PRODUCTIVITY: What's in my Bag (October 2018)
DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS NO AFFILIATE OR SPONSOR LINKS. I'm just sharing for more information
For the first post of the week, I've decided to start with something easy: a What's In My Bag post for the month of October. The bag in question is a Fjallraven Kanken Backpack (the medium sized one mind you) that I bought from Urban Outfitters @ Mall of San Juan.
The bag for all hipsters and minimalists who value their backs far more than their wallets
Source: Fjallraven US $80.00 w/o tax
My bag contains mostly what I use on a normal day (be it work or otherwise), to try and maintain a Need to Use Basis. Loading up your bags with everything you THINK you'll use rather than what you KNOW will use can cause long term effects. In fact, there's a growing trend called Heavy Purse Syndrome, that can cause unnatural posture, cramps, headaches, muscles and more (Source: Time.com, Healthline.com). As someone who has frequent back and headaches, I look for the most reasonable ways to reduce my load and focus on what I truly need during a full work day. So without further ado, let's dissect my bag.
You might be wondering why there's a fan in my bag...well...if there was one thing I learned during the still-ongoing recovery process from Hurricane Maria, is that you can't trust that any place you visit has power and if it does, to have air conditioning. With an average temperature of 85º Fahrenheit/ 29º Celsius, Puerto Rico is well within the subtropical rain-forest weather and refreshment is in order, hence the sunglasses from the harsh sun. Not pictured, my reusable water bottle that gets refilled every two or three hours.
Next up are the Stabilo BOSS Highlighters in Pastels ($8.99 w/o tax), all labeled with my color coding as a clue. I truly do like these highlighters as they have a rich color to them and dry quickly. That said, it does drag any water-based inks, which is why I have a variety of pens:
1. a Sharpie Pen with a limited edition Penguin Black decoration (because penguins are glorious, don't @ me.)
2. The InkJoy Quattro in the classic Black-Blue-Red-Green scheme
3. The Manuscript Refillable Calligraphy Fountain pen (the aforementioned water-based ink pen and my zero-waste pen by excellence)
4. A Kuretake ZIG Letter Pen COCOIRO Pen for drawing and lining any doodles
Not the most waste-reducing but everything save for the Manuscript and the Kuretake are being phased out of my life. My refillable TUL Notebook is also my everything, from planner to bullet journal to the daily to-do list. I tried going paperless for a month in August but nothing beats the accessibility of paper notes. Also a spare 8 GB USB Drive for any emergency or document saving. It's happened far more often than I care to admit that I have to rush out to print a document or have a copy of something before I run into electronic issues.
Speaking of waste-reduction, I have a small zero-waste kit with me always: a metal straw, a microfiber cloth (not pictured because it was getting a wash), a bamboo spork, a Klipo Cutlery Set (not pictured because they were being washed) that I've had for years now and some dental hygiene products. Normally I carry with me some lip products to retouch but I had none of that with me at that moment. I mostly do my make-up either at home, or at the gym, so I carry only what's essential.
Which is the central theme of my bag: essential. I could easily carry more things, but I choose not to. I carry only what I need, what I know I'll use on the day. Of course these will vary from day to day but the point remains: carry only what you know will be used that day. It will ease your back and your mind as you know exactly what's in your bag.
- Swattie
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