https://sustainabilitymethods.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Matteo&feedformat=atomSustainability Methods - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T18:02:10ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.33.0https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6968Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T18:03:38Z<p>Matteo: /* Getting professional support */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support. Here's an overview:<br />
<br />
<br>[[File:Finding a therapist.png|600px|center|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br><br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Hereafter, we describe each individual step from A to C and 1 to 4.<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
'''Important:''' We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d. If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [[Notion]]. We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
'''Meditation''' can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [https://www.headspace.com/ Headspace] and [https://www.tenpercent.com/ 10% Happier]. You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An '''appreciation journal''' might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
'''Journalling''' might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
'''Confide in people you trust.''' It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
# '''Sleep regularly and long enough.''' For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world. <br />
# '''Eat & drink regularly.''' Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day. <br />
# '''Do sports.''' Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
# '''Regularity.''' This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important.<br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
* '''Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden''' von Stefanie Stahl: https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/ (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6967Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T18:02:47Z<p>Matteo: /* Getting professional support */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support. Here's an overview:<br />
<br />
<br>[[File:Finding a therapist.png|600px|center|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br><br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
'''Important:''' We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d. If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [[Notion]]. We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
'''Meditation''' can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [https://www.headspace.com/ Headspace] and [https://www.tenpercent.com/ 10% Happier]. You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An '''appreciation journal''' might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
'''Journalling''' might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
'''Confide in people you trust.''' It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
# '''Sleep regularly and long enough.''' For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world. <br />
# '''Eat & drink regularly.''' Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day. <br />
# '''Do sports.''' Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
# '''Regularity.''' This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important.<br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
* '''Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden''' von Stefanie Stahl: https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/ (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6966Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T18:02:27Z<p>Matteo: /* Getting professional support */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support. Here's an overview:<br />
<br />
<br>[[File:Finding a therapist.png|800px|center|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br><br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
'''Important:''' We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d. If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [[Notion]]. We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
'''Meditation''' can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [https://www.headspace.com/ Headspace] and [https://www.tenpercent.com/ 10% Happier]. You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An '''appreciation journal''' might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
'''Journalling''' might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
'''Confide in people you trust.''' It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
# '''Sleep regularly and long enough.''' For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world. <br />
# '''Eat & drink regularly.''' Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day. <br />
# '''Do sports.''' Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
# '''Regularity.''' This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important.<br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
* '''Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden''' von Stefanie Stahl: https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/ (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6965Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T18:01:54Z<p>Matteo: /* Getting professional support */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
<br>[[File:Finding a therapist.png|800px|center|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br><br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
'''Important:''' We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d. If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [[Notion]]. We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
'''Meditation''' can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [https://www.headspace.com/ Headspace] and [https://www.tenpercent.com/ 10% Happier]. You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An '''appreciation journal''' might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
'''Journalling''' might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
'''Confide in people you trust.''' It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
# '''Sleep regularly and long enough.''' For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world. <br />
# '''Eat & drink regularly.''' Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day. <br />
# '''Do sports.''' Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
# '''Regularity.''' This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important.<br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
* '''Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden''' von Stefanie Stahl: https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/ (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6964Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T18:00:09Z<p>Matteo: /* Links & Further reading */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
[[File:Finding a therapist.png|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
'''Important:''' We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d. If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [[Notion]]. We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
'''Meditation''' can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [https://www.headspace.com/ Headspace] and [https://www.tenpercent.com/ 10% Happier]. You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An '''appreciation journal''' might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
'''Journalling''' might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
'''Confide in people you trust.''' It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
# '''Sleep regularly and long enough.''' For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world. <br />
# '''Eat & drink regularly.''' Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day. <br />
# '''Do sports.''' Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
# '''Regularity.''' This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important.<br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
* '''Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden''' von Stefanie Stahl: https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/ (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6963Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:59:33Z<p>Matteo: /* Lifestyle choices */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
[[File:Finding a therapist.png|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
'''Important:''' We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d. If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [[Notion]]. We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
'''Meditation''' can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [https://www.headspace.com/ Headspace] and [https://www.tenpercent.com/ 10% Happier]. You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An '''appreciation journal''' might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
'''Journalling''' might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
'''Confide in people you trust.''' It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
# '''Sleep regularly and long enough.''' For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world. <br />
# '''Eat & drink regularly.''' Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day. <br />
# '''Do sports.''' Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
# '''Regularity.''' This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important.<br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6962Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:58:53Z<p>Matteo: /* Practices */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
[[File:Finding a therapist.png|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
'''Important:''' We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d. If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [[Notion]]. We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
'''Meditation''' can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [https://www.headspace.com/ Headspace] and [https://www.tenpercent.com/ 10% Happier]. You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An '''appreciation journal''' might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
'''Journalling''' might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
'''Confide in people you trust.''' It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
1. **Sleep regularly and long enough**. For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. **Eat & drink regularly.** Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.<br />
3. **Do sports.** Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
4. **Regularity.** This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important. <br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6961Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:57:42Z<p>Matteo: /* III) Managing the process */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
[[File:Finding a therapist.png|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
'''Important:''' We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d. If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [[Notion]]. We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
**Meditation** can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [Headspace](https://www.headspace.com/) and [10% Happier](https://www.tenpercent.com/). You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An **appreciation journal** might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
**Journalling** might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
********************************Confide in people you trust.******************************** It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
1. **Sleep regularly and long enough**. For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. **Eat & drink regularly.** Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.<br />
3. **Do sports.** Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
4. **Regularity.** This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important. <br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Notion&diff=6960Notion2023-03-06T17:57:25Z<p>Matteo: /* Goals */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| '''[[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || [[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]] || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
'''Notion is an all-in-one online workspace''' that allows you to take notes, organize your knowledge, manage yourself and collaborate on projects. If you feel overwhelmed by managing your lecture notes and connecting everything study- or work-related, Notion might be a good tool to integrate all your different activities.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Notion is extremely useful if you need to organize yourself and your team(s) and have your very own knowledge database.<br />
<br />
== Getting started ==<br />
Getting started with Notion is easy. First off, you need to create yourself an account. If you're a student or an educator, you can have a pro-license for free:<br />
<br />
'''For students:''' https://www.notion.so/students <br/><br />
'''For educators:''' https://www.notion.so/educators<br />
<br />
Once you have done that, you can go to http://notion.so/ and start building your very own Notion workspace. While most features are pretty self-explanatory, here are two very good introductory videos that you may use to acquaint yourself with the platform:<br />
<br />
'''Notion Beginner Training''' (8 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA7si7AmPkY <br/><br />
'''Notion Advanced Training''' (13 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxQjqYN23vc<br />
<br />
<br />
'''Some general features we found especially helpful'''<br />
* By typing "/" on any given page, you can do pretty much everything in Notion: create To Do Lists, new pages, tables, calendars, kanban boards, timelines and lists; or embed videos, pictures, documents, websites, tweets, maps, code... The opportunities are almost endless.<br />
* Through the use of "@", you can easily tag everyone that also uses your Notion space (e.g. in group projects) for any task, info, or question you type on any page. They get notified, and you don't have to notify them yourself.<br />
* You can make pages refer to each other: a table can grab information from another table, and a task that is created on one page pops up on another page.<br />
* There is a smartphone app for Notion which is actually very useful.<br />
* You can grant external users the rights to work on selected pages only if you want to restrict collaborative access.<br />
<br />
That's it, you're ready to dive deep into Notion. See the "Links & Further reading" section for templates and tips!<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
* [https://www.notion.so/matteoramin/Notion-Template-for-Students-02f3b1819666404d9506eea9113befd2 A template designed by us] for helping students organize their studies (and themselves).<br />
* [https://www.notion.vip/insights/pro-tips/ Notion Pro Tips]<br />
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONG26-2mIHU An introductory video]] by Ali Abdaal<br />
<br />
----<br />
__NOTOC__<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Productivity Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Collaborative Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 2-10]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 11-30]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6959Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:55:39Z<p>Matteo: /* 2) Call therapists */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
[[File:Finding a therapist.png|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
* '''Ask friends and family.''' You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
* '''Talk to your medical insurance''' Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
* '''Use a system to keep track of all the therapists''' Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
**Important:** We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: [](https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d). If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion](https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion). We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing)<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
**Meditation** can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [Headspace](https://www.headspace.com/) and [10% Happier](https://www.tenpercent.com/). You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An **appreciation journal** might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
**Journalling** might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
********************************Confide in people you trust.******************************** It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
1. **Sleep regularly and long enough**. For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. **Eat & drink regularly.** Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.<br />
3. **Do sports.** Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
4. **Regularity.** This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important. <br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6958Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:54:54Z<p>Matteo: /* 1) Look up nearby therapists */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
[[File:Finding a therapist.png|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
# '''The public [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice eTerminService]'''. It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you. <br />
# '''[https://psych-info.de/ psych-info.de]''' is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above. <br />
# '''[https://www.jameda.de/ Jameda]''' also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
# '''Use a search engine''' of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
* [https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html ZAP Nord (TP)]<br><br />
* [https://www.mova-institut.de/ MoVA Institut]<br><br />
* [https://www.ivah.de/ IVAH]<br><br />
* [https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html DGVT]<br><br />
* [https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html Uni HH]<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
- **Ask friends and family.** You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
- **Talk to your medical insurance.** Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
- **Use a system to keep track of all the therapists.** Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
**Important:** We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: [](https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d). If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion](https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion). We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing)<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
**Meditation** can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [Headspace](https://www.headspace.com/) and [10% Happier](https://www.tenpercent.com/). You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An **appreciation journal** might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
**Journalling** might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
********************************Confide in people you trust.******************************** It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
1. **Sleep regularly and long enough**. For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. **Eat & drink regularly.** Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.<br />
3. **Do sports.** Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
4. **Regularity.** This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important. <br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6957Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:51:16Z<p>Matteo: /* B) Psychological Counselling for students */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
[[File:Finding a therapist.png|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
* [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
* Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
* There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
1. **The public eTerminservice**, available here: [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice](https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice). It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. <br />
If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you.<br />
2. [**psych-info.de**](https://psych-info.de/) is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above.<br />
3. [**Jameda**](https://www.jameda.de/) also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
4. **Use a search engine** of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
- [ZAP Nord (TP)](https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html)<br />
- [MoVA Institut](https://www.mova-institut.de/)<br />
- [IVAH](https://www.ivah.de/)<br />
- [DGVT](https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html)<br />
- [Uni HH](https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html)<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
- **Ask friends and family.** You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
- **Talk to your medical insurance.** Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
- **Use a system to keep track of all the therapists.** Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
**Important:** We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: [](https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d). If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion](https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion). We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing)<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
**Meditation** can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [Headspace](https://www.headspace.com/) and [10% Happier](https://www.tenpercent.com/). You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An **appreciation journal** might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
**Journalling** might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
********************************Confide in people you trust.******************************** It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
1. **Sleep regularly and long enough**. For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. **Eat & drink regularly.** Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.<br />
3. **Do sports.** Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
4. **Regularity.** This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important. <br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6956Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:50:53Z<p>Matteo: /* Getting professional support */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
A) Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
B) Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
C) Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
[[File:Finding a therapist.png|finding_a_therapist_overview]]<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ Link to Youtube]<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a ''student'' in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
- [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs Psychologische Beratungsstelle] <br><br />
- Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([http://mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de pbs.lg@swt-on.de]) or phone ([tel://(04131)%20789%2063%20-%2025 (04131) 789 63 - 25])<br><br />
- There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen Link]<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
1. **The public eTerminservice**, available here: [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice](https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice). It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. <br />
If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you.<br />
2. [**psych-info.de**](https://psych-info.de/) is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above.<br />
3. [**Jameda**](https://www.jameda.de/) also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
4. **Use a search engine** of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
- [ZAP Nord (TP)](https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html)<br />
- [MoVA Institut](https://www.mova-institut.de/)<br />
- [IVAH](https://www.ivah.de/)<br />
- [DGVT](https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html)<br />
- [Uni HH](https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html)<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
- **Ask friends and family.** You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
- **Talk to your medical insurance.** Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
- **Use a system to keep track of all the therapists.** Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
**Important:** We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: [](https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d). If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion](https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion). We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing)<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
**Meditation** can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [Headspace](https://www.headspace.com/) and [10% Happier](https://www.tenpercent.com/). You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An **appreciation journal** might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
**Journalling** might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
********************************Confide in people you trust.******************************** It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
1. **Sleep regularly and long enough**. For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. **Eat & drink regularly.** Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.<br />
3. **Do sports.** Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
4. **Regularity.** This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important. <br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=File:Finding_a_therapist.png&diff=6955File:Finding a therapist.png2023-03-06T17:48:00Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>Overview of the process for finding a therapist</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6954Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:44:30Z<p>Matteo: /* Goals */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br><br><br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br><br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br><br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br><br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
**A)** Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
**B)** Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
**C)** Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
![Untitled](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/92e5bbaf-f59c-4d2f-bed1-351129757433/Untitled.png)<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ)<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a *student* in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
- Psychologische Beratungsstelle ([https://stw-on.de/lüneburg/beratung/pbs](https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs))<br />
- Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([pbs.lg@stw-on.de](mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de)) or phone [(04131) 789 63 - 25](tel://(04131) 789 63 - 25))<br />
- There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/lüneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen](https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen)<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
1. **The public eTerminservice**, available here: [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice](https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice). It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. <br />
If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you.<br />
2. [**psych-info.de**](https://psych-info.de/) is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above.<br />
3. [**Jameda**](https://www.jameda.de/) also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
4. **Use a search engine** of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
- [ZAP Nord (TP)](https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html)<br />
- [MoVA Institut](https://www.mova-institut.de/)<br />
- [IVAH](https://www.ivah.de/)<br />
- [DGVT](https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html)<br />
- [Uni HH](https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html)<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
- **Ask friends and family.** You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
- **Talk to your medical insurance.** Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
- **Use a system to keep track of all the therapists.** Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
**Important:** We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: [](https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d). If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion](https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion). We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing)<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
**Meditation** can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [Headspace](https://www.headspace.com/) and [10% Happier](https://www.tenpercent.com/). You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An **appreciation journal** might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
**Journalling** might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
********************************Confide in people you trust.******************************** It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
1. **Sleep regularly and long enough**. For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. **Eat & drink regularly.** Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.<br />
3. **Do sports.** Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
4. **Regularity.** This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important. <br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6953Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:43:26Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br />
'''Disclaimer'''<br />
This article is based solely on our own experience and research. When using the first person singular below, it is the authors own experience, whereas ‘we’ means that the Wiki team sprinkled in their experiences. Thus, this page can and should not be a substitute for professional support. Nonetheless, we hope to provide you with some valuable resources that can provide some help in challenging times. It is also mainly written for students in Lüneburg, and therefore has local context. We hope it might still be helpful to others.<br />
<br />
If you have urgent and acute psychological problems, please contact one of the professional points of contact below!<br />
<br />
'''Institutsambulanz der Psychiatrischen Klinik Lüneburg (PKL)'''<br />
Am Wienebüttler Weg 121339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 00 oder<br />
Tel. (04131) 601 16 22 (Aufnahme)<br />
<br />
'''Psychiatrischer Krisendienst am Wochenende'''<br />
Tel. (04131) 602 60<br />
<br />
'''Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Lüneburg'''<br />
Am Graalwall 4<br />
21339 Lüneburg<br />
Tel. (04131) 26 14 97<br />
<br />
== Introduction ==<br />
<br />
Sometimes, changes beyond our own control can impact our mental well-being to the extent that we are unable to cope with it just by ourselves. Many of us have never been taught how to cope with mental hardship, and societal norms of individualism and toughness can make it hard to acknowledge that at some point, we can simply not carry on with our lives using our usual coping mechanisms. <br />
<br />
The pandemic amplified these issues manyfold, and we know how many students are currently struggling with their mental health, especially when university, jobs and life are still setting high demands on our ability to "function". We know this is for many parts a societal problem. Nevertheless, if you feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed at any one moment, you have little options but to start with yourself. This is why we want to provide this article: as a means to help you get through difficult times.<br />
<br />
We offer two resources here.<br />
<br />
The first is a guide on how to get professional help. From our experience, this can be one of the hardest things to do when you're already down, and the existing health care systems don't make it easier to actually find support. Here, we tried to collect resources and mould them into a step-by-step instruction to help you find professional help as straightforwardly as possible.<br />
<br />
The second is a set of practices and perspectives we found helpful to cope with mental issues ourselves, which you can start implementing right now. This is important for two reasons. For one, they can help you get a little better. Additionally, they may help you to find the strength which you need to get professional help.<br />
<br />
This is a personal topic, and it might feel a bit awkward to use university resources for this. We can't really circumvent that, but still hope that this might provide you with some kind of help. We wish you all the best!<br />
<br />
== Getting professional support ==<br />
<br />
Getting professional help is by no means easy, but it is very possible. Below, we tried to draw an overview on how this can work. The truth is that the medical system is messy and reality might be a little different. Still, sticking to some form of structured process should help you in getting professional support.<br />
<br />
There’s three things you can do besides going for a full therapy which may already help: <br />
<br />
**A)** Finding a frame for yourself to better understand that having a mental illness is not your responsibility or fault. <br />
<br />
**B)** Getting psychological counselling from the Studierendenwerk (if you’re a student in Lüneburg)<br />
<br />
**C)** Talking to your doctor. He or she will be able to talk you through the process as well, and give you a recipee which can help you to find a therapist faster.<br />
<br />
These three things don’t have any prerequisites and you can do them at any time. They will however not directly result in you getting therapy, which is what the numbered blocks (1-4) below are for. Further below, we describe precisely how you may go about this process in order to get a therapy slot as quickly as possible. <br />
<br />
![Untitled](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/92e5bbaf-f59c-4d2f-bed1-351129757433/Untitled.png)<br />
<br />
=== I) Immediate Steps ===<br />
<br />
==== A) Find a frame for yourself ====<br />
<br />
The first thing besides all the technical and organisational stuff is finding a way to think about this that doesn't make you feel worse about your situation than it needs to. For me personally, it was really helpful to understand that **psychological problems are an illness that we bear no more personal responsibility for than for a cold - possibly a lot less**. Before looking for a therapist, I started reading and watching some content about the topic which helped me to somewhat normalise the situation. A conversation I found really empowering was between Thorsten Sträter and Kurt Krömer here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxL1lJnHJNQ)<br />
<br />
However, it’s possibly sensible to not sink yourself into too much content about mental illness - some of it might also drag you down. <br />
<br />
==== B) Psychological Counselling for students ====<br />
<br />
If you're a *student* in Lüneburg, you have the right to get counselling from the psychological counsel of the Studierendenwerk. They offer open walk-ins which you can attend rather spontaneously when calling upfront, and up to 8 sessions of individual counselling. Note, however, that they cannot provide a diagnosis or therapy and are therefore no full substitute for a therapist. Still, they can confidentially listen to what you have to say and are struggling with, and can support you in making decisions on the next steps.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the demand is usually very high, so it is not necessarily faster to get an appointment here than with a professional therapist. Nonetheless, we think it is worth a try, also because at least from our experience, the threshold to just "talk to someone" is a lot lower than consulting an actual therapist. Below, you will find the webpage and contact data.<br />
<br />
- Psychologische Beratungsstelle ([https://stw-on.de/lüneburg/beratung/pbs](https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs))<br />
- Go to open hours (currently Tuesday, 12-14, appointment via mail ([pbs.lg@stw-on.de](mailto:pbs.lg@stw-on.de)) or phone [(04131) 789 63 - 25](tel://(04131) 789 63 - 25))<br />
- There is also an option to do group workshops: [https://stw-on.de/lüneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen](https://stw-on.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/workshops-gruppen)<br />
<br />
==== C) Talk to your doctor ====<br />
<br />
Your doctor (”Hausarzt”) is typically mentioned as one of the first points of contact in usual therapy guidance. If you have one and sufficiently trust him or her, you can absolutely make an appointment and talk things through with them. They will also be able to hand out a recipee which can speed up the process of finding a therapist, and may forward you to other specialists e.g. for medication. <br />
<br />
However, it is not necessary to immediately see a “normal” doctor. At some point you will have to meet one since they are required to ensure that your mental illness is not caused by any somatic problems (such as a lack of vitamins or neurological problems). Still, this can also happen when you have already found a therapist, but before you start the actual therapy. <br />
<br />
=== II) Finding a Therapist ===<br />
<br />
Basically, finding a therapist is like finding any other specialist medical practitioner: you look them up, you call them, you make an appointment. The only problem is that the supply of therapy slots is very thin, and there’s no good system in place that makes it easy to find open slots. So you kind of have to just call a lot of therapists and find out whether or not they have a slot available. Below, we try our best to give you useful tips for the process.<br />
<br />
Before you start, you might want to think about the kind of therapy you want. There are many different sub-disciplines, cognitive behavioural and analytical therapy being the predominant ones. It might make sense to [look up the differences](https://hellobetter.de/blog/therapieformen/) and decide for yourself which sounds the most promising to you. However, it is commonly said that the relation between therapist and patient is a much stronger success factor than the specific type of therapy you do. So probably, you might just want to take whichever therapist has a slot open and you kind of click with. <br />
<br />
==== 1) Look up nearby therapists ====<br />
<br />
The first step is to look up therapists nearby. There’s basically four sources you can use to find them which we listed below. Unfortunately, there’s no unified register that contains all therapists and is fully up-to-date, so you might have to draw on all these sources one by one. We tried to order them descending by exhaustiveness, but this is rather subjective. If you feel overwhelmed, it’s probably enough to stick to the first and second options.<br />
<br />
1. **The public eTerminservice**, available here: [https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice](https://www.eterminservice.de/terminservice). It is probably the most exhaustive search engine with only a few problems here and there. If you have a recipee from a doctor or therapist that includes a code, this is where you can enter it. <br />
If you have been told by anyone to call 116 117 to get a slot: don’t. From our experience, all they do is look at the same website, but you have to wait an extra 30-45 minutes in the phone queue for them to do it for you.<br />
2. [**psych-info.de**](https://psych-info.de/) is a register for therapists. It might not be available in your region, and it is not working super-smooth. We did however have the experience that some therapists listed here are not listed in the eTerminservice above.<br />
3. [**Jameda**](https://www.jameda.de/) also offers a search engine for therapists, but this should probably only be a last resort. The ratings can be rather misleading. <br />
4. **Use a search engine** of your liking, be it Google or Ecosia or DuckDuckGo or anything. <br />
<br />
Additionally, you have the opportunity to contact institutes where you may get slots with therapists in training. This need not be a downside, because they may have more time and they might also be closer to the current state of research. We compiled this non-exhaustive list in the Hamburg/Lüneburg area for you:<br />
<br />
- [ZAP Nord (TP)](https://zap-nord.de/hamburg.html)<br />
- [MoVA Institut](https://www.mova-institut.de/)<br />
- [IVAH](https://www.ivah.de/)<br />
- [DGVT](https://www.gzstpauli.de/dgvt---ausbildungszentrum.html)<br />
- [Uni HH](https://www.psy.uni-hamburg.de/arbeitsbereiche/klinische-psychologie-und-psychotherapie/psychotherapeutische-hochschulambulanz.html)<br />
<br />
==== 2) Call therapists ====<br />
<br />
This part is, unfortunately, just a big chunk of work. Because there’s no central service for appointments, you simply have to call or mail all potential therapists. This is especially annoying because usually therapists have differing times when they are available, and many either have no slots or a year-long waiting list. Unfortunately, you can’t really see that on any webpage, so you plainly have to call. There are however some things you can do that may make it easier:<br />
<br />
- **Ask friends and family.** You don’t need to call all therapists on your own to find out whether or not they have open slots.<br />
- **Talk to your medical insurance.** Some insurances have a service that calls therapists for you and notifies you if they found one. It’s also important to keep them in the loop because at some point, if you can document that you were unable to find a therapist for some time, your public insurance will also have to pay for a private therapist. The amount of time differs between insurances.<br />
- **Use a system to keep track of all the therapists.** Below, we give you some templates which you may use as a basis. Speaking from experience, it is a good idea to have some central place where you collect information like consultation hour times, whether you already tried calling, and so on.<br />
<br />
As a sidenote, and this is just our experience: the waiting list times can differ significantly from what the therapist tells you at first. They might be longer, but they might also be significantly shorter. So don’t be discouraged, and let yourself be registered on the list.<br />
<br />
==== 3) Have preliminary sessions ====<br />
<br />
You have the right to five preliminary sessions with each therapist. This is on the one hand useful to get a first diagnosis, and on the other to see if you can confide in the person you’re talking to - recall that one of the most important factors for successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client.<br />
<br />
Many therapists will offer you preliminary sessions, but don’t have a full therapy slot available. Therefore, don’t be tempted to do too many preliminary sessions with different therapists and ask beforehand if there’s a realistic chance to get a full treatment within a reasonable timeframe. <br />
<br />
==== 4) Get a slot ====<br />
<br />
Ideally, all of the above leads you to finding a therapist that can actually offer you a treatment within a few weeks. You may end up on waiting lists, but if you’ve called enough therapists, you should be able to move your insurance to pay for a private therapist if the wait time is too long. <br />
<br />
From here on, your therapist will discuss everything relevant with you.<br />
<br />
=== III) Managing the process ===<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, there’s a lot of information to handle at the same time, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Therefore, we’d advise to somehow keep track of your long list of therapists, who you’ve called when and whether or not they have slots available. To support you in this, we provide both a Notion and an Excel template which you may use to manage the process. Feel free to use them either directly or as inspiration for your own system - digital or analog. <br />
<br />
**Important:** We cannot guarantee for the information in the tables to be up-to-date. The list is from 2021, and information such as consultation hours or telephone numbers may have changed. <br />
<br />
==== Notion page ====<br />
<br />
You may use this Notion page as a basis: [](https://www.notion.so/25a5980e10e3402da19b3d254db6381d). If you have your own Notion account already, you should be able to duplicate the page into your own workspace by pressing the “Duplicate” button to the top right. <br />
<br />
If you do not yet know what Notion is, feel free to glance over our article here: [https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion](https://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php/Notion). We found the tool to be particularly useful because of the rich functionality, but doing the same via a normal table will probably also be fine. <br />
<br />
==== Spreadsheet ====<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use Notion, you may also use this spreadsheet as a basis: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CiBIILxfJK4H3_c22Ty-mJ7gESbSDDEi093-bTLZr94/edit?usp=sharing)<br />
<br />
=== IV) What you can do on your own ===<br />
<br />
As we stated above, there are a few things that can help you to lift yourself out of the worst phases. Here’s what we found helpful. <br />
<br />
=== Practices ===<br />
<br />
**Meditation** can help you get out of negative thought spirals and liften your mood. If you haven’t tried meditation yet, it might be easiest to download an app or listen to guided meditations on YouTube. Apps we tried out and found helpful are [Headspace](https://www.headspace.com/) and [10% Happier](https://www.tenpercent.com/). You can try them for free!<br />
<br />
An **appreciation journal** might also be helpful in lightening your mood. It’s rather trivial: just take a few minutes everyday to write down what you’re thankful for. This might feel awkward, or stupid, and you might find it hard to find things you’re sincerely thankful for. But with time, you might be able to direct your focus to the things that are actually good, even if they are comparably small.<br />
<br />
**Journalling** might also generally be helpful to get thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of (digital) paper. Just sit down every evening for 10 minutes or so and write down whatever is going through your head. If you find it hard to start, just write down what happened on that day. <br />
<br />
********************************Confide in people you trust.******************************** It might be hard at first, but our experience is that not only does it help to explicate your thoughts and feelings, but also to understand that you are not alone in how you feel.<br />
<br />
=== Lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
A friend once called these lifestyle choices the “Kleines 1x1 der Psychohygiene” (Psychological Hygiene 101):<br />
<br />
1. **Sleep regularly and long enough**. For most people, this means at least 7 and no more than 9 hours of sleep every day, at the same time. From personal experience I would say this makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. **Eat & drink regularly.** Try to eat good, healthy food, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.<br />
3. **Do sports.** Seriously, whatever it is. Walking for 30 mins, jogging, climbing, doing Yoga, going to the Gym, doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly helpful. <br />
4. **Regularity.** This is a big one. Structures help a lot. If you have to study or work, try to do it at a place outside of your home, every day at the same time. The place does not really matter as long as it is not your own room, be it the university or a café or a friends place. <br />
<br />
These might seem trivial, and they certainly do not solve any underlying causes of whatever problem you might have. They do however help to get out of the hole and into a state where you can actually do something about your situation, and that is incredibly important. <br />
<br />
=== The student perspective on lifestyle choices ===<br />
<br />
As a student, this can be especially frustrating. People might be partying and you don’t want to leave at 11 to go to bed. After all, this is supposed to be the time of your life. Everyone else might seem like they just live into their day and do whatever feels right at the moment, and having a structured everyday life might prevent you from doing the same. What might help you is to think about this as a transitional phase: you’re not going to do this forever. It’s a phase you need in order to get back up on your feet and enjoy life again. It might suck, but it won’t suck forever. <br />
<br />
We wish you all the best.<br />
<br />
=== Links & Further reading ===<br />
<br />
- **Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden** von Stefanie Stahl**:** [https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/](https://www.stefaniestahl.de/buecher_daskind_page1/) (Recommendation by the team)<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6952Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:37:55Z<p>Matteo: </p>
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<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || [[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
The contents of this entry are meant to provide you with support in psychologically challenging times. We'll give you a structured way of getting help as well as provide tips on what you can do for yourself.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
Help you to be well.<br />
<br />
== Getting started ==<br />
[[File:Anki Example.png|300px|thumb|right]]<br />
[[File:Anki Example Picture.png|200px|thumb]]<br />
As this is well documented elsewhere (check the "Links" section below), here's only a very brief overview:<br />
<br />
* Download the app here: [https://apps.ankiweb.net/#download Download Anki]<br />
* Create an AnkiWeb account here: [https://ankiweb.net/account/register Register AnkiWeb Account] (this is not mandatory but allows you to backup your flashcards and synchronize them across multiple devices)<br />
* Login on your smartphone and computer<br />
* Create your decks and flashcards! <br />
<br />
Here's just a few things you can add:<br />
* Pictures<br />
* Audio<br />
* Videos<br />
* Formulas (via LateX)<br />
<br />
As mentioned, do check out the official "Getting Started" documentation here: [https://docs.ankiweb.net/#/getting-started Getting started with Anki]<br />
<br />
== Tips & Tricks ==<br />
While using Anki to learn is quite straightforward and intuitive, here's some tips that might be useful to you.<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
=== Links ===<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6951Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:34:01Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Coping_with_psychological_problems&diff=6950Coping with psychological problems2023-03-06T17:33:00Z<p>Matteo: Created page with "The author of this entry is Matteo Ramin."</p>
<hr />
<div>The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Table_of_Contributors&diff=6947Table of Contributors2023-03-06T17:31:10Z<p>Matteo: /* Skills & Tools */</p>
<hr />
<div>This page lists all those who contributed to entries on this Wiki - either by writing articles, feedbacking them or adding further information and links. Each entry is only listed once, so if an entry is tagged with several categories, it will only show up in one of the tables below.<br />
<br />
The author of each entry is also indicated in the line "The [[Table_of_Contributors|author]] of this entry is AUTHORNAME" on the bottom of every Wiki entry.<br />
<br />
== The Entries ==<br />
__NOTOC__<br />
Click on "Expand" on the right to see the complete table.<br />
<br/><br />
==== [[Statistics]] ====<br />
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: center; width: 100%; background-color: white"<br />
|-<br />
! style="width: 30%"| Entry !! style="width: 30%"|Main author !! style="width: 40%"| Contributor(s)<br />
|-<br />
| [[A matter of probability]] || Henrik von Wehrden || <br />
|-<br />
| [[An initial path towards statistical analysis]] || Henrik von Wehrden, Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Ancova]] || ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Apply, Lapply and Tapply]] || ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Back of the envelope statistics]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Bias in statistics]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Carlo Krügermeier, Max Kretschmer, Prabesh Dhakal, Elisabeth Frank<br />
|-<br />
| [[Bootstrap Method]] || Andrei Perov ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Case studies and Natural experiments]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Elisabeth Frank, Carlo Krügermeier<br />
|-<br />
| [[Causality]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Carlo Krügermeier, Elisabeth Frank<br />
|-<br />
| [[Causality and correlation]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Chord Diagram]] || ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Correlation Plots]] || ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Cronbach's Alpha]] || ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Data distribution]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Carlo Krügermeier, Elisabeth Frank, Prabesh Dhakal, Max Kretschmer<br />
|-<br />
| [[Data formats]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Carlo Krügermeier, Milan Maushart, Brad Dobberfuhl, Prabesh Dhakal, Max Kretschmer, Elisabeth Frank<br />
|-<br />
| [[Descriptive statistics]] || Henrik von Wehrden || <br />
|-<br />
| [[Designing studies]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Carlo Krügermeier, Elisabeth Frank<br />
|-<br />
| [[Ethics and Statistics]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Carlo Krügermeier, Elisabeth Frank<br />
|-<br />
| [[Experiments]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Prabesh Dhakal, Max Kretschmer, Elisabeth Frank, Carlo Krügermeier<br />
|-<br />
| [[Field experiments]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Carlo Krügermeier, Elisabeth Frank<br />
|-<br />
| [[Histograms and Boxplots]] || Ilkin Bakhtiarov ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[How long do you store data?]] || Prabesh Dhakal ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Introduction to statistical figures]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Kernel density plot]] || Archana Maurya ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Likert Scale]] || Nora Pauelsen ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Sampling for Interviews]] || Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Stacked Barplots]] || ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Statistics and mixed methods]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Elisabeth Frank, Carlo Kürgermeier<br />
|-<br />
| [[T-Test]] || ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[The future of statistics?]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Venn Diagram]] || Olga Kuznetsova ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Why statistics matters]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Milan Maushart, Carlo Krügermeier, Elisabeth Frank, Prabesh Dhakal, Max Kretschmer<br />
|-<br />
| R example responsibility || Olga Kuznetsova ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==== [[Methods]] ====<br />
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: center; width: 100%; background-color: white"<br />
|-<br />
! style="width: 30%"| Entry !! style="width: 30%"|Main author !! style="width: 40%"| Contributor(s)<br />
|-<br />
| [[ANOVA]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Bayesian Inference]] || Prabesh Dhakal, Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Citizen Science]] || Christopher Franz || Esther Kohlhase, Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Clustering Methods]] || Prabesh Dhakal || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Cohort Study]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Correlations]] || Henrik von Wehrden, Christopher Franz || Stefan Kruse, Elisabeth Frank, Carlo Krügermeier<br />
|-<br />
| [[Content Analysis]] || Christopher Franz || Fine Böttner<br />
|-<br />
| [[Delphi]] || Christopher Franz || Esther Kohlhase<br />
|-<br />
| [[Ethnography]] || Christopher Franz || Katharina Kirn<br />
|-<br />
| [[Focus Groups]] || Fine Böttner || Christopher Franz <br />
|-<br />
| [[Generalized Linear Models]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Geographical Information Systems]] || Henrik von Wehrden || <br />
|-<br />
| [[Grounded Theory]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Group Concept Mapping]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Hermeneutics]] || Katharina Kirn || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Iconology]] || Mona Hübner || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Legal Research]] || Christopher Franz || Jelena Bäumler<br />
|-<br />
| [[Life Cycle Analysis]] || Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Living Labs & Real World Laboratories]] || Christopher Franz || Philip Bernert<br />
|-<br />
| [[Machine Learning]] || Prabesh Dhakal || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Meta-Analysis]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Mixed Effect Models]] || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Narrative Research]] || Christopher Franz || Fine Böttner<br />
|-<br />
| [[Open Interview]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden, Esther Kohlhase<br />
|-<br />
| [[Principal Component Analysis]] || Chân Lê || Christopher Franz, Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Regression Analysis]] || Henrik von Wehrden, Quentin Lehrer ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Scenario Planning]] || Christopher Franz || Ricarda Hille, Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Serious Gaming]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden, Prabesh Dhakal, Fine Böttner<br />
|-<br />
| [[Semi-structured Interview]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden, Esther Kohlhase<br />
|-<br />
| [[Simple Statistical Tests]] || Carlo Krügermeier, Henrik von Wehrden || Elisabeth Frank, Prabesh Dhakal, Max Kretschmer, Lisa Schönrock, R. Shaurya, Aleksandra Viktorova<br />
|-<br />
| [[Social Network Analysis]] || Christopher Franz || Jacqueline Loos<br />
|-<br />
| [[Survey Research]] || Fine Böttner || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Systematic Literature Review]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[System Thinking & Causal Loop Diagrams]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden, Dave Abson<br />
|-<br />
| [[Thought Experiments]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Video Research]] || Christopher Franz || Fine Böttner<br />
|-<br />
| [[Visioning & Backcasting]] || Christopher Franz || Ricarda Hille, Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==== [[Skills & Tools]] ====<br />
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: center; width: 100%; background-color: white"<br />
|-<br />
! style="width: 30%"| Entry !! style="width: 30%"|Main author !! style="width: 40%"| Contributor(s)<br />
|-<br />
| [[Anki]] || Matteo Ramin || Dagmar Mölleken<br />
|-<br />
| [[Belbin Team Roles]] || Esther Kohlhase || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Check In]] || Alexa Böckel || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Citations]] || Katharina Kirn || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Code of Conduct]] || Julius Rathgens || Max Kretschmer<br />
|-<br />
| [[Conceptual Figures]] || Christopher Franz, Matteo Ramin ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Concept Maps]] || Christopher Franz || <br />
|-<br />
| [[Coping with psychological problems]] || Matteo Ramin || <br />
|-<br />
| [[Design Thinking]] || Alexa Böckel || Esther Kohlhase<br />
|-<br />
| [[Digital Energizers]] || Matteo Ramin ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Disney Method]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden, Matteo Ramin<br />
|-<br />
| [[Elevator Pitch]] || Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Empathetic Listening]] || Mona Hübner ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Feynman Method]] || Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Fishbowl Discussion]] || Christopher Franz || Alexa Böckel<br />
|-<br />
| [[Flashlight]] || Dagmar Mölleken ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Flipped Classroom]] || Matteo Ramin, Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Gender First Aid Kit]] || Elisabeth Frank, Oskar Lemke || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Giving Feedback]] || Max Kretschmer || Julius Rathgens<br />
|-<br />
| [[Graphic Recording]] || Dagmar Mölleken || Matteo Ramin<br />
|-<br />
| [[How to read an empirical paper]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[How to write a thesis]] || Henrik von Wehrden || <br />
|-<br />
| [[How to PhD]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Kanban]] || Matteo Ramin || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Learning for exams]] || Matteo Ramin || Henrik von Wehrden, Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Lego Serious Play]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Christopher Franz, Matteo Ramin<br />
|-<br />
| [[Loom]] || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Microsoft Word For Academic Writing]] || Matteo Ramin || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Mindfulness]] || Henrik von Wehrden, Katharina Kirn ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Mindmap]] || Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Miro]] || Matteo Ramin ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Notion]] || Matteo Ramin || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Online Conduct]] || Matteo Ramin ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Overcoming Exam Anxiety]] || Katharina Kirn ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[PechaKucha™]] || Cristina Apetrei || Dagmar Mölleken<br />
|-<br />
| [[Persona Building]] || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Pomodoro]] || Matteo Ramin ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Poster Design]] || Chân Lê || Lisa Gotzian<br />
|-<br />
| [[Research Diary]] || Henrik von Wehrden|| Lisa Gotzian<br />
|-<br />
| [[Scrum]] || Matteo Ramin || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Speed Typing]] || Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Stakeholder Mapping]] || Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Staying on top of research]] || Lisa Gotzian || Christopher Franz, Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|-<br />
| [[Studying]] || Henrik von Wehrden, Christopher Franz, Olga Kuznetsova, Elisabeth Franke, Linda von Heydebreck ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[The Do's and Don'ts of Meetings]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Tips for digital lectures]] || Christopher Franz, Matteo Ramin, Elisabeth Frank, Carlo Krügermeier, Iman Aoulkadi ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[World Café]] || Dagmar Mölleken || Cristina Apetrei<br />
|-<br />
| [[Yes, and]] || Christopher Franz || Esther Kohlhase<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==== [[Normativity of Methods]] ====<br />
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: center; width: 100%; background-color: white"<br />
|-<br />
! style="width: 30%"| Entry !! style="width: 30%"|Main author !! style="width: 40%"| Contributor(s)<br />
|-<br />
| [[Agency, Complexity and Emergence]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Bias and Critical Thinking]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Bias in Interviews]] || Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Design Criteria of Methods]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Christopher Franz, Katharina Kirn<br />
|-<br />
| [[Design Criteria of Methods in Sustainability Science]] || Henrik von Wehrden, Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Experiments and Hypothesis Testing]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[History of Methods]] || Henrik von Wehrden || Christopher Franz, Brad Dobberfuhl<br />
|-<br />
| [[Levels of Theory]] || Henrik von Wehrden, Christopher Franz ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Mixed Methods]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Non-equilibrium dynamics]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Questioning the status quo in methods]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Transcribing Interviews]] || Christopher Franz || Dagmar Moelleken<br />
|-<br />
| [[Scientific methods and societal paradigms]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[System Boundaries]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[The tao of R-coding]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Time]] || Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[To Rule And To Measure]] || Christopher Franz, Henrik von Wehrden ||<br />
|-<br />
| [[Transdisciplinarity]] || Christopher Franz || Henrik von Wehrden<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==== Other pages ====<br />
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: center; width: 100%; background-color: white"<br />
|-<br />
! style="width: 30%"| Entry !! style="width: 70%"| Contributor(s)<br />
|-<br />
| [[Sustainability_Methods:About|About]] page || Henrik von Wehrden, Christopher Franz<br />
|-<br />
| [[Main Page]] || Henrik von Wehrden, Christopher Franz, Prabesh Dhakal<br />
|-<br />
| Technical Supervision || Henrik von Wehrden, Prabesh Dhakal, Christopher Franz<br />
|}<br />
<br/><br />
<br />
== The Contributors ==<br />
The following individuals have contributed to the Wiki. Further contributions were written by Leuphana Data Science and Sustainability Science Master students, who we are very thankful for!<br />
<br />
==== Henrik von Wehrden ====<br />
Henrik von Wehrden is a professor of methods at Leuphana since 2010. Henrik conceived the original idea of the Wiki as a contribution to a post-disciplinary agenda, and his research focuses on the gap between results based on empirical research and the question how we ought to act based on ethics.<br />
<br />
==== Prabesh Dhakal ====<br />
Prabesh Dhakal finished his M.Sc. in Data Science at Leuphana in 2021. He is interested in machine learning and data visualization, and was, among other projects, responsible for technical supervision of the Wiki.<br />
<br />
==== Christopher Franz ====<br />
Christopher Franz worked as a scientific assistant in the team from 06/2020 to 01/2022, working on methodology teaching and the development of the Sustainability Methods Wiki. He holds a B.Sc. in Biogeosciences and a M.Sc. in Sustainability Science and is interested in Climate Change and Sustainability Communication.<br />
<br />
==== Matteo Ramin ====<br />
Matteo Ramin studies Studium Individuale with a specific emphasis on how to transform educational systems. His personal experience spans a bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences and work experience in IT management consulting and software development.<br />
<br />
==== Elisabeth Frank ====<br />
Elisabeth Frank studies Environmental and Political Science and joined the team in 09/2019. She has mostly worked on Wiki entrys regarding the bachelors statistics lecture. She is especially interested topics regarding gender and intersectionality in sustainability and political science.<br />
<br />
==== Carlo Krügermeier ====<br />
Carlo Krügermeier studies Environmental Sciences and Political Science and has been part the team since 09/2019. He is interested in quantitative methods and the functionality of political systems.<br />
<br />
==== Fine Böttner ====<br />
Fine Böttner is pursuing her Master degree in Sustainability Science with a focus on transdisciplinary research and education for sustainable development. She is mostly interested in qualitative methods.<br />
<br />
==== Chân Lê ====<br />
Chân Lê studied Business Administration and is currently working on his M.Sc. in Data Science at Leuphana in 2021. He joined the team at the beginning of 2020 and mainly focused on statistics teaching.<br />
<br />
==== Ricarda Hille ====<br />
Ricarda Hille finished her M.Sc. in Sustainability Science in 2021. Her background is in fostering student participation for sustainable development at higher education institutions. In her master thesis she raised the question how research in Sustainability Science is currently designed.<br />
<br />
==== Lisa Gotzian ====<br />
Lisa Gotzian holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Psychology and finished her M.Sc. in Data Science at Leuphana in 2021. In the team, she focused on Statistics teaching.<br />
<br />
==== Dagmar Moelleken ====<br />
Dagmar Moelleken has a background in agricultural practice, and studied Agroecology, Philosophy and Sustainability Science. In her PhD she explores ethics, normativity and paradigms in relation to sustainable agriculture using a mixed methods approach.<br />
<br />
==== Cristina Apetrei ====<br />
Cristina Apetrei is a Ph.D. candidate investigating the role of knowledge in sustainability transformations. Her theoretical interests are in complex system science, behavioural economics, agent-based modeling, transdisciplinarity and worldview based approaches.<br />
<br />
==== Esther Kohlhase ====<br />
Esther Kohlhase holds a B.Sc. in Business Psychology and M.Sc. in Sustainability Science from Leuphana. She worked in the team as a PhD student in the field of land use from 2020 to 2021.<br />
<br />
==== Julius Rathgens ====<br />
Julius Rathgens worked as a PhD student in the team until 2021. His PhD research was concerned with the production and consumption of food in global supply chains. His passion is about mixed methods, with a focus on structural equation modeling, network analyses and participatory research practices.<br />
<br />
==== Max Kretschmer ====<br />
Max Kretschmer did a bachelor in Economics and Sustainability Science with a focus on the sustainable transformation of monetary systems. He joined the team in 05/2018, where he was mostly engaged in projects in the field of ecological economics.<br />
<br />
==== Alexa Böckel ==== <br />
Alexa Böckel holds a Bachelors in Business Administration and Environmental Sciences from Leuphana University and finished her M.Sc. Sustainability Science in 2021. She is interested in sustainable entrepreneurship and crowdfunding and worked on digitizing the processes and communication of the working group.<br />
<br />
==== Olga (Ollie) Kuznetsova ====<br />
Olga Kuznetsova holds a B.A. in Linguistics and at the moment studies B.Sc. Environmental Sciences at Leuphana University. She has a special interest in Data Science, Machine Learning and programming with R and Python. Olga joined the team in 11/2020.<br />
<br />
==== Linda von Heydebreck ====<br />
Linda von Heydebreck is a B.Sc. student in Environmental Science. She joined the team in 2021.<br />
<br />
==== Oskar Lemke ====<br />
Oskar pursues a Bachelor degree in Environmental Science. He is interested in social (political) movements, intersectionality and sustainability. He joined the team in 2021.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Word_For_Academic_Writing&diff=6868Microsoft Word For Academic Writing2022-12-17T12:51:48Z<p>Matteo: Added the template</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
Microsoft Word is and probably will remain the number one tool for writing, be it in academia, business, non-profits or wherever you want to look. There are cases to be made for free alternatives such as LibreOffice, and some will insist that LateX is always the better option. We will leave these considerations aside for now and concern ourselves with what for some is a good friend, and for some an arch enemy: Microsoft Word. Our goal here is to make you part of the former group and reduce the size of the latter. <br />
<br />
If you're only here for a good template, here you go: [[File:Academic Word Template.docx|thumb]]. But be warned: You might not understand the template if you don't watch the video below!<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
As stated above, this article mainly serves the purpose to support academic writing with Word. However, most tips are probably useful in a variety of other fields, so feel free to transfer your freshly acquired knowledge!<br />
<br />
We're going to cover a short, a medium and a larger topic. You don't need to have read any in order to read the others, so feel free to skip to the most interesting parts.<br />
<br />
1) Technological concerns: We will keep this short as this is not a tech course, but a few aspects are worthwhile considering.<br />
<br />
2) Process: This is important to save you trouble down the road. We will talk about a few things in regards to sequence of activities that make sense.<br />
<br />
3) Becoming friends with Word: This part is going to cover basics and fundamentals that we think are very useful in not starting to hate the world in general and Bill Gates in particular. We're going to go over very important DOs and also some DON'Ts. This article is not going to make you a Word Professional, but we will try to nudge you towards the things you'll want to consider or familiarize yourself with. If you are lucky enough to be part of Henrik von Wehrden's Bachelor Forum, you might get the chance to participate in a Workshop that will go over these points in practice. And:<br />
<br />
'''BIG NOTICE:'''<br />
<br />
Learning a software by reading text is usually a) boring and b) ineffective. That is why your favourite Wiki team spared neither work nor sacrifice to produce a '''Word Video Tutorial''' alongside this article. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY <br />
<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
In the video, we're building a template, based on this document: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b_6tf5drOX3McTLqyfbFdTcCW4eIe-aO/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101353147119951336675&rtpof=true&sd=true Word Basic Template] (just download it via file -> download and then you should be able to work with it, or just copy it into your own Word). <br />
<br />
You might notice that it has a whooping 59 minutes of length, which might seem daunting at first. Luckily, you don't need to watch the whole thing in one go. If you're short on time, just watch the fundamentals and maybe return for the advanced section whence you have the time. You can also make use of the time stamps in the video description to jump to your favorite parts.<br />
<br />
Small disclaimer: This article was written with Word 2016 in mind. There might be some changes in future or previous versions of Word, but the general gist should remain the same.<br />
<br />
Okay, ready?<br />
<br />
== Technological concerns ==<br />
<br />
=== Word Versions ===<br />
<br />
In regards to the version of Word you are using, you can usually assume that newer is better. Overall, any version is fine (maybe it should be 2010+) and won't make a crucial difference in writing. It is however noteworthy that newer versions get (security) upgrades and will interact better with other tools such as OneDrive. This does however not mean that you need to ditch your older version and pay 130€ for the newest product. As long as it's working for you, don't buy into the hype!<br />
<br />
If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
=== OneDrive (or any other cloud storage really) ===<br />
<br />
OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud storage, but you can really use whichever you want - we do not recommend any particular one. The important thing is that you do USE A CLOUD STORAGE. You do not want to be part of the sad group of individuals that lost their thesis half-way through or even later due to a computer crash or some other unfortunate incident. Put your very first version into a folder in a cloud storage software and don't ever leave that comfy place. It allows you to jump back to earlier versions, automatically backs up your files and - if need be - opens up the option for collaborating on the same document. In the last point, OneDrive has an edge over other cloud storage software because it can directly access Word files and allows you to work simultaneously on the same Word document with others.<br />
<br />
=== Citavi (or any other citation software) ===<br />
<br />
We do recommend using a citation management software. When you're working on Windows, Citavi is a good option, but you can always go with Zotero, Mendeley, or whichever one you come across and which works for you. Citavi has a pretty good Word Integration, so that's a plus. You do not need to use every function of Citavi, but at least the generation of the reference list is a really big plus in terms of saving you time and mistakes that occur from manually typing it.<br />
<br />
== Process ==<br />
<br />
As stated above, your process in working with Word is valuable to pay attention to because it may safe you time and frustration down the road. The points below are by no means meant to give you a 100% fool-proof instruction, but are generally worthwile considering from our experience. <br />
<br />
=== Build a solid framework ===<br />
<br />
You'll want to setup everything nice and clean in the beginning. Nothing fancy, but so that it satisfies all the formal requirements and doesn't hurt your eyes. Set up the font size and styles, line spacing, page margins, front page information and your basic structure (abstract, intro, main parts, conclusions, references and reference format, indices, glossary, ...). Check 3 times and then with your advisor if your basic setup satisfies all the formal requirements.<br />
<br />
If you use a citation software, set that one up as well and make sure everything works to your liking.<br />
<br />
=== Write everything, don't format ===<br />
<br />
This is the part where you basically don't want to have to care about the software you're using. Write plain text. If you have to format, **use styles** (see instructions below), and don't ever play around with picture or table positioning. Anything fancy you do here will make you despair when revising and reformatting later.<br />
<br />
=== Finalize formatting ===<br />
<br />
Have you written everything? I mean, everything? Like, there is nothing you're going to change? Okay. But have you sent it to someone you trust and let them check? Yes? Okay, you may go ahead.<br />
<br />
This is the part where you can really finalize your formatting and make everything more fancy if you desire. If your initial setup was good, this is probably not going to take you too much time. You can alter some styles if you wish (e.g. for block quotes or subheadings) and format pictures and tables (e.g. let the text flow around them or something similar). You might also want to go over the whole document and check for odd pagebreaks (which should be a lot less likely to occur if you follow the instructions below). <br />
<br />
== Word Fundamentals ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here are the very basic things you should consider when setting up your word document. As stated before, this is not meant to tell you exactly how you can do it, but rather that you should do it. Have a look at our tutorial in order to find out how to do it exactly.<br />
<br />
=== DONT's ===<br />
<br />
Let's start with some things you never ever want to do. Like, really, never. <br />
<br />
'''First''', do not, under any circumstances, manually format any piece of text, table or picture in your document. Always, always use Word Styles ("Formatvorlagen"). There are many reasons why it is a good idea, but the main one is that you are guaranteed to miss some font style change that happened due to you copy/pasting stuff in and you will spend roughly 3 weeks in your document to try and spot where your font style changed. Use styles instead, and adjust those when necessary.<br />
<br />
'''Second''', do not ever use multiple line-breaks to get to the next page. You can either circumvent this with styles (see below) or at least use the CTRL+Enter shortcut to insert a pagebreak. This will prevent things from going all wonky when you change something above the page where you foolishly tried to page-break in the first place. <br />
<br />
'''Third''', do not play around with picture or table formatting before your work is finished (see "Process" above). If you want to insert such elements during writing, paste them, let them stay where they are in a normal line and don't try fancy stuff such as having text float around it. You will with 100% certainty change something above or below the picture and mess up the page design. Do this only once you're done writing.<br />
<br />
=== DO's ===<br />
<br />
Okay, now that we got these out of the way, let's concern ourselves with what you should do. <br />
<br />
'''Styles'''<br />
<br />
First, styles. Styles (or "Formatvorlagen" in the elegant German language) are a way of telling Word how a block of text should be formatted, and to apply that formatting to all blocks of text that share the same type of content. They usually appear to the top right of your Word document. You can think of them as instructing Word to always treat different kinds of content (e.g. normal text, headings, quotations, subheadings) differently, and once you tell word that a block of text belongs to some category, it knows how to format that block of text. This will also give you the flexibility to change the formatting of all same kinds of text in an instant throughout the whole document.<br />
<br />
'''Headings'''<br />
<br />
One of the most important aspects of this is using **heading styles**. This allows you to automatically generate a table of contents, navigate within your document more quickly and have an array of options to better format your document. For example, you can tell Word to always insert a page break before your level 1 headings, which is saving you the trouble of either putting in a dozen line-breaks (which you should never ever do) or using CTRL+Enter (which is better but sometimes still suboptimal). If you use heading styles, you can easily insert an **automatically generated table of contents** by going to "References" → "Table of Contents" and select one of the options.<br />
<br />
You can also use this to quickly navigate your document through using Word's **navigation bar**. Go to "View" ("Ansicht") and look for the checkbox "Navigation bar" ("Navigationsbereich"). This might seem minute but is a big comfort plus when working with larger documents like a thesis.<br />
<br />
'''Copy & Pasting'''<br />
<br />
Another aspect comes into play when you copy in external content. Always make sure that you only **copy the text, not the formatting**. Word gives you that option when you paste something in: a little box appears next to the pasted text, where you can select to only paste the text without formatting. This will automatically format the pasted text into default style and save you the trouble of manually formatting it.<br />
<br />
'''Track Changes & Comment'''<br />
<br />
You should definitely familiarize yourself with the inner workings of the "track changes" and "comment" functions of word. They allow you to clarify changes between versions as well as give and receive feedback in a way that is clearly intelligible and does not mess with your documents. To find these in Word, go to "Review" ("Überprüfen"). You will find the comment button, as well as the option to activate "track changes". Track changes will highlight all the changes you have done while it is active, and will allow you or others to either accept or decline them.<br />
<br />
=== Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts ===<br />
<br />
The following is just a compendium of tips & tricks of whose existence you should be aware of. Again, explaining this in text form is rather tedious and you'll be much better served to look this up in a tutorial or other context.<br />
<br />
'''Page Numbers'''<br />
<br />
Page numbers are great, you should always use them. Usually the easiest way is to go to "Insert" → "Page number" and then select where you'd like to have it.<br />
<br />
There are some things you'll want to pay attention to. First, the "first page" issue. You'll usually want your (arabic numeral) page numbering to start on your first page of content. You can do this by inserting a section break ("Abschnittswechsel") before your first page of content. You can then, on your first page of content right click the page number in your header or footer, select "format page numbers" and select "Begin with..." and insert a 1. <br />
<br />
There is more stuff you can do such as alternating sides or using latin numerals on the pages before your main content. This is shown in the accompanying tutorial as well.<br />
<br />
'''Headers and Footers'''<br />
<br />
While this is usually not necessary, it is nice for reader guidance: you can automatically insert the current chapters title into the header or footer row of your document. To do so, go into the header or footer row (by double clicking into the area), in the "header and footer tools" tab, go to "Insert" → "Document Information" → "Field" and select "StyleRef" under field names. In the selection menu, you can then select "Heading 1" (or "Überschrift 1") and click "OK" This will insert a field that automatically includes the name of the current heading in your header (or footer).<br />
<br />
Generally, it might make sense for you to familiarize yourself with the different mechanics of headers and footers such as the "link to previous", "orientation tab stop" ("Ausrichtungstabstopp"), "first page differently" and "alternating odd and even pages".<br />
<br />
'''Figures and Tables'''<br />
<br />
As alluded to above, you'll want to only format these when you finished writing. Another point is labelling them properly, which allows you to include automatic numbering and, similar to the table of contents, automatically generate lists of figures and tables.<br />
<br />
When you have a picture (and this works the same for tables), right-click it and select "Add label" ("Beschriftung einfügen"). In the pop-up, you will need to select the right type (i.e. figure, table, formula) and click "OK". This will insert a text field below your figure which is automatically numbered and which's text you can extend in order to add a description.<br />
<br />
If you want to create a list of figures, go to the "References" ("Referenzen") tab → "Labels" ("Beschriftungen") and click on "Add list of figures" ("Abbildungsverzeichnis hinzufügen"). Don't get irritated that it only says figures, it works just as well for tables. In the pop-up, you'll need to select the kind of element you want to create the list for (i.e. figures in our example) in the bottom-left. That's it, hit "OK" and enjoy all the work you did not have to do manually.<br />
<br />
=== Shortcuts ===<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Undo & Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || The bread and butter shortcuts for everyone who messes up sometimes (which is everyone). This works in almost all software ever created by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Copy Commands || CTRL + C, CTRL + X, CTRL + V || The C copies, the X cuts, and the V pastes. I hope you knew this already, but if you didn't, make use of it!<br />
|-<br />
| Fancy keyboard navigation || CTRL and Arrow Keys || Instead of trying to move your mouse exactly behind that word, try to get used to pushing your cursor around with the arrow keys. If you use CTRL and the arrow keys (to the ← left or the right →), you jump between words instead of letters. This works everywhere by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Make heading || Alt + 1, Alt + 2, Alt + 3 || This makes the selected piece of text a level 1 heading. Can be used with 2 and 3 as well. Very useful for quickly structuring your document!<br />
|-<br />
| Show paragraphs and stuff || CTRL + Shift + * || This shortcut shows you linebreaks, tabs, pagebreaks and formatting. Very useful when you're trying to figure out why your document is a mess.<br />
|-<br />
| Page Break || CTRL + Enter || Inserts a pagebreak, saves you the trouble of inserting to many line breaks.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own video covers everything you need to know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=File:Academic_Word_Template.docx&diff=6867File:Academic Word Template.docx2022-12-17T12:50:17Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>A template to be used for academic works</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6772Microsoft Excel2022-09-02T12:53:24Z<p>Matteo: /* Shortcuts */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7mqi8auu88%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCbW3EiyQ0E%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOVQIqQ2IxI%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Here's some of the most useful shortcuts in Excel!<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 2-10]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6771Microsoft Excel2022-09-02T12:52:06Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7mqi8auu88%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCbW3EiyQ0E%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOVQIqQ2IxI%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 2-10]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6770Microsoft Excel2022-09-02T12:51:46Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7mqi8auu88%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCbW3EiyQ0E%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOVQIqQ2IxI%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6769Microsoft Excel2022-09-02T12:23:48Z<p>Matteo: /* 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7mqi8auu88%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCbW3EiyQ0E%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOVQIqQ2IxI%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6768Microsoft Excel2022-09-02T12:23:29Z<p>Matteo: /* Introduction */ add video link</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7mqi8auu88%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOVQIqQ2IxI%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6767Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T16:28:25Z<p>Matteo: /* 3) Making Decisions */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOVQIqQ2IxI%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6766Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T16:28:13Z<p>Matteo: /* 4) Collaborating in Excel */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6765Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T16:27:57Z<p>Matteo: /* 3) Making Decisions */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4YKNbM9UQ%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6764Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T16:27:35Z<p>Matteo: /* 2) Data Analysis */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1Z7wBAVmY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6763Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:57:15Z<p>Matteo: /* 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts (we also recommend reading our [[Introduction to statistical figures]]<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6762Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:46:57Z<p>Matteo: /* The Videos */ added files for download</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6761Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:46:00Z<p>Matteo: /* The Videos */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6760Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:44:52Z<p>Matteo: /* The Videos */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interested in some particular thing. We provide the final file below for reference.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts<br />
<br />
[[File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx|thumb|Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Example File]]<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
[[File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv|thumb|Videogame Sales Data]]<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
[[File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx|thumb|Excel Decision Helper]]<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
[[File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx|thumb|Interviews Excel File]]<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=File:Interviews_Excel_Collaboration.xlsx&diff=6759File:Interviews Excel Collaboration.xlsx2022-09-01T15:44:15Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>Example File for Excel Tutorial 4</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=File:Excel_Decision_Helper.xlsx&diff=6758File:Excel Decision Helper.xlsx2022-09-01T15:42:57Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>Example File for Excel Tutorial 3</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=File:Videogame_Sales_Dataset.csv&diff=6757File:Videogame Sales Dataset.csv2022-09-01T15:42:13Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>Basic Dataset for the Excel Tutorial 2</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=File:Flat_Share_Fair_Cost_Calculator_Final.xlsx&diff=6756File:Flat Share Fair Cost Calculator Final.xlsx2022-09-01T15:41:25Z<p>Matteo: </p>
<hr />
<div>Example File for Excel Tutorial 1</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6755Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:36:53Z<p>Matteo: /* Shortcuts */ added</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interest in some particular thing.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Add row or column or cell || CTRL + '+' || Adds a row, column or cell above or before the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Remove row or column or cell || CTRL + '-' || Removes the selected row, cell or column.<br />
|-<br />
| Fill downwards/rightwards || CTRL + U, CTRL + R || Fills the first the in a selection either downwards or rightwards, i.e. puts the same value into all the selected cells.<br />
|-<br />
| Undo / Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || If you messed up, press CTRL + Z, if you then noticed you actually didn't, press CTRL + Y.<br />
|-<br />
| Format Window || CTRL + 1 || This opens up the formatting window, which comes in handy surprisingly often, for example when you want borders (only in Excel, nowhere else).<br />
|-<br />
| Mark range of cells to copy/change || CTRL + Shift + arrow keys || Allows you to quickly, precisely and without using a mouse, select a range of cells. <br />
|-<br />
| Quickly format text || Ctrl + Shift + F (U, K) || Either boldens, underlines or italicizes your text.<br />
|-<br />
| Snap to grid while sizing and aligning elements || Hold down Alt || When you hold down alt while moving or resizing an object (such as a chart), the object will snap to Excel's gridlines, making everything look nice and orderly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6754Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:29:52Z<p>Matteo: /* Getting Started */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interest in some particular thing.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Undo & Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || The bread and butter shortcuts for everyone who messes up sometimes (which is everyone). This works in almost all software ever created by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Copy Commands || CTRL + C, CTRL + X, CTRL + V || The C copies, the X cuts, and the V pastes. I hope you knew this already, but if you didn't, make use of it!<br />
|-<br />
| Fancy keyboard navigation || CTRL and Arrow Keys || Instead of trying to move your mouse exactly behind that word, try to get used to pushing your cursor around with the arrow keys. If you use CTRL and the arrow keys (to the ← left or the right →), you jump between words instead of letters. This works everywhere by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Make heading || Alt + 1, Alt + 2, Alt + 3 || This makes the selected piece of text a level 1 heading. Can be used with 2 and 3 as well. Very useful for quickly structuring your document!<br />
|-<br />
| Show paragraphs and stuff || CTRL + Shift + * || This shortcut shows you linebreaks, tabs, pagebreaks and formatting. Very useful when you're trying to figure out why your document is a mess.<br />
|-<br />
| Page Break || CTRL + Enter || Inserts a pagebreak, saves you the trouble of inserting to many line breaks.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6753Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:29:12Z<p>Matteo: initial version</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
This article is about using spreadsheets in general and Microsoft Excel in particular. We’ll show you how to conceptualize problems and use spreadsheets so solve them, as well as a host of other things. The article mostly revolves around a video tutorial, so there’s not so much to read.<br />
<br />
The goal is to enable you to confidently be able to use spreadsheets for things from everyday tasks to work to scientific research.<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: [https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html](https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html) <br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
<br />
== The Videos ==<br />
=== Introduction ===<br />
This video is an overview of the other four tutorials and discusses some caveats and hints when learning Excel. <br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
=== 1) The Flatshare Cost Calculator ===<br />
In this introductory video, we’re building an Excel model that allows you to calculate how to split the rent in a flatshare based on room size. The final model can be downloaded here for reference. It is rather basic, so if you already have some solid Excel knowledge, you can probably skip it entirely or just skim through it if you’re interest in some particular thing.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Navigating in Excel<br />
* Basic formulas & calculations (including VLOOKUP/SVERWEIS)<br />
* Basic formatting<br />
* Custom formatting<br />
* Creating of basic charts<br />
<br />
=== 2) Data Analysis ===<br />
This tutorial is supposed to put you in a position to import a dataset as a csv into Excel and efficiently build an analysis of the data. The dataset to follow along can be downloaded below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* CSV Import<br />
* Making a table<br />
* Format columns<br />
* Filter & Sort<br />
* Make a pivot table<br />
* Make a pivot chart<br />
* How to play around with data<br />
<br />
=== 3) Making Decisions ===<br />
This video is about building a cost-benefit analysis in Excel that might help you to make reasoned decisions. Whilst it is primarily about how to use Excel to help with real-life problems, the method itself is also explained. You may download the final Excel file below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
Things that we cover:<br />
* Using tables<br />
* Advanced formulas (weighted average, sum-if)<br />
* Conditional formattin<br />
* Advanced charts (point chart & stacked barchart)<br />
* Using data across worksheets<br />
<br />
=== 4) Collaborating in Excel ===<br />
In this last video, we talk about online collaboration in Excel via Microsoft OneDrive. We’ll show you how to setup everything, invite people and get going. The case we present is a common case for collaboratively tracking something, be it interview partners, tasks or anything else. We’re not going to cover many Excel functions, but just show you how you can use what you might have already learned to set this up. Again, you may download the final Excel file below.<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
Things that we cover: <br />
* Setup<br />
** OneDrive<br />
** Create and share a table (directly, indirectly, online)<br />
* Data validation<br />
* Pivot Tables & Charts<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Undo & Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || The bread and butter shortcuts for everyone who messes up sometimes (which is everyone). This works in almost all software ever created by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Copy Commands || CTRL + C, CTRL + X, CTRL + V || The C copies, the X cuts, and the V pastes. I hope you knew this already, but if you didn't, make use of it!<br />
|-<br />
| Fancy keyboard navigation || CTRL and Arrow Keys || Instead of trying to move your mouse exactly behind that word, try to get used to pushing your cursor around with the arrow keys. If you use CTRL and the arrow keys (to the ← left or the right →), you jump between words instead of letters. This works everywhere by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Make heading || Alt + 1, Alt + 2, Alt + 3 || This makes the selected piece of text a level 1 heading. Can be used with 2 and 3 as well. Very useful for quickly structuring your document!<br />
|-<br />
| Show paragraphs and stuff || CTRL + Shift + * || This shortcut shows you linebreaks, tabs, pagebreaks and formatting. Very useful when you're trying to figure out why your document is a mess.<br />
|-<br />
| Page Break || CTRL + Enter || Inserts a pagebreak, saves you the trouble of inserting to many line breaks.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own videos cover everything you need to know ;)<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6752Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:22:35Z<p>Matteo: /* Getting Started */ added</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
To get started, you’ll need a spreadsheet software. Here, we’re using Microsoft Excel because it’s the most widely used and the richest in features. If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: [https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html](https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html) <br />
<br />
Most of the things we’re showing are also doable in Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, so if you prefer those, don’t worry. The software will look and feel a bit different, but the underlying ideas are the same.<br />
<br />
As stated above, this article mainly revolves around a set of videos, which we link to below. All the content and explanations can be found there. Here, will only tell you the contents of the video and give accompanying information and resources so that you can a) choose which one is interesting to you and b) follow along (which we recommend you do, because that’s the only way you’ll learn).<br />
<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
== Shortcuts ==<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Undo & Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || The bread and butter shortcuts for everyone who messes up sometimes (which is everyone). This works in almost all software ever created by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Copy Commands || CTRL + C, CTRL + X, CTRL + V || The C copies, the X cuts, and the V pastes. I hope you knew this already, but if you didn't, make use of it!<br />
|-<br />
| Fancy keyboard navigation || CTRL and Arrow Keys || Instead of trying to move your mouse exactly behind that word, try to get used to pushing your cursor around with the arrow keys. If you use CTRL and the arrow keys (to the ← left or the right →), you jump between words instead of letters. This works everywhere by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Make heading || Alt + 1, Alt + 2, Alt + 3 || This makes the selected piece of text a level 1 heading. Can be used with 2 and 3 as well. Very useful for quickly structuring your document!<br />
|-<br />
| Show paragraphs and stuff || CTRL + Shift + * || This shortcut shows you linebreaks, tabs, pagebreaks and formatting. Very useful when you're trying to figure out why your document is a mess.<br />
|-<br />
| Page Break || CTRL + Enter || Inserts a pagebreak, saves you the trouble of inserting to many line breaks.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own video covers everything you need to know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6751Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:20:42Z<p>Matteo: cleaned up</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
<br />
<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
<br />
=== Shortcuts ===<br />
<br />
Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Undo & Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || The bread and butter shortcuts for everyone who messes up sometimes (which is everyone). This works in almost all software ever created by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Copy Commands || CTRL + C, CTRL + X, CTRL + V || The C copies, the X cuts, and the V pastes. I hope you knew this already, but if you didn't, make use of it!<br />
|-<br />
| Fancy keyboard navigation || CTRL and Arrow Keys || Instead of trying to move your mouse exactly behind that word, try to get used to pushing your cursor around with the arrow keys. If you use CTRL and the arrow keys (to the ← left or the right →), you jump between words instead of letters. This works everywhere by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Make heading || Alt + 1, Alt + 2, Alt + 3 || This makes the selected piece of text a level 1 heading. Can be used with 2 and 3 as well. Very useful for quickly structuring your document!<br />
|-<br />
| Show paragraphs and stuff || CTRL + Shift + * || This shortcut shows you linebreaks, tabs, pagebreaks and formatting. Very useful when you're trying to figure out why your document is a mess.<br />
|-<br />
| Page Break || CTRL + Enter || Inserts a pagebreak, saves you the trouble of inserting to many line breaks.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own video covers everything you need to know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY<br />
<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Excel&diff=6750Microsoft Excel2022-09-01T15:18:55Z<p>Matteo: Created page with "- Category:Skills_and_Tools"</p>
<hr />
<div>- [[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Learning_for_exams&diff=6716Learning for exams2022-06-14T09:19:56Z<p>Matteo: /* Smartphone use */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Why & When ==<br />
Well, when you have an exam coming up 😉 However, most of the ideas below are generally targeted at learning, be it in academic or non-academic settings.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
* Spend your learning time efficiently & effectively<br />
* Retain knowledge & understanding long-term<br />
* Enjoy learning<br />
<br />
== What to do ==<br />
Learning for exams is a vast field. The following can thereby only be a fraction of possible insights on the topic and is not meant to be completely exhaustive or 100% scientific. It is however largely backed by scientific evidence and the personal experience of the author. If you think anything is inaccurate or missing, do feel free to contact us.<br />
<br />
The following is structured into separate paragraphs, starting with a more general note on learning approaches before diving deeper into techniques which you may find helpful. Furthermore, a section on what is usually '''not''' effective when learning and some general tips are included. The body of reference is meant to give you the opportunity to dive deeper into selected topics, yet if you follow what is collected below, you should be very much good to go. <br />
<br />
=== Planning & Consistency ===<br />
The first thing to note is that exam success hardly depends on the few weeks before the exam itself, but rather on your whole semester. Starting to learn early and consistently will, in the long run, save you a lot of time and stress and will also improve your exam success.<br><br />
Part of this is having a more or less clear overview on what is going to be covered or assessed and what it is you want to learn. This should also include a clear idea on what is not interesting or too important, either for yourself or the exam. Try to get an overview of topics and contents via the syllabus or ask the teacher / lecturer for it. <br><br />
Another part is always being more or less up to date with lectures or seminars. It doesn't take more than 30 minutes after a lecture for you to forget most of what you just heard. If at all possible, take 10 to 15 minutes after each session to work with your notes, reformulate them and throw them into your knowledge base (whatever that is). A good idea is also to directly transfer them to a flashcard tool such as Anki (see below).<br />
<br />
=== Techniques ===<br />
There are several learning techniques that have been scientifically proven to yield better results than what is commonly used by many students and learners. Try to stick to these as you learn!<br><br />
<br />
'''Spaced-Repetition'''<br><br />
One important concept is spaced repetition. This means that you should repeat content in increasingly longer intervals to ensure long-term retention. So, concretely, if you've just learned something, repeat it first on the next day, then after 3 days, after 7 days, after two weeks, and so on. Repetition intervals should depend on how well you were able to remember something on a given day (e.g. when you had lots of trouble after 7 days, maybe throw in another repetition 2 days later). The aforementioned overview of learning content can be combined with this, i.e. you can make a table with all the content for a given course and track when you repeated which topic to help you keep an overview.<br><br />
<br />
'''Active Recall'''<br><br />
Active Recall means recapitulating everything you know on a topic or question you are learning '''without checking your notes or sources'''. There is a significant learning edge to this over re-reading notes or trying to immediately fill in your gaps. Try to remember everything you know for as hard as possible until you are certain that you will not remember anything else. Only then should you check back with your notes to see if you have forgotten anything. This will then subsequently show you on which gaps you need to focus more.<br />
<br />
Useful tools can be using MindMaps or SpiderDiagrams, but also writing down bullet points, full texts or talking to a friend about it. If you happen to have an interim outage of friends, it is absolutely fine to talk to your chair or any other attentive listener that can't escape.<br><br />
<br />
'''Elaboration'''<br><br />
Elaboration is the act of thoughtfully laying out a topic, talking about associations, explaining concepts, drawing connections to other knowledge and in general being very verbose about answering a question or talking about a topic. This can very much be combined with active recall (i.e. not using your notes for recapitulation). <br><br />
<br />
'''Interleaving'''<br><br />
Interleaving means to disperse the learning you're doing in a certain amount of time across several topics. It has been shown that this can lead to better learning outcomes than block or massed learning. As an example, you might be inclined to learn one whole week for one topic, another whole week for another topic and so on. Research indicates that interleaving those topics over two weeks can be more effective. Of course, you should not overdo it and switch topics every thirty minutes. Try to find some balance that works for you!<br><br />
<br />
'''Breaks'''<br><br />
Probably the most important and undervalued in learning (and work in general)! '''Take. Breaks.''' A lot. <br />
<br />
Your ability to understand and retain information will benefit from you being on top of your game, and you will likely be more on top of it if you take breaks. A good rule of thumb is to take a 5 minute break every 25 minutes when learning (as that has been shown to be the average time a student can fully concentrate). Of course, this will vary from person to person, but do remember that people are generally pretty bad at accurately assessing their concentration level and learning effectiveness at a given point in time. If in doubt, take the break.<br />
<br />
Also, '''several shorter breaks are way more effective than fewer long breaks'''. Studying for two and a halve hours and taking a thirty minute break will typically be much worse than doing six 25/5 blocks - especially if you plan to continue after the initial three hours.<br />
<br />
If you're interested, see e.g. [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm Ariga & LLeras (2011)]<br />
<br />
=== Supportive Tools ===<br />
'''[https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Anki]'''<br><br />
A really good tool for active recall and spaced repetition! A small app available for Computers, Macs, iPhones and Android Smartphones, giving you all the things you would want from a flashcard app and having a really good spaced repetition algorithm. Alternatives can be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitner_system analogue flashcard boxes] or [https://quizlet.com/latest quizlet].<br />
The huge benefit of Anki is that you'll have it with you all the time. Waiting for the bus? Answer a few cards. Bored before going to sleep? Answer a few cards!<br><br />
<br />
'''(Libre) Office'''<br><br />
Going hand in hand with the planning section above, it can be very useful to pour your learning plan into a table or worksheet, e.g. in Excel or Word. Any other software such as Libre Office or Google Docs will do just as well!<br />
<br />
Try to write down the topics you have to learn in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MECE_principle MECE way] (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive) so you have everything neatly in front of you. You can now, at every point in time, write down an assessment of your perceived learning strength per topic, keep an overview of when you learned which topic last or when you'll learn it next (see "Spaced Repetition" above) and so on. If you're lucky, your lecturer will provide you with something that you can use as a solid base for this - asking for it also doesn't hurt!<br />
<br />
All of this can of course also be done on paper or in a notebook - it might just get messy if you're not very disciplined.<br />
<br />
=== Further remarks ===<br />
==== Notes on group work ====<br />
Group work is great, but can also be largely ineffective. If you gather 5 people who know next to nothing about a topic, there is very little chance you'll create insight from nothing just by being together. Try to have a clear idea on what you want out of your group work and assign or rotate roles accordingly. One idea is to, each week, have one person in the group explain a recent topic to everyone else (see also "Elaboration" and "Active Recall"). You can also have sessions within which one person tries to actively recall and elaborate on a topic, and the other(s) ask questions regarding gaps they might be seeing or remark inaccuracies. This combines active recall, elaboration and having an incredible amount of fun together! 🥳<br />
<br />
==== Restructuring your environment ====<br />
It can be a good idea to make use of your environment. Build in cues into your rooms, have different stations for different topics, and so on. Maybe hang a mindmap of your learning topics next to your bathroom mirror so you can recap 1 or 2 topics while brushing your teeth. Throw up sticky notes with central questions around your house.<br />
<br />
Also, it can be very useful to have a dedicated place for your learning activities. Don't learn in your bed, don't learn at your dining room table. If both happen to be the same thing, try to have something around that you can alter when you start learning and switch back as you stop learning. The easiest way to do this is getting a Learning Lamp that you only turn on while learning!<br />
<br />
==== Smartphone use ====<br />
Smartphones can be useful for learning (see Anki), but they are also distracting. It has been shown that only keeping a smartphone in the same room without direct eye contact messes with your concentration level (cf. [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/691462 Ward et al., 2017]). So, when learning, shut it off and get it as far away from you as possible!<br />
<br />
==== A note on "learning types" ==== <br />
There's a persistent belief that people have different learning types, e.g. being a Visual, Aural, Read/Write or Kinesthetic (VARK) learner. As of today, we know of no research that supports this thesis (cf. [https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ase.1777 Husmann et al., 2018] / [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27620075/ Knoll et al., 2017]). What is true however is that using multiple types of media and modes supports understanding and retention. So don't stick to only watching videos because "you're a visual learner", but do switch it up - it's also more fun!<br />
<br />
== What NOT to do ==<br />
These are several techniques that are widely used by learners that are pretty ineffective. Typically, you'll want to avoid these.<br><br />
<br />
'''Summarizing'''<br><br />
There's almost no learning effect when summarizing slides, syllabi or textbooks while having them openly available next to you. Of course, if you're doing it with Active Recall, you're good to go! It might nevertheless be helpful to reformulate concepts in your own words to improve understanding.<br><br />
<br />
'''Underlining & Highlighting'''<br><br />
Typical study technique - next to no effect. As long as you just use it to underline/highlight important passages without recapitulating them later by memory, you can stop doing this.<br><br />
<br />
'''Re-Reading'''<br><br />
Re-Reading is probably the opposite of active recall. Don't do it, it will only make you feel as if you get things better (because you get better at recognizing the content), yet will do next to no good in terms of application and recall in exams.<br><br />
<br />
'''Cramming'''<br><br />
This goes hand in hand with taking breaks and interleaving. Don't spend massive amounts of time without taking breaks or looking into other topics every once in a while!<br><br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
=== Videos ===<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukLnPbIffxE Ali Abdaal - How to study for exams]: There are numerous videos and guidelines on how to study effectively. Yet, Ali Abdaal has managed to narrow it down to the essentials that have scientific backing.<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0 Marty Lobdell - Study Less, Study Smart]: An entertaining yet insightful overview of pitfalls and useful techniques for studying effectively.<br />
=== Books ===<br />
* [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674729018 Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., &amp; McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.]<br />
=== Tools ===<br />
* [https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Anki] (also see our [[Anki|Wiki article]])<br />
* [https://quizlet.com/latest Quizlet]<br />
=== Papers ===<br />
* [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/691462 Ward, Adrian F., Duke, Kristen, Gneezy, Ayelet, Bos, Maarten W., "Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2, no. 2 (April 2017): 140-154.]<br />
* [https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ase.1777 Husmann, P. R., &amp; O'loughlin, V. D. (2018). Another Nail in the Coffin for Learning Styles? Disparities among Undergraduate Anatomy Students’ Study Strategies, Class Performance, and Reported VARK Learning Styles. Anatomical Sciences Education, 12(1), 6-19. doi:10.1002/ase.1777]<br />
* [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27620075/ Knoll, A.R., Otani, H., Skeel, R.L., Van Horn, K.R. (2017). Learning style, judgements of learning, and learning of verbal and visual information. Br J Psychol. 2017;108(3):544-563. doi:10.1111/bjop.12214]<br />
* [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm Atsunori Ariga, Alejandro Lleras. Brief and rare mental 'breaks' keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007]<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Productivity Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Learning_for_exams&diff=6715Learning for exams2022-06-14T09:17:40Z<p>Matteo: /* Techniques */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Why & When ==<br />
Well, when you have an exam coming up 😉 However, most of the ideas below are generally targeted at learning, be it in academic or non-academic settings.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
* Spend your learning time efficiently & effectively<br />
* Retain knowledge & understanding long-term<br />
* Enjoy learning<br />
<br />
== What to do ==<br />
Learning for exams is a vast field. The following can thereby only be a fraction of possible insights on the topic and is not meant to be completely exhaustive or 100% scientific. It is however largely backed by scientific evidence and the personal experience of the author. If you think anything is inaccurate or missing, do feel free to contact us.<br />
<br />
The following is structured into separate paragraphs, starting with a more general note on learning approaches before diving deeper into techniques which you may find helpful. Furthermore, a section on what is usually '''not''' effective when learning and some general tips are included. The body of reference is meant to give you the opportunity to dive deeper into selected topics, yet if you follow what is collected below, you should be very much good to go. <br />
<br />
=== Planning & Consistency ===<br />
The first thing to note is that exam success hardly depends on the few weeks before the exam itself, but rather on your whole semester. Starting to learn early and consistently will, in the long run, save you a lot of time and stress and will also improve your exam success.<br><br />
Part of this is having a more or less clear overview on what is going to be covered or assessed and what it is you want to learn. This should also include a clear idea on what is not interesting or too important, either for yourself or the exam. Try to get an overview of topics and contents via the syllabus or ask the teacher / lecturer for it. <br><br />
Another part is always being more or less up to date with lectures or seminars. It doesn't take more than 30 minutes after a lecture for you to forget most of what you just heard. If at all possible, take 10 to 15 minutes after each session to work with your notes, reformulate them and throw them into your knowledge base (whatever that is). A good idea is also to directly transfer them to a flashcard tool such as Anki (see below).<br />
<br />
=== Techniques ===<br />
There are several learning techniques that have been scientifically proven to yield better results than what is commonly used by many students and learners. Try to stick to these as you learn!<br><br />
<br />
'''Spaced-Repetition'''<br><br />
One important concept is spaced repetition. This means that you should repeat content in increasingly longer intervals to ensure long-term retention. So, concretely, if you've just learned something, repeat it first on the next day, then after 3 days, after 7 days, after two weeks, and so on. Repetition intervals should depend on how well you were able to remember something on a given day (e.g. when you had lots of trouble after 7 days, maybe throw in another repetition 2 days later). The aforementioned overview of learning content can be combined with this, i.e. you can make a table with all the content for a given course and track when you repeated which topic to help you keep an overview.<br><br />
<br />
'''Active Recall'''<br><br />
Active Recall means recapitulating everything you know on a topic or question you are learning '''without checking your notes or sources'''. There is a significant learning edge to this over re-reading notes or trying to immediately fill in your gaps. Try to remember everything you know for as hard as possible until you are certain that you will not remember anything else. Only then should you check back with your notes to see if you have forgotten anything. This will then subsequently show you on which gaps you need to focus more.<br />
<br />
Useful tools can be using MindMaps or SpiderDiagrams, but also writing down bullet points, full texts or talking to a friend about it. If you happen to have an interim outage of friends, it is absolutely fine to talk to your chair or any other attentive listener that can't escape.<br><br />
<br />
'''Elaboration'''<br><br />
Elaboration is the act of thoughtfully laying out a topic, talking about associations, explaining concepts, drawing connections to other knowledge and in general being very verbose about answering a question or talking about a topic. This can very much be combined with active recall (i.e. not using your notes for recapitulation). <br><br />
<br />
'''Interleaving'''<br><br />
Interleaving means to disperse the learning you're doing in a certain amount of time across several topics. It has been shown that this can lead to better learning outcomes than block or massed learning. As an example, you might be inclined to learn one whole week for one topic, another whole week for another topic and so on. Research indicates that interleaving those topics over two weeks can be more effective. Of course, you should not overdo it and switch topics every thirty minutes. Try to find some balance that works for you!<br><br />
<br />
'''Breaks'''<br><br />
Probably the most important and undervalued in learning (and work in general)! '''Take. Breaks.''' A lot. <br />
<br />
Your ability to understand and retain information will benefit from you being on top of your game, and you will likely be more on top of it if you take breaks. A good rule of thumb is to take a 5 minute break every 25 minutes when learning (as that has been shown to be the average time a student can fully concentrate). Of course, this will vary from person to person, but do remember that people are generally pretty bad at accurately assessing their concentration level and learning effectiveness at a given point in time. If in doubt, take the break.<br />
<br />
Also, '''several shorter breaks are way more effective than fewer long breaks'''. Studying for two and a halve hours and taking a thirty minute break will typically be much worse than doing six 25/5 blocks - especially if you plan to continue after the initial three hours.<br />
<br />
If you're interested, see e.g. [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm Ariga & LLeras (2011)]<br />
<br />
=== Supportive Tools ===<br />
'''[https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Anki]'''<br><br />
A really good tool for active recall and spaced repetition! A small app available for Computers, Macs, iPhones and Android Smartphones, giving you all the things you would want from a flashcard app and having a really good spaced repetition algorithm. Alternatives can be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitner_system analogue flashcard boxes] or [https://quizlet.com/latest quizlet].<br />
The huge benefit of Anki is that you'll have it with you all the time. Waiting for the bus? Answer a few cards. Bored before going to sleep? Answer a few cards!<br><br />
<br />
'''(Libre) Office'''<br><br />
Going hand in hand with the planning section above, it can be very useful to pour your learning plan into a table or worksheet, e.g. in Excel or Word. Any other software such as Libre Office or Google Docs will do just as well!<br />
<br />
Try to write down the topics you have to learn in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MECE_principle MECE way] (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive) so you have everything neatly in front of you. You can now, at every point in time, write down an assessment of your perceived learning strength per topic, keep an overview of when you learned which topic last or when you'll learn it next (see "Spaced Repetition" above) and so on. If you're lucky, your lecturer will provide you with something that you can use as a solid base for this - asking for it also doesn't hurt!<br />
<br />
All of this can of course also be done on paper or in a notebook - it might just get messy if you're not very disciplined.<br />
<br />
=== Further remarks ===<br />
==== Notes on group work ====<br />
Group work is great, but can also be largely ineffective. If you gather 5 people who know next to nothing about a topic, there is very little chance you'll create insight from nothing just by being together. Try to have a clear idea on what you want out of your group work and assign or rotate roles accordingly. One idea is to, each week, have one person in the group explain a recent topic to everyone else (see also "Elaboration" and "Active Recall"). You can also have sessions within which one person tries to actively recall and elaborate on a topic, and the other(s) ask questions regarding gaps they might be seeing or remark inaccuracies. This combines active recall, elaboration and having an incredible amount of fun together! 🥳<br />
<br />
==== Restructuring your environment ====<br />
It can be a good idea to make use of your environment. Build in cues into your rooms, have different stations for different topics, and so on. Maybe hang a mindmap of your learning topics next to your bathroom mirror so you can recap 1 or 2 topics while brushing your teeth. Throw up sticky notes with central questions around your house.<br />
<br />
Also, it can be very useful to have a dedicated place for your learning activities. Don't learn in your bed, don't learn at your dining room table. If both happen to be the same thing, try to have something around that you can alter when you start learning and switch back as you stop learning. The easiest way to do this is getting a Learning Lamp that you only turn on while learning!<br />
<br />
==== Smartphone use ====<br />
Smartphones can be useful for learning (see Anki), but they are also distracting. It has been shown that only keeping a smartphone in the same room without direct eye contract messes with your concentration level (cf. [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/691462 Ward et al., 2017]). So, when learning, shut it off and get it as far away from you as possible!<br />
<br />
==== A note on "learning types" ==== <br />
There's a persistent belief that people have different learning types, e.g. being a Visual, Aural, Read/Write or Kinesthetic (VARK) learner. As of today, we know of no research that supports this thesis (cf. [https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ase.1777 Husmann et al., 2018] / [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27620075/ Knoll et al., 2017]). What is true however is that using multiple types of media and modes supports understanding and retention. So don't stick to only watching videos because "you're a visual learner", but do switch it up - it's also more fun!<br />
<br />
== What NOT to do ==<br />
These are several techniques that are widely used by learners that are pretty ineffective. Typically, you'll want to avoid these.<br><br />
<br />
'''Summarizing'''<br><br />
There's almost no learning effect when summarizing slides, syllabi or textbooks while having them openly available next to you. Of course, if you're doing it with Active Recall, you're good to go! It might nevertheless be helpful to reformulate concepts in your own words to improve understanding.<br><br />
<br />
'''Underlining & Highlighting'''<br><br />
Typical study technique - next to no effect. As long as you just use it to underline/highlight important passages without recapitulating them later by memory, you can stop doing this.<br><br />
<br />
'''Re-Reading'''<br><br />
Re-Reading is probably the opposite of active recall. Don't do it, it will only make you feel as if you get things better (because you get better at recognizing the content), yet will do next to no good in terms of application and recall in exams.<br><br />
<br />
'''Cramming'''<br><br />
This goes hand in hand with taking breaks and interleaving. Don't spend massive amounts of time without taking breaks or looking into other topics every once in a while!<br><br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
=== Videos ===<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukLnPbIffxE Ali Abdaal - How to study for exams]: There are numerous videos and guidelines on how to study effectively. Yet, Ali Abdaal has managed to narrow it down to the essentials that have scientific backing.<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0 Marty Lobdell - Study Less, Study Smart]: An entertaining yet insightful overview of pitfalls and useful techniques for studying effectively.<br />
=== Books ===<br />
* [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674729018 Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., &amp; McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.]<br />
=== Tools ===<br />
* [https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Anki] (also see our [[Anki|Wiki article]])<br />
* [https://quizlet.com/latest Quizlet]<br />
=== Papers ===<br />
* [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/691462 Ward, Adrian F., Duke, Kristen, Gneezy, Ayelet, Bos, Maarten W., "Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2, no. 2 (April 2017): 140-154.]<br />
* [https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ase.1777 Husmann, P. R., &amp; O'loughlin, V. D. (2018). Another Nail in the Coffin for Learning Styles? Disparities among Undergraduate Anatomy Students’ Study Strategies, Class Performance, and Reported VARK Learning Styles. Anatomical Sciences Education, 12(1), 6-19. doi:10.1002/ase.1777]<br />
* [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27620075/ Knoll, A.R., Otani, H., Skeel, R.L., Van Horn, K.R. (2017). Learning style, judgements of learning, and learning of verbal and visual information. Br J Psychol. 2017;108(3):544-563. doi:10.1111/bjop.12214]<br />
* [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm Atsunori Ariga, Alejandro Lleras. Brief and rare mental 'breaks' keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007]<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Productivity Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Learning_for_exams&diff=6714Learning for exams2022-06-14T09:12:57Z<p>Matteo: /* Why & When */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Why & When ==<br />
Well, when you have an exam coming up 😉 However, most of the ideas below are generally targeted at learning, be it in academic or non-academic settings.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
* Spend your learning time efficiently & effectively<br />
* Retain knowledge & understanding long-term<br />
* Enjoy learning<br />
<br />
== What to do ==<br />
Learning for exams is a vast field. The following can thereby only be a fraction of possible insights on the topic and is not meant to be completely exhaustive or 100% scientific. It is however largely backed by scientific evidence and the personal experience of the author. If you think anything is inaccurate or missing, do feel free to contact us.<br />
<br />
The following is structured into separate paragraphs, starting with a more general note on learning approaches before diving deeper into techniques which you may find helpful. Furthermore, a section on what is usually '''not''' effective when learning and some general tips are included. The body of reference is meant to give you the opportunity to dive deeper into selected topics, yet if you follow what is collected below, you should be very much good to go. <br />
<br />
=== Planning & Consistency ===<br />
The first thing to note is that exam success hardly depends on the few weeks before the exam itself, but rather on your whole semester. Starting to learn early and consistently will, in the long run, save you a lot of time and stress and will also improve your exam success.<br><br />
Part of this is having a more or less clear overview on what is going to be covered or assessed and what it is you want to learn. This should also include a clear idea on what is not interesting or too important, either for yourself or the exam. Try to get an overview of topics and contents via the syllabus or ask the teacher / lecturer for it. <br><br />
Another part is always being more or less up to date with lectures or seminars. It doesn't take more than 30 minutes after a lecture for you to forget most of what you just heard. If at all possible, take 10 to 15 minutes after each session to work with your notes, reformulate them and throw them into your knowledge base (whatever that is). A good idea is also to directly transfer them to a flashcard tool such as Anki (see below).<br />
<br />
=== Techniques ===<br />
There are several learning techniques that have been scientifically proven to yield better results than what is commonly used by many students and learners. Try to stick to these as you learn!<br><br />
<br />
'''Spaced-Repetition'''<br><br />
One important concept is spaced repetition. This means that you should repeat content in increasingly longer intervals to ensure long-term retention. So, concretely, if you've just learned something, repeat it first on the next day, then after 3 days, after 7 days, after two weeks, and so on. Repetition intervals should depend on how well you were able to remember something on a given day (e.g. when you had lots of trouble after 7 days, maybe throw in another repetition 2 days later). The aforementioned overview of learning content can be combined with this, i.e. you can make a table with all the content for a given course and track when you repeated which topic to help you keep an overview.<br><br />
<br />
'''Active Recall'''<br><br />
Active Recall means recapitulating everything you know on a topic or question you are learning '''without checking your notes or sources'''. There is a significant learning edge to this over re-reading notes or trying to immediately fill in your gaps. Try to remember everything you know for as hard as possible until you are certain that you will not remember anything else. It is only then you should check back with your notes to see if you have forgotten anything. This will then subsequently show you on which gaps you need to focus more.<br />
<br />
Useful tools can be using MindMaps or SpiderDiagrams, but also writing down bullet points, full texts or talking to a friend about it. If you happen to have an interim outage of friends, it is absolutely fine to talk to your chair or any other attentive listener that can't escape.<br><br />
<br />
'''Elaboration'''<br><br />
Elaboration is the act of thoughtfully laying out a topic, talking about associations, explaining concepts, drawing connections to other knowledge and in general being very verbose about answering a question or talking about a topic. This can very much be combined with active recall (i.e. not using your notes for recapitulation). <br><br />
<br />
'''Interleaving'''<br><br />
Interleaving means to disperse the learning you're doing in a certain amount of time across several topics. It has been shown that this can lead to better learning outcomes than block or massed learning. As an example, you might be inclined to learn one whole week for one topic, another whole week for another topic and so on. Research indicates that interleaving those topics over two weeks can be more effective. Of course, you should not overdo it and switch topics every thirty minutes. Try to find some balance that works for you!<br><br />
<br />
'''Breaks'''<br><br />
Probably the most important and undervalued in learning (and work in general)! '''Take. Breaks.''' A lot. <br />
<br />
Your ability to understand and retain information will benefit from you being on top of your game, and you will likely be more on top of it if you take breaks. A good rule of thumb is to take a 5 minute break every 25 minutes when learning (as that has been shown to be the average time a student can fully concentrate). Of course, this will vary from person to person, but do remember that people are generally pretty bad at accurately assessing their concentration level and learning effectiveness at a given point in time. If in doubt, take the break.<br />
<br />
Also, '''several shorter breaks are way more effective than fewer long breaks'''. Studying for two and a halve hours and taking a thirty minute break will typically be much worse than doing six 25/5 blocks - especially if you plan to continue after the initial three hours.<br />
<br />
If you're interested, see e.g. [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm Ariga & LLeras (2011)]<br />
<br />
=== Supportive Tools ===<br />
'''[https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Anki]'''<br><br />
A really good tool for active recall and spaced repetition! A small app available for Computers, Macs, iPhones and Android Smartphones, giving you all the things you would want from a flashcard app and having a really good spaced repetition algorithm. Alternatives can be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitner_system analogue flashcard boxes] or [https://quizlet.com/latest quizlet].<br />
The huge benefit of Anki is that you'll have it with you all the time. Waiting for the bus? Answer a few cards. Bored before going to sleep? Answer a few cards!<br><br />
<br />
'''(Libre) Office'''<br><br />
Going hand in hand with the planning section above, it can be very useful to pour your learning plan into a table or worksheet, e.g. in Excel or Word. Any other software such as Libre Office or Google Docs will do just as well!<br />
<br />
Try to write down the topics you have to learn in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MECE_principle MECE way] (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive) so you have everything neatly in front of you. You can now, at every point in time, write down an assessment of your perceived learning strength per topic, keep an overview of when you learned which topic last or when you'll learn it next (see "Spaced Repetition" above) and so on. If you're lucky, your lecturer will provide you with something that you can use as a solid base for this - asking for it also doesn't hurt!<br />
<br />
All of this can of course also be done on paper or in a notebook - it might just get messy if you're not very disciplined.<br />
<br />
=== Further remarks ===<br />
==== Notes on group work ====<br />
Group work is great, but can also be largely ineffective. If you gather 5 people who know next to nothing about a topic, there is very little chance you'll create insight from nothing just by being together. Try to have a clear idea on what you want out of your group work and assign or rotate roles accordingly. One idea is to, each week, have one person in the group explain a recent topic to everyone else (see also "Elaboration" and "Active Recall"). You can also have sessions within which one person tries to actively recall and elaborate on a topic, and the other(s) ask questions regarding gaps they might be seeing or remark inaccuracies. This combines active recall, elaboration and having an incredible amount of fun together! 🥳<br />
<br />
==== Restructuring your environment ====<br />
It can be a good idea to make use of your environment. Build in cues into your rooms, have different stations for different topics, and so on. Maybe hang a mindmap of your learning topics next to your bathroom mirror so you can recap 1 or 2 topics while brushing your teeth. Throw up sticky notes with central questions around your house.<br />
<br />
Also, it can be very useful to have a dedicated place for your learning activities. Don't learn in your bed, don't learn at your dining room table. If both happen to be the same thing, try to have something around that you can alter when you start learning and switch back as you stop learning. The easiest way to do this is getting a Learning Lamp that you only turn on while learning!<br />
<br />
==== Smartphone use ====<br />
Smartphones can be useful for learning (see Anki), but they are also distracting. It has been shown that only keeping a smartphone in the same room without direct eye contract messes with your concentration level (cf. [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/691462 Ward et al., 2017]). So, when learning, shut it off and get it as far away from you as possible!<br />
<br />
==== A note on "learning types" ==== <br />
There's a persistent belief that people have different learning types, e.g. being a Visual, Aural, Read/Write or Kinesthetic (VARK) learner. As of today, we know of no research that supports this thesis (cf. [https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ase.1777 Husmann et al., 2018] / [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27620075/ Knoll et al., 2017]). What is true however is that using multiple types of media and modes supports understanding and retention. So don't stick to only watching videos because "you're a visual learner", but do switch it up - it's also more fun!<br />
<br />
== What NOT to do ==<br />
These are several techniques that are widely used by learners that are pretty ineffective. Typically, you'll want to avoid these.<br><br />
<br />
'''Summarizing'''<br><br />
There's almost no learning effect when summarizing slides, syllabi or textbooks while having them openly available next to you. Of course, if you're doing it with Active Recall, you're good to go! It might nevertheless be helpful to reformulate concepts in your own words to improve understanding.<br><br />
<br />
'''Underlining & Highlighting'''<br><br />
Typical study technique - next to no effect. As long as you just use it to underline/highlight important passages without recapitulating them later by memory, you can stop doing this.<br><br />
<br />
'''Re-Reading'''<br><br />
Re-Reading is probably the opposite of active recall. Don't do it, it will only make you feel as if you get things better (because you get better at recognizing the content), yet will do next to no good in terms of application and recall in exams.<br><br />
<br />
'''Cramming'''<br><br />
This goes hand in hand with taking breaks and interleaving. Don't spend massive amounts of time without taking breaks or looking into other topics every once in a while!<br><br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
=== Videos ===<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukLnPbIffxE Ali Abdaal - How to study for exams]: There are numerous videos and guidelines on how to study effectively. Yet, Ali Abdaal has managed to narrow it down to the essentials that have scientific backing.<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0 Marty Lobdell - Study Less, Study Smart]: An entertaining yet insightful overview of pitfalls and useful techniques for studying effectively.<br />
=== Books ===<br />
* [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674729018 Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., &amp; McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.]<br />
=== Tools ===<br />
* [https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Anki] (also see our [[Anki|Wiki article]])<br />
* [https://quizlet.com/latest Quizlet]<br />
=== Papers ===<br />
* [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/691462 Ward, Adrian F., Duke, Kristen, Gneezy, Ayelet, Bos, Maarten W., "Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2, no. 2 (April 2017): 140-154.]<br />
* [https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ase.1777 Husmann, P. R., &amp; O'loughlin, V. D. (2018). Another Nail in the Coffin for Learning Styles? Disparities among Undergraduate Anatomy Students’ Study Strategies, Class Performance, and Reported VARK Learning Styles. Anatomical Sciences Education, 12(1), 6-19. doi:10.1002/ase.1777]<br />
* [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27620075/ Knoll, A.R., Otani, H., Skeel, R.L., Van Horn, K.R. (2017). Learning style, judgements of learning, and learning of verbal and visual information. Br J Psychol. 2017;108(3):544-563. doi:10.1111/bjop.12214]<br />
* [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm Atsunori Ariga, Alejandro Lleras. Brief and rare mental 'breaks' keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007]<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Productivity Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Learning_for_exams&diff=6713Learning for exams2022-06-14T09:12:41Z<p>Matteo: /* Why & When */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || [[:Category:Software|Software]] || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Why & When ==<br />
Well, when you have an exam coming up 😉 Most of the ideas below are generally targeted at learning, be it in academic or non-academic settings.<br />
<br />
== Goals ==<br />
* Spend your learning time efficiently & effectively<br />
* Retain knowledge & understanding long-term<br />
* Enjoy learning<br />
<br />
== What to do ==<br />
Learning for exams is a vast field. The following can thereby only be a fraction of possible insights on the topic and is not meant to be completely exhaustive or 100% scientific. It is however largely backed by scientific evidence and the personal experience of the author. If you think anything is inaccurate or missing, do feel free to contact us.<br />
<br />
The following is structured into separate paragraphs, starting with a more general note on learning approaches before diving deeper into techniques which you may find helpful. Furthermore, a section on what is usually '''not''' effective when learning and some general tips are included. The body of reference is meant to give you the opportunity to dive deeper into selected topics, yet if you follow what is collected below, you should be very much good to go. <br />
<br />
=== Planning & Consistency ===<br />
The first thing to note is that exam success hardly depends on the few weeks before the exam itself, but rather on your whole semester. Starting to learn early and consistently will, in the long run, save you a lot of time and stress and will also improve your exam success.<br><br />
Part of this is having a more or less clear overview on what is going to be covered or assessed and what it is you want to learn. This should also include a clear idea on what is not interesting or too important, either for yourself or the exam. Try to get an overview of topics and contents via the syllabus or ask the teacher / lecturer for it. <br><br />
Another part is always being more or less up to date with lectures or seminars. It doesn't take more than 30 minutes after a lecture for you to forget most of what you just heard. If at all possible, take 10 to 15 minutes after each session to work with your notes, reformulate them and throw them into your knowledge base (whatever that is). A good idea is also to directly transfer them to a flashcard tool such as Anki (see below).<br />
<br />
=== Techniques ===<br />
There are several learning techniques that have been scientifically proven to yield better results than what is commonly used by many students and learners. Try to stick to these as you learn!<br><br />
<br />
'''Spaced-Repetition'''<br><br />
One important concept is spaced repetition. This means that you should repeat content in increasingly longer intervals to ensure long-term retention. So, concretely, if you've just learned something, repeat it first on the next day, then after 3 days, after 7 days, after two weeks, and so on. Repetition intervals should depend on how well you were able to remember something on a given day (e.g. when you had lots of trouble after 7 days, maybe throw in another repetition 2 days later). The aforementioned overview of learning content can be combined with this, i.e. you can make a table with all the content for a given course and track when you repeated which topic to help you keep an overview.<br><br />
<br />
'''Active Recall'''<br><br />
Active Recall means recapitulating everything you know on a topic or question you are learning '''without checking your notes or sources'''. There is a significant learning edge to this over re-reading notes or trying to immediately fill in your gaps. Try to remember everything you know for as hard as possible until you are certain that you will not remember anything else. It is only then you should check back with your notes to see if you have forgotten anything. This will then subsequently show you on which gaps you need to focus more.<br />
<br />
Useful tools can be using MindMaps or SpiderDiagrams, but also writing down bullet points, full texts or talking to a friend about it. If you happen to have an interim outage of friends, it is absolutely fine to talk to your chair or any other attentive listener that can't escape.<br><br />
<br />
'''Elaboration'''<br><br />
Elaboration is the act of thoughtfully laying out a topic, talking about associations, explaining concepts, drawing connections to other knowledge and in general being very verbose about answering a question or talking about a topic. This can very much be combined with active recall (i.e. not using your notes for recapitulation). <br><br />
<br />
'''Interleaving'''<br><br />
Interleaving means to disperse the learning you're doing in a certain amount of time across several topics. It has been shown that this can lead to better learning outcomes than block or massed learning. As an example, you might be inclined to learn one whole week for one topic, another whole week for another topic and so on. Research indicates that interleaving those topics over two weeks can be more effective. Of course, you should not overdo it and switch topics every thirty minutes. Try to find some balance that works for you!<br><br />
<br />
'''Breaks'''<br><br />
Probably the most important and undervalued in learning (and work in general)! '''Take. Breaks.''' A lot. <br />
<br />
Your ability to understand and retain information will benefit from you being on top of your game, and you will likely be more on top of it if you take breaks. A good rule of thumb is to take a 5 minute break every 25 minutes when learning (as that has been shown to be the average time a student can fully concentrate). Of course, this will vary from person to person, but do remember that people are generally pretty bad at accurately assessing their concentration level and learning effectiveness at a given point in time. If in doubt, take the break.<br />
<br />
Also, '''several shorter breaks are way more effective than fewer long breaks'''. Studying for two and a halve hours and taking a thirty minute break will typically be much worse than doing six 25/5 blocks - especially if you plan to continue after the initial three hours.<br />
<br />
If you're interested, see e.g. [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm Ariga & LLeras (2011)]<br />
<br />
=== Supportive Tools ===<br />
'''[https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Anki]'''<br><br />
A really good tool for active recall and spaced repetition! A small app available for Computers, Macs, iPhones and Android Smartphones, giving you all the things you would want from a flashcard app and having a really good spaced repetition algorithm. Alternatives can be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitner_system analogue flashcard boxes] or [https://quizlet.com/latest quizlet].<br />
The huge benefit of Anki is that you'll have it with you all the time. Waiting for the bus? Answer a few cards. Bored before going to sleep? Answer a few cards!<br><br />
<br />
'''(Libre) Office'''<br><br />
Going hand in hand with the planning section above, it can be very useful to pour your learning plan into a table or worksheet, e.g. in Excel or Word. Any other software such as Libre Office or Google Docs will do just as well!<br />
<br />
Try to write down the topics you have to learn in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MECE_principle MECE way] (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive) so you have everything neatly in front of you. You can now, at every point in time, write down an assessment of your perceived learning strength per topic, keep an overview of when you learned which topic last or when you'll learn it next (see "Spaced Repetition" above) and so on. If you're lucky, your lecturer will provide you with something that you can use as a solid base for this - asking for it also doesn't hurt!<br />
<br />
All of this can of course also be done on paper or in a notebook - it might just get messy if you're not very disciplined.<br />
<br />
=== Further remarks ===<br />
==== Notes on group work ====<br />
Group work is great, but can also be largely ineffective. If you gather 5 people who know next to nothing about a topic, there is very little chance you'll create insight from nothing just by being together. Try to have a clear idea on what you want out of your group work and assign or rotate roles accordingly. One idea is to, each week, have one person in the group explain a recent topic to everyone else (see also "Elaboration" and "Active Recall"). You can also have sessions within which one person tries to actively recall and elaborate on a topic, and the other(s) ask questions regarding gaps they might be seeing or remark inaccuracies. This combines active recall, elaboration and having an incredible amount of fun together! 🥳<br />
<br />
==== Restructuring your environment ====<br />
It can be a good idea to make use of your environment. Build in cues into your rooms, have different stations for different topics, and so on. Maybe hang a mindmap of your learning topics next to your bathroom mirror so you can recap 1 or 2 topics while brushing your teeth. Throw up sticky notes with central questions around your house.<br />
<br />
Also, it can be very useful to have a dedicated place for your learning activities. Don't learn in your bed, don't learn at your dining room table. If both happen to be the same thing, try to have something around that you can alter when you start learning and switch back as you stop learning. The easiest way to do this is getting a Learning Lamp that you only turn on while learning!<br />
<br />
==== Smartphone use ====<br />
Smartphones can be useful for learning (see Anki), but they are also distracting. It has been shown that only keeping a smartphone in the same room without direct eye contract messes with your concentration level (cf. [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/691462 Ward et al., 2017]). So, when learning, shut it off and get it as far away from you as possible!<br />
<br />
==== A note on "learning types" ==== <br />
There's a persistent belief that people have different learning types, e.g. being a Visual, Aural, Read/Write or Kinesthetic (VARK) learner. As of today, we know of no research that supports this thesis (cf. [https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ase.1777 Husmann et al., 2018] / [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27620075/ Knoll et al., 2017]). What is true however is that using multiple types of media and modes supports understanding and retention. So don't stick to only watching videos because "you're a visual learner", but do switch it up - it's also more fun!<br />
<br />
== What NOT to do ==<br />
These are several techniques that are widely used by learners that are pretty ineffective. Typically, you'll want to avoid these.<br><br />
<br />
'''Summarizing'''<br><br />
There's almost no learning effect when summarizing slides, syllabi or textbooks while having them openly available next to you. Of course, if you're doing it with Active Recall, you're good to go! It might nevertheless be helpful to reformulate concepts in your own words to improve understanding.<br><br />
<br />
'''Underlining & Highlighting'''<br><br />
Typical study technique - next to no effect. As long as you just use it to underline/highlight important passages without recapitulating them later by memory, you can stop doing this.<br><br />
<br />
'''Re-Reading'''<br><br />
Re-Reading is probably the opposite of active recall. Don't do it, it will only make you feel as if you get things better (because you get better at recognizing the content), yet will do next to no good in terms of application and recall in exams.<br><br />
<br />
'''Cramming'''<br><br />
This goes hand in hand with taking breaks and interleaving. Don't spend massive amounts of time without taking breaks or looking into other topics every once in a while!<br><br />
<br />
== Links & Further reading ==<br />
=== Videos ===<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukLnPbIffxE Ali Abdaal - How to study for exams]: There are numerous videos and guidelines on how to study effectively. Yet, Ali Abdaal has managed to narrow it down to the essentials that have scientific backing.<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0 Marty Lobdell - Study Less, Study Smart]: An entertaining yet insightful overview of pitfalls and useful techniques for studying effectively.<br />
=== Books ===<br />
* [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674729018 Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., &amp; McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.]<br />
=== Tools ===<br />
* [https://apps.ankiweb.net/ Anki] (also see our [[Anki|Wiki article]])<br />
* [https://quizlet.com/latest Quizlet]<br />
=== Papers ===<br />
* [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/691462 Ward, Adrian F., Duke, Kristen, Gneezy, Ayelet, Bos, Maarten W., "Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research 2, no. 2 (April 2017): 140-154.]<br />
* [https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ase.1777 Husmann, P. R., &amp; O'loughlin, V. D. (2018). Another Nail in the Coffin for Learning Styles? Disparities among Undergraduate Anatomy Students’ Study Strategies, Class Performance, and Reported VARK Learning Styles. Anatomical Sciences Education, 12(1), 6-19. doi:10.1002/ase.1777]<br />
* [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27620075/ Knoll, A.R., Otani, H., Skeel, R.L., Van Horn, K.R. (2017). Learning style, judgements of learning, and learning of verbal and visual information. Br J Psychol. 2017;108(3):544-563. doi:10.1111/bjop.12214]<br />
* [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm Atsunori Ariga, Alejandro Lleras. Brief and rare mental 'breaks' keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007]<br />
----<br />
[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Productivity Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
<br />
The [[Table_of_Contributors| author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteohttps://sustainabilitymethods.org/index.php?title=Microsoft_Word_For_Academic_Writing&diff=6505Microsoft Word For Academic Writing2022-01-05T10:56:44Z<p>Matteo: /* Word Fundamentals */</p>
<hr />
<div>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 100%"<br />
! colspan = "4" | Type !! colspan = "4" | Team Size<br />
|-<br />
| [[:Category:Collaborative Tools|Collaborative Tools]] || '''[[:Category:Software|Software]]''' || '''[[:Category:Personal Skills|Personal Skills]]''' || '''[[:Category:Productivity Tools|Productivity Tools]]''' || '''[[:Category:Team Size 1|1]]''' || [[:Category:Team Size 2-10|2-10]] || [[:Category:Team Size 11-30|11-30]] || [[:Category:Team Size 30+|30+]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== What, Why & When ==<br />
Microsoft Word is and probably will remain the number one tool for writing, be it in academia, business, non-profits or wherever you want to look. There are cases to be made for free alternatives such as LibreOffice, and some will insist that LateX is always the better option. We will leave these considerations aside for now and concern ourselves with what for some is a good friend, and for some an arch enemy: Microsoft Word. Our goal here is to make you part of the former group and reduce the size of the latter. <br />
<br />
== Getting Started ==<br />
As stated above, this article mainly serves the purpose to support academic writing with Word. However, most tips are probably useful in a variety of other fields, so feel free to transfer your freshly acquired knowledge!<br />
<br />
We're going to cover a short, a medium and a larger topic. You don't need to have read any in order to read the others, so feel free to skip to the most interesting parts.<br />
<br />
1) Technological concerns: We will keep this short as this is not a tech course, but a few aspects are worthwhile considering.<br />
<br />
2) Process: This is important to save you trouble down the road. We will talk about a few things in regards to sequence of activities that make sense.<br />
<br />
3) Becoming friends with Word: This part is going to cover basics and fundamentals that we think are very useful in not starting to hate the world in general and Bill Gates in particular. We're going to go over very important DOs and also some DON'Ts. This article is not going to make you a Word Professional, but we will try to nudge you towards the things you'll want to consider or familiarize yourself with. If you are lucky enough to be part of Henrik von Wehrden's Bachelor Forum, you might get the chance to participate in a Workshop that will go over these points in practice. And:<br />
<br />
'''BIG NOTICE:'''<br />
<br />
Learning a software by reading text is usually a) boring and b) ineffective. That is why your favourite Wiki team spared neither work nor sacrifice to produce a '''Word Video Tutorial''' alongside this article. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY <br />
<br />
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY%7C1000%7Cright%7COur YouTube Tutorial|frame}}<br />
<br />
In the video, we're building a template, based on this document: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b_6tf5drOX3McTLqyfbFdTcCW4eIe-aO/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101353147119951336675&rtpof=true&sd=true Word Basic Template] (just download it via file -> download and then you should be able to work with it, or just copy it into your own Word)<br />
<br />
You might notice that it has a whooping 59 minutes of length, which might seem daunting at first. Luckily, you don't need to watch the whole thing in one go. If you're short on time, just watch the fundamentals and maybe return for the advanced section whence you have the time. You can also make use of the time stamps in the video description to jump to your favorite parts.<br />
<br />
Small disclaimer: This article was written with Word 2016 in mind. There might be some changes in future or previous versions of Word, but the general gist should remain the same.<br />
<br />
Okay, ready?<br />
<br />
== Technological concerns ==<br />
<br />
=== Word Versions ===<br />
<br />
In regards to the version of Word you are using, you can usually assume that newer is better. Overall, any version is fine (maybe it should be 2010+) and won't make a crucial difference in writing. It is however noteworthy that newer versions get (security) upgrades and will interact better with other tools such as OneDrive. This does however not mean that you need to ditch your older version and pay 130€ for the newest product. As long as it's working for you, don't buy into the hype!<br />
<br />
If you're a member of Leuphana University, you can order a cheap Microsoft Office license here: https://www.leuphana.de/services/miz/service-support/beschaffung/software/ms-office-365.html<br />
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=== OneDrive (or any other cloud storage really) ===<br />
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OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud storage, but you can really use whichever you want - we do not recommend any particular one. The important thing is that you do USE A CLOUD STORAGE. You do not want to be part of the sad group of individuals that lost their thesis half-way through or even later due to a computer crash or some other unfortunate incident. Put your very first version into a folder in a cloud storage software and don't ever leave that comfy place. It allows you to jump back to earlier versions, automatically backs up your files and - if need be - opens up the option for collaborating on the same document. In the last point, OneDrive has an edge over other cloud storage software because it can directly access Word files and allows you to work simultaneously on the same Word document with others.<br />
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=== Citavi (or any other citation software) ===<br />
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We do recommend using a citation management software. When you're working on Windows, Citavi is a good option, but you can always go with Zotero, Mendeley, or whichever one you come across and which works for you. Citavi has a pretty good Word Integration, so that's a plus. You do not need to use every function of Citavi, but at least the generation of the reference list is a really big plus in terms of saving you time and mistakes that occur from manually typing it.<br />
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== Process ==<br />
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As stated above, your process in working with Word is valuable to pay attention to because it may safe you time and frustration down the road. The points below are by no means meant to give you a 100% fool-proof instruction, but are generally worthwile considering from our experience. <br />
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=== Build a solid framework ===<br />
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You'll want to setup everything nice and clean in the beginning. Nothing fancy, but so that it satisfies all the formal requirements and doesn't hurt your eyes. Set up the font size and styles, line spacing, page margins, front page information and your basic structure (abstract, intro, main parts, conclusions, references and reference format, indices, glossary, ...). Check 3 times and then with your advisor if your basic setup satisfies all the formal requirements.<br />
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If you use a citation software, set that one up as well and make sure everything works to your liking.<br />
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=== Write everything, don't format ===<br />
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This is the part where you basically don't want to have to care about the software you're using. Write plain text. If you have to format, **use styles** (see instructions below), and don't ever play around with picture or table positioning. Anything fancy you do here will make you despair when revising and reformatting later.<br />
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=== Finalize formatting ===<br />
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Have you written everything? I mean, everything? Like, there is nothing you're going to change? Okay. But have you sent it to someone you trust and let them check? Yes? Okay, you may go ahead.<br />
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This is the part where you can really finalize your formatting and make everything more fancy if you desire. If your initial setup was good, this is probably not going to take you too much time. You can alter some styles if you wish (e.g. for block quotes or subheadings) and format pictures and tables (e.g. let the text flow around them or something similar). You might also want to go over the whole document and check for odd pagebreaks (which should be a lot less likely to occur if you follow the instructions below). <br />
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== Word Fundamentals ==<br />
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Okay, here are the very basic things you should consider when setting up your word document. As stated before, this is not meant to tell you exactly how you can do it, but rather that you should do it. Have a look at our tutorial in order to find out how to do it exactly.<br />
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=== DONT's ===<br />
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Let's start with some things you never ever want to do. Like, really, never. <br />
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'''First''', do not, under any circumstances, manually format any piece of text, table or picture in your document. Always, always use Word Styles ("Formatvorlagen"). There are many reasons why it is a good idea, but the main one is that you are guaranteed to miss some font style change that happened due to you copy/pasting stuff in and you will spend roughly 3 weeks in your document to try and spot where your font style changed. Use styles instead, and adjust those when necessary.<br />
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'''Second''', do not ever use multiple line-breaks to get to the next page. You can either circumvent this with styles (see below) or at least use the CTRL+Enter shortcut to insert a pagebreak. This will prevent things from going all wonky when you change something above the page where you foolishly tried to page-break in the first place. <br />
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'''Third''', do not play around with picture or table formatting before your work is finished (see "Process" above). If you want to insert such elements during writing, paste them, let them stay where they are in a normal line and don't try fancy stuff such as having text float around it. You will with 100% certainty change something above or below the picture and mess up the page design. Do this only once you're done writing.<br />
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=== DO's ===<br />
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Okay, now that we got these out of the way, let's concern ourselves with what you should do. <br />
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'''Styles'''<br />
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First, styles. Styles (or "Formatvorlagen" in the elegant German language) are a way of telling Word how a block of text should be formatted, and to apply that formatting to all blocks of text that share the same type of content. They usually appear to the top right of your Word document. You can think of them as instructing Word to always treat different kinds of content (e.g. normal text, headings, quotations, subheadings) differently, and once you tell word that a block of text belongs to some category, it knows how to format that block of text. This will also give you the flexibility to change the formatting of all same kinds of text in an instant throughout the whole document.<br />
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'''Headings'''<br />
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One of the most important aspects of this is using **heading styles**. This allows you to automatically generate a table of contents, navigate within your document more quickly and have an array of options to better format your document. For example, you can tell Word to always insert a page break before your level 1 headings, which is saving you the trouble of either putting in a dozen line-breaks (which you should never ever do) or using CTRL+Enter (which is better but sometimes still suboptimal). If you use heading styles, you can easily insert an **automatically generated table of contents** by going to "References" → "Table of Contents" and select one of the options.<br />
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You can also use this to quickly navigate your document through using Word's **navigation bar**. Go to "View" ("Ansicht") and look for the checkbox "Navigation bar" ("Navigationsbereich"). This might seem minute but is a big comfort plus when working with larger documents like a thesis.<br />
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'''Copy & Pasting'''<br />
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Another aspect comes into play when you copy in external content. Always make sure that you only **copy the text, not the formatting**. Word gives you that option when you paste something in: a little box appears next to the pasted text, where you can select to only paste the text without formatting. This will automatically format the pasted text into default style and save you the trouble of manually formatting it.<br />
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'''Track Changes & Comment'''<br />
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You should definitely familiarize yourself with the inner workings of the "track changes" and "comment" functions of word. They allow you to clarify changes between versions as well as give and receive feedback in a way that is clearly intelligible and does not mess with your documents. To find these in Word, go to "Review" ("Überprüfen"). You will find the comment button, as well as the option to activate "track changes". Track changes will highlight all the changes you have done while it is active, and will allow you or others to either accept or decline them.<br />
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=== Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts ===<br />
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The following is just a compendium of tips & tricks of whose existence you should be aware of. Again, explaining this in text form is rather tedious and you'll be much better served to look this up in a tutorial or other context.<br />
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'''Page Numbers'''<br />
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Page numbers are great, you should always use them. Usually the easiest way is to go to "Insert" → "Page number" and then select where you'd like to have it.<br />
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There are some things you'll want to pay attention to. First, the "first page" issue. You'll usually want your (arabic numeral) page numbering to start on your first page of content. You can do this by inserting a section break ("Abschnittswechsel") before your first page of content. You can then, on your first page of content right click the page number in your header or footer, select "format page numbers" and select "Begin with..." and insert a 1. <br />
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There is more stuff you can do such as alternating sides or using latin numerals on the pages before your main content. This is shown in the accompanying tutorial as well.<br />
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'''Headers and Footers'''<br />
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While this is usually not necessary, it is nice for reader guidance: you can automatically insert the current chapters title into the header or footer row of your document. To do so, go into the header or footer row (by double clicking into the area), in the "header and footer tools" tab, go to "Insert" → "Document Information" → "Field" and select "StyleRef" under field names. In the selection menu, you can then select "Heading 1" (or "Überschrift 1") and click "OK" This will insert a field that automatically includes the name of the current heading in your header (or footer).<br />
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Generally, it might make sense for you to familiarize yourself with the different mechanics of headers and footers such as the "link to previous", "orientation tab stop" ("Ausrichtungstabstopp"), "first page differently" and "alternating odd and even pages".<br />
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'''Figures and Tables'''<br />
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As alluded to above, you'll want to only format these when you finished writing. Another point is labelling them properly, which allows you to include automatic numbering and, similar to the table of contents, automatically generate lists of figures and tables.<br />
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When you have a picture (and this works the same for tables), right-click it and select "Add label" ("Beschriftung einfügen"). In the pop-up, you will need to select the right type (i.e. figure, table, formula) and click "OK". This will insert a text field below your figure which is automatically numbered and which's text you can extend in order to add a description.<br />
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If you want to create a list of figures, go to the "References" ("Referenzen") tab → "Labels" ("Beschriftungen") and click on "Add list of figures" ("Abbildungsverzeichnis hinzufügen"). Don't get irritated that it only says figures, it works just as well for tables. In the pop-up, you'll need to select the kind of element you want to create the list for (i.e. figures in our example) in the bottom-left. That's it, hit "OK" and enjoy all the work you did not have to do manually.<br />
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=== Shortcuts ===<br />
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Okay, here's some very useful shortcuts, descendingly ordered by subjective importance.<br />
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{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Shortcut !! Keyboard Combination !! Usage<br />
|-<br />
| Undo & Redo || CTRL + Z, CTRL + Y || The bread and butter shortcuts for everyone who messes up sometimes (which is everyone). This works in almost all software ever created by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Copy Commands || CTRL + C, CTRL + X, CTRL + V || The C copies, the X cuts, and the V pastes. I hope you knew this already, but if you didn't, make use of it!<br />
|-<br />
| Fancy keyboard navigation || CTRL and Arrow Keys || Instead of trying to move your mouse exactly behind that word, try to get used to pushing your cursor around with the arrow keys. If you use CTRL and the arrow keys (to the ← left or the right →), you jump between words instead of letters. This works everywhere by the way.<br />
|-<br />
| Make heading || Alt + 1, Alt + 2, Alt + 3 || This makes the selected piece of text a level 1 heading. Can be used with 2 and 3 as well. Very useful for quickly structuring your document!<br />
|-<br />
| Show paragraphs and stuff || CTRL + Shift + * || This shortcut shows you linebreaks, tabs, pagebreaks and formatting. Very useful when you're trying to figure out why your document is a mess.<br />
|-<br />
| Page Break || CTRL + Enter || Inserts a pagebreak, saves you the trouble of inserting to many line breaks.<br />
|}<br />
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== Links & Further reading ==<br />
Of course, our own video covers everything you need to know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXOGe7kVhY<br />
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[[Category:Skills_and_Tools]]<br />
[[Category:Personal Skills]]<br />
[[Category:Software]]<br />
[[Category:Team Size 1]]<br />
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The [[Table of Contributors|author]] of this entry is Matteo Ramin.</div>Matteo