Category: Life & Happiness

Posted in Life & Happiness

Bullet Journal: Modules

Posted on by Jinavie

(This post is a part of the series “How to Bullet Journal”. Read the rest here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/howtobujo/?order=asc)

Now that we know the basic format of the Bullet Journal, it is time to organise it. Think of the bullet journal as a framework, where you can hang different types of modules to better organise your life.

First, use the first few pages of the notebook to set up a Key for your Bullets, then an Index. The index is simply a way to keep track of what content is on which pages. This can be used to keep track of date ranges, or collections.

Next, it is helpful to create a Future Log. This is a barebone view of things to come in the next six months. Make it simple and minimalistic so you can easily refer to it when you are filling in your Monthly Logs later.

The Monthly Log is a place where you can have an overview of the current month. This could be as simple as a list ranging from the first to the last day of the month, or a traditional calendar shape. Put important dates and events on the log so that you can remind yourself in your Weekly or Daily Log. This is a place where you can form a basic plan for the month.

The basic unit of the bullet journal is the Daily Log, but this can be organised in different ways.

Some people choose to use a minimalistic style where they simply write Daily Logs day-after-day until the month is over. This style is useful if you like to keep things very simple and like to quickly jot things down.

A more common form is using a Weekly Log to have set spaces for the Daily Log of each day in a week. This requires slightly more set-up, where you draw up a Spread for the Weekly Log. For example, you could divide the pages into seven large boxes. The benefit of this style is that you can plan up to a week in advance, so you can record your Events ahead of time and remind yourself. It also lets you get more creative as you can fill the empty spaces with other useful modules.

This is the barebone form of the bullet journal. Once you are ready to start, draw up a key, index, Future Log and a Monthly Log for this month. Then, write today’s date and start writing a Daily Log. You will find that it is awkward at the start, but the more you use your journal, the more you will find yourself figuring out exactly what the bullet journal means to you. Is it simply a planner, or a place to release your creative side?

In the last section, we look at Migration and Collections, to see how we sustain bullet journaling as a hobby, while making it unique and creative.

Examples from my Bullet Journal:

Future Log – Minimalistic style, dots represent month. This style allows you to keep adding to the log out of order. Colour coding is a helpful way to organise different kinds of events.

Index – First page is an index of collections, while the next page is an index of what page to turn to for each Monthly Log

Monthly Log – Calendar style, note the Habit Tracker on the side (to be discussed in the next section)

Weekly Log – Simple version, pre-divided sections but Daily Log is still the classic style

Weekly Log – Variation, notice how Tasks and Thoughts have been moved to a separate section, with a small section to remind you of Events in the short-term future.

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Bullet Journal: Basics And Bullets

Posted on by Jinavie

(This post is a part of the series “How to Bullet Journal”. Read the rest here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/howtobujo/?order=asc)

Life can become so busy that sometimes we lose track of things we need to do and things we have done already. A great way to keep track and organise your life is keeping a journal or planner. However, many people find this habit hard to keep up as it can be time-consuming to write diary entries and keeping a rigid planner can be quite cumbersome and boring.

A digital product designer from New York named Ryder Carroll decided to create a simpler system of journaling to combat these problems. The end-result of his many experiments is the Bullet Journal system.
A bullet journal is a note-taking system that is simple, rapid, highly customisable and forgiving.
The point of the system is that it can be as simple and minimalistic as you want, while forgiving you for making mistakes.
The strength of a bullet journal is that because it is so easy to use, it only takes 5-10 minutes of your day.

Your entries should be short, succinct and to-the-point to reduce the time and effort it takes. Because it is non-restrictive and customisable, you can tailor it to your own style and make it interesting so that you can keep it up as a habit.
It is a powerful tool that lets you plan for the future, organise your present and keep a record of your past. Essentially, it is an analogue archive of your life.

Although certain notebooks such as the Leuchtturm 1917 Dotted notebook is best thanks to its customisability, any notebook that you have lying around can become a bullet journal. In fact, it is a great idea to trial a bullet journal on an empty notebook to see if it fits your personality and to experiment with different styles and spreads to make it work the best for you.

Bullet journals utilise different kinds of bullets to simplify your life. It is useful to use three distinctive bullets: Tasks, Events and Notes.

  • A Task is something you have to do. You could use a “.” to denote a task, then cross it with a “X” when it is done. If you can’t finish the task by the set date, you can mark it as “>” to show that you have migrated it, meaning that you will do it by a new due date. Alternatively, you could draw a square for a task, fill in half of it when it is in progress, then completely fill it in when it is finished.
  • An Event is either a scheduled appointment or something that has occurred that day. You can use an “O” bullet, then tick it when it is finished. For example, if you have a dinner or doctor’s appointment, or if a friend just got engaged, you can mark it as an event.
  • Notes are essentially “everything else”. You can use a “–” to mark these. These can be a reminder to yourself of something that happened that day, a thought you had, or an observation you made. Essentially, anything from that day that you wanted to record in the journal can be written as a note.
  • The bullet journal is extremely customisable. This means that you can come up with your own bullets depending on what you want to record. For example, you may use “!” for a thought that crossed your mind or “?” to record something you learnt or want to look up later.
  • Bullets can be modified with signifiers, such as putting a “*” next to it to mark how important it is.
  • Because everyone has different preferences on what kind of bullets they use, it is helpful to create a Key at the start of your notebook so that it can index the different bullets you use and describe what they denote.

At its most basic form, all you need is the date, followed by a bullet point list. It’s as simple as that. This is the Daily Log.

That’s all you need to know to start bullet journaling. In the next section, we will look at different modules such as the Monthly Log and Future Log to better organise your life

Examples from my Bullet Journal:

Simplified guide to Bullet Journaling

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Key – Note that I use squares as I am used to it from working in the medical field

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Daily/weekly log – Very minimalistic style, this is the best way to start bullet journaling as it is simple and does not require much effort

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Oreo Fudge

Posted on by Jinavie

The following is a recipe to making a simple yet delicious fudge. Because it is a “cold fudge”, it requires little baking skills and can be made even by a rookie in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

  • Icing sugar 4 cups
  • Cream cheese 225g
  • White chocolate 425g
  • Vanilla extract 1.5 teaspoons
  • Oreo cookies (chopped) 14-15 (1 packet)

Instructions:

  1. Beat cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl using a mixer until smooth
  2. Heat white chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water (double boiler) until melted and smooth
  3. Stir melted white chocolate and ¾ of Oreo cookies into bowl of cream cheese mixture
  4. Spread mixture evenly into a baking dish lined with baking paper
  5. Press the remaining chopped Oreo cookies onto the surface of the fudge to decorate
  6. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours
  7. Cut into small squares (2-2.5cm size), serve chilled (store in fridge)
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(Recipe and image source: http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/12/13/oreo-fudge/)

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Silliness

Posted on by Jinavie

When we play with children and babies, we become silly. We make faces, use made-up words and play make believe. It seems that we have an innate drive to make as much of our interactions with children positive and fun. Perhaps this stems from a protective instinct; we wish to shield the innocent from the harsh realities of life. So instead of teaching cynicism and negativity, we encourage children to enjoy life and to be happy.

Yet we see adults doing the complete opposite. Acting silly is deemed immature and unseemly. Many cultures even condemn smiling and laughter because they believe it is the sign of an insincere fool. So instead of breaking into song and dance like any child would, many of us put on our most serious face and try to look “mature” and professional. In fact, this is beaten in to us so much during our twenties and thirties that a significant number of people forget the joy of being silly.

Why is it that we can only be silly in the company of children? Why do we forget that deep inside every adult, there hides an inner child wanting to enjoy life? So many people lament that they are unhappy while they deny themselves the infinite source of happiness they hold within.

It takes a very deep level of unhappiness for you to be incapable of smiling at the sight of a laughing baby. Remember that we were all happy children at one point in our lives. That child still lives in on us as we age – all they long for is for you to play and be silly with them.

Try singing a cliché pop song in the shower. Pretend you are in a musical and put a skip in your step while you listen to your favourite song. Laugh at how ridiculous you look while playing air guitar in front of the mirror.

Life is so much more enjoyable when you see it through the eyes of your inner child.

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Posted in Life & Happiness

On Tiredness

Posted on by Jinavie

“I’m tired because I didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
“I’m tired even though I’ve slept enough last night.”

“I’m tired because I have too much work to do.”
“I’m tired because I’m finishing up work.”

“I’m tired because I haven’t had coffee yet.”
“I’m tired even though I’ve drank coffee.”

“I’m tired because it’s Monday.”
“I’m tired because it’s Tuesday.”
“I’m tired because it’s Wednesday.”
“I’m tired because it’s Thursday.”
“I’m tired because it’s Friday.”

You aren’t tired when you are at a concert.
You aren’t tired when you’re fully immersed in a movie.
You aren’t tired when you’re on a date with someone you love.
You aren’t tired when you are doing something that you enjoy.

If you feel tired every day, then that is a sign you are doing something that you hate.
Instead of making another cup of coffee, try finding something that you love doing.

Your tiredness will simply melt away.

(Image source: Puuung http://www.grafolio.com/puuung1)

(from 1cm+ by Eun Joo Kim)

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Standards Of Happiness

Posted on by Jinavie

If we list some things that affect our happiness, they can sound a little ridiculous.

The angle the chair reclines to, where you sit at the meeting table, the country your bag was made in, a few letters at the sole of your shoes, the number of toilets at home…

Or respectively:

Business class or economy, boss or employee, “Made in Italy” or “Made in China”, famous brand or cheap brand, one-bedroom apartment or three-bedroom house.

Just a few hundred years ago, these things were not standards of happiness.
These standards were artificial sources of happiness created by consumerism to promote constant spending, or to create competitiveness to improve productivity.

Artificial happiness is usually relative. No matter how much you own, if you meet someone who owns more, you will feel unhappy.
Happiness itself has become a competition.

On the other hand, we also have these sources of happiness:

The number of friends who you can really connect with, flowers and trees, caring and love from your family, a healthy body, a delicious meal.

Above are natural sources of happiness that are absolute rather than relative. This means that once you achieve them, you do not feel less or more happy when you compare yourself to others.
Natural happiness was likely the standard of happiness hundreds of years ago, and will remain so hundreds of years in the future.
Natural happiness enriches the relationship to your soul.

In modern life, we are often systemically pushed into seeking artificial happiness.
But if you only seek artificial happiness, we will forget the absolute happiness we get from natural happiness, and be put in an ironic situation where we are competing to be happier than others.

What kind of happiness are you living today?

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(Image source: Puuung http://www.grafolio.com/puuung1)

(from 1cm+ by Eun Joo Kim)

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Kintsugi

Posted on by Jinavie

There is a type of Japanese pottery art called kintsugi (きんつぎ), which translates to “golden joinery”. Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery by filling the cracks with lacquer (treated tree sap commonly used to decorate pottery) that has been dusted with gold or silver powder. This gives the pottery a distinct look as the pattern of cracks are always random and unique.

Kintsugi is not only an art, but a philosophy. When something is broken, the common practice is to repair it in a way to hide the fact that it was ever damaged. Kintsugi takes the opposite approach by directly incorporating the break into the identity of the pottery.

It follows the Buddhist principle of impermanence and imperfection – understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. Instead of hiding the damage or throwing the pieces out altogether, kintsugi can produce something greater out of the pieces than its original form.

Nothing is constant in life. We are not perfect and cannot remain unflawed. Life constantly knocks us down, leaving us with scars. But when you get back up, you have two choices: to pretend you were never hurt and hide the pieces away, or to embrace that you are flawed but choose to show to the world how you mended yourself to become even more beautiful.

The lesson here is that it is okay to be imperfect or broken. What matters is what you can do with the pieces.

1 + 1 = 3

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Recipe For Happiness: Compassion

Posted on by Jinavie

(This is a three part mini-series on happiness. See the full series here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/arkhappyrecipe/?order=asc)

Human beings are social creatures. It is extremely difficult to be happy when you are isolated and lonely. The most important lesson on happiness is that we are truly happiest when we connect with others.

Connection – physical, emotional or spiritual – is linked to the neurotransmitter oxytocin. It is released in large amounts when we feel loved, such as when a mother sees her newborn, when we hug or even when we feel nostalgia.

Happiness from connection is special in that it is sustainable. Happiness from excitement, such as through money, winning and sex, is mediated by dopamine and wears off very quickly. You need more and more “hits” of dopamine to feel the same again. Oxytocin, on the other hand, allows you to feel happy just from recalling memories of your connections.

So how can we use oxytocin to become happier? As mentioned above, it is released through human connection. The easiest way to do this is spending time with your loved ones – have a conversation, share a laugh, get to know each other on a deeper level.
But there is an even more effective way: compassion.

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Because of our social nature, we have an innate desire to help those in need and alleviate suffering. But in modern society, we are so busy and consumed by our own lives that this instinct becomes dulled.
The first step to compassion is empathy. Through empathy, we can recognise and understand another person’s emotion. To do this, you have to practise the ability of seeing things from another person’s point of view. Consider how their values and experiences may influence how they behave and what they are feeling currently.

However, empathy alone does not create happiness. Compassion is when you recognise that someone is suffering and feel the desire to help alleviate it. Even the thought of wanting to help has been shown to induce happiness. When we show kindness and it makes even an iota of difference to the person’s suffering – such as putting a smile on their face – our brain instantly gets drowned in a sea of oxytocin and we genuinely feel good.

But as mentioned above, our sense of compassion has been worn away by the stress of daily life. Here is an exercise that can help train your compassion level.

Firstly, think of someone close to you who is suffering and wish them good fortune. The more often you do this, the easier the thoughts will come to you naturally.

Next, try doing the same to strangers. When you see someone on the streets or sit next to them on a bus, think to yourself: “I wish they would have a good day”. Even if you do not know who they are, you can wish them good fortune. They may not telepathically hear your thoughts, but the important part is training your compassion “muscle”.

The last step is the hardest. Think of your worst enemy, then wish them good fortune too. It is extremely difficult to respond to someone we hate with love. This is called uncomplementary behaviour in psychology and we are hardwired to do the opposite. Yet, when we do show kindness in the face of cruelty and hate, it can turn the situation upside-down and both parties can feel safer and happier.

The more you train your level of compassion, the more you will find that your interactions with others will be changing. You might find yourself smiling to strangers more, treating them with more kindness and feeling that the world is not that horrible a place after all. Most importantly, you might be able to show self-compassion, the most difficult task of all. Don’t be so hard on yourself; forgive your own mistakes and learn to love the awesome person that you are.

Be generous with your kindness. Every person in the world wants to be happy and a simple act of kindness from your end may shine some light on their day, and through empathy, you can feel happier also.

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Recipe For Happiness: Mindfulness

Posted on by Jinavie

(This is a three part mini-series on happiness. See the full series here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/arkhappyrecipe/?order=asc)

Mindfulness is the state of mind where you are aware of and attentive to the present, accepting it while not being judgemental. Simply put, it is “living in the moment”. It may sound easy, but in reality, we are not very skilled at sustaining attention to the present. We are easily distracted by regrets of the past or fears for the future. Even when we are aware of the present, we judge constantly. Thoughts such as “I can’t believe I said that, it’s so stupid” or “This person is annoying me so much, I hate it” are some examples.

When we are mindful, we can look into our brains and isolate what is really bothering us. Instead of being trapped within a maze of neurosis, you can look at your emotional response rationally. This allows you to try figuring out what is causing it and how you might fix it.

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For example, you might feel angry when your friend does not reply to your messages. Our default state is to feel angry and lash out at our friend. But from a mindful state, you might see that your anger stems from your belief that your friend does not care about you. Then, you might remember that your friend is very busy studying for an exam and realise that there was a fair reason for them not replying. By being mindful, you self-aborted the vicious cycle of negative emotions and prevented the unhappiness it could cause.

There have been numerous studies that have shown the benefits of mindfulness. Not only does it reduce stress and increase happiness, but it also improves your physical health. But unfortunately, mindfulness takes practice to develop.

Mindfulness is trained through meditation. During meditation, you enter a relaxed state where you can focus on your “mind’s eye” rather than worldly distractions. There are numerous types of exercises that are available, such as breathing exercises and guided meditation.

A mindfulness exercise you can try right now is the Five Senses Meditation.
First, focus on what you are seeing right now. Describe everything in detail: the pigeon flying away, the red-headed girl handing out pamphlets, the blue sky. Ignore your emotional response to what you see and focus only on what you actually see. Now, close your eyes and focus only on your hearing. Do you hear the twittering of birds, the chatter amongst people, the leaves rustling in the wind? Keep doing this one-by-one with your other senses: touch, smell and taste. With each sense, focus only on what you “see” through that sense, blocking out everything else. Focus on the feeling of your clothes on your body, the scent of the person sitting next to you, the aftertaste of the breakfast you just ate. Lastly, open your eyes.

You will now be able to see the little details of the moment you’re in, through heightened senses. Then you will realise that you exist in this moment. Not in the past or the future, but in the present that your senses are excitedly telling you about.
The key to happiness is not an epic quest to find the Holy Grail. All you need to do is pay attention and look around you.

Happiness is now.

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Recipe For Happiness: Gratitude

Posted on by Jinavie

(This is a three part mini-series on happiness. See the full series here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/arkhappyrecipe/?order=asc)

Dr Tony Fernando, psychiatrist and researcher at the University of Auckland, talks about three factors that appear to be key to living a happy, content life. They are gratitude, mindfulness and compassion.

Gratitude can be summarised by a quote by Rabbi Hyman Schachtel:

“Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have”.

We live in a society that drives us to want more – to become wealthier, more respected and more successful. Our never-ending desires are a great source of unhappiness. Gratitude is the attempt to fight this natural greed. This makes it difficult for us to become grateful: how can we be grateful when we feel miserable?

The key to gratitude is changing your perspective. A large part of our misery come from looking at the big picture. Houses are too expensive. My friends are all getting married but I am still single. I find my job dissatisfying. We sometimes lack the ability to see the forest for the trees; our idea of happiness are grand moments of success or excitement. Instead, perhaps we should be looking at the simple pleasures of life. Think of the little moments that made you smile today: meeting a friend for brunch, seeing a child play with a puppy, drinking a delicious milkshake, basking under the warm sunlight.

To become more grateful, one could try writing a gratitude diary. Every day, write down three (or even just one if it is too hard) things you were grateful that day. This trains you into actively thinking about simple pleasures. It may take a few weeks, but you will notice yourself becoming more aware of the little moments of happiness that fill your day that you took for granted. Eventually, you will reach a point where you are passively grateful throughout every day without having to think about it all times.

Recording a gratitude diary is one of the quickest and simplest ways to increase your happiness, with most people seeing noticeable positive effects within 1-2 months. The best part is that you leave a permanent record that you can look back on to realise how happy your life actually is when you see the forest for the trees.

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