—After spending my quarantine watching movies and wishing the world wasn’t in the mess that it is, I realized I needed to reorganize. Rebrand, if you will. So after being inspired by one of the films I watched, I began a new approach to my then failing attempt of being a student during a pandemic and during an important, politically charged time.
I watched this teen romance movie called “All the Bright Places” on Netflix one night, and honestly, you can come to your own conclusion on what you thought of the film, but the male protagonist (Theodore Finch) had this really obsessive relationship with post-it notes. I’m pretty sure it was his way of coping with his bipolar disorder, and when I watched the movie, it sort of made sense to use them in everyday life. Plus, because I frequently buy stacks of the little notes (just stationary lover things) and never really use them, I thought I’d give myself a new project and see how it went.
I chose a free wall in my room and basically created a row going across of sticky notes with the days on them (Monday, Tuesday, etc.). Then going down, I wrote the things I needed to get done for each day on separate sticky notes. I put the most important tasks at the top and the easier ones near the bottom. I could move sticky notes up or down, switch them with others, and throw them out once the assignment was completed, and to be honest, I wish I’d done this sooner. The act itself of getting to crumble up and throw away a sticky note gives me such a dopamine rush—I haven’t been able to use calendars the same since. Additionally, if you’d like, you can add different times going vertically down one side to hold yourself more accountable. Feel free to decorate your post-it calendar in any way you like. Seeing that wall every day and mapping out my week was the only way I accomplished anything during the break, and I will continue to use this post-it calendar until I decide to update my method.
As someone who gets overwhelmed easily, especially when it comes to schooling, breaking up my assignments and visually seeing the post-its go from fifteen to five makes the days and work feel less burdensome and laborious. There’s a lot of necessary change going on in the world right now, and I get that it can feel like a lot (especially with school) so if you are having a hard time finding your flow or are unsure of how you’ll make it through this strange semester, here’s my message to you. Find a different way to accomplish the things you previously did effortlessly. Everything is different now, with online classes and perhaps your living situation, so it’s not a bad idea to change it up this semester. Updating your approach to whatever it is you need to get done may be the thing you need. It definitely was what I needed.