Photo copyright held by Ange. Please do not use without permission.

EDC, WIMB, essentials, whatever you call the stuff you carry everyday is the topic of our latest blog series. We ask productive people to empty their bags and share their everyday carry with us to find out what helps them make stuff happen and what they can't live without.

Bag owner: Ange, Law Student (Australia)
fuckstudy.tumblr.com | @byeanges

Ange is a university student from Australia balancing full-time study with part-time work. Ange's bag includes items that increase productivity, provide flexibility and maximise her ability to seize opportunities which come her way.

... balance is ... something you must actively seek.

What's in your everyday bag and why?

Phone, laptop, keys, wallet and a bottle of water. I bring my Hobonichi planner and a few sticky notes so I can plan and track my day as I go. The extra pages at the back are great for writing down ideas and memos - particularly on the oft chance my phone has died! To tackle long commutes and errands, I'll bring a book or a Kindle. I also keep a few handy items in my kit - earphones, usb and a few beauty essentials to combat that afternoon slump!

My preferred backpack is a Herschel backpack. On lighter days, I manage with a laptop bag and tote.

Along with these 'work' essentials, I keep a separate bag with a blazer, gym kit and heels in my car. These allow me to manage my day if plans change, whether it be being called into work, appearing in court or squeezing in a gym session on an unexpected afternoon off!

What's your minimum must-carry?

Phone and keys.

Any tips for getting things done anywhere?

Be resourceful in order to adapt to your daily environment.

To make the most of your time - whether it be the ten minutes between classes, or the five-minute wait for the bus - use resources which enable you to adapt to your surroundings. Cloud services such as Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud allow you to access all your important essentials on the go. For example, I sync my iCal and Google Calendar across all my devices and have all my important documents on Google Drive. Look for apps with cross-platform compatibility - I highly recommend OneNote in this regard.

Be realistic in what you can accomplish in the day. Accept that there will always be certain stressors in daily life - traffic, a delayed bus, the 12-minute wait for coffee as everyone lines up for their caffeine fix in the morning. Know your personal habits - I'm terrible with early mornings and my energy dips around late afternoon, so during these times I try to schedule tasks which don't require much focus. Prioritise your tasks, taking these personal and external factors into account.

Rest. Schedule in rest as you would a meeting, lunch or project deadline. I've often struggled with this, particularly with regards to correspondence. By switching off email notifications on my phone after work hours and restraining myself from reading university or work related emails on Sundays, I'm slowly allowing myself to switch 'off' from work. This allows me to tackle the following day's tasks with a sharper mind.

All in all, balance is not an automatic outcome of passivity; it is something which you must actively seek. Luckily, there's an arsenal of tools on the market to help us with this endeavour.

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See also... What's in my bag series, Everyday Carry