my week #137

It's been a weird week. Whilst it seemed to go by exceedingly slowly, it also seemed to pass by in a blink of an eye - hard to explain but when I look back, I do think 'where has the time gone?'. Maybe I've just managed to keep myself busy without even realising it.

Now that we're almost in December, I have my Christmas cards at the ready! It is also less than four weeks until Christmas and I am totally excited for a bit of R&R. I spent yesterday tidying and decluttering my room and I still have a long way to go. Although I threw out three bags of things to be recycled and two bags of rubbish, I feel like there is still more I can get rid of and having already bookmarked a date during the holidays to declutter again, I am sure I will be able to purge more non-essential items.

Today, my plan is to get some studying done as I did none yesterday because we all need a day that is completely unrelated to what we do on a daily basis :)

How has your week been?

term one's group work notes

I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to keeping organised and for group work, I like to use bound or spiral notebooks if I can. I try and keep the notes within them as tidy as possible because they will be used as revision notes nearer to exam time so here is a glimpse into one of them that was used for the first term of year 'three' (technically my second year but it is actually the third year of medical school).

The notebook itself is from Artbox and I bought it over a year ago so I'm not sure if they still stock it. It is quite minimalistic in design with a red cover, spring green spine and back. Inside, the paper is cream in colour with is ruled. On the first page, I've made a contents page so that each week can be found easily and to aid with this, I've also placed a round sticker (folded in half) at the top of each new section.

I try and keep the notes as neat as possible. There are diagrams present too and although I use coloured gel pens to highlight things, I keep these to a minimum and instead, opt to use Zebra Mildliners where possible. The pastel nature of the Mildliners are easier on the eye and are easily my favourite highlighters ever.

That said, I still use colours when they are appropriate - an example is when it comes to 'staging' things and in diagrams.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my group work notebook from this term. Would you like to see more of these notes or others that I take? If so, let me know and I may make this a more regular thing :)

little bits of happiness

Having started a happiness journal earlier this year, I thought it would be fitting to write a post on the little bits of happiness that surround me on a regular basis. The number one happy thing in my life has to be my network of family and close friends - they keep me sane through difficult and stressful patches and without them, I'm not sure what kind of person I would be!

1) Cute notebooks

Notebooks that are a joy to look at on my bookshelf make me happy. Another happy thing is that you don't have to splash out to make notebooks aesthetically pretty on a shelf, you can washi tape spines in a DIY project.

2) Adorable cushions and house furnishing

These cushions are usually on my bed but sometimes, they are forced to migrate to my bookshelf if I there is something I want to hide (in this case, a medicines and first aid box!).

3) Positive posters

This cute poster from Nina and Other Little Things is something that is on my bedside table. During stressful times, falling asleep is easier said than done so I try do as much as I can to create a relaxing environment and beautiful illustrations like this help.

4) M&M Pretzels

These are seriously hard to find in the UK and when I found a supplier based in London, I quickly placed an order. I eat one packet every one or two weeks as a treat as I find them a bit too sweet to eat often (sometimes, one pack lasts me for two days) but I like the balance between sweet and savoury flavours.

5) and 6) My happiness journal and Hong Kong journal of memories

I started this happiness journal to try and just document things that happen each day. My worst fear is looking back in ten years' time and not remembering those little moments that brought a smile to my face so this journal is perfect to write down three lines of happiness that occurred each day.

My Christmas holidays were spent in Hong Kong and during that two week period, I took loads and loads of pictures. I wanted a way to remember this precious time in my life because this may be the last time I visit Hong Kong in a long, long time; so, I decided to create a memory journal.

7) My favourite scent at the moment

Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb is my current perfume of choice - it is feminine but not too girly, and playful without being too immature.

8) Reading in bed

There's nothing better than snuggling under a duvet with my Kindle! I love reading and often wish I had more time for it, so I try and read a chapter or two whenever I have a spare moment.

9) Pens that are a pleasure to use

Muji gels will always have a special place in my (stationery) heart but these Pilot Juice pens are definitely well on their way to being my joint favourite gel pens.

These are the little things and moments that make me happy - they aren't expensive or hard to come by and I think that is the most important thing to remember: happiness does not have to cost you anything or much financially. Although a new and luxurious purchase can bring joy; generally, happiness cannot be bought so crack a smile and enjoy each moment :)

my week #136

This was the last week of placement and I can say that is has been exhausting five weeks. Seeking out learning opportunities takes up a lot of energy and I am glad to go back to another five weeks of lectures and group work where I can have a bit more sleep.

I have really enjoyed placement though and talking to patients and interacting with other healthcare professionals just reinforces how right this decision is for me.

On Friday night, I celebrated my birthday (a few weeks late!) and a whole group of us went and had a night of bingo. It was something none of us had done before but it was an interesting experience to say the least and a lot of laughs were had.

How has your week been?