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{Monday Mantra: December 10, 2012} I’m a little later than usual posting this, since I spent my only non-work time this morning finalizing the my paper that’s due today. So my mantra today is not so much a mantra as a to do list…because I’m extremely type A, OCD, INTJ, etc., I like to have to do lists in all aspects of my life, even for my free time. As of noon today when I submitted my final, I’m done with graduate school for the term. Things are also winding down at work since I work with students who are already on winter break (at least mentally, if not physically). So, I suddenly have an abundance of free-time, and will be too overwhelmed without a plan in place. Therefore, I have created this to do list for the week so that I don’t wind up sitting on my couch eating pretzels and Nutella out of the jar every night when I get home for work. These are all the things I haven’t really been able to do since early November when life got crazy. The other reason for this week’s mantra: I downloaded Evernote after reading about it somewhere on Tumblr, and I didn’t know what to do with it so I created a to do list.
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{Monday Mantra: December 3, 2012} Today’s mantra comes from my dashboard, hence why it’s a reblog. Also, it’s the exact opposite of what my mantra should be for the week - I can’t get stuck in this cycle this week. I have to write my 30-page literature review for my thesis (due a week from tonight). It’s so easy to fall into this trap, and for me it’s not only Monday but every day. So my mantra this week: don’t let this chart be an illustration of my productivity this week. It’s go time.
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{Monday Mantra: November 26, 2012} I needed to see this this morning. I am getting ready for a crazy week: I took today off from work and will be driving back to my apartment this afternoon after spending 5 days at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving; I am about 3/4 done with a draft of my final paper on edu policy that’s due on Thursday; I have a final presentation on my paper on Thursday; I have an all-day orientation for my job later this week; I need to get myself back into a dance class this week; I’m going to the Christkindlmarket with some friends from my summer job who are recent Chicago transplants; I’m planning to try a detox at the end of the week for the first time; I am going to see my former choir director’s Christmas caroling concert downtown on Friday; I may go to a creative writing workshop later this week that some English grad students are hosting; and at somepoint I need to do a massive outline for my literature review for my thesis. I have been a little productive over the long weekend, but for the most part it was a lot of R&R (and playing with my parents’ new cat). I need to get back on track so that when all these things come up, I don’t stress out about how much work I have to do. I notice a theme to most of my recent mantras have been productivity and lowering my stress levels. Here’s hoping this time it actually works :) (Image via Real Simple and shoutout to Cassie who alerted me to this graphic when she posted it on her blog this morning.)
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{Monday Mantra: November 19, 2012} Since it’s the week of Thanksgiving, it’s only logical that this week’s mantra involve thankfulness. I find it ironic that on the day after everyone says their thankful for all they have, they’ll beat each other and trample others to be the first in line for some item they “need.” I have a lot in my life to be thankful for, so this week I’m going to focus on what I have rather than what I don’t. (Image via)
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{Monday Mantra: November 12, 2012} I went to bed last night not knowing what I would make my mantra this week. I woke up this morning and it hit me: don’t be wasteful. It’s so simple. Really. But, it’s not. I find myself being wasteful even when I don’t intend to, in every sense of the word. I don’t always use my time wisely (and recently it’s been getting worse). I use unnecessary items. So, this week, I made myself a graphic to reflect my weekly goal: I won’t be wasteful. I’m going to be mindful of my time. Finals are rapidly approaching, and even though I have all of Thanksgiving weekend to do work, I don’t want to spend my entire holiday hunched over my computer writing a paper. I want to be proactive now so that my holiday is more enjoyable. I’m also going to be mindful of my use of unnecessary things. For example, I work in an office all week with a coffee machine. There’s no reason I need to use paper cups every time I want coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate). I have my own office, I have access to a sink and dishwashing detergent, so why can’t I bring in a coffee mug to use? I’m quite ashamed I haven’t done this earlier. So goal this week: no paper cups. I also can bring in my own utensils so I don’t have to use the plastics ones they have there. It’s so simple, but I’ve been slacking. So this week: increase productivity, decrease waste, decrease my carbon footprint.
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{Monday Mantra: November 5, 2012} This week’s mantra is super simple…at least in theory. Life has the potential to be super stressful in the upcoming weeks now that it’s around the middle of the term, and I have a tendency to become very uptight and tense in all areas of my life as a result. I am guilty of sometimes taking a pessimistic view and over-analyzing everything, so not only am I going to try to keep my work and grad school life a little less stressful this week, but I’m going to apply this to my personal life as well. I’m going to try to take steps to ensure that I don’t make more work for myself in the future (e.g. I don’t have anything due in one of my classes until the final that’s due after Thanksgiving, but I want to start making dents in it so I’m not freaking out over the holiday), but I’m not going to let things way in the future dictate everything I do, either. This week, I’m taking a chill pill, taking time to myself to do fun things so I feel like my life is balanced, and will relax. (Image via Etsy)
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{Monday Mantra: October 29, 2012} For today’s mantra, here is a phrase I’ve been seeing around the internet for some time now.** This is a simple mantra. Since this week marks the end of October and the beginning of November - the month of Thanksgiving - I wanted to start the month off right with a little gratitude. I have a super tiny apartment, I have enough food to eat, and I love my job. This week, I’m aiming to remind myself that I’m very lucky in that respect. It’s so easy to become bogged down with things I want that others have, and while it’s impossible to turn that part of my brain off completely, when I get home from work or class and look around my apartment, I’m going to come back to this statement. I really do have the necessities I need. At the end of the day, that’s what’s important. I have enough for me and that’s okay.  **I have no idea where this quote is from, but it’s all over the internet. Of anyone can tell me the origin, that would be great. Google hasn’t been helpful. I decided to make my own graphic for it this morning since I wasn’t feeling the other ones I found. (Image via me)
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{Monday Mantra: October 22, 2012} My mantra for this week is going to be super simple to do, but hopefully have an impact (be it small or large) on other people. All of my mantras have been very self-focused, which I don’t think is a bad thing, but I came across this on Pinterest the other day and immediately knew it would be my week’s focus. Saying something nice to another person is so easy to do, and takes very little effort. So, it is my goal this week to not only say one kind word each day, but I’m going to make an effort to say something nice and indivudalized to someone everywhere I spend time each day; when I go to work today I will be sure to compliment a co-worker in some fashion (but it will be genuine), and will do similarly tonight at grad class. When I go to pick up a loaf of bread at the bakery this week, or go use my giftcard at Starbucks, I will do more than just say a generic “thank you.” You never know what other people are going through in their lives, and I know I have had horrible days and then someone said something unexpected and lovely to me and it made my day a little better. I’m not trying to change someone’s life, but I just want to put a little more positivity out into the universe this week. (Image via)
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{Monday Mantra: October 15, 2012} This week’s mantra is coming to you from my office, where I’m currently finishing up my lunch (leftover soup from last night. Delicious.) I came across this graphic last night and love it. It’s such great advice. I just finished putting up the last little decorations in my new apartment, and am getting ready to swap out my summer and winter things. I will be keeping this in mind as I do so. I can also probably get rid of many other things I don’t need. I also want to extrapolate this to not just physical items, but things in my life that don’t need to be there. So many things can easily weigh a person down, and they don’t need to. I’m also feeling a cold coming on so I may try to really be extra healthy this week - so here’s to doing a metaphorical and physical cleanse of unnecessary objects this week. (Image via)
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{Monday Mantra: October 8, 2012} Last week I kinda failed at my mantra, so I’m going to try to keep this one simple. This should be totally attainable. I’ve been getting in my head a lot, and trying to plan ahead and worrying a lot about things that happen later, so I need to chill out a bit and take it all one day at a time. So, I’m off to go make today ridiculously amazing. (Image via)
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{Monday Mantra: October 1, 2012} Because it’s the first of the month, I wanted to find the perfect mantra for me - one that I can extend through the month as well as the week. I found this Julia Child quote quite appropriate on several levels. Last week I was able to take my favorite dance class, and it felt so nice. I want to make sure I keep my personal and mental health in mind, because life is about to get chaotic. Despite my crazy schedule, I need to make sure I prioritize things like dance class (and cooking) that are important to me and have nothing to do with work or grad school. I also am entering the thesis phase of grad school, and need to decide on my topic. I need to find something that I really enjoy so that it won’t feel as much like work. (Image via)
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{Monday Mantra: September 24, 2012} I start classes this week, so life is about to get crazy again. I’m going to relish the last few nights I have off before classwork begins, and then when it does I’m going to try to keep the message of this mantra in mind - it’s important to take time to do things I enjoy, and not fall into a routine. At the end of a long work day and night of classes, I need to give myself permission to relax and enjoy little things here and there, even if in the end watching my favorite TV show or playing on Tumblr will not contribute to completing my master’s thesis. But, it will give me a mental health break, which is extremely important to me. (Image via)
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{Monday Mantra: September 17, 2012} I have a lot going on this week: I’m starting to work with students one-on-one at my new advising job, I’m trying to get a head start on my thesis research (well, preliminary brainstorms), some grad school association stuff, major orientations happening at work, and mostly I’m trying to settle into a routine before adding another layer on next week when grad school craziness picks up (and there’s always the chance I may be getting a cat next weekend, since I didn’t get one this week). With that said, I tend to feel like at the end of the work day, it’s too late to be productive, so I end up sitting on my ass and watching TV and playing on the internet all night. And despite making tons of to-do lists recently, I haven’t been very good about following through. So, I’m going to keep this “begin anywhere” message in mind - I can do little things throughout the week to help get myself organized. I don’t have to sit down tonight and read every abstract of all the articles I found thus far as potential thesis sources. I don’t have to vacuum and scrub the floors and clean my kitchen. I can do bits and pieces as I have downtime to make the overall process less overwhelming. And I just started a load of dishes, so I’m off to a good start :) Also the weather is significantly cooler this week, so fall finally is settling in and that always makes me feel happy. (Image via)
{Monday Mantra: September 10, 2012} I came across this on Pinterest, and apparently it’s the cover of a journal they sell at Target (which I’m making a mental note I must find). This week is my first full 5-day work week since I started my new job, dance classes at the local studio that I frequent start up again for fall session this week, and I’m hoping to get a head start on my thesis this week so that I don’t start drowning when classes officially start later this month. I always love September because of all the change it brings in both the weather and life (especially considering what I was going through  last year this time). This month I didn’t make a list of goals like I did last year, but I’m going to take this mantra and run with it this week, and try to keep it mind all month. (Image via - click through to see some of the other awesome Target journals…I couldn’t find them online and the original post is 2 months old, so I’m hoping they’re still in stores)
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{Monday Mantra: September 3, 2012} I moved into my new studio apartment today, and I’m totally in love with it. I started my new job last week and am really enjoying that as well. I’m still meeting new people every day at work (and inevitably in my building) and finally feel like I’m starting a new phase in my life, so I’m trying to keep this in mind as I move forward. (Image via)
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