The new term started Monday, and I’ve been swamped! I set a really tough schedule for myself this term, and it looks like I’m gonna need every minute of study time I can get.
I have a total of ten books to read in their entirety. Four are by Audre Lorde, including Sister Outsider, The Cancer Journals, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, and Undersong. The rest are for my Memoir Writing class, and include Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy, Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett, The Autobiographer’s Handbook by Jennifer Traig, Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration by David Wojnarowicz, and The Chronology of Water: A Memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch.
Here’s a selection of the things I will be using this term to help me be successful:
- The Uncalendar
- Dave Seah’s Productivity Tools. In the past, I’ve successfully used the Task Order Up, the Emergent Task Timer, and the Plain 5-Day Planner. This term, I’m trying out the Fast Book Outliner, the Task Progress Tracker, and the Word-Tracking Calendar.
- Sticky notes. Specifically 3×5 lined notes, lined tabs, 8×6 lined notes, and these gems, which are 200% my jam. (Seriously, checklist stickies are life-changing; 10 of 10, would recommend.)
In addition to full time classes, I have 20 hours of work per week, and 2 weekly debate team practices, in addition to my freelance writing. Like my post about NaNoWriMo last term, I have a lot on my plate. My health has been pretty good the last couple of weeks; hopefully, I can get ahead on my homework this weekend, and minimise my stress. (I’m also trying to colour more as a means of stress management; check it out.) We’ll see how it goes.
Have a good weekend, folks—and take care of yourselves!
Tessara Dudley, Poet-Publisher-Educator-Activist 
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