Which one?

Make a list of all the tasks you need to do, pick the ‘hardest’ one first (psychologically hardest for you), and force yourself to just make a start, even if you tell yourself you’ll just do 5 mins, it’s usually easier to keep going longer once you make that start. Pomodoro technique, 25 mins focus, 5 min break to move about, works well for me.

I would also say be targeted. It’s only first year at uni, depending on where you are studying it might not be that challenging or even important to you final degree. Make sure you know how you’re being assessed, what the learning outcomes are, and if there’s stuff that’s new to you, or you’re rusty on, spend time learning that. But for things you already know from school, it’s fine to just dip in and out, do a bit to reassure yourself you know it well enough, then go socialise, get some exercise, do a hobby, join a student society. All those things are good for you, some can even look good on a CV, and it’s likely you’ll have to de-prioritise them a bit in later years of your degree, so enjoy the chance while it’s there!

Doesn’t address OP’s question - still the most important comment.

I love how the top 4 comments in this pretty active post represent a substantially different approaches to the question.

I… actually liked the Da Vinci Code 😶‍🌫️. I think I even read the sequel/ the author’s next book. I mean, I was a teenager at the time it came out, looking for some light holiday reading… I think my mum had read it and thought I would enjoy it…

“fragment”

Psytrance is ideal. Designed for dancing yourself into a trance, perfect for energetic flow state concentration, like studying.

They’re lucky you didn’t fall over and get injured! I’m sure it’s not the first time the staff have had that happen though…

So this one time in my early 20s, I was at a hippie sort of festival- type thing (rainbow gathering, for anyone interested) up in the hills in Yorkshire. The toilet situation was just piss on the grass, anywhere outside of the main areas, use your common sense. For number twos, there were “shit-pits”, it’s a trench, you squat with one foot on each side, take a shit, then chuck in a handful of two of fire ash and soil to cover it, job done. There’s a beach windbreak for a bit of privacy, and the pits are a bit away from where other stuff is going on. So anyway, there I am, squatting, getting ready to answer a call of nature, when this young woman comes and squats down right in front of me, facing me. Beautiful woman, big long dreads, cute face, nose ring… I freeze up, most awkward I’ve ever been, while she maintains eye contact, squeezes one out, wipes up, and goes on her way without a word. Then I unfreeze and carry on with my day. Weird memory.

Are there any girders in the picture then? Or none, or impossible to tell? I can’t see any, by that definition.

Hard to give much advice without knowing much about your lifestyle, but I try to prioritise sleep above all else. If I need to be up at 6am, I’ll make my herbal tea at 8pm and start winding down, be in bed by 9.30 so I can read a bit and be sure I’m asleep by 10. If I’m having trouble sleeping I’ll look at cutting caffeine completely, and/or no screens before bed. The other part (for me) is physical activity/ exercise. It’s hard to get started when you’re exhausted, but once it’s a habit, it gives you more reserves. And improves your sleep.

I think the material conditions in Iraq had a major impact on the ability of ISIS to recruit and spread their ideology.

I started working at the same company as my neighbour (different office), but haven’t managed to bring it up in a normal human casual conversation way. Now I have to worry about him seeing my pass, or other company paraphernalia, or spotting my t-shirt drying on the line, because it’d be weird if that happened before I say something. On top of the usual just trying not to run into anyone and have awkward smalltalk moments.

My parent’s generation in the UK experienced things like the three day week ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Day_Week ), major disruptions to normal life due to strikes. In the end, the Conservatives in some ways ‘won’ and so this has gone down in the cultural memory as unions having ‘too much power’. Add to this that, largely due to unrelated geopolitical and macroeconomic reasons, the 70s (when unions had more power) were hard times, and in the 80s (when Thatcher and Reagan were doing their thing) things felt like they were getting better for lots of people (even though with hindsight inequality was starting to grow and the seeds of many of today’s problems were being planted).

Someone already mentioned the community aspect, but I’d like to add gratitude.

I think there are studies/evidence to show that consciously cultivating a feeling of gratitude is good for our mental health and happiness. Everyone has some things in life that are good, big or small, and it can be so easy to take everyday things for granted. Taking time each day to think about how lucky we are, and be grateful, is part of many religious people’s prayer practice. Obviously anyone could do this without believing in a god, but we don’t tend to as often without that framework.

From what I could find out I think most T480 have 8 GB soldered and a slot for replaceable ram. But then the seller I got mine from was offering them with 16, 32 or 64 GB ram, so hopefully that means two non-soldered slots.

Thanks, yeah I’ve gone for a t480 in the end. I think prices are slightly higher for hardware over here than in the US, but I feel I got a good deal as long as it all works properly when it arrives.

Yeah I’m planning to install Linux on my old laptop for just home use so I can get familiar and learn a bit of command line stuff, and hopefully make the switch fully at some point. But for now I don’t feel confident that the Linux learning curve wouldn’t slow me down to much, so I’m about to face the horrors of Win 11 Pro (-_-)

That’s what I’ve gone for in the end, so thanks for the advice!

I think I’d rather give up computers for ever than try to use the web versions of word or excel again. And I’ve explored the option of Linux in another thread but the consensus was concentrate on your degree, then find time to learn and troubleshoot Linux later.