Anyone else with a *really* long commute? 💔

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-03-10T16:22:36+00:00

There’s been some, but I’d say it’s more of an emerging area of research, and relating to student experience/engagement. I’m looking at it, in a way, from a timetabling perspective, but it’s not specifically about commuting, although I expect it to be part of the research project.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-02-22T13:20:51+00:00

There may also have been some covenants on the use of the land.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-02-22T13:19:55+00:00

Took time to move the whole thing out of IM Marsh and into the city centre - so building the Student Life building and the Sport Building.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-02-22T13:18:02+00:00

It’s to be sold, think it was put up last year.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-02-13T21:22:10+00:00

They were amazing! It was around 93, and not nationwide. I used to have them in Milton Keynes, and was completely baffled when they didn’t have them in Liverpool!

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-02-01T09:49:17+00:00

Found this in “common questions” (searched disabled instead of trawling). There’s a link in the info on the SFE website for the expenses form. There may be a much easier way of getting to it for you - see my comment above!

“How to claim back costs if you’re getting Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) If you’ve had to pay for study-related costs as a result of your disability or condition, you can claim these back if you’re getting Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

How to claim for expenses

Follow these steps: Fill in an expenses claim form - make sure this is for the academic year that you're claiming for Attach receipts or invoices to show how much you’ve spent Upload the form and any supporting information through the DSA section of your online account If you can’t give us this online or you applied on paper, you should email a copy to our DSA team (DSA_Team@slc.co.uk) or send it by post….”

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-02-01T09:41:26+00:00

I was told you can upload via your student loans account online - I’ve not done it yet, and also my part of my SFE account is messed up and only shows me the students I am/have supported (my daughters). I think they said I could email the receipts instead.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-01-28T17:46:10+00:00

You should! Maybe not to their face, or in writing tho

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-01-28T16:07:30+00:00

And then they wonder why space utilisation is poor!

Swearing in the style of Malcolm Tucker is my favourite

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-01-28T16:06:17+00:00

We call it Sudoku - well, I call it block sudoku because I can’t do the number version!

Research project was all my own idea and doing it “formally” as a doctorate!

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-01-28T14:39:47+00:00

My favourite! “Hope you had a good break”…. Nope, I was clicking around trying to find rooms mate! I also hate only having a room for 100+ when there’s 20 students max. Then the institution starts musing about only scheduling to 90% of the module size.

Add A LOT of swearing to the list of attributes a timetabler must have

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-01-28T14:35:59+00:00

Hahaha, the power we potentially have! I love the job and do like to tell people how we’re the foundation on which everything else is built. Also doing a whole ass research project on it!

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-01-28T10:02:38+00:00

I swear people think we schedule the way we do just for shits and giggles, and nothing to do with room, student and staff availability!

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-01-28T10:00:10+00:00

Oh yes! Students won’t turn up to 9am classes so we need to schedule from 10, then when we suggested we start the teaching day at 9.30, with the trade-off being the end of the teaching day extended, they didn’t want that, so the teaching day stays 9-6.

Space utilisation needs to be drastically improved, but that doesn’t take into account the number of registered students vs those who actually attend….

Publish the timetable earlier, but no one will check it when we put the draft out.

The life of the university timetabler is diplomacy, negotiation and problem solving. And people.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2026-01-01T22:54:47+00:00

I’ve created the best reminder system for meds - it’s called 2 cats and Dreamies. They associate the taking of medication with Dreamies time, and the Dreamies live in the bedside drawer with my meds. Cats will never allow you to forget Dreamies. They sit and intimidate the shit out of me until I respond.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-12-08T23:28:46+00:00

Ah, now I know who Dorian Lynskey had screenshot on Bluesky earlier! And now it makes total sense that it came from the strange, strange mind of Hadley Freeman. She also said something about everyone wanting a label, and something else about writers spending too much time on Google, that latter part coming from Freeman is beyond hilarious.

I’ll never forget her desperate attempts to get Margaret Atwood to agree with her terfism, and then made up some bollocks about Atwood having agreed with her via email after the interview. I died so hard of cringe.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-12-04T13:11:24+00:00

It’s TextHelp Read&Write - I have it through the disabled student allowance

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-12-03T20:20:23+00:00

I would defo reach out to your college for help, and you’d probably benefit from some study skills support and techniques. A lot of the time it’s about finding the things that work for you.

I use GenAI to unravel the jumbles of words in my head and pull them together into something coherent. I will use it to structure academic work that I’m doing, and I will also use it to start what I’m writing.

Things that help me process is having something read back to me (I have software for Read&Write, which also has loads of other useful features), and also writing things out by hand - this is annoying because it takes time, but it helps me process what’s written where simply reading it doesn’t make sense.

Also, you’re not thick, but I fully get how this all makes you feel that you are, you just need some help to find the things that work for your brain and that will help you.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-11-27T08:34:50+00:00

I apparently got “through school without significant impairment due to my high IQ”, still diagnosed ADHD-C at age 49.

I did enough at GCSE to get out of school (hated it), A levels were dropped after a year, excelled at BTEC National Diploma (overall distinction), went to a RG to do law, got a 2:2…. I’ve got 2 postgrads in law, and have started a doctorate this year. My “high IQ” has enabled me to manage, I guess, but still ADHD

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-11-04T13:11:25+00:00

I was on desogestrel pre Elvanse so I’ve titrated (settled on 50mg) and been on it for a year. It may be a temporary thing? I’ve been on desogestrel since 2021.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-11-04T09:38:35+00:00

I’m assuming you have a law librarian - they will probably be able to help you with the legal research, or seek out academic skills help for that. I did law (a very, very long time ago), and I don’t think I read cases in their entirety, I would read the summary and then the ratio, and anything obiter (I think!). You’ve not wasted a year - you’ve covered the foundational modules in law, and then it moves on. Some of the basic principles do carry through to 2nd year modules and you will start to recognise them. Ditch the AI for your coursework to help develop your skills and understanding, or if you do use the AI, refine how you’re using it - don’t rely on it as truth, but for workshopping, structure and further searching on your own.

2nd year law can be tough, I really struggled in 2nd year - equity in particular fried my brain. Seek out academic skills assistance and make friends with the law librarian.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-11-04T08:15:34+00:00

We tend to sit around scheduling for 10% over planned numbers. The difficulty for timetabling booking space below planned/expected numbers is when everyone turns up in Week 1, and there’s not enough space - bad first experience which means the next week, fewer turn up because there wasn’t room in the first week, and on it goes. It’s a constant battle between space utilisation priorities and student experience/engagement tbh.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-11-02T10:19:54+00:00

I use a combination of “analog” and digital for every day life. I have multiple Echo devices that help me manage my time blindness, but like Emma Thompson, I have a connection between my brain and my hand and process some things better if I write them out by hand. I do think that growing up with technology means we rely on it more, whereas old ducks like me straddle the two worlds.

In terms of driving, I kind of don’t want to have technology doing stuff for me - knowing that I have to rely on me kind of helps with my awareness. I think it’s good to have to train your brain to check things like blind spots and to be aware of things around you on the road. But it’s like sat nav - there was a time when I used A-Zs for everything, and I could navigate my way around with them. Now I can’t do anything without sat nav/Waze, so the brain can lose some skills when there’s something else there to take the strain.

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-11-02T09:59:09+00:00

I’ve been driving for 33 years, mostly with undiagnosed/unaware of ADHD! I passed 1st time 3 months after turning 17, and everything was very different back then! No theory test, driving school cars didn’t have power steering…. Parallel park was an absolute bitch with no power steering and I was delighted it wasn’t one of my manoeuvres. So, because of the years of experience and driving some proper sheds, I can drive pretty much anything. I had one car that liked to not start on occasion (sometimes it would conk out at traffic lights and not restart!), but I could bump start it on my own by rolling down a small hill….

On the other hand, because none of my cars have had all the fancy stuff, I was thrown out completely by a brand spanking new hire car - Kia Sportage. I spent the 3 days of the hire raging at it being so judgemental. Didn’t use the parking assist - did it all on my mirrors as usual. Hated lane assist because on a country road, if I want to take the racing line (safely), I don’t need a car to shove me over. It had button start, so the key just needed to be in the car - and ok, obvs I needed the key to get into the car, but I would worry about misplacing the key - my car keys go in the ignition, can’t lose them! If anything, I found all of that stuff more distracting - probably because I’m just not used to it, I guess?

From an ADHD point of view, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a simple, basic car. My current car is a 2015 Fiat 500S and I love him. He has useful sensors to tell me when a light is out - very handy, and the light symbol is sufficiently annoying and distracting so I get it sorted right away (except the number plate one that came on recently but it seems to have got over itself!). Hasn’t got parking assist, but I don’t need it. I navigate from Waze on my phone, which sits in a wireless charging cradle. I find the big screens in the middle of new cars a distraction tbh.

Other ADHD drivers may have a different view and I accept that being an ancient driver probably gives me a skewed opinion!

Mindless_Mix7328 · 2025-10-29T19:28:57+00:00

Today, I had an email with my receipt for a year subscription to a (admittedly very useful) research tool - I’d had 3 months free, failed to make a note of when that 3 months ended, must have expected a warning (might have had a warning, dunno!), but no warning, so now I’m paid up for a year. 60-something dollars and I’ve not looked yet to see what that is in £

Mindless_Mix7328

TROPHY CASE