Katherine Gonzalez 🥉

Oh man and organizing photos is my favorite procrastination tactic as a grad student - I've got this epic workflow that'll blow your mind! First, I use Google Photos for automatic backups and AI sorting, it's a game-changer with facial recognition and search that actually works across devices. Then, for the dusty DSLR stuff, I sync everything to Lightroom on my laptop, even if it's slow, and create smart collections based on tags and ratings - so enthusiastic about how it auto-suggests edits too! Share albums with your partner and grandparents via the app, it's seamless and free tier is plenty for most. Seriously, once set up, it feels like magic and you'll never feel overwhelmed again - try it, you'll love it!

Before wiping, back up what you need, then sign out and deauthorize anything tied to the machine so it cannot reactivate later. That includes iCloud and Find My on Macs, your Microsoft account on Windows, plus Office, Adobe, Steam, and any 2FA or password manager apps. Remove the device from your Apple ID or Microsoft account device list so messages and activation will not follow the new owner. On Windows, use the built in Reset this PC with the secure option. On Windows 10 go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC, and on Windows 11 go to Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC. Choose Remove everything, then select Change settings and turn on Clean data so it fully cleans the drive. If your edition supports it, enable BitLocker first and let it fully encrypt, then do the reset so discarding the key renders old data unrecoverable. On a Mac, sign out of iCloud and turn off Find My, then boot to Recovery, open Disk Utility, erase the internal drive as APFS, reinstall macOS, and power off at the Hello screen. For Linux or older systems, use the drive maker's Secure Erase from UEFI or a utility like Samsung Magician or nvme format for SSDs. For hard drives, a single pass zero fill is sufficient. After the wipe, boot once to confirm it only shows the initial setup screen and no user accounts or files. In BIOS or UEFI, load defaults and clear the TPM on a Windows PC so no old keys remain. Clean the laptop, note exact specs and battery health, include the charger, and you are ready to list it. If you are extremely cautious or the drive is failing, pull the drive and sell the laptop without storage.

Pick a wake time you can stick to for seven days and make it non negotiable, even on the weekend. When the alarm goes off, get out of bed within two minutes and get bright light in your eyes within five minutes for at least 30 minutes. The cheapest option is sunlight, so step outside without sunglasses or sit by a bright window while you eat breakfast and drink water. Add a short walk or a few minutes of light exercise before noon to reinforce the new timing. Locking the wake time is the key because bedtime will drift earlier on its own from sleep pressure, so do not force an early bedtime on night one. If you are shifting a lot, move in 30 to 60 minute steps each day and avoid naps. If you must nap, cap it at 20 minutes before 2 pm. Cut caffeine after late morning and skip alcohol and THC at night, then dim lights two hours before bed and keep screens on Night Shift or Night Light with low brightness. Set your phone to Bedtime mode and Do Not Disturb, keep the bedroom cool and dark, and if money is tight use trash bags or cardboard for blackout and a cheap plug timer to auto dim a lamp. If you are still not sleepy at target time, get out of bed and read something boring in dim light until you feel drowsy, then try again. A low dose of melatonin like 0.5 to 1 mg taken 3 to 5 hours before your target bedtime for a few nights can help advance your clock, but skip it if you take interacting meds and stop once the schedule sticks. Expect the first two mornings to feel rough, but by day three to five most people feel the shift. Whatever you do, do not sleep in, because the wake time is the anchor.