3 simple ways to decrease your exam nerves

May 29th, 2009 by Jane | Click to leave a comment »

essay_examI just got home from presenting to the year 12 TEE students at Kalamunda SHS (great bunch of students). For a group of students whose exams start next Tuesday and who have had tests and assignments due in all week, they seemed to be doing really well! I was impressed!

Whilst the focus of my talk was on study skill strategies today, I feel they may have benefited as well from learning some simple stress management strategies.

Let’s face it, you can’t learn effectively if you’re stressed out. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, stress makes you stupid.

So here are 3 simple ways students who have exams coming up can decrease their anxiety and stress levels.

1. Breathe deeply

This isn’t just any old breathing. I’m talking about deep breathing. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed about the amount of study you need to do and whether you’ll be able to get it all done in time before the exam, I want you to stop. Find a quiet place. Sit up right. Breathe in deeply for the count of 5 (counting in your head 1…2…3…4….5), pause by holding your breath for 5 (1…2…3…4…5) and breathe out for the count of 5 (1….2…3…4…5). Keep doing this (as monotonous as it may seem) for 2 - 3 minutes. Just trust me on this one. Do it. It will calm you down and you’ll be able to think clearer and work more effectively.

2. Exercise

In my 7.5 years of study at university this has been the best way for me to decrease my stress levels. One hour at the local gym everyday during exams has made the biggest difference to me. Of course, you’ll find yourself thinking ‘But I don’t have time to exercise! I must study!’ but that’s just flawed thinking. Engaging in one hour (even just 30 minutes) of exercise will be an investment in your studies.

I recommend that you find a friend who is going through the same painful experience of doing exams and go exercise with them. Just make sure you don’t spend the whole time being negative about how crap it is that you need to do these exams, trying to predict the exam questions, etc. We all know and accept that exams aren’t fun to take. Why waste your time dwelling on this? You just want to get through this tough period. So by cutting out the negative talk you are ensuring exercise is an uplifting experience for you. Not a downer.

3. Take breaks

I recommend putting a timer on for 45 minutes, study for that period of time and then when 45 minutes is up, take a break. Should you go on facebook? A chat program? You could, but what will be better is to do some push ups/star jumps, go outside and get some fresh air….you want to get the blood circulating throughout your body. This will help to sharpen your focus and concentration for the next study session.

For some general tips on preparing for exams, click here.

I wish you all the best of luck (luck isn’t really the right word…but it will do!) with your exams. I know it’s a painful, stressful time. My advice is simple: just get through it. I don’t want to bag the school system, but learning actually becomes a lot more fun once you leave high school (well, that was certainly the case for me). Hang in there folks!

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Adjusting to Eye Loss Mind Map

May 26th, 2009 by Jane | Click to leave a comment »

Mind maps are a brilliant way to help you organise information on just about any topic. This became clear to me last year when I was asked to create a mind map for ocularists, Paul and Jenny Geelen.

‘What is an ocularist?’ I hear you ask. Well, ocularists create artificial eyes for people. As you can imagine, when someone goes to an ocularist they are likely to be feeling pretty overwhelmed and distressed. As studies have found, the amount of information a traumatised individual can take in becomes severely restricted.

That’s why Paul and Jenny approached us. How could they convey all the information they needed to on how to adjust to losing an eye without leaving the client feeling overwhelmed and even more distressed than when they first walked in?

Here’s the Artificial Eyes Mind Map we came up with.

eye-mindmap-small1

As you can see the ‘Adjusting and adapting to eye loss’ mind map has a fun feel to it. Don’t get me wrong, by no means were we trying to make light of a serious subject. Certainly not.

The use of colour and pictures was to help individuals focus their attention and assist them in processing new ideas that would help them to adjust and move forward.

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How to have more energy, feel happier and healthier

April 11th, 2009 by Jane | Click to leave a comment »

fish-and-chips1How do you feel after eating deep fried fish and chips or a few pieces of KFC? Fantastic? Refreshed? On top of the world?

I don’t think so.

Most of us are all too familiar with the ‘post fish and chip’ or ‘KFC’ effect. Speaking from my own experience, I used to feel so good as I gobbled down some fish and chips but shortly afterwards, I was always left feeling sluggish, grumpy and lethargic (with a dash of the guilts to top it all off!).

I could never quite understand why my mood used to fluctuate so much throughout the day. It wasn’t until I discovered the ‘low GI’ diet that I realised that what I was putting into my mouth was directly correlated with my mood.

I came to the following realisation:

Healthy + natural + low GI foods -> Health and happy Jane

Fatty + sugary + highly processed + high GI foods -> Grumpy, depressed Jane

So what exactly is the low GI diet?

It’s all to do with carbs and your blood sugar levels but it’s got nothing to do with fad diets such as the Atkins. The GI (glycemic index) is a physiologically based measure of the effect of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels.

Jennie Brand Miller (Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Sydney) describes the low GI diet as follows:

“[The low GI diet is] a carbohydrate controlled diet because it is based on choosing low GI carbs that are slowly digested and absorbed, producing only gentle rises in your blood glucose and insulin levels”.

Carbs that break down rapidly during digestion, releasing glucose quickly into your blood have high GI values and carbs that break down slowly have low GI values.

So you may be thinking ‘Ok, great, but so what? What does all this mean for me and my body?’.

The benefits of a low GI diet

If you can get beyond the technical terms (and Jennie Brand Miller does a great job of keeping them to a minimum in her books), I highly recommend you give the low GI diet a try for at least 1 week so you can see why this diet is so fantastic.

Firstly, you will find that you feel fuller for longer (so when you’re in class or in the office working in silence with all your classmates or colleagues, you won’t have to worry about your stomach rumbling loudly) but most importantly by eating low GI foods your body isn’t going on a constant roller-coaster ride of feeling on a high and then suddenly feeling fatigued and hungry again (i.e. the ‘fish and chip/KFC’ effect I discussed earlier).

On a low GI diet, you’ll find you can think more clearly which will allow you to be more productive and get the most out of your day. It also reduces risks of developing diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.

How can you tell if your food is low GI or high GI?

That’s where ‘The low GI shoppers guide’ and/or the GI database comes in handy. These will tell you what foods are low GI (values of 55 or less), medium GI (56 to 69) and high GI (70 or more).

Just from flipping through the shoppers guide for a minute, I can see that some high GI foods to watch out for are potatoes (GI values range from 65 to 101), canned lychees (79) and gluten free products. McDonald’s Deli Choice items such as the chicken tandoori multigrain and white rolls are relatively high (67 and 78 respectively) as well.

I also highly recommend the cookbooks ‘The low GI diet cookbook’ and ‘The low GI vegetarian cookbook’. These are two of the best cookbooks I have ever used. So many delicious, nutritious recipes are contained in these books and the pictures that go with each recipe look so good that you actually feel inspired to cook!low-gi-cookbook

So the next time you find yourself craving some fish and chips for dinner, ask yourself the following question:

‘Is this food going to leave me feeling clear headed, energized and healthy?’

If the answer is no, make sure you avoid the fish and chip shop at all costs!

Again, my advice to you is not to get bogged down with the GI values. Start by purchasing one of Jennie Brand Miller’s beautifully designed low GI cookbooks or visit one of the low GI diet websites below. Try cooking a simple low GI meal to begin with. Perhaps you could start with a tasty low GI smoothy?

Let me know how you go and feel!

Useful low GI resources

The official GI website : A website by the University of Sydney. Contains a comprehensive database, lots of useful information and you can also purchase books from this site that are suited to where you live.

Low GI iPhone application: I don’t have an iPhone, so can’t say I have used this application but I thought this looked really interesting and potentially very useful for iPhone users.

Low GI Recipes : Several easy to make low GI recipes.

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43 things to help you achieve your goals

January 28th, 2009 by Jane | 1 Comment - click to view »

Do you need a bit of inspiration and help with setting your goals for the year? Not sure where to start or how to word your goals?

I recently stumbled across a great goal setting website called 43 things.

It allows you to list your goals, share your progress and encourage others to do the same.

Better still, people who have achieved the same goal that you are currently after can tell you how they did it and what made a difference to them!

When I’m on 43 things, it’s like I’m on facebook. The only difference is I’m not wasting time looking at random photos and thinking about what to update my status to. Instead, I’m setting goals and getting inspired about my life (which is a way more productive use of my time if you ask me).

The basic idea behind the website is simple: if you write your goals down in a list, then you’re half way there to achieving them.

Sounds too simple? Too good to be true? Well, maybe that’s a little oversimplified but I love the basic idea behind the site.

My only gripe is often we set goals for ourselves and then feel completely overwhelmed by them. The website doesn’t really appear to go into detail about how to maximise your chances of actually achieving the goals written on your list.

‘How will I get from here (where I am now - thesis not finished) to over there (where I want to be - thesis finished)? It seems all too hard!’ is what goes through my mind nearly every day.


But then a hungry jacks whopper will flash before my eyes.

No, I’m not binging on hungry jacks. The whopper is symbolic.

Years ago (when I was feeling overwhelmed by a big project) a friend sat me down and said:

Friend: ‘Jane, how would you normally eat a burger?’
Me: ‘I guess I’d press down the top first…’
Friend: ‘Yeah and what else would you do?’
Me: ‘I’d take a bite…’
Friend: ‘And then what?’
Me: ‘umm…if it tasted good, I’d take another bite’
Friend: ‘You wouldn’t put the whole thing in your mouth at once would you?’
Me: ‘No, that would be stupid…I’d feel sick and bloated..’

My friend went on to tell me that the burger represents my long term goal (the project I am working on) and the bites out of the burger are my short term goals. It’s only through taking one bite at a time that I’d be able to eat the whole burger. The thing is all those little bites add up.

That image of the burger has stayed with me ever since. I now know that if I want to achieve a goal, I need to break it down into all the little action steps. A mind map usually does the trick.

Then of course, I need to take action.

But where do I start?

David Allen in his book ‘How to get things done’ recommends we ask ourselves ‘What’s the next action I can take to move me forward on this project?’

So in a nutshell: Write it down, break it down, ask yourself ‘What’s next?’ and then do it.

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Is sleep overrated?

November 12th, 2008 by Jane | 2 Comments - click to view »

A few of my friends live by the philosophy that “sleep is a waste of time”. But is it really? When most of us spend about one third of our lives asleep, surely it must play an important role?

Dr Robert Stickgold (Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University) states “Most people think when you go to sleep the brain shuts off and then you wake up and go to work… but nothing can be further from the truth…sleep is important before learning and after [learning]“.

His research shows us how crucial it is to get 8 hours of regular sleep every night. If your brain is too tired you can’t take in information very well for several reasons. Firstly, the brains memory circuits become fatigued and secondly, you struggle to pay attention when you’re sleep deprived.

Stickgold has also found that the brain appears to do a lot when you’re asleep (e.g. connections in the brain are strengthened and memories are shuffled around the brain).

What else is the latest research in sleep medicine telling us?

  • Being awake for more than 24 hours straight impairs performance as much as having a blood alcohol level of 0.1% (that’s equivalent to being legally drunk!).
  • Some people are more resistant to the impact of doing an all nighter, however everyone begins to fall apart after two nights without sleep.
  • If you go without sleep for one night, you can triple your reaction time.
  • Rats that are totally deprived of sleep die in 17 to 20 days.
  • A lack of sleep is related to obesity, diabetes, immune system dysfunction and impaired judgment/productivity.

    • Can short power naps help us?
    Apparently so. Dr Stephen Amira (Behavioural sleep specialist) states that taking a nap for 20 minutes of less before 5pm can be beneficial and help us feel more energised.

    In a nutshell, you’re ability to think clearly, be happy and understand what’s going on depends on you getting enough sleep. If you want to find out more about the science of sleep, you can check out some great videos (featuring experts from Harvard University) here.

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    Top 10 tips for taking exams

    October 22nd, 2008 by Jane | 7 Comments - click to view »

    You can work so hard to study large quantities of information for an exam, but if you don’t prepare yourself mentally and physically before that exam, all that hard work can sadly go to waste.

    When it comes time to take your major exams, you really have to relate to yourself as a top class athlete. You need to eat the right foods, have the right mental attitude and let your body rest when it needs to leading up to your exams. These simple things can make all the difference to your mental clarity and performance.

    You may be thinking ‘this is common sense!’ but common sense isn’t so common. I see it all the time, university students drinking energy drinks like water, getting very little sleep and eating fatty convenience foods whilst cramming for their final exams. I have to admit, I’ve also done this and I don’t recommend it. It’s a recipe for disaster or at best, mediocre grades and a stressful, miserable time.

    Here are my top 10 tips for taking exams:

    1. Get a good nights sleep

    Studies have found that if you stay awake for 21 hours straight, you have the mental capacity of someone who is legally drunk (in terms of your ability to concentrate, memorise and recall information, etc).

    You can’t afford to stay awake all night studying for an exam because you just won’t be effective on the day of the exam. Make sure you get on average 8 hours of sleep a night.

    2. Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, everyday

    I make myself to go to the gym for 1 hour each day during my exam period, but 30 minutes of walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, etc will be enough.

    Often students stop exercising when it comes exam time because they begin to think that they don’t have enough time (”I must spend every moment studying!”). Big mistake.

    Exercise helps us study more effectively for various reasons. Firstly, it’s a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. Secondly, it gets blood flowing to your brain (supplying oxygen, antioxidant and glucose) which can help you to think more clearly.

    Think of daily exercise as being an investment in your final marks.

    3. Drink plenty of water

    Often when we can’t think clearly and have a foggy memory, it’s because our brains need to be hydrated. While studying and taking your exams, make sure you take regular sips of water.

    4. Remember, your teachers want you to do well

    Years ago, I started thinking that my teachers and lecturers were out to get me and would mark me down wherever they got the chance. As a result of this thinking, I became too scared to write anything in one of my first tests for law! After receiving my terrible mark, my brother said to me “Remember sis, your teachers want you to do well. They will try to give you marks wherever they can. It’s in their interest to do so”

    Don’t worry about writing a perfect answer. If you’re unsure, still put it down (even if it’s in dot points). They may not give you any marks for it, but they won’t take marks off. Just remember, your teachers really are on your side (despite all evidence to the contrary).

    5. Focus on what you do know rather than what you don’t know

    Chances are there will always be something that you could have studied more thoroughly or don’t know so well come the day of the exam. By that stage, you can’t do much about that, so is there any point worrying about it?

    You are better off focusing on the fact that you now know so much more than you did before and a large number of the exam questions you’ll be able to answer.

    6. Eat a low GI, nutritious breakfast

    Studies have found that students who skip breakfast experience a 20-40% reduction in thinking skills (i.e. concentration, memory and alertness). You want to eat a low GI, nutritious breakfast to feel fuller for longer, stabilise your mood and give you plenty of energy for the day.

    Here are some healthy breakfast ideas:

  • Raw museli or porridge with nuts and chopped fruit
  • Wholegrain toast with a variety of toppings (e.g. baked beans, tomatoes, avocado, etc.) and a piece of fruit
  • An omelette made with added vegetables (i.e. onion, spinach, tomato, and mushrooms)
  • A fruit smoothy

    • 7. Avoid drinking caffeine (e.g. energy drinks, coke and coffee)

    Caffeine is a stimulant drug. It gives you a rush and makes you feel good in the short term, but eventually it wears off and leaves you feeling cranky and wanting more.

    It’s also a diuretic, so it makes you urinate, which means you lose water, become thirsty and want to drink more soft drink.

    Studies have found that when we slurp on our cup of coffee or can of coke, we are actually inducing a state of stress. Caffeine drives the adrenal glands to produce stress hormones that in turn produce the “fight or flight” response.

    Why not consider gradually replacing your caffeinated beverages with good old, simple water? If you must drink something sweet, try drinking low GI apple juice with no added sugar.

    8. Go straight home after the exam

    How many times have you stayed back after an exam to talk to your friends about what you put for each questions? How many times have you felt anxious after doing so?

    Whilst it can be reassuring to know that you wrote the same answer as your friends, if you find out that you wrote something different and you have another 4 or 5 exams to take, this may throw you off your game.

    The exam is over. There’s nothing much you can do about it, so move on and focus on the next one.

    9. Take a few deep breaths when you get stuck

    If you come across a question you’re not sure how to answer in the exam, stop for a moment and take a few deep breathes (in for the count of 3 and out for the count of 3). If you are not sure how to answer it there and then, move on to another question.

    The worst thing you can do is start to panic, because as they say ’stress makes you stupid’. You won’t be able to think clearly.

    10. Dealing with writer’s cramp/elbow

    I’m sure many of us are familiar with writers cramp/elbow. This can be due to holding your pen too tight. Loosen your grip or get a pen that you won’t have to press down so hard on the paper.

    The reality is, even with a good pen, your elbow will start to hurt at some point if you’re taking a 3 hour exam. When it does hurt, have a rest for a few moments (yes, you have time to do this!) and stretch it out on your desk.

    I hope you have found these tips helpful. If you have some techniques or strategies that work for you when preparing for exams, please share them below.

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    What schools can do about climate change

    August 7th, 2008 by Jane | 4 Comments - click to view »

    Often the thought of taking action to combat climate change can be overwhelming. People frequently tell me that it’s all too hard, they feel helpless and they don’t know where to start.

    If experts such as Professor Ross Garnaut and the world’s leading scientists are however correct about climate change, then the next 2 to 3 years are critical. None of us have time to waste.

    No longer can we entertain such thoughts as ‘It’s too hard’ or ‘It can’t be done’. All of us need to be in action, doing whatever we can (whether it be using public transport more often, writing to politicians or turning things off at the powerpoint) to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

    High Schools can do a great deal to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and indeed, many of them around the world are starting to do so.

    South Fremantle Senior High School is a great example of a school that is taking action and aiming to go carbon neutral. Late last year, the school set a goal of a 10% reduction in energy use by the end of June. I recently interviewed the driving force behind this school’s carbon neutral initiative (Project officer, Kathy Anketell) to find out more about the exciting project and how other schools could do the same.

    Q. What made the biggest difference to getting this carbon neutral program up and running at your school?

    I guess the one answer is an amazing synergy, people meeting and talking together. A germ of an idea translated into a breakfast meeting a day later, more people were invited and the energy and enthusiasm happened immediately. The Principal at the time Dominic Burgio; was the one person who had the capacity to make it happen by employing a Project Officer, but only if others also embraced it.

    (I have never worked in a school before and teachers work so hard, making a commitment to going carbon neutral may be beyond teacher’s time availability, so having a Project Officer to do some of the running around really helps. Surprisingly I have become cost neutral, well sort of, in the year that I have been here grants and donations have equaled my salary).

    Q. What advice would you give to other schools, students and staff members who want to do something similar at their school?

    Find those who share you ideals, have breakfast, form a working group, go around the doubters, get a grant for an audit and then implement the audit suggestions. The main strength of South Fremantle Senior High School’s Carbon Neutral Project is the positive spins offs of working together for a common goal while doing lots of different things. Enjoy yourself while changing your bit of the world.

    Q. What have been the biggest challenges you have faced with this initiative?

    Wading through the bureaucracy, lots of good ideas get lost due people running out of time or enthusiasm as ‘the system’ stalls. Getting money to implement.

    Q. Did South Fremantle high meet its 10% reduction in energy use by the end of June?

    No, we have implemented 8 greenhouse reduction measures; however 2 important initiatives have not progressed as quickly as I had hoped. One is the replacement of eclectic storage hot water systems with solar HWS. This was due to the change of Federal Government, the $50,000 for all schools in Australia had the criteria expanded, however this took until July this year. The second initiative was replacing lights throughout the school; this will save 50% of our lighting consumption.

    Below is a mindmap (click on it to enlarge) of all the things your school can do to decrease its emissions like South Fremantle Senior High School have done. Implementing the energy savings strategies listed on the mindmap will take a team, patience and commitment, but as Kathy said it can be an enjoyable experience with various positive spin offs.

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    My Dog Eats Better Than Your Kids: Book Review

    July 23rd, 2008 by Jane | 1 Comment - click to view »

    ‘My dog eats better than your kids’ is a pretty bold statement to make. It’s the title of Dr Peter Dingle’s latest book on nutrition and healthy living.

    My mum and I were lucky enough to bump into Dr Dingle at university today, where he told us all about his book. I have to admit when he told me the title, I found myself thinking ‘yeah, right! Catchy title Dr D, but I hardly believe your dog eats better than me!’

    So I just finished reading his book and let me just say, Dr Dingle puts forth a strong argument with solid facts. I found myself thinking by the end ‘Maybe his dog does actually eat better than me?’ which was a good thing, because I know there is room for improvement. He has expanded my mind once again!

    For instance, I have always eaten a lot of bread and pasta. This wasn’t a problem for me because I thought ‘hey, I’m Italian and plus, it’s wholemeal! The food pyramid tells me I need 6-11 servings of breads, rice, cereals, etc. So it’s OK!’

    But then Dr Dingle tells us about the ‘food pyramid’ and how it came to be. Apparently it was established by Kellog’s (the grain industry) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1950s. Take a look at the bottom of the pyramid. Do you see grains? Yes, the pyramid tells us we should be eating grains the most! Dig in!

    Dr Dingle however points us to the Harvard School of Public Health that states this is not correct. The Harvard School of Public Health actually provide us with another, new and improved food pyramid that is actually based on the latest and best science. Very impressive.

    In summary, I have read several of Dr Dingle’s books before and thoroughly enjoyed them. When Dingle writes you can’t help by feel inspired and motivated to make positive changes in your life.

    His latest book is however different to the others. It’s still upbeat and certainly motivating, but this one is not as long (it will take you about one hour to read). It’s also full of colourful, quirky illustrations that will make you smile and laugh out loud.

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    Getting Things Done: My 3 Day Challenge

    July 23rd, 2008 by Jane | 7 Comments - click to view »

    For years I have battled with mountains of clutter in my office and bedroom. I have been labeled ‘a mess maker’. Typical time management and organisational strategies (i.e. writing lists and prioritising) have never really worked for me (no matter how hard I have tried and believe me, I have tried hard!).

    In some ways I think I was secretly proud of the fact that I was messy. After all, who would want to be clean and super organised? Wasn’t that for uptight people who had too much time on their hands? I just wasn’t inspired to live like that.

    But people who were efficient and able to get things done, now they inspired me! I wanted to be like them and thankfully, David Allen’s book ‘How to get things done’ showed me how I could be and do just this - all for $29.95 (a bargain I say!).

    Let me give you a picture of what my life was like before reading this book. In the picture below (click on it to enlarge), I am sitting at my desk feeling overwhelmed by the mess and all the projects in my life.

    I have had enough.

    ‘I have too much to do! I don’t have enough time to do it all’ is something I used to frequently tell myself. I always had this sense that I had forgotten to do something, that I was running out of time.

    I knew that there had to be a better way to do things and several people had told me that David Allen’s book had changed their lives dramatically.

    So I set myself a challenge. I’d give myself 3 days to read his book and implement his system. I wouldn’t allow myself to be distracted by phone calls, email, university work, appointments, etc. It was just 3 days of me with my clutter and new filing system (as well as the occasional conversation with my partner to stop me from losing my mind).

    The beauty about this book is David Allen takes you through implementing the process step by step. It’s like he is there by your side, holding your hand and cheering you on as you sort through your piles of papers and random clutter.

    Papers, Papers Everywhere!

    My biggest problem was I had folders and notebooks full of interesting articles, ideas and projects scattered all over my house. If you told me ‘Jane, go get me the notes you took while watching Al Gore’s movie’, I wouldn’t know where to look.

    David Allen says you need one centralised system, that shouldn’t take you more than 1 minute to find the document you need. If it does, your system needs some work.

    Mine clearly needed some work. So I got a box (David refers to it as your ‘inbox’) and started dumping everything into it. Papers, paintings and photos that no longer inspired me, books that were collecting dust, etc. What an emotional roller coaster ride this was! I felt excited and liberated as I threw away papers I no longer needed. At other times, I just felt completely overwhelmed by all my ’stuff’. ‘Why did I even get this in the first place?’, ‘What was I thinking buying all these cheap toxic textas/stationary when I already had enough?’ and ‘Is David Allen’s system actually going to help me? What if it doesn’t?’ I thought.

    YouTube Inspiration

    One night (when I was feeling flat after sorting through piles and piles of papers) at 12:30am, I logged onto youtube to see if there was anyone out there who had benefited from GTD. I was excited to find an American woman with purple hair who had been using the system say ‘GTD is about kicking ass!’. That was enough to keep me going.

    I then got myself some files and created the following:

  • General reference folder: for all the articles, notes, etc that I didn’t want to throw out
  • Someday/Maybe folder: For all the activities and projects that I didn’t want to do now but at maybe later on in the future I’d want to do
  • Project folders: A bunch of manila folders for the projects I was currently working on (these were labeled with my cool, new automatic labeler)

    • Already, I was starting to feel clearer and more energised (even if I was starting to have obsessive dreams about filing and my partner setting the table with stationary instead of cutlery).

    GTD Notebook

    A big part of David Allen’s system is the GTD notebook. It’s a notebook or folder that you create that contains lists of all your ideas, projects, ‘next actions’, things your waiting for from others, etc. It’s a place where you dump everything from your mind onto, because the last thing you want is to waste your mental energy by having the same reoccurring thoughts (e.g. ‘I must remember to return my library books’, ‘Can’t forget to call Lisa’, etc.).

    I made sure I bought a book I liked because I had been warned ‘If your materials look shabby, you won’t be inspired to use them’.


    Much more to GTD

    There’s much more to GTD than I can possibly share with you in one blog post. I mean David Allen spends close to 300 pages explaining it in his book! But don’t think it’s complex, because it’s not. David is just extremely thorough and doesn’t allow for anything to be missed.

    So does GTD help? Did it help me? You bet! Thankfully my dreams are back to normal and for the first time in my life, I am in control of my papers/clutter and not my papers/clutter in control of me!

    Below is a photo of my desk now.

    Sure it looks clean, but it’s not about being clean. If only my camera could capture the sense of freedom and how effective and clear minded I now feel from having a system that works and makes sense.

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    Providing a new perspective on student life: girls, exams and bombings

    July 1st, 2008 by Jane | 2 Comments - click to view »

    The last few days I have been struggling to work on my honours thesis in order to complete my final year of university. The thought of reading journal articles and writing has felt like hard work.

    Then this evening, I saw an eye opening documentary on SBS called ‘The Boys from Baghdad High’ (Produced/Directed: Ivan O’Mahoney and Laura Winter). Watching this beautifully made documentary put everything into perspective.

    ‘Girls, exams and bombings’ was the tagline for this documentary where four 17 year old young men were given video cameras to record their lives as they completed their final year of school in Baghdad, Iraq.

    If you thought studying was hard here (in safe Western Australia) then perhaps studying in Iraq for even a day would do us all some good.

    These young men were typical generation Yers. They were just like my Australian male friends. They liked listening to pop music, had mobile phones, surfed the internet, had girlfirends, joked around with each other, had dreams and hopes for the future, etc. The difference was they were forced to study with power cuts, to the sound of bombings and guns firing shots outside their homes, knowing their classmates/friends had been murdered and kidnapped and that they could be next. Most of their free time was spent at home as it was just too dangerous to go outside.

    I can’t even begin to imagine how stressful that would be and the effect that kind of stress would have on studying for final year exams.

    It was no surprise that school attendance and motivation/inspiration to study was low at the school the boys attended in Baghdad. It was also no surprise that they failed several of their final exams. But amazingly, given all the stress and trauma they experienced, most of the boys got through and graduated in the end.

    This documentary was inspiring to say the least. I’ve been complaining about my honours thesis, but after seeing what these young men went though it just seems ridiculous to complain anymore.

    If in need of inspiration or a new perspective on your life as a student, I recommend watching ‘The Boys from Baghdad High’. You will be deeply moved.

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