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btw most universities to my knowledge keep their reading lists behind access barriers (ie. only students enrolled at the institution on the course in question can see them) so i thought i’d just let you all know that durham university has all of its reading lists available online for free without needing student access. do with this information what you will.

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i know we're all sick of self-care being a marketing tactic now, but i don't think a lot of us have any other concept of self-care beyond what companies have tried to sell us, so i thought i'd share my favorite self-care hand out

brought to you by how mad i just got at a Target ad

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I’m a very messy person who tries VERY HARD to keep a clean home. It’s probably ADHD. Anyway, the best advice I ever saw about it was:

“Instead of changing your habits to keep clean, look at where the clutter is. Now put a bin under it.”

I tend to remove my socks at the computer and then there’s a mountain of socks on the floor? I put a small bin and now it looks tidy. There are piles of junk mail on the table near my front door because I can never bring them to the recycling bin? I put a smaller recycling bin there. Etc etc.

Another trick that helps me immensely are BOXES.

The bathroom sink is covered in small bottles and all sorts of products? I got small plastic crates and I put them over the toilet lid, one for my stuff, the other for my roomate’s. The linen closet is just piles of things that fall when you open the door? Baby I just got a bunch of baskets and I will separate them by function.

I have baskets and small boyxes for: my cleaning products; my bird’s toys and stuff; my workout accessories; my meds and daily skincare products; my tools; and pretty much all my art stuff. 

It still takes some effort to keep everything in its place, but having everything in a box still looks tons better than having everything on the counter, and it’s so better for the mental health. 

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self discipline tips

here are tips I discovered very recently:

something is better than nothing. 5 minutes of work are better than zero. Just because you missed something on your schedule doesn’t mean you can’t still work on it, even for 5 minutes. Grow and build on this.

second drafts / reviews can be done after.

Don’t think you are going to do your very best work on the first try. Take the weight of perfectionism off your shoulders.

don’t think about doing it. just do it as fast as you can.

build on your productivity, not your failures.

If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once.

if you have a set of different goals to accomplish, begin with the most important one. Wait until the rotine of working for that one settles in (you feel productive and comfortable-ish), and then begin with the next. Repeat.

this way you’ll be building your way up and not juggling everything at the same time, hoping everything works out.

be patient with yourself, you’ll get there!

set smaller deadlines for your goals

have monthly and weekly-ish deadlines

e.g. if you are doing a project, due 22nd Feb, set personal deadlines, like have Introduction written by 2nd Feb, have Methods written by 10th Feb, have project complete by 18th Feb.

take them as seriously as you possibly can, don’t miss out on yourself.

write realistic daily tasks and don’t stop until you finish them. after them you can do whatever you want

on writing realistic daily tasks, the secret is knowing you can only do so much in one day, but trusting you can accomplish everything in the course of any period of time (a week, or 2 weeks or a month, etc.) because you will combine the work from all these different days.

it’s very tempting to write down all the tasks you need to accomplish in one day to just get over with it, but the real deal is you won’t accomplish half of them. You’ll feel very unproductive then, wich leads to demotivation.

spread daily tasks in the time necessary.

have a consistent sleep schedule.

if your mind isn’t ready everything will fall apart.

have one rest day per week where you plan nothing, do whatever you want except studying. this can be harder than you expect!

(don’t forget these are effective only if you actually put them into practice! good luck babes!!)

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No matter how many times you fail to meet your own expectations, you have to forgive yourself. Despite contrary belief, dwelling on and badgering yourself over your faults doesn’t ever help you grow into who you want to be.

It’s like gardening: if your flower isn’t blossoming like you want it to, you don’t rip out its leaves as punishment for failing to satisfy you. You recognize the problem and figure out what’s going wrong with its environment so you can modify it, giving the flower a chance to bloom in its own time.

Accept your shortcoming or setback, forgive yourself, and figure out what’s going wrong so that you can plan for how to prevent it from repeating in the future. Thank your past self for trying in the first place and then give your future self the love needed to flourish.

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seems that Chrome has around 60-65% market share, so it’s not totally dominating the market yet but it’s worrying that we’re basically reliant on Apple and Microsoft to hold the line.

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I strongly suggest that everyone create a hype/brag document, listing everything they accomplish at work. Not only is a great for performance reviews, it can also help combat imposter syndrome.

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Hi! I was wondering if you have any tips on prepping for interviews? I’m in my senior year of my bachelors and I really want a full-time job! I couldn’t qualify for an internship this summer, because I wasn’t able to pass any of my interviews completely, so I know I lack skill in the programming questions that interviewers ask :(

Hey anon! Sorry I noticed your ask this kate ^^'

I don't have much experience with interviews either i am afraid, all the work I have done in companies was in cooperation with the university i am in.

But maybe any if my followers have advice?

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TIME MANAGEMENT STUFF / TERM 7 

I’ve got a lot of questions about this during my Art Center time, so I drew it ! This system came from when I had to manage my time during art high school (8am-5pm everyday) with 2 waitress jobs. Everybody has different working method, but I will be more than happy if anyone gets new idea from it ! 

Better quality : https://www.behance.net/gallery/37722243/Time-Management-Stuff

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how to upgrade your tomato sauce! 

i like tomato sauce because it’s cheap and i usually have some sad vegetables in my fridge that i can throw in. it’s easy to make variations and make it suitable for pasta, rice, potatoes, beans and so on, and makes a great pantry item. 

use a nice aromatic olive oil(doesn’t have to be expensive)

dont be afraid of onion and garlic

sauté(!) your tomato paste. it removes tinny, bitter flavours

use aromatics like rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, bay leves for more classic flavours, or add chili, cumin, coriander, paprika, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, kaffir lime leaves, ginger etc. and experiment with combinations! almost every country has it own style of tomato sauce.  try googling nationality + tomato sauce.

ADD VEGGIES TO YOUR ONION AND GARLIC! before adding canned tomatoes, add small cut pieces of vegetables and sauté/cook it down(called sofrito). it will take a long time and it will be delicious. you can add almost everything: carrots, beets, parsley root/parsnip, bell peber, celery, eggplant, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, cauliflower, green beans, you name it! 

ADD SOME FUNK! chop up olives, capers, sun dried tomatoes, anchovies, lemon peel, artichokes, sausage, pesto, ajvar, fish sauce, soy sauce, kimchi, curry paste, a splash of leftover wine, beer, whatever :) it’s a good idea especially if you don’t use meat. 

let it simmer for a very long time. it will develop more flavours and make it feel more ‘whole’. add more water if needed.

if you do have fresh herbs, chop some and add on top! basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, chives, mint, spring onions etc.

try to make a game out of it, look in your fridge / pantry and think about possible combinations. 

have fun! and remember that there are no mistakes, only happy accidents that you can learn from. 

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Putting these up for anyone who needs them today.

Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life by Susan Forward

Why Does he DO That: Inside The Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft

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#2.5 including bibliography lol

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Honestly I’m a little tired of the abortion discussion centering around child raising and such. Like, if I got pregnant today, and someone offered to adopt the child and pay for my medical bills and everything, I still would have an abortion? You know why? Because I don’t want to be pregnant. I don’t want to put my body through that for nine months. And I don’t want to risk my life in childbirth. Fact is no one will be able to do that for me, so untimately it’s my choice and that’s all there is to it. 

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i have literally no idea how i feel about this but i feel it

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rb this with ur opinion on this shade of pink: