my week #221

Exams start tomorrow...! I have four exams in total - two written and two practical and to say I'm a little scared would be an understatement. Up until Friday, I was quite chilled out about them but I ended up waking up with the fear yesterday. Anyway, I'm just reminding myself that there's no point worrying - I've been working steadily throughout the whole year and that everyone in my cohort is in the same boat.

How has your week been?

preparing my desk for exam revision!

Today, I thought I'd do a brief post on my desk during revision periods. With exams now not that far away (read: a few days away), I'll keep this brief. This picture was taken about two weeks' ago :)

Stationery and Revision Tools
As you can see, there are various bits of stationery on my desk. I like to write while I'm revising as it helps me take things in (otherwise, I'm just revising passively) and a variety of pens mean that I don't get bored easily. My attention span isn't the longest (and I'll be the first to admit that) so pen rotation and colours are essential!

Phone
I have a Pomodoro timer on my phone which I abuse during revision periods and this is why this is on my desk. I use the FocusNow app and if I deviate away from the app at any point when the timer is ticking, I lose the fruit I grow. And the more fruits you grow, the bigger your farm so it gets kind of addictive!

Planner
My planner holds a lot of my to-dos and it is just so satisfying to tick each one off. Sometimes, I don't manage any during a week (and this happened a few weeks' back) but I've been working steadily throughout the year so I'm not too stressed about this.

Food and Drink
I like to keep a source of sugar nearby - you can see a jar of M&M Peanuts and chocolate raisins in the top left corner, along with a selection of cordial (my current guilty pleasure). Usually, I'm seen binging on rice cakes though - a healthier and alternative source of sugar. I definitely stress eat during exam time!

Computer
A computer is essential for looking up NICE guidelines and doing practice questions but it can also be a distraction. When I do practice questions, I make it a full screen spread so I'm not tempted to have half of the screen on Netflix or something. I like to also have some background music in the form of movie soundtracks or something instrumental.

If you have exams coming up - good luck! If you've already had them, I hope they went well and that you're now enjoying a well-deserved summer break :-)

introducing my 2016-17 planner: Le Petit Prince Moleskine

Last month, I'd noticed that I'd been using my Rifle Paper planner less and less due to it's bulkiness. I knew then that it was time for a change and even though I was on a shopping ban, I need a planner that works for me to function in life so I splurged on this Le Petit Prince Moleskine. And let me just say this: I'm in love.

The cover is clothbound and I love the contrasting pink elastic and yellow page marker. I've purchased a Leuchtturm1917 pen loop to go with it and I chose a turquoise colour (not seen in the photos below). The inside page is illustrated beautifully with a fox (I have a slight fox obsession so this is perfect).

There are yearly and monthly calendars too:

And I opted for a week to view planner. I like the amount of space on offer in each weekly spread and this free space on the right was what I was missing in my Rifle Paper planner.

At the back, there is a pocket for all those loose bits and it is illustrated beautifully with stars and planets.

Overall, I love this planner. I know I ranted about Moleskine paper a few years' ago but it seems they've really improved the quality of their paper without compromising too much on price or weight of their notebooks and planners.

my week #220

So, my first week in my new planner :-) You'll see a full reveal this Tuesday and you can see that I'm already making good use of the space afforded to me. I really missed having a bit of free space to write general to-dos that had no specific day attached to them. I also missed having a space to jot down random notes, such as things I wanted to get on my next grocery shop (hello, exam stress cravings!).

This was my last week on placement this academic year and I'm quite glad to see the back of it if I'm honest! It's been a long and hard year with my exams over the next three weeks. I'm staying focussed and keeping my eyes on the prize (a good grade hopefully!).

How has your week been?