Ever find yourself crashing out after a long day at school, sitting on your bed watching Netflix, and getting nothing done? It sounds horrible when I put it that way. Bed rotting, doom scrolling, whatever it is, it’s never a fun thing.
Here’s the thing though— it doesn’t have to feel that way.
There are two states that we can consider you to be in. Focus and Relaxation. The situation I described above is caught in between these two states. You want to be in a focus state, but you’re overwhelmed and stuck in your relaxation state. The opposite is also true. You try to get work done but catch yourself distracted, on your phone, instead. You are in a focus state, but you want to be in a relaxation state.
The number one change you can do to help your mental health is to choose a side.
When you are in your focus state, commit. You put your best effort in and keep your mind engaged in what you are working on. No distractions. This is going to help you get so much more work done in a shorter period of time. As you practice this, you are going to realize that when you are in your focus state, distractions are less enticing and you will be able to maintain it for longer.
Disclaimer: if you have to tell yourself to “lock in” you aren’t doing it right. Forcing yourself into a focus state is never going to work, it's just going to lead to that same, tiring, useless feeling.
To actually decompress and feel happier, you can’t have second thoughts in your relaxation. Set a timer if you have to, but you need to let yourself enjoy whatever you are doing. Imagine this: after a long hard day, you treat yourself by getting some popcorn, bundle yourself up in blankets, dim the lights, and get to watch the movie that’s been on your bucket list for the past week. So much better than what we started with, right? The cycle of guilt relaxation starts with wanting to decompress but feeling guilty the whole time. You don’t rest and aren’t happy because all you’ve been thinking about is “I have to get work done.” Instead, you get more tired, and you need to continue laying around or scrolling on your phone.
You don’t have to change your entire routine— just be more mindful about which state you are in and how you can take advantage of that.
I SWEAR IT WAS WORKING FIVE SECONDS AGO AAA
Electric field or smt
who decided that both electric potential and electric potential energy were going to be a thing 😑 we need a serious discussion!
i’m back in the library and i’m actually getting some work done which is good! i’ve been feeling kind of down lately so focusing on homework has gotten a lot harder.
finals are coming up and all i want to do is watch arcane season 2 and rewatch voltron before it leaves netflix 😭 two more weeks….
Vela Supernova Remnant taken on February 6 2021 by jeff2011 on Astrobin
The supernova remnant resides within the Vela constellation, having exploded over ten thousand years ago. It is the closes supernova remnant to Earth. Observational data from this remnant provided proof that supernova’s can produce neutron stars.
Supernovas occur at the end of a star’s life. Stars with mass over eight solar masses finish burning the hydrogen in their core and become a red supergiant. Successive fusion then occurs until the core contains iron. Fusion can no longer occur at iron since it is not energetically favorable. Gravity then takes over leading to a supernova explosion— expelling a huge amount of stellar material.
Neutron stars can form as a result of this, as protons and electrons collide to combine into neutrons. The neutron stars are stable by neutron degeneracy pressure. This pressure is caused the Pauli Exclusion principal which prevents neutrons from having the same positions.
55/100 days of productivity!
so, my chronic pain is back after a short break... which means I literally can't do the things I need to do... anyway let's get a good day in...
I accept myself exactly as I am in this moment. My worth is not determined by my productivity or my pain. I am enough, just as I am. Every small step I take today is a victory. Progress is progress, no matter how small. I am doing my best, and that is always enough.
to-do: 1.2.25
Morning yoga
mental health check _journal
Go to the mall
Writing session 1
Reading 2P _opt
Pain makes it hard to work effectively Falling behind creates anxiety Anxiety increases muscle tension Increased tension worsens pain Worse pain makes work even harder More falling behind... and the cycle continues And each loop of this cycle can make you feel more stuck and hopeless, which adds another layer of stress. It's not just in your head - this is a very real physiological and psychological pattern.
In this video, take a flight through millions of galaxies mapped using coordinate data from DESI.
Credit: Fiske Planetarium, CU Boulder and DESI collaboration
astrohumanist
you ask a student in april how they're doing and they'll say "oh i'm fine" but in reality they are treating themselves in such a way that violates the geneva convention on treatment of prisoners
The Large Magellanic Cloud taken by Rory Broesder on Februrary 18 2023
The LMC is a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, set to collide in 2.4 billion years. It is an easily observable object from the southern hemisphere and is the fourth brightest galaxy in the local group. Within this galaxy is the Tarantula Nebula, a very active star forming region.
It was once a barred spiral galaxy before it was disrupted through tidal interactions with the Milky Way galaxy and Small Magellanic Cloud. In fact, there is a bridge of hot gas showing the connection between the LMC and SMC which is also an active star forming region.
The LMC is one of around sixty other satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way.
life lately.
also chat do you fw buzzfeed unsolved :D
today is a study day (fortunately or regrettably depending on your perspective). this problem set is really cool and i actually like learning about circuits, which i didn’t expect.
- circuits problem set (88 mins)
- circuits quiz (39 mins)
- advanced circuits lecture
i’m REALLY behind in my course and i need to catch up by the time school starts again so i probably have another 4 hrs of work minimum. it’s finally feeling like crunch time lol