1-1-1: the value of knowing yourself

read about how to set yourself up for success in college, and how rest and periods of stillness is never a waste of time.

Nov 05, 2024

november, 2024

edition 53.

it is chilly here in london! november rolled around and london weather really said “okay, buckle up, it’s winter!” and my toes are freezing off !! the sun sets at 4:30pm (send help), everyone seems to be in their ‘winter arc’ season, and the homebody vibes are upon us all again. it’s an introverts dream!

I’m still sitting with big feelings and trying to make big decisions for My Life and who was going to tell me that being in your 20s is just making one uncomfortable decision after another ?! something I’m learning is that the most growth comes from continually putting yourself in uncomfortable positions. it isn’t fun but it IS the fast track (TSA pre check equivalent) to the most growth in your 20s. take that as you will.

the time blocking update everyone wanted (jokes): it was so pretty on my calendar (I <3 colours) but it made me feel so extremely bad if I wasn’t sticking to the schedule I had set for myself. while I think it would get better with more practice, it was stressing me out more than it was helping. I definitely may try again when I’m more locked in with priorities etc so we’ll see how it goes! if you have any time blocking advice, please drop it in the comments below !!

you can expect one email from me every week containing:

one quote that has been inspiring me
one journal prompt
one piece of advice*

* = if you want to submit a question for my upcoming emails, you can find the form here.

podcast

there are tons of guest episodes on the podcast from 2024 that are worth checking out — listen to them here <3

one quote

“stop convincing yourself you’re wasting your life away. the time you’ve spent resting and healing was and is necessary. you’re not a waste of a person if you find yourself struggling right now.

healing, recovering, sitting with the pain is foundational.

it is not a waste. you are still whole.”

—lightheartedsuggestion via tumblr

one journal prompt

what dreams do you want to pursue in the next year? pick (up to) three specific ones to dial in on, and give yourself permission to put down the rest.

one piece of advice

“hi, katie! I love you and your content!

recently i've started college and while i'm loving it i'm struggling with something: I feel like I need to study 24/7 and my mind only rests when I finish all my tasks, all my homework, etc... and while that is good, somedays I can't study everything i want to and my mind can't really relax about it, I'm afraid this isn't healthy :/

I want to be an academic weapon but if i keep going like this (i'm afraid) i'll eventually turn into a burned out academic victim. how do I properly rest and convince myself i've studied enough?”

first off, hi!! thank you so much for being a substack reader and instagram follower — it truly means the world when people engage with things I put out on multiple different platforms!

as someone who has academic-weaponed myself into burnout multiple times throughout college and my masters program, I have a lot of thoughts about this. this is my current take on academic weapon vs academic victim (that term is so funny) as someone who is 2.5 months out of my masters program:

find one big goal each day and accomplish that. if you’ve ever heard the term ‘eat the frog,’ this is exactly the piece of advice I am trying to give you. what is that one task you’ll accomplish and, when you’re lying in bed, think to yourself ‘yeah, that was a good day’?

if it’s helpful, you can even choose one goal in different areas of your life. for example, one goal for your social life, one goal for your mundane admin tasks, and one goal for school. a day could look like this: seeing a friend for dinner in the dining hall, washing and drying your bedsheets, and writing 500 words for that research paper which is due in a few days.

for college work, I found that there are two methods to approach your workload to get the most out of your study sessions:

do the work for the classes on the day: if you have english on mondays and wednesdays and economics on tuesdays and thursdays, do english on mon/wed and econ on tues/thurs. your brain has to ‘switch subjects’ less, which may make you more productive. a downside would be feeling burnt out of that specific subject, so you might want to…
do the work for classes you don’t have on that day: if you have the same schedule as above, go to english class and do your econ homework on mon/wed. go to econ class and do your english homework on tues/thurs. this would help keep things ‘interesting’ with work, so you’re not overloading on any particular subject at once

please remember that you are not in college just for the degree. there are so many other aspects of college (and regular life!) that are just as valuable as your education: the conversations you engage with during mealtimes, the clubs you join and niche interests you discover, or even the regularity and routine you find yourself sticking to.

college is a trial run for real adulthood. the logic that ‘you are not your job’ as an adult should be applied to these years as well — you are not your degree as a college student.

unfortunately there is a steep learning curve when it comes to college: you spend less time going to class but more time doing work outside of class when compared to traditional high school. learning to work with the way you learn (including your chronotype, which is a broad comment on what times you feel most productive during the day) will help make the next few years more enjoyable.

finally, switch your mindset from ‘more is more’ with studying to one of ‘more *productive* is more.’ some people can sit in the library and study for 12 straight hours, but some people can’t. some people enjoy using the pomodoro method to study, but some people can’t. drop your preconceived notion of what a “good college student” is and find what works for you.

reading updates

currently reading: lies and weddings by kevin kwan, slow productivity by cal newport, born a crime by trevor noah

finished this week:

reading challenge: 41/50, 1 book behind

if you want to keep up with my reading throughout the week, this is my goodreads :)

discount codes

these links are affiliate which means I'll earn commission if you purchase through them. thank you for the support!

FreeSoul: 15% off with code katieeu
D.Louise: 15% off with code katieeu
lululemon: my current list of favourite things (aff link)

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