LaTex is pretty easy to start using. Overleaf is good if you want something web-based and Texpad is the best I've found if you're on Mac.
This explains how to organise a lit review with a spreadsheet. I actually found it quite difficult to draw the different research `threads' together using a spreadsheet so resorted to note cards but YMMV.
Day-to-day I found it almost impossible to get stuff done until I found a day planner that worked for me. There are more complicated reasons for this beyond just being a lazy bastard so don't be afraid to ask someone for help if you find yourself stuck in that sort of situation.
I'm a bit old school. But after losing my mother unexpectedly at a young age and being her old child (father passed away 6 months earlier), I had to take care of her financials, which is pretty darn hard when someone passes without an estate/will.
Because of that, I created a trust that goes to my daughter (only next of kin) which holds my assets such as 401k, paid off house, life insurance, etc. But I also know that auto payments and account passwords are important after ones passing. I purchased a 'Piece of Mind Planner' on Amazon which has all my account information, healthcare information, policies, contact information, email and social media and so much more. Entries are made in pencil in case I need to change them (white out looks tacky to me) and the trust is stored in my safe and with my lawyer. My trust specifies who has the combination and that person gains nothing from my trust other than payment for their service.
I tend to over think and over plan, but I feel better knowing that all my personal matters and financials will be taken care of and that my daughter cant touch anything unless needed until she turns 25 or graduates college with a degree :)
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Link to planner: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1441317295/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lesson 1 in my latest video covering 10 things I learned in 2020 was "Just Do It". I don't mean to imply this is easy. It isn't. I was suffering from motivation to continue designing levels on my project in early 2020, and I had put it on hold to do other projects while, "waiting for inspiration". Eventually I just sat down to create a new level and allowed myself to create absolute crap.
Part of my issue with the motivation/inspiration etc was wanting to create good levels. A game should certainly be made with the best levels you can create, but it doesn't say you need to create a masterpiece every time, so just create something and if it is crap toss it to the side. Don't include it in the final game. I think this is very similar to writer-block or other struggles where you want to do something but you aren't doing it.
I'm sure there are many other possible reasons, paralysis analysis being another common one.
One final point from a book I began reading recently is having a well defined vision for what you want to achieve and why. Doing this can remind you why something is important for you and help push you through the discomfort of getting started. Sometimes motivation issues like this is just a lack of seeing the bigger picture and being too focused on the small tasks in-front of you now.
EDIT: book link
I am kinda big on journaling. I have a regular journal where I write teenager stuff and poetry, and I video journal.
What you are talking about is built into my planner. I have a weekly panda planner, and I record "I am grateful for" and " I am excited about" and "today's priorities in the morning. In the afternoon, I can record "today's wins" and "how I'll improve". There is some other stuff too.
It also has reflection pages and weekly review pages. That may be a better fit to what you are trying to do.
Edit: here is the link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IIK698K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_vum.Fb0VQN1YV
My name is Josue, I'm 22 years old (almost 23), and I've always been fascinated by art. I'll make a short film any time soon, sometimes I paint as a hobby and I love listening to music.
I would suggest this guided journal. I think it's important to think about the things we did throughout the whole day, so we can be grateful for the good things and learn from the bad things. I've always had this habit, and I think it has made my life a lot easier, so if you've never done this but are interested in doing so, I think a guided journal could help you get started.
Thank you for hosting this contest! Hope you're having a nice day!
This really resonated with how I've been feeling though it seems like you're making progress I've only dreamed of. Just wanted to say this random redditor is incredibly proud of you! Sounds like you've come a long way and are accomplishing more than you could before which is great! I found the Five Minute Journal to be really helpful in reminding me of my daily accomplishments not my failures. Good luck, rooting for you!
The Day Free mayyyy meet your needs here - the 12 monthly calendars are followed by only 172 daily pages, though.
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What about a Stalogy? You could easily tip in some monthly calendar pages and still have the 365 daily pages and it clocks in ~1/4 lb lighter than the Hobo Cousin.
It must have been since a few other Redditors also have commented being dumped on January 23rd lol. I guess it was the sweet spot after New Years and before Valentines' Day. LOL It took me a while, too. If I'm being honest, I still felt loyal to him, up until he came back the second time and bulldozed through my heart from April 23 - May 4th. After that, that loyalty was cut and I started opening up my "attractive lens" to other people. He also had a fuck buddy, that he didn't want to get rid of the connections with. So, this also added another nail to our coffin.
Remembering all the terrible qualities about your ex will do you wonders. But, also focusing on all of your remarkable qualities will, too. And, if that still is a struggle, I'd recommend this journal: 5 Minute Daily Journal
Good luck! I'm rooting for you!
Edit- thank you!
This one? There are several books with that title.
I think Stalogy's B5 comes in plain. In any case, their grid is ultra sheer, you can barely see it.
My go to is the Stalogy 365 days one. It doesn't have a specific start date so it's great when I wanted to use it mapped to the school year by having September as the first month.
The outer corners on the top just have the months/days/dates listed out so you can underline/highlight to map the day. And I've been pretty happy with the entire thing, I think there are a bunch of sizes, I know I've seen a B6 on amazon but I love the A5 one.
12 Week Year is a book that outlines how to create goals that are shorter in time, to be able to track progress more quickly. Here’s the book: https://www.amazon.com/12-Week-Year-Others-Months/dp/1118509234
I use this planner, which the first half is a weekly planner, and the second half in the back is just lined paper. Notebook
Amazon sells a Field Notes 56 Week Planner https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017OAACSI/?coliid=ICFGW2H0JSU2U&colid=1C2P1FGVXL68R&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it It's a bit misleading because the product name makes it seem like it's for 2016 only but reading the reviews, it looks like the dates can be filled in.
I also found the Field Notes Resolution 3-pack on Pencils.com https://pencils.com/product/field-notes-resolution-3-pack/ One of the notebooks contains a blank, 56-page "date book" which looks like basically a weekly planner with the dates left blank. I've only ever bought one pack of Field Notes notebooks. I like how nice and portable they are, so I imagine that the calendars will be perfect for carrying with you. Good luck!
Amazon. It's an actual book, not app. I always forget about checking an app daily and get annoyed by reminders. It forces me to prioritize, schedule, not put too many tasks on my to do list, and say something positive at start & end of day. That last thing was a game changer -- I found it really hard to find anything positive to say at first.
Here it is: Panda Planner - Daily Planner, Calendar and Gratitude Journal to Increase Productivity, Time Management & Happiness - Hardcover, Undated Day - Quarter Year Planner - Guaranteed (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013Z5Y70K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Nlp2Bb92GP9HP
I don't know its availability in Australia, but I would say Stalogy 365 notebooks are pretty close. Their paper is thin like Tomoe River paper and fountain pen friendly, with pages more than 365 (it's designed to be able to function as a daily diary, hence the name.) I use their B5 size for school but they also come in A5. Here in US, I can order them from Amazon and JetPens. See if it's available there.
Copied my comment from a previous post.
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I created a trust that goes to my daughter (only next of kin) which holds my assets such as 401k, paid off house, life insurance, etc. But I also know that auto payments and account passwords are important after ones passing. I purchased a 'Piece of Mind Planner' on Amazon which has all my account information, healthcare information, policies, contact information, email and social media and so much more. Entries are made in pencil in case I need to change them (white out looks tacky to me) and the trust is stored in my safe and with my lawyer. My trust specifies who has the combination and that person gains nothing from my trust other than payment for their service.
Link to planner: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1441317295/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Hope that helps :)
I work and finance and process deaths a lot. Sit down with him and get a list of any subscriptions he has, his emergency contacts, login info and passwords for any accounts he has (email, social media, Netflix, hulu, cable, etc. There is a book on Amazon that I HIGHLY recommend because it organizes everything really nicely and will help guide you through what is undoubtedly a tough conversation (link below).
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This is my favorite one. It’s nice paper, good construction but the best feature is it’s not dated. I’m notorious for needing a planner for 3 months and not for the next two so I can pick right back up the next week with a later date and never skip a beat.
Other things that I can think of (I know you said you're doing wills so you probably have this covered) are the various medical and financial power of attorney documents. If you have something like student loans, figure what it would take for your husband to close the account out. If you have a car that's titled only in your name it might be easier to do a POA now so your husband can get it switched over in his name. I would reconcile things like spare sets of keys and passwords now as well. There is a book on Amazon called the Peace of Mind planner that might also give you other ideas.
Yes, this might work.
My solution to this is having a habit tracker in my Bullet Journal. I do not do monthly overviews, I do weekly. I break down my future in to 12-week increments, inspired by this: https://www.amazon.com/12-Week-Year-Others-Months/dp/1118509234 (they have a site but no, that seems like corporate management garbage).
Anyways, your horizon for planning is probably shorter than "normies". So why plan six months ahead? I plan 6 weeks. And by plan I just mean I write shit down.
Then for every week I do an overview. What's happening? I've got kids, there are ice skates to pack, activities. Me and the SO have started going to the gym, so which day is that? Just put it down.
And then I have a habit tracker for the week. It is a list and there are squares for all days. So, one habit is meditation. I also note when I am most likely to do it (on the train to work).
For my meds, I have square. And I have noted "at the office". So I open my BuJo everyday at work and check what I didn't do yesterday and decide if I want to migrate etc. I see this thing. Meds. I take the meds and cross it off. Did it 30 minutes ago, working from home, almost forgot, but I always open that god damned lifesaver of a book.
After the week passes, I check my habits. Didn't do them? Why? Do I really want to do them or was something in the way of getting them done? For meditation it can be "forgot headphones", for other things like "read every night" it's just not happening - so I skip that habit. I could not attack reading as a habit, but stretching and meditation and excercise and turning the lights of at 22 are things that I can do this way.
Also, I note morning mood. :-) for a good feeling, :-| for so-so and :-( for shitty.
They correlate 1:1 to wether or not I turned the lights of at 22:00 the night before.
I use a journal that has gridded sheets! Nitoms STALOGY 365DaysNotebook A5 I believe there’s a new version out now that’s available through prime.
I like gridded paper better than dots and much better than lined ☺️
I am trying to do this! I currently use this planner and it still doesn't help that much. I'll definitely try to use focusmate.com. Thanks for the suggestion.
If this doesn't work out, I'm down to do the slack channel with you @treebucketeer only thing is I'm in California.
Best of luck to you!
I actually didn't know there was more than one planner. This is the one I ordered:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IIK698K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have been nerding out with my son's sparkly markers. I really like the videos on youtube, too. The guy who created it had traumatic brain injury and had to structure himself and he also used a timer to give himself just a few minutes to accomplish certain things. I think that for some people who have trouble with drugs or alcohol, their perception of time is not the same as typical people.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IIK698K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I'm gonna throw this out there, but try a Panda Planner weekly. Like you, I'm an ex-bullet-journaler, and this physical planner has solved all my problems. It's undated, but goes a whole year so you can get it whenever. I love literally everything about it: the weekly review, the monthly habit, the lists functions, the gratitude, the Top 3 priorities... If you are thinking of digital this isn't for you, but the last two months have been nothing short of amazing for me using this planner.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IIK698K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_EPTYzb1AWZ4VZ
Check out the Mighty Panda Planner!
This has helped me organize chaos.
Give yourself a deadline. Make things specific. So you're not going to "look into some places you can move soon" but you'll spend one hour looking at places online by the end of the week.
Then you track how you do every day. This year I'm using Panda Planner. I've used the Zig Ziglar Performance Planner before. As you go through the week you'll start to see how you're doing on your goals.
There are some free journals online. http://www.fiveminuteday.com has a good one that's free. It also has some breathing exercises and other related items.