I Always Feel That And It's True

Drawing in my bullet journal.

My handwriting is not ✨pretty✨ but I was really happy with this.

Notetaking

Sound Note - take notes while you record audio

Evernote - notetaking that syncs across platforms

Paper 53 - minimal notetaking that syncs

Microsoft OneNote - collaboration and syncing, best for Office users

Google Keep - jot things down, best for Google suite users

Notability - take notes and annotate PDFs

Mindly - create mind maps

Day One - a digital journal

Flash Cards

Quizlet - the quintessential flash card app

StudyBlue - another commonly used app

Cram - best for its “cram mode”

Eidetic - uses spaced repetition for effective memorization

Planner 

My Study Life - schedules, tasks, reminders, and more

StudyCal - keeps track of tasks, exams, and grades

24me - automated reminders and event planning

iStudiez - schedule and prioritized task list

Google Calendar - a calendar, best for Google users

Glass Planner - a calendar and to do list with incredible functionality

To Do List

Clear - organized to-do and reminders

MinimaList - simple to-do and focus timer

Trello - collaborative project organizer

Todoist - clean and functional task manager

Default notes app on your phone

Time Management

Forest - plant trees by staying focused

Pomotodo - pomodoro timer with to-do list

Timeglass - custom timers

Tide - pomodoro with white noise

Alarmy - forces you out of bed 

Pillow - smart alarm that tracks sleep cycles

Productivity

Workflow - automate tasks

Habitica - turn your habits into an RPG

Continuo - simple, colorful activity tracking

Freedom - block distracting apps

Free Learning

Coursera - free MOOCs

TED - listen to Ted Talks

Duolingo - language learning

Memrise - spaced repetition language vocabulary

Khan Academy - free video lessons

Ambient Noise

8tracks - curated playlists

Spotify - online music streaming

Coffitivity - cafe ambience

Noisli - background sound generator

Rain Rain - rain sounds

Binaural - binaural beats

Health

Rockin Ramen - recipes based on ramen

MealBoard - meal planning

Lifesum - healthy eating

Stop Breath And Think - mindfulness meditation

Pacifica - mental health management

Sworkit - personalized video workouts

Waterlogged - hydration tracker

Reference

WolframAlpha - Google on steroids

Oxford Dictionary - all of English at your fingertips

RefMe - citation generator

PhotoMath - solve math problems by taking a photo

Mathway - step by step math help

Desmos - free graphing calculator

Wikipedia - not the best source, but it’s handy

Miscellaneous 

Companion - stay safe when walking alone

Mint - money management

Toshl - finance manager

Tiny Scanner - scan documents

You might have disappointed some people; this doesn’t mean you are a disappointment.

you might not have have met some people’s needs; this doesn’t mean you are a failure.

you might not have received the love you needed; this doesn’t mean you are unlovable. just because you did not meet other people’s expectations doesn’t mean you are fundamentally flawed or a waste of space. You are a human who is growing and learning and trying again.

Men need to normalize having friendships with women without a sexual or romantic foundation. Some women are just really cool people to know, regardless of your attraction to them.

“I don’t want to be happy. I want to have you by my side. To have you by my sadness and my depression. To have you. Your love. Your care. That is much much precious than happiness. I am a nothing and a no one. But I am everything in your hands. So hold me.”

— Mohammed Zarir, from a letter to T.M. (2020)

I think a lot about how we as a culture have turned “forever” into the only acceptable definition of success.

Like… if you open a coffee shop and run it for a while and it makes you happy but then stuff gets too expensive and stressful and you want to do something else so you close it, it’s a “failed” business. If you write a book or two, then decide that you don’t actually want to keep doing that, you’re a “failed” writer. If you marry someone, and that marriage is good for a while, and then stops working and you get divorced, it’s a “failed” marriage.

The only acceptable “win condition” is “you keep doing that thing forever”. A friendship that lasts for a few years but then its time is done and you move on is considered less valuable or not a “real” friendship. A hobby that you do for a while and then are done with is a “phase” - or, alternatively, a “pity” that you don’t do that thing any more. A fandom is “dying” because people have had a lot of fun with it but are now moving on to other things.

I just think that something can be good, and also end, and that thing was still good. And it’s okay to be sad that it ended, too. But the idea that anything that ends is automatically less than this hypothetical eternal state of success… I don’t think that’s doing us any good at all.

Something doesn’t have to be important to you to be important. Just like you have things you value that other people don’t, or loved ones you care about that others have never even met, respect the fact that peoples priorities might lie elsewhere and that they find things important that you might not understand or see the point of. You become a better friend, family member, partner, roommate when you give people the space to be who they are and try to compromise whenever necessary.

me giving relationship advice: communicate or end it

Let me ask you a question, and be honest. Can you tell me, among all of the people that you know, how many of them are genuinely happy?

I asked myself this question earlier in the day and the answer is quite disturbing.

Not that many. Just a few of them. Most of my loved ones are struggling. Are having a rough time. Are feeling stressed, anxious, unmotivated, sad. Need support, understanding, time. And that is okay.

What I want to emphasize is that I believe we should cherish every little joy, every pleasant day, every warm smile that we experience. Because they can be so rare. Collect those precious moments within your heart and who knows, one day, you might end up exactly where you've always wanted to be.