Being Cognizant: Scheduling

A series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.

Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.


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My memory for dates and significant events is strong - I even remember the minor details and events that would probably be best to forget. However, when it comes to remembering to bring something to a friend or not forgetting to attend a spontaneously-planned meeting, my memory has a tendency to fall short.

Cue: Calendars, to-do lists, reminders.

I am not sure if my love for scheduling has resulted from my affinity for organization and efficiency, but I do know that seeing a week of scheduled events, meetings, and study times really helps me focus myself and prioritize what needs to be done more effectively.

While I do not advocate for scheduling every minute of each day to accomplish what needs to be done, I do advocate for the use of visual cues of goals and tasks in order to make one accountable to oneself in accomplishing those items. Visual cues may come in the form of:

Calendars (digital or physical)

I have begun using Google Calendar in tandem with my computer and phone iCalendar to track my daily schedules. During the weekdays I find them particularly useful because, as a student with a part-time job and extracurriculars, I have a lot of unstructured time. I need to use that time for studying and self-directed projects for my extracurriculars, and I may neglect it those items if I do not structure them into my calendar and make myself accountable.

One of my personal pleasures is writing physical schedules in my agenda - I enjoy pen-to-paper writing and like to cross-reference schedules this way and generally write specifics about school assignments in there as well.

To-Do Lists

http://www.computertimes.com/boogieboard_files/image004.jpg

Have you ever heard of the idea that if you write down your goal and put it somewhere that you will look at it every day, you will be more likely to accomplish it? I like to think of my to-do lists as miniature versions of this, in that by writing down the tasks I want to accomplish that day, I will see them and feel more accountable to myself to finish them. My favourite part of physical to-do lists is, without a doubt, crossing items off or putting a check mark next to them upon their completion! It is worth trying a to-do list out for that reason alone. 

The device I use for lists is my Boogie Board by Brookstone - a gift from New York I received last year and have used time and time again ever since. It is a digital notepad that you can clear with the push of a button once your list is done. When I am not using my Boogie Board, I am a huge fan of sticky notes being placed in locations that will catch me at a time when I am most able to accomplish my task. For example, writing "UPDATE YOUR BUDGET!" on a note and sticking it to my computer so that I see it when I next use my laptop.

Reminders

Unfortunately, I have become all-too reliant on my phone for providing me with reminders about tasks and meetings and all of those little things that don't DEMAND to be remembered. However, I do appreciate that I have such useful tools to lean on! The iPhone Reminders app is one of my more frequently-used tools, but I also set notifications on the events I create in my Google calendar to pop up on my computer and phone so that I don't miss out. 

My rule with reminders is: Never say that an item is complete until you have ACTUALLY completed it. Sometimes my notification pops up and I think, "Right! I'll do that in a few minutes," only to forget to do it within a few minutes, thus leaving it entirely incomplete. To avoid doing this, I "snooze" reminders until I have 100% completed the task.

Kizzy's Macarons

Recently, I was asked to take product shots for a BC-based company called Kizzy's Macarons.

"So what you're saying is... You want to hire me to do food photography...?

OKAY."

That was how that conversation went. I would like to share a few of the photos I took and encourage you to check out Kizzy's if you want to have some fun treats at a party or gift yourself/a friend with some delicious, local goodies.

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How can you not throw a cat photo in there if you've got it?

Look at that face! He loved the macarons, too.

For more photography, check out my Facebook page here!

Being Cognizant: Alcohol

A series about the ways I work towards being cognizant through decisions that make me more mentally engaged with various facets of my day-to-day life.

Cognizance (noun): Awareness, realization, notice, knowledge, perception.

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I've had a fairly active social life over the past three months.

This is a significant change of pace after a good two or three years of going-out dormancy, for the most part. I took pleasure in the recluse lifestyle and recoiled at invitations to stay out past 11:00pm - 11:00pm is when one should be lying down in bed, not getting down on dance floors.

Three years ago I took full advantage of the part-time employment schedule and spent many a night out on the town, and experienced little distress when this changed. However, these past months have reminded me that I have a dancing bug inside me that infects me with pleasure and wiggling hips when it is awoken. Often, this bug is triggered by a few drinks in preparation for going out.

I consider myself to be a health-conscious individual: I go to the gym regularly, I eat my fruits and vegetables and protein and all of that good stuff, I drink whole lot of agua, I avoid overly sugary things (80% of the time). However, alcohol is something that defies all of these other principled decisions I make for my body and mind - it is not healthy in any way! So, if I am to consume it - especially in more-than-just-social quantities, I take care to do it with cognizance.


1. WATER. I drink water most of the day every day all the time - I do not stop when there is alcohol. At least every two drinks I throw back a full glass to keep my body hydrated and to prevent terrible headaches and nausea the following day. Alcohol does not exactly quench thirst, and water helps to counter its effects to a degree.

2. MOVE. Most of the time, I don't want to bother having any alcohol if I am not going to do a great deal of moving around - walking all over the place is one way to do it, but my favourite is to dance. Sitting down and drinking can be fun, but it often leads to unexpected levels of intoxication and it just sits inside you and doesn't go anywhere! With water and movement I keep the alcohol moving through me and often avoid rough mornings. Plus, dancing is basically leg day at the gym AND cardio combined - I actually refrain from exercise on days when I am to go dancing later, because my muscles will be sore.

3. STOP. Eventually. There comes a time when I can just ride on the energy level that I've reached, and drinking anything additional will make me sleepy or sick. It is a rare scenario when I don't recognize that I have reached a certain point, so I am usually in a perfect position to stay pumped throughout the evening and then fall quickly asleep upon arriving safely home.

4. OBSERVE. Keeping an eye out for weird or dangerous people is a key component of drinking alcohol, in my opinion. People might assume you are vulnerable if they recognize you've been drinking, and may try to take advantage of you in any number of ways - so watch out. For yourself, your homies, and even that stranger across the street/dance floor/parking lot that you notice is in a situation that doesn't look comfortable or normal.

5. REST. Take a day! I give myself at least half a day after a night out to drink water, eat a good breakfast, and just sit or lie around before I do anything too strenuous. Sometimes I'll take a whole day off from doing anything too demanding, just to give my body time to recharge. However, going for a jaunt to the gym or a jog around the neighbourhood is a way I like to burn off any of the grossness (greatness?) from the night before.

Those are the ways I stay cognizant when I'm thinking about drinking.

** For a neat article on how to survive a "day drinking" event, check out this article, "How to Drink All Day and Not Pass Out" **