Three Essential Purchases For Graduates

To get the most out of life after uni, there are a few essential purchases for graduates that you should invest in. These will improve the quality of your life as well as potentially offering more career prospects. Each of these items won’t cost you much but will enhance your life nonetheless.

A Whiteboard

This is a must-have for any creative or thinker. A whiteboard is one of the most useful tools for quick brainstorming, planning, or explanation.

I particularly like using mine for brainstorming and exploring business ideas with my housemate.

If you’re often thinking of creative ideas or like to write your thoughts down, investing in a whiteboard is a good idea. It doesn’t have to be expensive; you can get one for under £10.

The main perk of a whiteboard is that you can rub things out. This makes it ideal for brainstorming and changing plans.

Top Tip: Take a picture of your whiteboard before cleaning it to save the information for later!

Non-Fiction Books

Books contain knowledge from the best minds in the world. Many best selling books offer applicable expert knowledge to improve your life or your studies. With a vast range of subjects to choose from, you can learn about anything at all. You can improve your life in every area by reading books.

Many people prefer to read using a physical book rather than a PDF or ebook. I know I do. You can find loads of free PDF downloads online if you don’t mind reading digitally.

I’ll often be reading two non-fiction books at a time: one physical and one digital. Whichever you prefer, read this post on the Key Notes System for the best results.

If you don’t want to spend the money buying good books, sign up to your local library. Most libraries have loads of books to choose from. But, it’s difficult to immediately find bestseller books in libraries. You’ll need to request them in advance and have a good browse.

An alternative to reading is listening to audiobooks. Audible is the leading provider of online audiobooks. They provide an amazing service, offering an audiobook each month.

Click here to find my recommended reading list.

A Music Subscription

This purchase is a little unconventional. Music, itself, has many uses. It can help you to chill at the end of a day, or get you fired up for a job interview.

My favourite use for music is having a productivity playlist. You may have heard of Pavlov and his dogs. The concept here is similar – training your brain to be productive while listening to a specific type of music. For me, this is electronic trap. Whenever you listen to your chosen type of music, your brain will shift into a productive mindset.

Here’s a short step-by-step guide to help you do the same:

1. Create a playlist of songs you like from a genre you don’t often listen to. I find it’s easiest to zone out to music without lyrics or electronic music. Make this playlist at least an hour or two long.
2. The next time you plan to work, put some headphones on and listen to that playlist.
3. Do not get distracted or do anything unproductive while listening to those songs! If you need to stop working, pause the music or take your headphones off.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3.

The more often you listen to this playlist while working, the stronger the association will be in your brain. Eventually, your brain will want to be productive when you hear one of your ‘productive songs’. It’s a really cool and useful technique that I’ve used to great effect.

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