If your immediate reaction to this thought is “Ugh. I don’t wanna!”, I get it.
For most of my life, cleaning and tidying felt like something I should do.
I didn’t see the point of it.
I thought, “Why bother cleaning when it’s only going to get messy again?”
But over time, I’ve experienced a shift in my thinking. I’ve come to realise tasks such as cleaning, tidying, decluttering, and organising are critically important to staying focused and calm and achieving goals.
In this blog, I want to share a simple way to reframe tidying, cleaning, and organising. Rather than feeling like you’re burdened by an endless list of chores, this simple reframe will help to decrease psychological resistance. It will leave you feeling motivated to tackle your piles of mess.
Sometimes things happen in life that cause us to view ourselves in a particular way (e.g., “I’m a messy person” or “I’m the sort of person who leaves my work until the last minute”). These labels can be hard to shake. Here’s an example from my own life . . .
When I was in high school, I had a cooking teacher (Mrs S) who had a knack of making students feel really small.
I never cooked at home as a child, so I felt anxious and out of my depth in cooking class.
A lot of things went wrong in that class. I burnt my muffins and failed to present my food nicely when it was being assessed by Mrs S. I also broke a large ceramic mixing bowl at which point my cooking buddy swore out loud and the entire class went silent. We were mortified.
Yes, you could say these were great learning opportunities. But it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time.
Cooking class was something I came to fear. Why?
Mrs S was mean. She was particularly nasty and cruel with the way she delivered feedback.
She made Gordan Ramsey seem nice. Her comments were delivered in a tone of disgust and moral superiority. I remember one student breaking down in tears and crying the entire lunch break after receiving feedback from Mrs S.
Mrs S would say things like . . .
“Why is your place mat so far out? Who eats their meals like this? What’s wrong with you? It should be closer to the edge of the table!”
“What is with these crumbs on the table? This is disgusting!”
“If I was your mother, I would be so ashamed!”
Some of her comments were fair (yes, the crumbs on the table weren’t a great look). But my cooking buddy and I were not grubs. Yet her tone left us feeling like we were.
From a young age, I came to view myself as a messy and disorganised person.
When I started ‘adulting’, the only reason I cleaned and tidied my house was because that’s what I believed you were supposed to do as an adult. Adults should keep a tidy house, right? Adults need to vacuum the floor and do the dishes, yeah?
The problem is feeling like you ‘should’ or ‘must’ do something isn’t very motivating. When you feel like you ‘should’ clean and tidy things up, your brain says “Boring! This feels like a chore. No thanks!”.
There is another way to think about cleaning, tidying, and organising your stuff . . .
These tasks are all ways to be kind to your future self.
In the book ‘How to keep house while drowning’, KC Davis explains cleaning and tidying are acts of self-care. Tasks like vacuuming the floor, washing your clothes, and doing the dishes are all ways to be kind to yourself, particularly your Future Self.
The psychological concept of your ‘Future Self’ refers to the idea of perceiving and connecting with the version of yourself that exists in the future. It involves considering the long-term consequences of your actions and aligning your present behaviour with your goals.
Studies show when you can get connected to your Future Self you’re more likely to take action towards your goals (e.g., sitting down and studying for a test) rather than opting for short-term immediate gratification (e.g., going on TikTok).
With this simple reframe, Davis suggests referring to chores as being ‘care tasks’ and cleaning as ‘resetting the space’.
In other words, when your study space starts to feel out of control and piles of papers start to accumulate, you can gently say to yourself “This space is no longer working for me. It’s time for a reset”.
Similarly, Dr Helen Owten states in her book ‘Studying as a Parent’:
“Cleaning and tidying the house each weekend (or every other weekend) means that you can at least start the week in some kind of order.”
As I ‘reset my space’ (i.e. tidy my home) on the weekend, I’m telling myself:
“This is time well spent. When I wake up on Monday morning, I’m going to be ready to go. I’ll feel calm and in control”.
That sense of order sets the tone for the day and the rest of the week.
In a nutshell, cleaning and organising helps you to function better.
When you feel calm in your space and you can easily find what you need, you’re in flow. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, you feel confident and more in control.
IKEA catalogues, influencers, and decluttering gurus have drilled into our psyches the idea that our space needs to look a certain way (i.e. polished perfection).
For example, a YouTube video posted by Khloe Kardashian shows her stacking biscuits around the edges of a glass jar to make it look more visually appealing.
This video has been viewed more than 6.7 million times and has inspired many people to start storing biscuits like this. Needless to say, this is a true waste of life energy.
Here’s a solid tip: resist the urge to watch videos of influencers or the rich and famous organising their homes. The polished perfection will mess with your mind.
If you try to emulate the lives of influencers and celebrities, you’ll feel miserable.
Plus, there’s no guarantee you’ll end up with a functional space that serves you well.
You can have a study space/home that looks organised and beautiful but still struggle to find what you need. It’s easy to become obsessed with what your space looks like rather than focus on how your space can best serve you to help you achieve your goals (the latter requires some deeper thought and consideration).
So, forget the unrealistic standards. Create your own standards and a space that works for you.
Two years ago, my cooking buddy from high school (the one who swore loudly when the mixing bowl smashed into pieces) invited me to attend her housewarming party. It was the first time I had seen this friend in many years.
She had just moved into her new home. At the party, I couldn’t help but notice a couple of things:
1) My friend was a great cook (she was like an Italian nonna serving up delicious food); and
2) Her home was organised, clean, and tidy.
Despite our cooking teacher Mrs S making us feel like we were grubs, we had both turned okay. In fact, better than okay – we were doing great!
The moral of the story is this: cleaning and organising are skills that you can develop. Like cooking, they just take practice and cultivating good habits. A simple mental reframe can help to reduce mental resistance and kick-start the process.
What self-care tasks can you engage in today that will make your life a little easier tomorrow? No matter how small the task is, I challenge you to go do it.
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In our modern world, overwhelm and distraction threaten to constantly derail us.
As artist Austin Kleon states in his book Keep Going:
“Your attention is one of the most valuable things you possess, which is why everyone wants to steal it from you. First you must protect it, and then you must point it in the right direction.”
In this article, I share a powerful practice that can help you protect your attention and point it in the right direction: working like a sprinter.
As a teenager, I remember watching Australian Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman run in the 400-metre race at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
In that incredible race, Cathy did one thing and one thing only: she ran as fast as she could in a focused, intense burst.
She was 27 years old and had been training for this event for 17 years. Having won silver at the previous Olympics, the pressure was on. The entire nation was watching Cathy.
To this day, I still get goosebumps when I watch the footage of this race (you can watch it here).
Cathy was in the zone. She was completely focused on the task at hand. She knew what she needed to do: run.
Shortly after crossing the finish line, Cathy sat down to catch her breath and process what she had just accomplished (she had won gold). The crowd went wild and was completely absorbed in the moment, too.
Back in the year 2000, during the Sydney Olympics, smartphones and social media didn’t exist. Not everyone had access to the internet (my family did, but it was slow, expensive, and could only be used at home on a computer). In this environment, it was much easier to focus.
It’s fair to say that the early 2000s were simpler times.
Some scholars (e.g., Dr Jonathan Haidt, and Dr Anna Lembke) argue that smartphones and social media have caused several harms to society, including a reduced capacity to pay attention and an inability to tolerate discomfort.
Despite the noise and chaos of the modern world, it’s possible to train yourself to focus better.
How do we cultivate better focus?
One way is to tackle our work like sprinters.
The practice of working like a sprinter is refreshingly simple: You work in a short, focused burst (25-45 minutes), then take a break to rest and recover (5-15 minutes). After that, you repeat the process a few times before taking a much longer break (30 minutes).
I usually work this way for about 3 – 4 hours a day.
But I’m not fixed and rigid about this practice. This technique is adaptable. The key is to listen to your body and tune into what it needs. Make this practice work for you.
If you develop the habit of working in this focused way, you’ll be amazed by how much you can get done. More importantly, instead of feeling mentally fried at the end of the day, you’ll feel energised. You’ll also experience a delightful sense of calm and peace.
In short, this is a practice well worth cultivating.
In a nutshell, working like a sprinter involves three distinct phases:
It’s simple, but it’s a practice that takes practise.
Below, I delve into each phase in more detail and share some things that help me work in focused sprints.
I do my best work sprints in the morning between 9am and 12noon. But these focused sprints don’t just magically happen. It’s not like I roll out of bed and dive straight into a work sprint. First, I need to warm up.
The warm-up phase allows me to get in the right headspace and set up my environment to be focus-friendly. It has a dramatic impact on my brain’s performance, affecting my ability to focus, creativity, productivity, and mood.
Just to be clear, the stars don’t have to align, and the conditions don’t need to be perfect to kick off a work sprint. I’ve simply noticed that I can work better after engaging in a few behaviours and morning practices.
Here’s what I’ve found makes a difference . . .
What distracts you when you’re trying to work? What things frequently derail you?
Take note of the things that hijack your attention and throw you off track.
In one of my favourite books on getting organised, Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, Susan Pinsky writes:
“The more you explore the distractions that keep you from working, as well as the tools that help you to focus, the more organized and productive you will become.”
Once you know what distracts you, you can figure out ways to deal with those distractions, which brings me to the next point . . .
For each distraction, think of ways to make it harder to engage with it. What barriers or strategies could you put in place? Are there any tools that could help you focus better?
For example:
Dealing with distractions from the outset (before you sit down to do your work sprints) makes it easier to stay focused and on track.
Many of us have become used to constant stimulation; without it, we feel anxious. This is why we reach for our phones and scroll through our feeds as soon as we experience a slight pang of boredom.
If you can relate to this, you will benefit from engaging in a daily meditation practice.
If you’re new to meditation, I recommend starting with the following tiny habit of doing a micro-meditation:
After I put on my shoes, I will pause and breathe in and out three times.
Not sure how to meditate? Close your eyes and focus on your breath, going in and out. If a random thought enters your mind (and it will), notice it and let it go. Then, return your focus to your breath.
Alternatively, you could listen to a guided meditation using an app such Insight Timer.
Clinical psychiatrist Dr John Ratey describes exercise as “like a little bit of Ritalin and a little bit of Prozac”. It’s powerful stuff.
Research shows that physical movement can help us focus better and learn faster. In terms of counteracting stress and boosting our mood, movement is like getting a biochemical massage.
This is one reason getting on my treadmill and doing interval training has become a non-negotiable part of my day. In the words of Tara Schuster:
“[Working out] is my preventative measure against the anxiety that lurks in my mind. I must throw myself out of bed in the morning and make it to the gym because I will always, always feel better for it.”
By warming up my body through physical movement, I’m able to warm up my brain by bathing it in feel good chemicals.
Deliberately exposing myself to the discomfort of running also helps me sit with the unpleasant feelings that arise when faced with difficult work. As Alex Soojung-Kim Pang states in his book Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less:
“Exposing yourself to predictable, incremental physical stressors in the gym or the playing field increases your capacity to be calm and clear headed in stressful real world situations.”
On the days when I skip my morning run or a weightlifting session, my wellbeing and productivity take a hit. I don’t feel as mentally sharp or confident about tackling my work. I’ve also noticed that I’m more likely to get distracted and give in to instant gratification during a work sprint.
Can you do anything in the evening to prepare for your morning work sprints? Completing a few quick tasks before bed can help you conserve energy the next day.
Here are a few simple things I like to do in the evening to get ready for the day ahead:
Doing these simple things allows me to carry out my morning routine with ease. Then, I can hit the ground running with a clear, focused mind for my first work sprint.
If I check my phone for messages and engage in frivolous texting first thing, I crave distraction and the dopamine hits that come with it for the rest of the day.
For these reasons, I have implemented the following tech rules:
This may sound extreme, but these restrictions are incredibly liberating. As the author of the book Stand Out of Our Light, James Williams states:
“Reason, relationships, racetracks, rules of games, sunglasses, walls of buildings, lines on a page: our lives are full of useful constraints to which we freely submit so that we can achieve otherwise unachievable ends.”
By blocking myself from digital distractions and all the noise that comes with it, I can focus on chipping away at the projects that are most important to me.
Just like a chef prepares all the ingredients before cooking a dish (i.e. they create the mise en place), set yourself up with everything you need to do your work. The last thing you want is to get a few minutes into a work sprint and realise you need to go find a pen that works.
If you have everything you need within arm’s reach, it’s easier to stay focused on the task and get into a flow state.
Once the warm-up phase is complete, we move into the sprint phase. Now, it’s time to do the work.
If you’ve done the work in the warm-up phase, the sprint phase is a lot easier. All you need to do is:
There’s no need to feel rushed as you work. You’re not competing with anyone else. This is not a race. It’s totally fine to take things slow.
Don’t expect the sprint phase to be pleasant. Even after a fabulous warm-up, you will most likely feel some discomfort and resistance about doing the work. This is normal.
You’ll feel the urge to run from this discomfort. But instead of running from it, befriend it. Remind yourself that the point of these work sprints is to move the needle on the things that really matter to you.
When the timer goes off, take a moment to acknowledge yourself for showing up to do the work. Remember, this practice takes practise, and you just got some reps in.
Now it’s time to rest. You’ll probably have some momentum by now, so you’ll feel like pushing on but stop what you’re doing and step away from your work. As Ali Abdaal mentions in his book Feel-Good Productivity:
“Rest breaks are not special treats. They are necessities.”
I’m not going to lie: this phase has been the hardest for me to master. As someone with workaholic tendencies, I’ve had to work hard at getting rest.
Why is the rest phase so important?
Because the longer you focus, the harder it is to maintain your focus. The act of focusing depletes your brainpower.
The best way to recharge a depleted brain is to rest.
Like focus, rest is a skill. It takes practise. You have to be able to resist the lure of busyness and our fast-paced, always-on culture.
Here are some of my favourite ways to rest and recharge at the moment:
Whenever I find myself wondering whether to keep working or take a break, I ask myself:
“What kind of boss do I want to be for myself? A mean-spirited, hard taskmaster? Or a generous, caring boss who looks out for their employees’ wellbeing?”
The answer is simple: I choose to be a generous boss to myself. Therefore, I give myself permission to rest.
I’ve come to see each of the phases of working like a sprinter (Warm-up, Sprint, and Rest and Recovery) as critical to staying healthy and balanced. Through trial and error, I’ve learned that skipping the warm-up or rest phase or going too hard in the sprint phase can lead to chaos and exhaustion.
As you cultivate the practice of working like a sprinter, significant things will happen to you. Not only will you notice that your productivity goes through the roof, but you’ll experience mental calm and clarity like never before.
As digital distractions no longer dominate your day, the noise of the world gets dialled down. You’ll find it easier to tune into what you need and what matters most to you.
I cannot stress enough that this is a practice that takes practise! One or two sprints won’t cut it. You need to persevere for long enough to experience the incredible benefits of this powerful practice.
But how much time do you actually have?
It’s hard to get a sense just by thinking “My exam is in three weeks.” After all, three weeks sounds like plenty of time, right?
Don’t be fooled. This is your brain playing tricks on you.
No one ever has a full three weeks (504 hours) to prepare for an exam. Thrown into the mix is time for sleep, getting ready for school or work, working on assignments, socialising with friends and family, etc. Plus, you usually have more than one exam to study for.
But we can forget this. And when we do, we end up procrastinating with our work and it piles up for our future selves to deal with.
What’s missing is that your brain needs clear visual feedback. It needs to have a sense of the big picture (i.e., all your commitments laid out in front of it).
By using a year-at-a-glance calendar.
Earlier this year, I printed out a massive year-at-a-glance calendar (A0 size).
I scheduled all my upcoming presentations, holidays, important events (e.g., birthdays), deadlines, etc., onto the calendar and placed it in a prime position where I couldn’t miss it.
This calendar has made all the difference. It grounds me in reality, helps me feel more in control of my schedule, and gives me clear visual feedback. It also makes me think twice before I agree to take on a new project.
In the past, whenever I’ve said yes to a new opportunity, I haven’t always been grounded in reality. Too many times, I’ve been unintentionally cruel to future Jane.
Let me explain . . .
Back in 2016, I was on the home stretch with my PhD. The path forward was clear. After years of struggling with my PhD, the end was in sight. I was on track to hand in my thesis in a few months’ time.
But then something happened that threw me off course (well, erm, I threw myself off course).
I was asked by a company to run a series of workshops. Without even thinking, I said “Yes! I’d love to!”. It seemed like a great opportunity. One that was too good to pass up.
When I shared the news with my PhD supervisor, she seemed to think differently. Her face said it all: a mixture of concern and confusion.
“Why did you say yes to this? Do you need the money? What about your PhD? You’re so close to finishing”, she said.
The truth was I didn’t need the money. I said yes because without having my other commitments staring me in the face, I had all the time in the world. I was engaging in magical (delusional) thinking. I fantasised about having superhuman capabilities and being able to do it all.
I was wrong. There were only so many hours in the day, and something had to give.
To cut a long story short, pretty quickly the magical thinking wore off, and I regretted taking on the job. I had burdened my future self with a ridiculous amount of work and unnecessary stress.
But worst of all, I had delayed handing in my thesis by several months. A few months might not sound like much in the big scheme of things. But when you’ve been plugging away at a PhD for seven years, every month becomes precious. I risked losing momentum.
If I could teleport back in time and place a year-at-a-glance calendar in my office space, I like to think that I would have prioritised my PhD over the shiny new opportunity.
I recently finished reading an excellent book called ‘The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain’ by Annie Murphy-Paul.
In this book, Annie explores nine principles for expanding our intelligence (note: these principles are not taught in schools). She argues that instead of pushing our brains to work harder and harder, we can use our bodies, relationships, and surrounding environment to boost our cognitive abilities.
In the chapter called “Thinking with the Space of Ideas”, she writes:
“Whenever possible, we should offload information, externalize it, move it out of our heads and into the world. It relieves us of the burden of keeping a host of details “in the mind,” thereby freeing up mental resources for more demanding tasks like problem solving and idea generation.”
After reading this book, I understood why a year-at-a-glance calendar can be such a powerful tool. Seeing all your projects and commitments in one glance allows you to think smarter and more strategically.
These calendars also help to orient you in time. You can see how much time you have between now and doing the things you need to do.
Your projects and deadlines stare back at you every day. There’s no escaping them.
Seeing your life in this way also helps you to plan and pinpoint busy periods.
Here’s an example . . .
This month, I have more presentations scheduled than usual. This means I need to manage my energy levels, prioritise sleep, and eat healthily.
But a quick glance at my calendar tells me I have a few ‘free’ days before all these talks begin. I can use this time to cook a few meals to pop in the fridge and freezer to make life a little easier during this busier period.
One of the worst things I can do when I get busy is order takeaway food and sacrifice sleep to work. I refuse to do it as it always backfires. If I’m functioning at half capacity, my talks and work will suffer.
These calendars can also provide useful information to help you manage your energy levels, reduce ridiculous workloads, and avoid burnout.
Earlier this year, there was a week when I delivered more talks than usual. During this week, I found myself taking 15-minute power naps between talks to recharge before the next one. Even with all these power naps, by the end of the week, I felt tired. I drew a tired little emoji face on my calendar to represent this.
That tired emoji face is a constant reminder: you have mental and physical limits. Don’t overdo it.
It’s important to find a calendar that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional for you. This means you probably can’t just go to the shops and pick something off the shelf.
You could order a hard copy calendar online, but when the year is already well underway who wants to potentially wait weeks for their calendar to arrive in the mail?
You can purchase a digital download online and take it to your local print shop on a USB stick. Some templates display the month as a long list of days; whereas other calendars group the month into weeks, with each week on a separate line (see examples below).
Alternatively, you could buy a monthly calendar, cut it up, and stick it together.
One of my friends suggested I try doing this. I gave it a shot, but my calendar looked like a failed arts and crafts project (with messy bits of tape plastered everywhere). Plus, the boxes were too small and cramped my style.
After some trial and error, I purchased a digital download from Etsy for $20AUD and printed it A0 size for $10AUD. All up, my calendar cost me $30AUD – money that was well spent.
The bottom line is you have to figure out what works for you and how much you’re willing to spend.
• Write on the calendar when all your exams, appointments, special events, and major projects will take place.
• If you don’t yet know the specific dates of each exam, note the week they begin and assume the worst-case scenario (your exams will be sooner rather than later).
• Consider laminating your calendar so you can use whiteboard markers on it.
• If laminating is too expensive, use sticky notes and washi tape instead.
• You can mount your calendar on core-flute material or foam board to give it a sturdier structure.
• Resist the urge to put every detail on your calendar. Focus on the big project deadlines, appointments, exams, etc. The details for what and when you work on each project can go into your weekly planner and/or on your to-do list.
• If you have the wall space, consider printing your calendar A0 size (841mm x 1189mm). You want plenty of space to write in each box.
In our noisy world where we are bombarded with endless opportunities, many of us would benefit from embracing analog tools like the year-at-a-glance calendar. These calendars help to ground us in reality and focus our minds on what matters.
If you have a lot going on in your world and find yourself saying “Yes!” to every shiny new opportunity that comes your way, do yourself a favour and create a year-at-a-glance calendar. Having your commitments stare you in the face every day is a simple but powerful way to live with greater focus and intentionality.
I recently watched a video of Gordan Ramsey cooking a ‘curry in a hurry’ (a butter chicken dish).
I was spellbound by the way Ramsey seamlessly cooked this dish. He was in flow and fully focused on the task of cooking the butter chicken.
What allowed him to whip up this dish plus a serving of rice in under 15 minutes?
Being organised helped a lot. Before he started cooking, chef Ramsey had all the ingredients and cooking utensils out on the bench, ready to go.
In chef’s speak, he had prepared the mise en place.
Mise en place is a culinary skill that can help us to study and work more efficiently. In this article, I explore this concept and how you can apply it to your life to help you stay calm, focused, and in control of your studies.
The mise en place is a French term that translates to “putting in place”. It means a place for everything and everything in its place.
Everything the chef needs is within arm’s reach. When it’s time to start cooking the dish, the chef knows where everything is. This allows the chef to focus on cooking the dish and stay calm and grounded under pressure.
In the book Kitchen Operations (a textbook for hospitality students and apprentice chefs), the authors write about the importance of being organised in the kitchen. They state:
“The ability to work in an organised manner is possibly the most important quality that anyone working in the preparation and service of food can demonstrate. You must develop this ability to complete the expected workload in the time available. Failure to be methodical in your approach will reduce efficiency and will lead to feelings of stress and frustration.”
The mise en place helps the chef avoid unnecessary stress and frustration.
Imagine the following scenario . . .
A chef starts cooking a pasta sauce.
The chef realises 10 minutes in that he is missing a key ingredient (tins of tomatoes).
The chef has to run to the shops to buy the tomatoes.
Chefs can’t afford to have that happen. They are time-pressured. They need to get meals out quickly to hungry customers.
The mise en place helps chefs avoid stressful situations like this. It can also help you decrease unnecessary stress, drama, and frustration associated with homework and study.
Before starting your work, set yourself up with everything you need to complete the task.
Think of this as the study desk mise en place. Ideally, you want to have a dedicated study space where everything is already set up. This saves you time, as you don’t have to set things up and pack things away after each study session.
But your desk isn’t the only space you can set up and prepare. In the world of study, you have other spaces you need to manage (e.g., a computer, school bag, pencil case, and locker). With each of these spaces, you need to ask:
“What items do I need in this space for my work to flow smoothly?”
It also helps to ask:
“What items don’t I want in this space?”
Just like a chef doesn’t want cockroaches, cats, and rats running around the kitchen and restaurant (or a visit from the local health inspector), there are things you want to keep out of your study space.
Remove anything that throws you off your game (i.e., makes you feel bad, distracted, overwhelmed, and upset) from your study space.
Here’s my list of things I want to keep out of my study space:
• My smartphone
• Long to-do lists
• Visual clutter
The point is to remove any friction points from your environment (anything that will slow you down and make it difficult to do your work).
The mental mise en place cannot be overlooked. This is the mental preparation part of the study process.
Ask yourself:
What must I do to mentally prepare myself for deep work/study?
Most of us can’t just scroll on our social media feed for an hour and launch straight into doing focused study. We need to get into the right headspace.
To be clear, I don’t mean you need to feel motivated, inspired, or in the right mood to study. Too often, we wait for motivation to strike, and it never comes. However, it certainly helps to be calm, focused, and grounded.
My mental preparation for the workday starts the evening before. Too many late nights have taught me that to wake up feeling calm and grounded, I need to go to bed at a reasonable hour.
When I wake up, I protect this mental calm by:
• Going for a walk or lifting heavy weights
• Doing a mini meditation (usually 3-5 minutes)
• Eating a healthy breakfast
• Avoiding checking my email and touching my computer first thing
• Journaling or mind mapping with pen and paper
I stay away from screens for as long as possible. This is essential for cultivating a calm mental state where I feel proactive and in control of my day.
I know I’m in trouble if I skip too many of the things on the list and start the day by checking my email. It becomes much more challenging to focus and get things done.
What is a pest of the mind?
It is anything that overstimulates the mind and leaves one feeling frenzied, scattered, and/or jangled.
Here’s the thing about learning information at a deep level: it requires you to slow down. You cannot rush it, like a 15-minute butter chicken dish.
But we engage with people, places, and things on a daily basis that speed up our thinking. In this overstimulated, wired mental state, learning feels like a hard slog.
Here’s a tip: start to notice the things that leave you feeling overstimulated. It can be incredibly liberating to cut back on these things or eliminate them completely from your life.
I am constantly tweaking my workspace and experimenting with different tools to help me click into a state of flow with my work. Here are some tools that I’m currently enjoying having as part of my study mise en place:
Technically, this is a gaming device that allows gamers who stream to switch scenes, adjust audio, etc at the tap of a button. I’m not a gamer, but I use my Stream deck to get started with various tasks and projects I feel resistance towards.
Instead of thinking, “Where is this file located? How do I get to it?” I tap a button on the Stream deck and it opens the file up. I tap another button, and it opens an application I frequently use.
No more frustrating clicking through numerous folders trying to find the document I need! The Stream deck helps to remove a big mental barrier and kick-start the work process with ease.
Stream decks aren’t cheap but if you can find one secondhand or on special like I did, they are well worth it.
Staying hydrated is super important. I fill a big jug with water every morning and place it on my desk with a glass. If water is within arm’s reach and I can see it, I find myself taking regular sips throughout the day.
I used nasty, cheap pens for years. Being a sucker for free stuff, I collected free pens at career expos and university open days. Without even realising it, these pens caused me a great deal of frustration and irritation.
These days, when it comes to pens, I don’t mess around with junk. There’s one pen I love using: the uniball signo (0.7). It’s a gel pen (you can find them at Officeworks). Writing with this pen is an absolute pleasure.
As Kevin Kelly says:
“Take note if you find yourself wondering “Where is my good knife?” or “Where is my good pen?” That means you have bad ones. Get rid of those.”
It’s super handy to have a notepad to jot down ideas and random thoughts as they arise. I recently discovered Rhodia notepads (a recommendation by The Pen Addict, Brad Dowdy). Writing on this paper feels like writing on butter!
Whenever I notice I’m procrastinating, I’ll set my timer for 10 minutes and say, “All I need to do is 10 minutes on this task. That’s all. Just 10 minutes”. I set the timer and away I go.
Other times, when my workspace looks like a mess, I’ll set a timer for 3 minutes and spend that time getting things back in order.
My planner tells me what to do and when to do it. For the last 6 weeks, I have been experimenting with Cal Newport’s time blocking method (planning my day in hourly blocks). It sounds torturous, but it’s strangely liberating.
When I open my planner, I can see what is happening for the week, but I don’t have a sense of the bigger picture. This is why I printed out a massive (A0 size) year-in-a-glance planner to schedule all my presentations, holiday breaks, special events, etc.
Having this calendar makes me feel more in control of my life. I can see when I have busy periods of presenting and when I need to balance those periods with extra rest time to sustain myself. I can also see events and deadlines relatively to where I am now.
These are just a few things I love having in my study/work mise en place. But we’re all different, so you need to figure out what works best for you.
When I recently asked a group of high school students what items they would need in their study mise en place, here’s what they came up with:
• Snacks
• Phone
• Pencil case
• Squishmallows
The first three suggestions didn’t surprise me, but the squishmallows sure did (the students were shocked that I’d never heard of a squishmallow before). I had to google them (they are soft toys).
But I get it.
A squishmallow is fun.
It’s comforting.
It makes you feel good.
If something makes you feel good, go put it on your desk. Because if you feel good, it will be easier to think and learn.
The mise en place is a skill that can help all of us (not just chefs) focus on the task at hand. The point is you need to make your study mise en place work for you. You need to find the combination of ingredients that hits the spot.
Like a top chef has their favourite chopping knife, you’ll have your favourite pen. Spend some time experimenting with various tools and different work setups. By creating a more streamlined and organised study space, you’ll get that time back. Plus, you’ll find it’s much easier to get going and keep going with your work.
Dr Jane Genovese delivers interactive and engaging study skills sessions for Australian secondary schools. She has worked with thousands of secondary students, parents, teachers and lifelong learners over the past 15 years.
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