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@not-voltaire / not-voltaire.tumblr.com

Studyblr | You just have to overcome everything.
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not-voltaire
cuanbog
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cuanbog

March Productivity Challenge

2nd March: Do you consider yourself a workaholic? What times do you feel most productive?

I was avoiding calling myself that because surely I will have days where I wouldn't want to work - and there are days still when I walk into my office and think, alright here we go again and sigh. But I do enjoy my work - it's has a nice rhythm in its consistent variation and the right balance of technical and social skills (I do struggle with communication a lot and emails are a life saver over phone calls). I work out of office hours some days because of the timezones and I hate not being on top of everything.
That being said, I do not open my work laptop on the weekends (besides the three hours for a course I am doing on my work). I need my weekends to freshen up and relax from all the hours and the emails of the week.
I feel most productive after 8 pm and it can stretch till half four or five in the morning. However, I can be productive during the day if I am out of my house but it doesn't last as long. In the office I am most productive from 11 am to 1 pm and I try to get most of my work done during that. There's something about the after noon that makes me want to nap all the time, no matter the day.
not-voltaire
cuanbog
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cuanbog

March Productivity Challenge

1st March: What are your goals for this month? What's something you're looking forward to?

During March, I want to return. To research, languages, and reading. Not intensely perhaps, just enough to make a habit, so it becomes more of a muscle memory, not depending entirely on motivation.
I also want to make less mistakes at work and practice more confidence.
I am looking forward to knitting, finding a really good TV show, and spending time with my friends.
not-voltaire
meerschweinchen1993
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meerschweinchen1993

tbh in general language becomes better if you don't speak it fluently

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meerschweinchen1993

nobody asked but I'm going to elaborate anyway. if the room a language gives you is too small to express what you need you are forced to make dents in its sides, to press against its walls until they buldge and sagg and make more space. you create new ways in which to say the same old things which is what poets have been bending over backwards to try and do for millenia

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stllbejeweled

“Most of us write as if we're getting paid a dime a word. We've been conditioned, I suppose, by school assignments calling for more words than we have ideas. That gets us into the habit of phrase-stretching­ a hard habit to break. Then, too, it's easier to think in long, ready-made phrases, which have the added attraction of sounding elegant. What secretary or bureaucrat doesn't feel indebted to the coiner of "please be advised," "enclosed please find," "thanking you in advance," and "in reference to yours of ... "? This habit of thinking in prefab phrases slowly dulls our sensitivity to words as words. It's inevitable. We may hear someone say "at this point in time" and pride ourselves on recognizing the phrase as a cliche, but we'll probably not notice that it's also redundant. (What does in time say that at this point doesn't already say?) If we think in terms of months, we're only half-conscious of days. If we think in terms of phrases, we're only half-conscious of words.“

not-voltaire
vaststudies
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vaststudies

Pt 1 | pt 2

School related

Studying Tips

Study Methods

Online Learning Related

Study Breaks

Other

Languages

Books

ADHD specific

Other

Life outside of academia

Studyblr related

Misc

not-voltaire
iamthecutestofborg
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iamthecutestofborg

The movie Thirteen Going On Thirty is way more relatable for me these days because apparently "secretly being a 13 year old girl pretending to be a 30 year old woman" is exactly what being a 30 year old woman feels like.

not-voltaire
psychologyhermione
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vaststudies

Pt 1 | pt 2

School related

Studying Tips

Study Methods

Online Learning Related

Study Breaks

Other

Languages

Books

ADHD specific

Other

Life outside of academia

Studyblr related

Misc

not-voltaire
lovelybluepanda

How to study like a pokemon #1

Bulbasaur

GIF by sinnohqueen

Pokedex:  There is a plant seed on its back right from the day this Pokémon is born. The seed slowly grows larger.

  • Know your tasks/responsabilities, be aware of what you have to do. Bulbasaur is aware from day 1 that he got a plant seed.
  • Keep a to-do list or agenda and try to be loyal to your goals. Bulbasaurs are known for remaining loyal even after being abandoned and that’s some high level loyalty right there.
  • Have some kind of reminder of your goal. Don’t get your eyes off the prize basically.
  • Use sticky notes around your work space to remember your goals/tasks. This and the previous point were inspired by the tough nature of Bulbasaurs. They don’t give up easily and neither should you.
  • Plan plenty of breaks and take breaks whenever you feel like you’re tired. This pokemon is seen in the anime as being compassionate towards others so even if it’s a tough little bean, it still knows the importance of care. 
not-voltaire
thewildeclub
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thewildeclub

The Unnamed Dark Academia Horror Novel

“There is this book hidden on campus. It was written back in the 19th century by a student who summoned the devil in the Old Hall and wrote down the secrets they were told. It discusses riches, immortality, love even-” 

“If its real, finding seems like a bad idea. I mean we all know what happened to Faust”

“He was half cleverer than us and we know better. We know what to properly go after.”

“Which is?”

“Everything.”

not-voltaire
of-foolish-and-wise
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of-foolish-and-wise

Contemporary Campus Novels

You know, for people who want to hear about some books that aren’t heavy classics or Donna Tartt?

Fiction:

- The Idiot, Elif Batuman

- An Education, Susan Choi

- Conversations with Friends, Sally Rooney

- Normal People, Sally Rooney

- On Beauty, Zadie Smith

- Rules of Attraction, Bret Easton Ellis

- The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides

- The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach

Fantasy:

- The Magicians, Lev Grossman

- A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness

- Vicious, VE Schwab

- Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo

Academia-Adjacent Fiction: 

- Falling Together, Marisa de los Santos

- The Feminist Persuasion, Meg Wolitzer

- Fates & Furies, Lauren Groff

- Weather, Jenny Offill

Academia-Adjacent Non-Fiction:

- A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf

- Educated, Tara Westover

- Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

- Lab Girl, Hope Jahren

YA:

- Truly Devious, Maureen Johnson

- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart

- Emergency Contact, Mary HK Choi

- Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins

- Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld

- A Separate Peace, John Knowles

- Looking for Alaska, John Green

YA Fantasy:

- The Raven Cycle, Maggie Stiefvater

- A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray

- Wilder Girls, Rory Power

- Legendborn, Tracy Deonn

not-voltaire
kxowledge
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kxowledge

Tagged by @questwithambition - thank you 🥰

indoor plants or gardens // cloud-watching or star-gazing // water or fire // paperback or hardcover // running or hiking // sleeping with socks or without socks // fruits or vegetables // hanging plants or succulents // dark wood or light wood // handwritten or typed // instagram or pinterest // dc or marvel (very strongly neither) //books or movies // oceans or meadows // forests or fields (both!) // sweet or salty // ice cream or chocolate // hoodies or sweaters // piercings or tattoos (ehh neither?) // summer or winter // boots or sneakers // house or apartment // cars or motorcycles // curls or straight hair // castles or cottages // sunnydays or storms // reptiles or birds // disney or nickelodeon (again neither) // strawberries or watermelon // essays or posters // phones or laptops or desktop // glass or stone // dark or light // photos or paintings // circuses or theaters // reading or writing (they go together) // dogs or cats // poetry or novels // monsters or ghosts // thrift shops or libraries (very strongly both!) // fiction or non-fiction (a good mix between the two)

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not-voltaire

Just wanna do this for fun I hope that's ok!!

indoor plants or gardens // cloud-watching or star-gazing // water or fire // paperback or hardcover // running or hiking // sleeping with socks or without socks // fruits or vegetables // hanging plants or succulents // dark wood or light wood // handwritten or typed // instagram or pinterest // dc or marve //books or movies // oceans or meadows (both!) // forests or fields (both!) // sweet or salty // ice cream or chocolate // hoodies or sweaters // piercings or tattoos // summer or winter // boots or sneakers // house or apartment // cars or motorcycles // curls or straight hair // castles or cottages // sunnydays or storms // reptiles or birds // disney or nickelodeon // strawberries or watermelon // essays or posters // phones or laptops or desktop // glass or stone // dark or light // photos or paintings // circuses or theaters // reading or writing (they go together) // dogs or cats // poetry or novels // monsters or ghosts // thrift shops or libraries (very strongly both!) // fiction or non-fiction

not-voltaire
livebloggingmydescentintomadness
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talkiermango502x

I find this fascinating. My father didn’t get a college degree, got his GED, was given lots of money and support from his parents, and in his career, managed to raise himself up to some sort of regional manager for the whole coast in home mortgage.

When I first started my career as a lowly analyst, my father (who is a quintessential boomer) advised me to make sure I put in 110% effort and make sure to work extra hours unpaid per week—so 45-50 hours and not include the additional 5-10 hours on my time card. He instructed me to sacrifice my evenings and weekends to take on more work and expand my role—doing work above my pay grade for free. He said “if you give yourself to your company and sacrifice your time, you’ll rise through the company and the company will always take care of you.”

What a load of horseshit.

First of all, this is illegal.

Second of all, NEVER forget that you’re fucking dispensable in this capitalistic society. In corporate America, you can be replaced in 2 seconds flat.

I stupidly listened to my father. I worked myself to death. I put in free overtime and stayed later than all the other employees.

What did I get out of it?

A mental breakdown that almost cost me my life. I lost out on overtime—money I desperately needed as a 20 year old analyst. I didn’t earn any extra respect for those sacrifices. I gave up my weekends and evenings until I hated my job. I didn’t take lunch breaks or take walks throughout the day (for exercise and a break from my computer). My anxiety got so high I tried to kill myself and developed IBS. I didnt get enough exercise (being at the computer for 10 hours a day

On the other hand, one of my close friends had the same job. She came to work exactly at 8am and left exactly at 5pm. She took lunch breaks and if she was having trouble dealing with the day, she’d take a walk to calm down and center herself. The difference between our lives is striking. If she did work overtime, she made sure she got paid overtime and was able to save more money. She set boundaries and made sure to be home for dinner. Her mental state was bounds better than mine. And in the end, she got promoted over me because they felt she could handle the pressure better than I could, even though my work output was higher and I gave more to the company. Not that I was any more dedicated to my work than she was, but I sabotaged myself by listening to bad advice and it cost me an important promotion. My manager even talked to me about this and explained that while I was willing to work 15 hour days if I had to, it was too much strain on me and she worried that if she promoted me to a management position, I would work myself to death and not be able to cut it. Not because I can’t hack it, but because I didn’t have that balance and boundaries.

I admire my friend for her stalwart boundaries and integrity. She’s an amazing worker and does a great job. She handles the stress much better—partly because of her character, but also because she takes the time to listen to what she needs. I think this is important for us to understand. Corporations aren’t on your side. They will eat you up and spit you out.

One of my advisors even told me to stop working weekends because the company would take advantage of me. She said if you sacrifice even one weekend, you’re setting a precedent and the company will continue to exploit you. If they need it now now now, hire more people who can do the work without working until midnight and working weekends. Corporations have the money.

The cherry on top of this all is that my father lost almost everything when the economy crashed—and his company didn’t save him, didn’t even care. He managed to raise himself up again and he still holds the belief that this new company will protect him, even though evidence suggests otherwise.

I wish I had learned this sooner. I wish I had valued my own time and worth. It would have served me better in the long run.

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bitchesgetriches
not-voltaire
livebloggingmydescentintomadness
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bitchesgetriches
Anonymous asked:

Hey Bitches! I just started my first full time job, and when I tell people about it, I get lots of variations of one question: Would I do it if I wasn’t paid for it? My question for you is, am I nuts to think those questions are crazy? No, obviously I wouldn’t! I decided years ago that I’d rather have a job that I can stand that pays and treats me well than something I’m passionate about that would probably be ruined by capitalism anyway, but people to expect me to LOVE my job. Thoughts? Advice?

bitchesgetriches answered:

Baby, we feel this so fucking hard.

NO YOU’RE NOT NUTS. We feel very strongly that the “love your job and you’ll never work a day in your life” mentality is gaslighting bullshit and we want nothing to do with it. Love your job, don’t love your job--both are valid ways of accomplishing the same goal: to earn money to fund your survival. 

We talk about this a LOT on the podcast especially:

Season 2, Episode 4: “Does My Career Have to Define Me? Or Can I Just Clock Out?”

Episode 009: “I’ve Given up on My Dream Career. Where Do I Go From Here?”

Episode 005: “I Don’t Love My Job, but It Pays Well. Should I Quit—or Tough It Out?”

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feralrookie

I've been strongly considering the "find something that funds your life rather than defining it" career route. It might also just be that I'm existentially and physically avoiding my dissertation.

not-voltaire
livebloggingmydescentintomadness
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missmentelle
Anonymous asked:

How do I know if I'm burnt out and what are signs of being burnt out? In relation to both university and work?

missmentelle answered:

Unfortunately, burnout is a very common problem among both university students and people in high-stress jobs. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, “burnout” is effectively where people reach a breaking point after being in a high-stress occupation (like a demanding academic program or a high-pressure career) for too long. Being “burnt out” is not an official diagnosis, and you won’t find it in the ICD-11 or the DSM-V. But it’s something that an increasing number of people are experiencing every year.

Not everyone is at equal risk of experiencing burnout - many students and workers never really deal with this. Factors that put you at high risk of burnout include:

  • Having poor work-life balance. If you spend huge portions of your time working - working through weekends, doing tons of overtime, working late, not taking vacation, working through lunch - you are at high risk of burnout. Humans need rest, relaxation, hobbies and time with friends, and when you sacrifice those things for work, it will eventually take a toll.
  • Having very little control over your day-to-day tasks. No one has perfect control over their daily work tasks - not even the self-employed - but having some element of control is important. If you have a say in things like when to schedule meetings, when to book client appointments and which task you are going to work on when, you have a lower risk of burnout than someone whose tasks tend to just be dictated to them. 
  • Having perfectionist traits or holding yourself to very high standards. People who experience burnout tend to be overachievers. They constantly try to go above and beyond because they put immense pressure on themselves to do their best work at all times. If you’re the kind of person who beats yourself up over getting an A- instead of an A and makes a point to be the last one out of the office every day, you are at risk of burnout. 
  • Having a dysfunctional work or school environment. Is your workplace plagued with bullies and office gossip? Do your lab members take pleasure in ripping each other’s research and writing to shreds, without really being constructive about it? Does your boss take their bad moods out on the rest of the office, even when you haven’t done anything wrong? A dysfunctional workplace creates burned-out employees.
  • Having unclear instructions or directions. It is extremely difficult to be in a work environment where you are expected to do be productive, but you aren’t given clear expectations, a clear list of tasks or instructions for how those tasks should actually be performed. It leaves you constantly feeling like your work isn’t good enough and isn’t done properly, without actually giving you a route to improve; you often end up working twice as hard to get half as much done, which is a recipe for burnout. 
  • Working in a helping profession. Nurses, social workers, therapists, paramedics, psychologists, caregivers and caseworkers have some of the highest burnout rates of any profession. These jobs often combine long hours and low pay with incredibly stressful work environments, and burnout is a huge problem. 

Burnout is more than just feeling tired or bored of what you do. It’s a state of complete and total exhaustion. Putting more energy into your job isn’t possible when you reach that point - you have nothing left to give. “Burnout” isn’t an official diagnosis, but it is a fitting description - trying to push through burnout is like trying to re-light a candle that has already burned all the way down to the bottom. It’s just not going to happen. 

Some signs that you’ve reached the point of burnout include:

  • Your performance is suffering. You can’t keep going full steam ahead when you’re running on fumes. When you’re burnt out, your work performance will one of the first things that starts to slip - you may find that you are missing deadlines, forgetting things, half-assing tasks and making careless mistakes.  
  • You constantly feel drained. Burnout is a perpetual state of exhaustion. You’ll start to feel like you just don’t have the energy to do everything that you’re supposed to do. You’ll find that you feel tired all the time, regardless of your sleeping habits, and that just forcing yourself to do the bare minimum leaves you feeling totally depleted and unable to do much else. 
  • You feel disconnected and cynical toward your work. Even if you once enjoyed your work or felt passionate about it, when you’re burnt out, you become disillusioned with what you do. You may find that you’re cynical about your work, or just so apathetic that you can’t bring yourself to care about it anymore, even when you accomplish things that once mattered to you. 
  • You can’t concentrate. Burnout can make it difficult - if not impossible - for even the most dedicated person to focus on their tasks. You might find that you spend a lot of time just sitting in front of your computer, unable to even start tasks because you can’t focus well enough to begin something. 
  • You have become irritable and short-tempered. People who are burnt out have a tendency to become impatient with the people around them. When you’re running on empty, you have no energy left for social interactions. You might find that you’re snapping at coworkers or getting visibly frustrated with clients if you work in a helping profession. 
  • You feel anxious. Burnout is often accompanied by feelings of indistinct dread that you just can’t seem to shake. The fear and anxiety is often tied to work, and can be completely overwhelming. 
  • You can’t sleep. Ironically, people with burnout often have a hard time sleeping. Their minds race all night, and they find that they cannot settle down or get comfortable enough to drift off. If you can sleep, you may find that you are only able to sleep in short bursts and cannot sleep through a full night. 
  • Your eating habits have changed. Some people experiencing burnout find that they lose their appetites. Others find that they begin to comfort themselves with food. Significant changes in appetite and food intake can signal a serious problem. 
  • You feel physically ill. Being under high amounts of stress for long periods of time can destroy your health - you might find that you have a lot of symptoms with no direct physical cause, like headaches, stomach pain, nausea and body aches. You might also find that you get sick more often and get more infections as the stress wears down your immune system. 
  • You feel like you have to drag yourself through the day. Even if you once enjoyed your job or your school, you might start to feel like even showing up is a huge chore, and dread having to go in. You might find that it takes all of your energy to even make it through the front door each day. 

The good news is that burnout is not a permanent state; there are things you can do to recover. However, recovering from burnout is not necessarily easy - this is not something you can quick-fix with a self-help book, and you may need to make significant lifestyle changes. Some things you can do to fix or prevent burnout include:

  • Set firm boundaries. If possible, stop taking work home. Stop signing up for extra shifts and overtime every time it’s available. Don’t volunteer to organize every single office party and baby shower. Stop answering work emails after 5pm. Don’t check your email on the weekends. Don’t respond to emails on vacation. Set firm boundaries between “work time” and “me time” - especially if you work from home, where it’s easier for work and life to bleed together. 
  • Use every minute of your paid time off. A lot of people just don’t use up all their PTO every year because they’re worried they’re letting the company down by taking vacation. Stop that. If you have vacation days, use them. Use your sick time too - if you don’t get sick that often, use them as mental health days. If you’re a student, ask professors for extensions when you’re sick - more and more professors are getting on board with cutting students some slack for life events. 
  • Unplug from productivity culture. Our culture has a pathological obsession with productivity, and it’s killing us. We consume books and blogs and podcasts about how to squeeze as much productivity out of ourselves as possible. It has to stop. Unsubscribe from this kind of content. You don’t need to put more pressure on yourself to optimize and monetize every second of your day - it’s not healthy. 
  • Seek support. Talk to a therapist, a doctor or a friend. Get professional help or just find people you can vent to. Try to form friendships with some of your coworkers or fellow students, especially if you work in the helping professions - they know better than anyone what you are going through. 
  • Prioritize your physical health. When you neglect your physical health, you are more likely to burn out - you run out of fuel faster when you have less in the tank to begin with. Prioritize eating healthy meals and getting all the nutrients you need. Make a habit of exercising. Practice good sleep hygiene and try to improve your sleep. 
  • Talk to your supervisor, advisor or boss. Are there things about your specific work or school environment that could be improved for you? Could you be transferred to a new team? Do your roles and responsibilities need to be clarified so you know exactly what is expected of you? Do you need additional training to do your job well? Are you dealing with harassment that could be reported to HR? See what can be fixed. 
  • Consider a change. Sometimes you just need a change of pace after a while. Many social workers, for instance, eventually leave the profession - a lot of people simply have a lifetime limit on how long they can do that kind of work before they need to switch to something that doesn’t involve human horror every day. If burnout is a consistent problem, it might be time to think about taking a leave of absence, changing to a different role, or switching careers altogether. 

Hope this answers your question!MM

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not-voltaire
livebloggingmydescentintomadness
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hil-arrr-y

Two job-hunting resources that changed my life:

This cover letter post on askamanger.com. A job interview guide written by Alison Green, who runs askamanager.

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the-real-numbers

Shout-out to @ms-demeanor for putting these on my dash again, I’d like to add this exceptional interview question “answer guide” that explains traps and “the best” way to answer over 64 common questions. I don’t know who to attribute it to, but here it is: PDF from tri valley one-stop career center.