August is for Education
Do you ever find yourself spending hours on a project just to realize you’ve freelanced off in a direction that isn’t important?
Or you’ve spent so much additional time perfecting a small piece of it, just to watch your peers get good grades with much less effort.
Or you are never really sure if what you’re doing is “done” until you turn it in?
Perfectionism can make it hard to stop making adjustments to an already really good, perfectly acceptable project. This wastes time that doesn’t give you proportionately better grades, and could be spent doing something else.
Learn what “done” means before you get started on your project and save that extra energy for another project or play time.
  August 7th - Decide what "done" looks like
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You know how kids really hate stopping doing fun things?
As we get older, we develop a little more discipline about switching tasks, but the truth is transitions are hard. Many students find it hard to shift from taking a break back to studying, leaving the gym to go to work, or wrapping up writing to go to a lecture.
This can lead to wasted time, bargaining against your future self, and the dreaded “procrastination”.
The good news is you can learn to gently shut down tasks and start new ones, so while you still might not WANT to put down the games and start that essay, you have the tools to get into action.
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Learn how to make transitions less stressful:
  August 6th - Practice transitions
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As your life evolves, so should your routines.
Most people think of habit development as where it’s at. Habits are great - they’ve become so engrained in your brain you don’t have to think about them. But even better are routines.
Routines are sets of step-by-step actions you create to help you prepare for events, remember all your stuff, and move on to your next project. They can be created for just about anything, and they’re super useful for turning stressful transitions into auto-pilot actions.
You can create routines for:
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mornings, chores, mealtimes, gym
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group and solo study sessions
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commuting, lectures, after-class notes
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planning essays and projects
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going home or to work
By designing short, simple, written routines for activities you do often, you’ll see how these tiny checklists will keep your brain from getting stuck and confused, and help you get into action faster.
Learn how to make custom routines to master your tasks and time
  August 5th - Create routines to put tasks on autopilot
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Do you know what you should be doing right now?
Most people go through their lives by deciding what to do in the moment, and later feeling regret:
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they didn’t get as much done as they wanted
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they forgot to do something important
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they have to work during their free time
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they spend all day trying not to forget to do “the thing” later
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they can’t actually relax during free time because they know they’re not doing “the thing”
One way to ensure you’re getting enough rest AND working on the right things, is to decide in advance how to spend your time.
By practicing deciding in advance what you’ll be doing, when, and for how long, you become the master of your schedule. As a bonus, you’ll get a better idea for what you know you don’t have time for.
Take control of your time this term:
  August 4th - Decide your schedule in advance
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