Entertain Like The Gilmore Girls: Week 3 update

Literature: 

This week, I finished Moby Dick and started Madame Bovary and The Second Sex. Moby Dick was very slow at first and I was unintertested while reading it. Gradually, the book starts to get compelling. It is a book on the quest of finding a white whale named Moby Dick and how this creature changes the life of the narrator, Ismael. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading an adventure book, but I would not recommend this book to anyone who likes short and crisp novels (this book is around 800 pages long and half of the book is dedicated to the description of what the narrator sees around him like the landscape, characters, etc.)

I started reading Madame Bovary and The Second Sex. I am about 25 percent done with Madame Bovary, but I have only finished a few chapters of The Second Sex so far. They both are on feminism and women empowerment. I am absolutely in love with these two books and their combination. Madame Bovary is a realist novel on how this character Emma escapes her marriage and find her inner happiness. The Second Sex is an essay on the treatment given to women through the course of history. I am enjoying these books very much.

My quest of finding Mistress of Mellyn started again, yet with no success so far. I looked everywhere. I even joined the waiting list on Openlibrary, but still have not received it. I hope I will receive it soon.

 

Movies or TV shows:

Since I have finished all the movies referred to the pilot of Gilmore Girls. I decided to watch an hour of Nick at Nite.

Since it is a channel, the programming differs with time. But I decided to stick to the current programming and at the same time take care of the actual Gilmore Girls time period. Let me explain how. The pilot was released in October 5, 2000. That means that anything released after the year 2000 will not be watched by me.

The current programming at Nick at Nite: Full House, Friends, George Lopez, The Goldberg, and Two and a Half Man. Before 2000, only Full House and Friends existed and therefore, I decided to stick to these two shows this week.

But if you want to stick to the old programming, then you can watch shows like I Love Lucy, Facts of Life, etc. http://classictvhits.com/schedules/nickatnite/2000/oct2-oct6.htm

I have always loved I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, The Facts of Life, and so on but I decided to stick to the current on to prevent decision fatigue. I also love Friends and Full House at the same time. 

Music: 

• There She Goes by The LA’s was a happy song for me at first. But when I read about it on wikipedia, the negative connotation of the songs stopped me from listening to this song again.
• Where the Color Don’t Go by Sam Phillips: To be honest, I have mixed opinions about this song. I only liked the chorus of the song, but other than that the song sounded a bit crepy.
• Wendy by Wesley Yang and Gavin Mcnett – I could not find this song anywhere.
• Heartland By George Strait: A pure country song! To be honest, I would not listen to this song on my regular day, but I got happy when I hear something “normal”. After listening to these above songs, you would really enjoy this song because of its “normal” rhythum and a positive connotation.

This is what I read, watched, and listened this week. I hope you enjoyed this post.

Productivity experiment: The best time management tip that I have ever tried

This week I was following a time management method. This is nothing new or unusual, but rather a technique that has been out there for a while. But we are always running after more complex techniques and forgetting just as efficient simpler methods.

I am going to discuss briefly with you this simple method to “create” at least extra 2 hours in your day. Let’s get started:

Requirement of this technique:

• To do list
• Time slot schedule
• Timer

Before you start this implementing this method, have a time slot plan. I am going to post a sample time slot plan of mine below.

• 0.5 hours of Duolingo and Newspaper
• 4 hours of reading
• 5 hours of studying (including 10 mins break after every 90 mins) 
• 0.5 hours of writing
• 1 hour of movie/tv
• 6 hours of misc/work
• 7 hours of sleep

You can assign the number of hours you are going to spend on each task everyday first. Then you will time yourself while working. You will only do only this particular task while the timer is on. You have an interval system as well where you are going to switch your tasks from time to time to avoid burnouts.

Try to stay away from all sources of distraction while the timer is on.

Please remember to give yourself some flexibility as well. The number of hours does not matter but the efforts put in that time matter the most .

Productivity methods: routine, motivation, and distraction tips

My favourite productivity blog is A Life of Productivity. My favourite post from this blog is How Long To Work For? Bailey here explains how long we should work for throughout the day. I personally am quite impressed with how these methods has been proven benefits at different times of the day. You do not have to follow this method word to word. You can customise this method of using different productivity method in one day differently as well. Let me outline this routine of 3 different productivity method out for you.

I am personally an early birds and by looking at the routine, I can judge Bailey is too; I am going to outline Bailey’s routine out for you for better understanding and insightful comments from my experience.

In the morning:

Use 90-30 method

I love this method. I get a lot done plus I also get longer breaks. In this method, you work for 90 mins straight and then take a 30 mins break. On average, I do around 2-3 intervals of this method in the morning. While on 30 mins break, I like to finish my chores or something that keep me away from my screens.

In the afternoon:

Use Pomodoro technique

Work for 25 mins and take a five minute break. After 4 intervals, take a 25 ins break. In a day, I do around one cycle of pomodoro (4 25-mins intervals).

In the evening:

Use 52-17 method

Work for 52 mins and take a 17 min break. This method is great because you can get a lot done in one interval and you get small breaks. I like to use it at the end of the day in order to finish my to-do list completely.

 

Motivated vs Unmotivated mins:

I personally like to check my motivation level and then pick my tasks. If I think I am motivated enough, then I will do my high-leverage tasks.  If my motivation level is low, then I will do light reading and other tasks that requires less focus and efforts. Or I just try to finish short tasks. This why my low motivation level is not leading me procrastinate.

Procrastination pad and research of the day:

I recommend having a procrastination pad with you when you work. Whenever you want to search something and do something else, then write that thing down to do it later. If you addicted to the internet, then I would recommend you to have a topic of the day. In this method, you are going to have one particular research topic (irrelevant to your work/something you interested in) that you are going to research on. You are only permitted to have google searches on this topic (nothing else, other than your school work). This way your minimising your time spend on the internet by minimising your search options.

 

 

 

 

 

How I am structuring my life like Gilmore Girls?

I absolutely adore Gilmore Girls. They are both powerful and hardworking women who never give up and strive to be the best. I want to model my life like theirs. I am aware of the fact that it is a frictional show (some aspects of their lives are exaggerated and fabricated) and that some of their habits and choices are not the best to take after. Therefore, after thorough research and thinking, I have come with a schedule where I can model my life after Gilmore Girls while being completely rational and healthy.

Parameters of being a Gilmore Girl:

• Drink a good ol’ cup of coffee. No one fancies a good cup of coffee more than the Gilmore Girls, which is not a bad thing. Coffee comes with many benefits and is considered very good for you if you drink it in moderation. I have discussed the benefits of coffee in my last post. Try to limit the consumption of it to 4 cups (no more than 4 cups please). 
• Eat what you like but with some consideration. Gilmore girls drown themselves in takeouts (I do not recommend this at all). What I mean by eat what you like is that you can eat what ever you want in a healthy way. Try to opt out of unhealthy ingredients and replace with a healthy one. Healthy food can be tasty too. Do not go on a diet (Gilmore girls would never do that).
• Talk Fast: Because life is short
• Try to spend Friday night with your Grandparents. Or at least call them or text them.
• Get super close to your mother. Watch Gilmore Girls you will know what I mean.
• Read Read Read. Try to carry a book on you at all times and read vigorously. Have a goal like finish one book per week. Or depending on the length of the book, give yourself a time frame.
• Have Fun and Talk in References: Watch movies and tv shows . Listen to music.
• Take your job seriously: Whether it is your school or work, do your best.

Here is my Glimored Schedule (keeping Rory in mind for the most part):

05:30- Wake up; Shower and get dressed. I do wear some makeup, but not a lot. I just wear a good moisturiser, some baby powder, and some chapstick and lip stick.

06:00- Make some coffee and have some breakfast (3 times a week, I go to a local diner for breakfast.) For breakfast, I normally have some eggs and toasts, or smoothie. Somedays, it is oatmeal.

Coffee Cup # 1

06:15- Be at the library. I start my day by reading. I follow the gilmore girls reading list episode by episode chronologically. I read for 2 hours intensely in pomodoro slot (every 25 mins of reading, I take 5 mins of break) I read around 100-150 pages during this course of about 2 hours.

 

08:30- Start officially studying (How I Study like Rory Gilmore? coming soon) I study using the pomodoro technique for the most part. I set my timer with a vibration mode (remember I am at the library) for 25 mins and study with a deep focus for 25 mins. Then, take a five min break. I do four 25-mins-intervals and then I take a 25 mins break. I normally call my mom or go for a walk during the breaks. I do around four 25-mins sessions before lunch. To honest, I get 4 hours of work done in these 2 hours because I am completely focus and energised during these sessions. I have no access to the internet for the most part or any other sort of distractions except the internal ones (I am doing good at controlling them).

Lunch (around 11 or 11:30): I have my lunch during my long break of 25 mins.  I usually bring some lunch from home or make some salad or sandwich at the cafe. Of course, I have a cup of coffee. Also, I do duolingo for around 10-15 mins as well. I am learning French.

Coffee Cup # 2 

After Lunch: I do not have a specific time for my lunch, but approximately around 11:30 or 12:0. After this, I resume my study session and I use the pomodoro technique again. I get about 4 pomodoro sessions done.

13:30 or 14:00- Leave for work (I work because I like to be financially independent. I think if Rory was a real life person, she would definitely work for a few hours each day.) I get some coffee and some fruits or some snacks on the way to work. If I do not get my targeted pomodoros, done, then I do it at work. If I have time, then I work on my blog.

Coffee Cup # 3

15:00- Work (If you get some free time, study. Or read) I do some light review on most days during work. If I have more free time in my hand, then I will do 4 pomodoros. So it really depends on the day and the amount of work we have. Also, the coworkers you are working with that day. I read when I can not focus or when I have time to be productive but I am distracted due to external interruptions. I get 20-30 pages done on an average. Somedays I can get only 5 pages to read while some I can read 50 pages. Again, really depends. I normally get another cup of coffee around 5 or 6 pm.

Coffee Cup: 4

21:00- Watch a movie or show (give yourself a limited amount of time for entertainment. I give myself an hour each day.) Most days I do get the luxury to watch some awesome shows and movies, but somedays I just cannot. But I try to give myself at least an hour to enjoy some virtual entertainment. I usually watch the movie referred on the Gilmore Girls and I tend to go by episode by episode in chronological order. But you can get the access to the list here <https://www.buzzfeed.com/littleraeoflight/gilmore-girls-movie-list-1q5mu?utm_term=.lo8ABaV8Z#.hhe6DE3vP&gt; or you can just go to each episode under gilmorisms and watch it in chronological order (episode by episode). BTW, I have posted all the references from the pilot episode. You can use that as well. I am just going down the list with my books and movies to avoid decision fatigue. I watch a movie or a show without skipping for an hour and then pause it if I am not done and  resume it the next day because you cannot give 2-3 hours everyday to a movie or a show.

22:00- Read. I read for about an hour here. I get around 40-60 pages during this time because this time of the day is very calm and uninterrupted for the most part.

23:00- Take a shower and wash my face. I apply some moisturiser, eye-cream, and lip balm. I go to bed around 11:15 pm.

Total pages read on an average- 150-200. Somedays it is around 250 and somedays hardly 100.

This is how I keep myself productive with loads of school work, reading, walking, talking to my mother, watching shows and movies, drinking coffee, and eating healthy.

 

Love,
Priya