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Yes, unstucking is a word and I don’t apologise for it at all.

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I’ve been meditating fairly consistently for the last few months (send your congratulatory emails to gareth.furber@flinders.edu.au).

One instruction that comes up again and again in meditation is simply this: “Just begin again.”

It’s a useful reminder, because there are lots of ways to get stuck while meditating. You get lost in thought. You start chasing a particular feeling. You judge how well or badly you think it’s going. And before you know it, you’ve descended into thinking quicksand.

“Just begin again” is a gentle reset. In meditation terms, it often means nothing more complicated than returning your attention to the breath.

Study, work, and university life have their own versions of these traps. We develop bad study habits. We don’t manage our time well. Our attendance starts to wane. Our coffee intake reaches levels discouraged by medical professionals.

We all fall into them. There’s no shame in that.

And just like in meditation, there are plenty of moments where you can simply begin again.

Maybe you’re just joining us at Flinders, having made a big life transition from school, work, or somewhere else entirely. That’s a genuine fresh start.

Maybe you’re returning for your second or third year of a degree, or continuing with Honours or a PhD. The start of a new year still offers a chance to reset.

But it’s not just the start of a year that counts.

Opportunities for fresh starts show up all the time: a new semester, the start of the month, the end of the month, a birthday, even a random Monday.

And look, not all fresh starts go well. I’d be horrified if I attempted to count the number of times that I said to myself ‘I’ll start …………. better on Monday’ and then failed to do so.

So there is a value in thinking about how to make a fresh start a more successful start. And I have contemplated this topic many times.

For the last few years I have worked on a ‘Getting Off To A Good Start‘ guide, intended for those joining us during orientation. The intention of that guide was sound (guide new students towards good choices) but it has got a bit bloated and disorganised over time.

Recently, with the help of AI, we pulled apart that article to try and extract a smaller more actionable set of good ideas. Instead of focusing on individual pieces of advice, we looked for thematic actions.

What we found were ten simple verbs — ten different ways a person can better activate a fresh start. Yes, ten is a very convenient number and I’m confident AI does like even numbers, Regardless, each is a different kind of move you can make.

Some are very practical. Some are reflective. Some involve action. Some involve reaching out.

Here’s how to use it:

As you read through the ten ‘get started’ actions below, just notice which ones feels most relevant to you right now. Which one could get you moving again?

For some of you, that might be logging into FLO (click), setting up your diary (diarise), deciding what you actually want to focus on this semester (decide), or reaching out for support (escalate). There should be at least one action here that fits your situation, no matter where you’re starting from.

Once you’ve identified something that seems relevant, do it, right after reading this post. You can even stop reading this post and go do the action if you want.

No pause, no delay, no putting it off till later. Take action on it now.

You can always bookmark this post and come back to it the next time you need to begin again.

Make sense?

Right, pick away……..

10 ways to get started again

Click 🖱️

Sometimes the most useful way to restart is to re-enter the matrix system. Clicking is about direct engagement: logging into your topics, reading the emails you’ve been sent, opening the orientation or topic pages you’ve been pointed toward, and visiting relevant support sites. It’s not glamorous, but it’s grounding and you are more likely than not to discover something interesting if you do. When things feel vague or overwhelming, simply reconnecting with where information actually lives can restore a sense of orientation and reduce anxiety.

• Log into the student site and then into FLO and open each of your topic sites, even if you don’t read everything yet.

• Open the most recent emails you’ve received from the university and skim them properly.

• Download the Read & Write tools into your browser.

• Browse the Student Services Page to see what kinds of supports and resources exist.

• Open the assessment information for one topic and check what’s due and when. Then diarise it (see below)

 

Connect 💬

Connection is about doing something that helps you feel part of something. This doesn’t have to be big. It can be as small as saying hi to someone in a lecture, replying to a discussion post, or sitting near others while you study in a non-creepy way. It can also be more intentional, like joining a club, attending an event, or taking on a small responsibility such as being a student rep. Feeling even loosely connected makes effort easier to sustain.

• Say hi to the person sitting next to you in a lecture or tutorial.

• Ask or answer one question in a tutorial, workshop, or online discussion space. Oh yeah and leave your camera on in online sessions.

• Message a classmate or study partner about the semester ahead and book your next study session.

• Attend one orientation or early-semester event, even briefly.

• Visit the clubs page, pick one and join.

 

Contemplate 🤔

Contemplation is the quiet step that often gets skipped. It’s about slowing down enough to notice how things are actually going. That might mean reflecting on past learning experiences, identifying what worked well, or naming one or two things you want to do differently this time. For starting the year well, contemplation is less about overthinking and more about setting a clear intention.

• Think about what worked well for you in previous study or work settings and why.

• Identify one thing that didn’t work so well last time and what you might try differently.

• Ask yourself: What do I want this year or semester to be about?

• Notice how you’re feeling about the year ahead — excited, anxious, flat, motivated — without judging it.

• Set aside a small block of time in the day for formal meditation/contemplation. Use an app to help.

Diarise 📅

Diarising is where good intentions meet reality. It involves taking your time seriously: putting assessment due dates into a calendar, scheduling lectures and tutorials, allocating study time, and accounting for work, family, and other commitments. This is one of the strongest “wellbeing” moves you can make because it reduces cognitive load and uncertainty. When your time is visible, it becomes manageable.

• Put all known assessment due dates into your diary or digital calendar.

• Schedule your lectures and tutorials so they’re visible week to week.

• Block out regular study time, even if it’s just a rough starting point. For a full-time schedule, try to set aside 36 hours in a week (including lectures and tutorials) as a starting point.

• Add work shifts, placements, family commitments, or travel time into your calendar so you have a better sense of what time is free for study.

• Write down the next concrete task you need to do for one topic.

 

Do ▶️

Doing is about changing the moment you’re in. It’s the immediate call to action — choosing one small, value-consistent step and taking it now. Sometimes that might even mean stopping reading this post and starting something else. This is similar to the idea of a choice point: asking yourself, “What would be a helpful move right now?” Momentum often follows action, not the other way around.

• Spend 10 minutes setting up a basic study space.

• Start watching one lecture or reading one document right now.

• Set a 5-minute timer and begin a task you’ve been avoiding. [editor’s note: I generally go with 30 minutes instead, just because I find 5 minutes doesn’t go well with complex tasks]

• Reduce one distraction (close a tab, silence notifications, move your phone).

• Take a short walk or stretch to reset your focus before returning to study.

 

Self-talk 💭

Self-talk is about deciding what kind of coach you want to be for yourself this year. Many of us default to a harsh, critical internal voice. A more helpful coach still wants you to do well and won’t let you drift indefinitely but also doesn’t turn nasty when things wobble. The way you talk to yourself shapes persistence far more than motivation does.

• Remind yourself: Confusion is part of learning.

• Say: Done is better than perfect.

• Notice when you’re being harsh with yourself and soften the language you’re using. Explore a protocol for building self-compassion.

• Acknowledge effort, not just outcomes. In your diary, write down what you achieve in a day, not just what you have coming up.

• Try speaking to yourself the way you would to a friend who wanted to do well.

 

Decide 🎯

Deciding comes into play when you’re stuck hovering. It’s for the moments of umming and ahhing, over-researching, or feeling paralysed by options. Deciding might mean choosing which subject to prioritise, which strategy to try first, what can wait, or when “good enough” really is good enough. Decisions reduce mental clutter and free up energy for action.

• Choose one subject or task to prioritise this week.

• Choose one thing from this article to do right now!

• Read this complex guide on evidence-based study tips, then decide which study strategy you’ll try first, rather than trying everything at once.

• Decide when “good enough” is good enough for a task.

• Commit to a short self-care experiment (e.g. For the next two weeks, I’ll set aside 20 minutes when I arrive home to play with the dog).

 

Escalate 🛎️

Escalation is about reaching out for help. This might involve asking a question, booking an appointment, using structured support, or moving from self-help to professional help. Escalating is not a sign of failure — it’s an adjustment. A good year isn’t one where nothing goes wrong; it’s one where support is used early and appropriately.

• Book a chat with a Success and Wellbeing Advisor.

• Contact Disability Support Services if a health or mental health condition is likely to affect your study.

• Ask a topic coordinator or tutor a clarifying question early.

• Access some mental health supports if you’re struggling.

• Speak to a GP or counsellor if stress or mood is becoming persistent.

 

Rest 😴

If you’re going to work hard, rest has to be deliberate. Rest includes sleep, breaks during the day, and moments of mental disengagement. It’s not the opposite of productivity. It’s what makes sustained effort possible. Starting again often means first allowing yourself to recover.

• Get to bed earlier tonight, even by 30 minutes.

• Aim to reduce your screen time by 30 minutes per day.

• Step outside for a few minutes without a task or goal.

• Build short rest breaks into longer study sessions. For these breaks, get away from screens.

• Give yourself permission to pause without labelling it as “wasting time”.

 

Care 💖

Care is about attending to the parts of life outside your degree. You are more than a student. Care includes your physical and mental health, relationships, interests, and responsibilities beyond university. When these areas are completely neglected, study usually suffers. When they’re tended to (even imperfectly) balance improves and effort becomes more sustainable.

• Eat a regular meal instead of skipping or rushing it.

• Drink some water before starting your next task.

• Move your body in a way that feels manageable today.

• Check in with someone important to you outside university.

• Do one small enjoyable or meaningful activity that isn’t about productivity.

Final thoughts

The nature of my work means that I have many projects running in parallel.

This can lead to a brain freeze when I ask myself ‘what should I get started with today?’

The secret (at least for me) is usually to just get started on something. Once I am mentally moving, then decisions get easier as you go along.

The hardest decision seems to be the first one, that moves you from a state of not really doing anything, to doing something.

That first choice is the danger point for procrastination, where the mental difficulty of the first decision fuels the decision to ‘put it off till later’.

But I suspect that future you, much like future me, isn’t any more equipped than you are right now to get started.

So have faith in current you 🙂