Category Archives: Update

The end of one road

For better or worse, my Honours thesis has been handed in.

I collected my certificate of Graduation for Bachelor of Arts (Internet Communications) from the Curtin University graduations office this afternoon.

BA (Internet Communications)

Not bad going for someone who signed up for her first university unit “just to see what it’s like” just over 3 years ago.

Not bad going for someone who thought she’d try this uni thing to see if she had what it took to get a magical piece of paper.

Not bad going for someone who didn’t finish Year 12 either of the times she started it.

Thesis

24 undergraduate units.

2 Honours units and one dissertation.

58 spiral bound pages.

 

And, I hope, one walk across a stage in February, a smile, a handshake, and a magical piece of paper with the word “Honours” on it.

So, this blogging thing.

Yes. I’ll admit it. I’ve been incredibly slack in making regular posts.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve been looking into productivity/blogging tools, which I thought I’d share with you all.

If you’ve used any of the following, of if you have other tools to share, I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Now, in no particular order, here come the links:

Grammarly
Pitching itself as the world’s best grammar checker, this website contains an automated proofreader and says it can act as “your personal grammar coach.” Apparently, it can catch up to 10 times more mistakes than normal error checkers. I am yet to really put it to the test, having only used it for little pieces, but it does seem to do a good job. I think I’ll give it a go at sections of my Honours project next.

Every month you get a clean bowling-esque score card. If you write anything at all, you get 1 point. If you write 750 words or more, you get 2 points. If you write two, three or more days in a row, you get even more points. How I see it, points can motivate. It’s fun to try to stay on streaks and the points are a way to play around with that. You can also see how others are doing points-wise if you’re at all competitive that way.

Now, I haven’t used this one at all myself, but I thought it looked good, so I’m going to give it a go this coming month and I’ll get back to you with my findings.

HemingwayApp
Genius. Pure, unadulterated genius. This app has really given me a new zest for editing my work, which was something I have always loathed. If, like me, you really dislike editing or reviewing your written pieces, then this will make the chore colourful and easy! Each colour equates to a different focus of editing, meaning you can write clearly and concisely without breaking into a sweat! All of the love for this one. Give it a go and let me know if you love it too.

Kittens?Written?Kitten!
Have a deadline you’ve been ignoring for ages? Got an assignment you just want to forget exists? How’s that report going? Still not started? Allow me to introduce “Written? Kitten!” No spoilers for this one. You just have to go and use it. Let’s just say, I love this one even more than the HemingwayApp, despite it not necessarily being anymore productive than watching YouTube cat videos…

Got a tip or tool for staying productive in the face of ennui and eternal word counts? Share it in the comments below!