Back in primary school, I had to cut my hair in preparation for boarding school life (in my time, we had to keep short hair in boarding school) and that changed my hair management routine. From having my hair braided twice every month, with good washes in between, I was now faced with washing my hair every day and styling it before going to school. And boy, was I always running late for school (and getting in trouble) because of this new hair grooming regimen.
My hair was about 2 inches from my scalp, and I couldn’t for the life of me, comb and style it well enough to get ready for school in time; then I got saved by a fashion trend! ‘Back-bush’ was a unisex hair style that was worn very short in front of the head and very thick and full from the middle of the head to the nape.
To achieve this look, if your hair wasn’t cut in the back-bush shape, you’ll use all the energy you can muster to press down on the bristles of your hairbrush to pull all your front hair backwards till there’s a mound of hair hanging over the nape of your neck. And this is how I ‘hacked’ the struggle of getting my hair ready for school during the week; brushing my hair almost into oblivion!
There is a plethora of tips that can get you through a sticky situation; “life hacks”, as they are known, are all about eliminating life’s multiple frustrations in simple and deliciously clever ways.
The feeling of getting things done quickly and efficiently is great, isn’t it? Being organised is one of the key traits of leading a successful (school) life. Not only do you have to finish all your assignments and homework on time, but you also have to perform well in assessments, take part in extra-curricular activities, and maintain healthy relationships with your friends and family.
The key to achieving an organised life is not investing extra time and effort than required to complete a task, but to do everyday things in a simple yet smart way that will help you get the most of your day and enhance your productivity!
Here are 10 life hacks that will save you time, money and really get things done without breaking into a sweat.
1) All your notebooks look the same because they’re covered up with the same brown paper? Colour the top corner of each book with a different coloured pen. This helps you easily recognize the different subject books in your bag and brings a great pop of colour to your study space!
2) Have you lost your eraser again? Try using a small piece of bread as an eraser. Back before erasers were invented, people used bread as an eraser! If you haven’t got any bread, find a rubber band and tie that at the end of your pencil to use as an eraser. Or, if your eraser is attached to the end of your pencil, and it’s “over”, you can sharpen the end and it will reveal some more of the eraser!
3) Always getting confused between “affect” and “effect”? Here’s a tip to remember – “Affect” is an Action so affect is a verb. “Effect” is a thing, hence, effect is a noun. If you can’t remember this, just use the word “impact” and you will never go wrong!
4) Use ‘scholar.google.com’ for essays or research instead of google.com. You’ll find more reliable and relevant resources there other than general blogs from people.
5) Keep some mints handy in your pencil case; it helps to reduce headaches and boost your concentration!
6) Keepmeout is a great website and app that helps you beat distractions! If you’re working on the desktop, this website will keep you out of sites such as facebook.com, youtube.com, etc. And on the phone, this app will lock your phone for any number of minutes specified!
7) You can also use the “flight mode” on your phone to beat distractions or just restart your phone in “safe mode”.
8) After writing your essay, copy-paste it onto Google translate and listen to it. Listening makes it easier to find mistakes; did you ever think of this?
9) A friend asks for a pencil, but you only have one. Break your pencil into two and sharpen the other one – so heartwarming!
10) Got enough sleep but still feeling super tired when you wake up? You’re just dehydrated, drink a glass of water!
*some of the tips culled from JBCN
