Post of the Month - May!

Azziman

Hey everyone!

Back at it again with POTM! Once again, lots of positivity on the forum this month, which is awesome to see given the circumstances. Thanks all for being so supportive during this time, it's great to see the community helping one another out! That being said, it's time to vote for your favourite Post of the Month!


What is Post of the Month?

For those of you who aren't familiar with Post of the Month, each month you can nominate threads and replies you've seen on the boards. We then put up a poll and the reply with the most votes wins Post of the Month.

You can nominate a post by flagging it, selecting Report, and then choosing 'Post of the Month nomination' as the reason. It can really make someone's day to know that their comment was so appreciated that they're considered for this, so if you see a post that was particularly helpful, inspiring, moving etc., be sure to nominate it and spread that love around!


Before we share the nominations for this vote, we again want to acknowledge how brave each and every one of you is for reaching out for support. This takes so much courage and we're so proud of you all - this place wouldn't be the same with you


The Nominees!

1. Aidan - On Motivation and Productivity

@Aidan said:
Hey everyone  

I know I've been struggling with home learning and all the distractions and lack of structure it brings, so I wanted to share some of the things about motivation and productivity that I've learned!

And if you want to skip past the info, you can just go to the bottom for some quick tips  

Hope this helps, and feel free to share any tips you have!

---------------------------

Willpower... 

• Isn't enough! 
• Studies have found that "willpower" is a source of motivation that is depletable, it runs out 

The Distraction effect! 

• When a task requires problem solving, we can get distracted by the motivator (the long term goal, e.g. I want to get this job, I want to pass this course) which reduced performance at the task 
• Try to focus on the task at hand, the short-term goal (e.g. let's answer this question, lets write this assignment) 

 
Positive thoughts... trick you! 

• Positive thoughts trick you into thinking you've already accomplished a goal! 
• This reduces your motivation, the best approach is... 

 
Mental contrasting! 

• First, imagine your goal coming true (your dream job, passing your course, getting a dog etc.) 
• Then, think about all the obstacles in the way 
• Belief you can accomplish a goal has to be balanced with realistic expectations about obstacles 
• In studies, people who are more realistic about difficulties were more likely to succeed at their goal than people who only thought positively! Because of the... 

 
"What the hell" effect! 

• Which is a negative cycle of deviating from your goal, because you've already deviated from your goal 
• For example, not doing coursework today because, "what the hell", you didn't do it yesterday either! 
• People who are more aware of barriers and obstacles to their goals are less likely to fall for the "what the hell" effect 

 
Fun 

• Fun and play are some of the strongest motivators 
• If the things you're doing to achieve your goal aren't fun, make it fun! 
• If you can't make a task fun, you can make it less boring by working at it in short intervals (~20-30 minutes) with breaks in-between, where you can do something you do find fun! 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/pZT-FZqfxZA?list=PLGjt9arsLy-RyFleuGwVMMJ3AeICpqljd

 

Quick tips: 

 

Just get started! 

• Starting a project is the biggest barrier- your brain thinks about the hardest parts to come and tends to procrastinate 
• Once you've started, you're more compelled to finish 
• You experience discomfort and intrusive thoughts about stuff you never completed! 

 

Split large tasks into smaller ones! 

• Focusing on the smaller tasks makes it easier for you to gradually work through the large one! 

 

Stop multitasking! 

• Multitasking makes us think we're doing more than we actually are, and makes us think we're saving time 
• But multitasking is about ~40% less efficient than doing each task one-at-a-time 
• So if multitasking 2 things takes 60 minutes, it would take you 36 minutes to finish both of them one-at-a-time! 

 

Set yourself deadlines!  

• You're more likely to complete tasks when you set yourself a (realistic) timeframe 

 

Keep track! 

• On a night, write down the things you want to complete tomorrow 
• Keep a chart or a diary of things you have done over a day- this helps you see what you've actually completed, which is important for motivation because we tend to underestimate how much we've actually done! 
• Underestimating what we have done negatively affects motivation, because it makes us think we can't do as much as we actually we can as well
  

2. Skive - On Advice with Money

@Skive said:
Spend it. Enjoy it. You can't take it with you.

"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
--George Best

3. Eyepatch - On Making Masks at Home

@Eyepatch said:
Sorry if this has already been done, but I thought I’d show you how I make masks. I’ve been making loads of them for local small businesses- they aren’t as protective as official ones but better than nothing and easy to make.

1) cut 2 rectangles and sew them front to front along one long side (so the pattern is on the inside) 

2) open up and pin 2 pieces of elastic in a C shape on each side 
3) close and sew around the edges, leaving a gap of about 1.5 inches at the bottom

4) use that gap to turn the mask inside out

5)  pin the gap closed and pin a fold of about 1cm horizontally through the mask 

6) see around the outside of the mask, this is called a top stitch, and ta-da! It’s done  

cotton seems to work best and is easy to sew I used a machine but you can sew this by hand it will just take longer

4. Laine - On Celebrating Pride Month

@"Past User" said:
As you may be aware pride events for pride month are cancelled but i've decided to put together a lot of things we could do together and you guys can give me any suggestions too! 
From June 1st i will start making fun threads a few ideas i have so far is

- Pride themed word searches and crosswords

- DIY tutorials on how to make rainbow things such as bracelets, hair ties, ect and we can share creations!

- Gender and Sexuality 101(i'll probably pick a sexuality or gender identity and make a thread about it! what it is, facts, myths ect)

- LGBT hugs thread? this could be a place where you share any struggles regarding lockdown and pride but also a place for support when dealing with sexuality or gender issues, relationship struggles and questioning and confusion.

- History time! (take a lesson in LGBT history, i'll talk about famous lgbt people in history)

-Quiz/general knowledge! (i'll make lil quizzes where the answers are in a spoiler you can see how you do!

- Lots of places will be doing online livestream celebrations i'll keep you updated on what and where

If you guys have any other ideas, suggestions on mine or want to get involved let me know!


Heres a picture of a doggo in a flower crown!

Get voting below! 

~ Azziman

Former Member

Thanks for the nomination everyone! lots of lovely posts this month i would vote them all

Former Member

Thank you for nominating me  

That royal flower doggo has stolen my heart  

Azziman

And the results are in!

Congrats @Aidan, you've won May's Post of the Month!

JustV

Woop, nice one @Aidan!