Pin Your Way Through School and Life

September 16, 2019
by Kat

Life Hacks

First off, if you don’t have a Pinterest account, stop reading this and go create an account. Now that we have that squared away, Pinterest saves lives! I started using the site back in high school, and have continued now into my graduate studies. I can honestly say that I have used this resource countless times over the years. You can find almost anything you can think of on this site and save it by “pinning” it to different boards that you create. Plus they have an app which makes it super convenient to have on your phone. Pinterest is known for being the go-to place for DIY’s, which it is. But it is also my go-to place to find recipes, fitness motivation, and even hairstyle inspiration for my curly hair. Over the years of using Pinterest, I have created a lot of boards and pinned tons of things. I’d like to share some of the items I have saved and some tips on how to search and use the site:

1. Meal Prepping
   Meal prepping makes balancing graduate school, work, and trying to eat healthy while on a budget doable. Personally, I am not a plain baked chicken, with plain rice, and plain veggies kind of girl. I like to eat well seasoned and spiced up food. This is where Pinterest helps me find new and exciting recipes to try. When searching for a new meal to try, it depends on the mood I am in. Sometimes I’ll search for quick easy dinners while other times I search for a specific dish like roasted vegetables. Here is a pin that has 30 minute meal prepping ideas.
2. Self-Care
   Self-care is important at any stage in life. Finding time for self-care with a busy schedule can seem like a chore. At least for me it can be. Searching for self-care pins has broadened my perspective on what self-care means. One pin in particular that has helped me is 6 Types of Self-Care. This sight breaks self-care down into 6 categories: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, and sensory. Viewing self-care in this manner has helped me follow through with remembering to take time for myself.
3. Study Habits
   Coming into graduate school, I had a pretty good idea of what study habits worked for me. I am a visual learner and I need to write things out so I can get kinesthetic feedback. However, with different classes and types of materials, sometimes I need to switch up my study approach. Search terms such as study habits college or study habits for exams have provided useful tips.
4. OT Interventions
   Believe it or not, you can even find OT intervention ideas on Pinterest. This past summer, I did my level II fieldwork at an outpatient sensory integration clinic. Towards the end of my fieldwork, I managed my own caseload of clients and was responsible for creating interventions, or activities, for each client based on their age, diagnosis, and interests. In searching OT interventions for kids on Pinterest, I came across a fun pizza making craft activity that I then tailored to match the skills that clients were working towards to meet their goals. Making pizza was a hit with my clients! They were very engaged!

Long story short . . . there are pins out there for everything. Pinterest has millions of ideas that you can add your own spin to and make your own. Just play around with search terms and word combinations. Happy pinning!

*Disclaimer: Not sponsored by Pinterest. I just wanted to pass along a resource.*

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