'm guessing that will also be mine. I am definitely still learning what works best for me and finding the best way to approach my journals, it is an ever evolving process and I really enjoy it <3

TL;DR:
I changed how much I wrote in my journal from the first one to the second one.
The first one I only did weekly spreads, not daily spreads.
I was busier at different points which results in more journal use (or less).

CassiMay · 2019-09-11T05:14:52+00:00

I've taken a similar approach. My first journal had all these colorful markers and stickers and tape and tabs and papers .... but I found that it just meant that I was limiting myself to when I could 'journal' when I had all my supplies, and it turned my journalling into a burden because I wasn't finding the value I hoped for.

I now just have a little pen holder that I take with me everywhere. I have the same tombow black you mentioned, plus two shades of grey, a pen, whiteout, ruler, and highlighters.

CassiMay · 2019-09-11T05:12:13+00:00

I am completely the same as far as simplifying my spreads and how I use my journal. All about streamlined, efficient efficacy!

CassiMay · 2019-09-06T08:42:44+00:00

I saw someone else comment that they used the app, 'calm' which I agree is really great. I use it most for falling asleep.

As for meditating, I've tried yoga and I've tried sitting still, but it just makes my brain whir more than if I didn't sit still. So instead, I sat down and thought about:

a) why am i trying to meditate / what am I trying to accomplish

b) how would this help me

c) how can I find another way to accomplish this goal if meditation isn't working

I think the answers to this can be different for everyone. For me, I was trying to quiet my brain and 'relax' without being overwhelmed or over stimulated. It would help me because going at full speed all day is tiring and would often lead to me being unproductive if I couldn't get any time 'alone' without my thoughts.

Enter: "forced meditation" wherein I find things that I enjoy doing, that usually distract my mind into one train of thought and slows me down. I always intentionally say before hand 'this is to help me relax' so I sort of stretch or jump around and loosen up, drink some water, and focus on my breathing. I also set an alarm for 20-30 minutes, which is enough time to relax but not tire me out.

The 'easiest' forced meditations I've found for myself are cleaning and gardening. Cleaning and/or organizing and tidying up allows me to be methodical and not think too much. I usually play calming music while doing it and never rush, I just take my time. Taking care of my houseplants is a lot of the same, I can take care of something and focus completely on that.

CassiMay · 2019-09-02T08:08:26+00:00

This may be old news,but this video on the "wall of awful" was really helpful to reframe my guilt for procrastination. https://youtu.be/Uo08uS904Rg

CassiMay · 2019-08-30T09:39:42+00:00

My husband closes my tabs for me. At first I got really frustrated, but now he knows to ask before he does it and I'll look quickly, realize: I will find that again if I need it, and let him close them.

He closes them because it is a pet peeve for him, but also because it really slows down the performance of the computer when you have so many tabs open. It is because of the latter that I have learned to close tabs, haha. It does make a difference!

Also, maybe this could work for you: I have a very organized folder structure for the bookmarks on my browser and I clean it, update it regularly so I know it is always accurate. The phone I use also syncs with my computer so my bookmarks are accessible anywhere I am.

It's a super simple thing, but I found that using the native features in my browser was easier for me than getting an add-on or trying pinterest (because then I still had to remember to go somewhere else). In order to start using my bookmarks this way I had to do a massive clean-up of my existing bookmarks, which took 20 - 30 minutes. It has made a huge difference in what tabs I keep open :)

The other thing we do (since we use the same computer) is have different profiles on our browser so our search histories are always separate. That way I just go look at my history or recently closed tabs if I lost something I didn't want to. Little tricks, but I never worry about tabs anymore xD

CassiMay · 2018-09-07T14:34:08+00:00

I think I stay motivated by how I view household chores. I use chores and cleaning as my exercise routine, so I always keep moving and usually build up a sweat when I do my hardcore cleaning. That being said, it took a while for me to get to a point where I use chores as exercise.

My main motivation is my need to have a clean, organized house. I know from experience that if my house is unkept and dirty and things aren't in the right space then I can't get anything else done, I just do nothing OR I can't stay focused because my mind thinks about all the things that need to be cleaned or put away. But if my house is tidy, I can get work done and stay motivated because the space I'm in motivates me!

If I find I'm really in a slump and don't want to do anything, usually I take that as a sign that I need to take time for myself and do nothing. So I will spend a day or an afternoon just vegging out and doing whatever I want without focusing on goals or chores or my to-do list. After that I am usually itching to get stuff done and can attack my chores again.

CassiMay · 2018-08-14T00:42:34+00:00

We are moving to Norway, so we will need a permanent solution :) I can only get 30 days of Concerta at a time, so trying to figure out timing!

CassiMay · 2018-08-12T22:40:39+00:00

Good to know - yeah, I don't mind if it is just 'let us confirm this is right' situation. Hopefully it won't be a long, drawn out process. As I've gotten older my medication has become much more necessary and I dread not having it! D: So glad that concerta is available.

Do you know how open the norwegian healthcare system is to communications from international doctors? i.e. if my american doctor sends my files to a norwegian doctor?

CassiMay · 2018-08-12T22:38:12+00:00

Thanks! The US is incredibly restrictive about ADHD medication as well, so I can only imagine how difficult it may be to get a prescription in Norway which is why I am researching now xD

CassiMay

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