To finish up the year, I thought I’d focus today’s post on looking ahead and considering how to make the most of the blank slate that comes with January 1st. In my last post, I created a guiding list of questions for any teacher that wants to reflect on the past semester before the next one begins. Today, I go over my top four tips for leading a healthy and balanced life in the new year. I’ve also created a new digital planner for 2019.
Erika Romero
a teacher of children's/young adult literature & multimodal composition
Category: Life Advice
In this last June post, I’ve listed three digital planner creators that I think have each created some great digital planners. I have not used any of these planners myself, as I’m still deciding if I plan on using a digital planner long-term. I have seen quite a few YouTube videos and reviews related to these planners, though, so I definitely think they are worth checking out if you’re looking for an upgrade. If you’ve stumbled upon this post and haven’t read the first two in the series, just click here and here to catch up. The first post includes PDFs of two planners I’ve made, in case you want to give a free one a try before purchasing a professionally made digital planner.
In my last post, I described how I created a digital academic planner and offered two free, hyperlinked PDFs that you can use to try out this digital system. If you don’t have a digital planner yet, I suggest going to that post first and downloading one of the options. Or, if you’d prefer a digital notebook to bullet journal instead, head over to this post and download one. For those of you who want to upgrade to a professionally-made planner before the new school year begins, I’ll be listing my top five digital planner options/online shops in my last June post in two weeks (here). Today, though, I’m offering my top 5 tips for using a digital planner (especially on Good Notes). If you want to find out how to make some basic digital stickers and learn about what tools you should definitely be using when planning digitally, this post is for you.
![Planning for the New Academic Year? Try Out A Free Digital Academic Planner [Hyperlinked PDFs Included]](https://www.evereducating.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/pexels-photo-908298.jpeg)
I started using a paper planner almost two years ago, and I’m still finding writing out my plans, goals, and habits to be very useful and calming. Recently, though, I came across a niche in the planner community: digital planners. These planners are basically hyperlinked PDFs that mimic the look of a paper planner. With PDF annotation apps like Good Notes, though, these digital planners can be customized to an incredible extent, all without using any papers, pens, markers, post-it notes, washi tape, stickers, etc. Of course, this form of planning assumes you have a digital tool like an iPad or tablet, so it’s not exactly the most accessible option. I’ve found experimenting with digital planning to be a very fun, creative pastime, so I’ve created my own version that I want to share with anyone who’s reading this post. As I’m assuming that most of my blog’s audience are teachers or students, and as most academic planners start in July, I’ve decided to focus my blog posts this month on prepping for using a digital academic planner for the next school year. Or, really, since it’s just a PDF that you can download as many times as you want, digital planners like the one I’ve made can be used over and over again (as long as you have the space on your device).
![New Year, New[ish] Goals: “Resolutions” Ideas for Putting the Right Foot Forward in 2018](https://www.evereducating.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/decoration-3033888_1280.jpg)
The new year is here, and with it, new attempts at getting my life in order. As I’ve spent over a year now in the online planner/bullet journal community, rather than having resolutions for 2018, I have goals/habits/plans that I will be focusing on accomplishing in the next twelve months. While I won’t be listing them all in this post, I think quite a few of my major goals for the new year are pretty relatable to other students, academics, and really, any adult. So, I’ve decided to share them with you, along with a bit of personal commentary on my reasons behind each one. If you’re still working on your own resolutions for this year, perhaps this list can help inspire you.
For our final post this month, I’d like to share some cooking tips and easy recipes for the busy college student (or really, anyone who’s busy and old enough to use kitchen appliances). Eating balanced meals and keeping snacks on hand for busy days is essential, especially if you’ve just moved away from home and are now relying on yourself to cook some or potentially all of your meals. Getting a meal plan is a great idea for anyone living on campus or who spends large amounts of time on campus (especially during lunch time). But, really, knowing how to make at least a few balanced meals can really go a long way when it comes to staying energized and focused.
So, let’s head right into the kitchen!
For this week’s post, I’ve compiled a list of ten YouTube channels that college students can benefit from, especially if they’ve (you’ve) moved into a dorm or apartment (or house) for the next few years. Only three of these channels are aimed specifically at students (see below in category four); the rest are all targeted to adults in a more general sense. After compiling the list, I realized how skewed it might seem to female readers/viewers. However, just because all but one of these channels are run solely by women does not mean their advice applies only to this particular audience. I won’t get into the potential reasons for this gender imbalance, though of course my own gender plays a role in my choices. For any readers who are not women reading this post, I still suggest checking out these channels to see if they can help you balance your home, health, school, and financial life. I also have an additional list of channels to check out at the end of this post, so make sure to stick around until the very end.
Note: Click on the channel names to go straight to the YouTube pages. Click on the individual “playlists/videos” to check out specific videos from the sites. If available, click on the “website/blog” version of these channels to see more text-based (rather than video-based) advice.
Instead of my usual bi-weekly schedule, I have decided to post weekly during the month of August as a way to share some tips for new and not-so-new college students. The posts will have a different theme for their 10 tips, and they will also have plenty of advice that can be applied to people not connected to school life, as well. Most of the advice relates to lifestyle in a more general sense, but a few tips (especially during week 3) will tie directly to school related activities and events. This week’s post focuses on shopping tips for anyone on a budget. Here’s a look at this month’s full schedule:
Week 1: Shopping Tips For Students/People on a Budget
Week 2: Helpful YouTube Channels for Living a Balanced Life
Week 3: Advice to Students from a Teacher’s Perspective
Week 4: Fast and Easy Snack/Meal Ideas
This week’s post has been published today because it’s the first of August. The next three will be posted on Fridays, as usual, though they will occur every week rather than every other. I hope you find plenty of tips that relate to your life this month, whether you’re a student, teacher, parent, or none of the above!
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