Busy busy busy or bored?

It might seem strange, but being bored and being too busy is in fact the same: lack of attention and planning. I'm not talking about the temporary, short and passing boredom or busy periods, I'm talking about the chronic cycle of not knowing what to do next, or not knowing where to start.

(c) Garfield

Source: web.cortland.edu

Excellent article about this to be found here: 
10 ways to conquer boredom and feeling too busy

So, if it's attention (span) that's the problem, see what we can do. Which of those 10 ways would work for me?

Externally:

1. Plan Ahead – Though I'm a little bit depending on class hours, social activities or others, planning really helps to fill in my time usefully, and at the same time getting things done without too much stress and worrying. If you're quickly bored, planning gives you something to look forward too and divides your time into smaller chunks. Same with being busy: plan your tasks, but also quiet time.
2. Win-Win – Not always feasible, but try to make boring things that must be done more fun. Music or friends are my keywords here.

   

   Source: cowanglobal.com

3. Prioritize – There are of course a thousand things you can do, chores waiting, goals to be achieved and events to be attented. Don't be afraid to skip some, as your time is, and always will be, limited. Set your own priorities which can help you to 'pick' the most optimal spending of your time at this moment, and you don't get caught in the busy-busy-busy cycle where you just start the first task that crosses your path (usually the unimportant ones). 
4. Put Quality of Experience First – I think this is related to no. 3: there is a difference between quality of living and status, social obligations or a bigger paycheck on the other side. Do what you truly want to do (in term of goals to achieve).
5. Escape the Motions – Habits have proven to be very useful for me, if they are 'good' habits that help me reach a goal. Yoga in the morning or doing the dishes straight after the meal help me, yet eating hamburgers after choir rehearsal or skipping that one early class were a habit just as quickly, and obviously getting me nowhere good. Check your routines and ask yourself if they are 'good' or 'bad', and don't be afraid to break even the good ones after some time, or there is our old friend boredome again.

Internally:
Most of the ways to improve your quality of experience and conquer boredom are internal. Less what you’re doing, but how.

1. Build an Inner World – I don't think you should build such an extensive inner world that you lose all contact with the real world, but it can be good to 'find' some things you can't find in the reality that surrounds you, inside yourself. This thinking experiment can be anything from reviewing ideas to planning future goals, creating stories or finding new ideas, it is just wonderful what you can do without any external 'help' or stimulus: don't be bored on a train or while waiting for something: explore your own fantasy!
2. Seek Quality in the Now – What are you doing right now? All this planning and future goals are nice, but if you can't find anything you like in what you are doing at this very moment, you will not reach that far-off goal. While some tasks can be boring, there is so much interesting, challenging or new in any situation, so find this and even the boring taks in 'the Now' will be rewarding in their own way.
3. Resistance is Futile – Feeling too busy or bored both reflect that you don't like the situation as it is. Instead of keeping this negative cycle of thoughts and acts, you can break it in two ways: Accept the situation and make the most of it, or try to change the situation by fully breaking away.
4. Unchain Yourself - Why do you feel busy or bored? Because we feel the

   

   Source: randomactsofleadership.com

   need, the pressure to do something at all times. This makes you feel lazy when bored, and prevents you from doing anything about being too busy: after all, you have to go to class, have to study, have to have several interesting hobbies, lots of friends, you can't miss this or that event, can you? Yes you can, according to what you deem important. Of course, you'll have to accept the consequences: not going, or going and not studying, not showing up in class or work, all these actions or decisions cause different results. But mostly, it's true: freedom is in your mind.
5. Stop - Break through that pattern of boredome or business: stop and reflect, break the habits that get you nowhere. The loop of 'I'm so bored' or 'I'm so busy' can be easily interrupted for a few minutes of reflection or thinking more deeply, and even this short time can give you a fresh outlook on things, or the solution you need.  Stop and conquer.

Prevent/relieve strained eyes

You read this blog/this article, so I suppose you are using some kind of digital device now. Most people use this kind of devices all day long: at work, at home, for business, practical matters and leisure. So most people experience this: strained and tired eyes, after staring at the screen for hours.

Source: optometrist.com.au

An easy solution can be to reduce the screen-hours, but if that's not an option, try these tips and tricks about 'eye ergonomics':
Digital eye-strain tips

It shows the best way to put your screen, light the room etc, there's also a section for smartphone-use, a growing part of the 'screen-hours' we put in every day. Enjoy!

Instant happiness!

Today is a hard day. Luckily, there was Lifehacker to pick me up. Or at least give me some good ideas how to.

Source: positivecultures.ning.com

I don't think this will solve all your issues, but if you're feeling a little down, check this article: 

25 simple ways to make your life happier

My favourites?

Massage: pretty obvious, no? Boyfriend is getting pretty good at it :-)

Talking with friends: if available, and only very good friends.

Walking: seems to help boyfriend a lot when he's stressed. 

Source: fanpop.net

Music: I love all kinds of music, but when sad, I need something happy, or something I can sing along with.

Avoid negativeness: I tend to get caught in negative thoughts, pessemistic scenarios, exaggerations of current problems and so on. I have to actively break free from those.

Providing help: try to focus on others, don't do it to make yourself feel good, to get thanks or even admiration, just change the focus from your own problem to someone or something else.

Cooking (or something else with my hands): you get instant result, and working with my hands makes my focus less on negative thoughts, given that it isn't a boring task.This is related to the next one:

Healthy eating: how comforting chips or candy can be, in the long run, I really feel better and seem to have more energy when eating healthy and regularly.

Source: livewellbewellnvly.org

Physical activity: feels very useful, good for health, fitness and selfesteem. Boosts my mood as well, but doing the first step can be hard when you're not in high spirits...

Time alone: seems contradictory with 'talking with friends', but sometimes, social smalltalk, keeping everybody happy or the effort not to ruin other people's mood is too much to face. So, time alone to think things over or doing one of the former 'happy-makers' it is. 

Dignity: focus on your plus sides, what you mean to people, what you're good at. 

Not on the list: old memories: texts, e-mails, letters, greeting cards: remembrance of fun times, nice people, some shameless self-flattering,... Can be just what you need on a bluesy day! 

Jedi time tricks

As most people nowadays, I have tons of stuff to do. And multiple simultaneous projects. So, when my eye catches something related to time management, it gets my hopes up. And if it's linked to Star Wars, it's like a miracle, a wish come true! (*releases inner geek*)

Guess what I did when I read 'Jedi time-tricks'? That's right, I read on and this post on quora.com really cracked me up. At first. When I started to think about the comparison, it's absolutely right, true and helpful! There is also a list with (basic) rules for more time, which I will dicuss and try to implement:

"Look at what you spend your day doing. Most of it, I’ll warrant, is not anything you chose – it’s what is being asked of you."

This is absolutely true for me. Next to classes, rehearsals and going home for the weekend, my week get's stuffed very quickly. Usually with nice things, such as meeting friends, having lunch or a coffee with someone, a special lecture or event, concerts or parties. Or, in busier periods, with assignments, team work, meetings. 

So, what to do to keep some time for yourself or your ultimate goal? 

• Say no. This will be my main point to implement. I'm getting very good at planning things, scheduling study time here, thesis time there, time for blogging, boyfriend, friends, you name it. But at the end of the week, I realise it didn't go as planned. At all. Because I took extra 'work' (which can be as simple as helping roommate doing the dishes or as time-consuming as 'ok, I'll do this giant part of the assignment, no problem') or agreed to go somewhere or do something I didn't feel like, but couldn't say no, afraid of being rude. So from now on, I'll try not answering immediately and thinking whether I truly want this and have time for it. I hope to get more things done and have more time for things I like or deem important. As this does not come easy for a lot of people, check this article: 

Nine practices to help you say no without feeling like a jerk

• Unplug the TV. I haven’t got a TV on campus, and even at home I don't watch much. So, not an issue for me, but can save you a lot of time!
 




Source: nytimes.com

• Kill notifications. Put away my phone, close that Facebooktab, stop checking gmail every five minutes... As I noticed, these notifications get you more and more involved, drags you into chatlike conversations on Facebook. Can be fun sometimes, but will always be very time-consuming and attention-robbing... Just check mail, Facebook or whatever your addiction is at set times: still up to date yet not losing too much time on it.

• Schedule your priorities. Having a date with my thesis doesn't sound as much fun as date with boyfriend, but it's basically the same: if you don't schedule it in sometimes, it just doesn't happen. Or you get together and then notice that you missed the start of the movie, that shop is closed or the restaurant if fully booked. So, plan when you want to do something towards your goal, taking into account things like opening hours for things, hours when you can reach the people you need, when you work best,...

• First things first. Here come the Stormtroopers (well, that's an image I won't get out of my head)! All those URGENT URGENT URGENT things! No more excuses, focus on important things! While the urgent little distractions do need to be done, I'll get them done and over with, but keep some time everyday for 'the greater good'. 
 




Source: baneofyourresistance.wordpress.org

• Less volume, more time. Today, I've been reading articles for thesis, making a grocery list, cleaning my room, listening to weblecture, writing this post, doing some practical stuff for team work and looking for work. Sounds very productive, no? Here is what I really did: 'Oh interesting article, I'll save that for later and now go search job sites. Ooh, nice job, let's send in my resume. Damn, need motivational letter and extra questions. That takes a lot of time and concentration, so I'd better first do those little practical things for team work, or it won't be done by Friday. Oh, all this laundry, should put it away first, can't work in a chaotic room...' And so on. Pretty sure this sounds familiar. All Stromtroopers, so off with them! I'll select a max of three tasks for every day. Multi-tasking is so 2012. 

• Ignore. Sorry that I don't return your message within 10 minutes, sorry if I sort all payments once a week and not more often, sorry if I have to leave a party early or arrive late or not come at all, I have to get things done.... Hardest part for me I think! 

Go, and may the force be with you, young time-management-padawan!

Save money by avoiding tech myths

Can you imagina your life without your laptop, smartphone, tablet or other technical gadgets? Such devices have become important tools in business, study and daily life.

Source: reachingutopia.com

However, when contemplatinga purchase, I'm bothered by two things: it can be very expensive and I haven't got a clue about specs, what I need or what is a fair price or not.

So, time for a helpful series of tips in a domain where most of us aren't very at home. I myself rely mostly on what my more tech-savy brothers or friends have got to say about technical stuff, both software, hardware, computers or phones.

Much as I trust them, it's always nice to learn something more, debunk some myths or save some money. So check this article from good old Lifehacker and see what myths exist about our highly-priced-yet-indispensible tech gadgets!

http://lifehacker.com/5972780/6-common-tech-myths-that-cost-you-money

[Lifehacker] Choose Fruits and Vegetables That Last for Months To Stop Wasting Food and Money

[As indicated in the title, this is a reference to an article of Lifehacker.com, my main lifehack-inspiration]

As a student, I go home for the weekend most of the time. And during the week, unexpected thing keep popping up, fun things such as eating with friends, annoying things such as extra classes, extra hours of team work, deadlines and so forth. Result: huge troubles to stick to the shopping list/meal plan. That is, if I got around to doing it in the first place ;-)

So, this whole 'damnit, left this or that vegetable in the fridge for too long yuk yuk yuk' sounds familiar. See what Lifehacker has got to say about it:
Choose fruits and vegetables that last for months to stop wasting food and money

Other then what the article suggests, I'll keep this in mind not while shopping, but while eating. If I bought veggies for a whole week, bI'll eat those not on the list first, so, if something unexpected happens, I can use the others next week.

Also a good inspiration while trying to establish a stock of some kinds, again for those busy/lazy nights, when running to the shop seems like climbing the Mount Everest. Twice.

(As an extra: keep a log of the food you throw away)

EDIT: some more information on keeping your food fresh longer:
6 ways to prolong the shelf life of food and save your money