Trying To Do This Today!

this post gives me major mid-school hectic vibes !

11.02.18 

gotta study from 5 sources bc 1 is not good enough (it’s gunna be a long night) 

9/4/21 | 96/103 Days of Productivity

This is going to be a busy month.

𝟐𝟏:𝟎𝟕 | 𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫

here are some clips from my post on my studygram and these summary pages took a decade at least oml

eat an apple while reading shakespeare outside i dare you

a list of my favorite study tips (and when to use them)

summer:

invest in a book of short stories for each language you’re studying, and keep the book(s) on your bedside table. take advantage of the free time while out of school to get in the habit of reading through the short stories whenever you can. just a few minutes of reading the short stories every day will immensely improve your foreign language skills and keep you from forgetting the vocab & grammar over summer break

acquire a list of the books you’ll be reading for school in the fall and start reading them. to get the list of books, try asking someone who’s already taken the class, your future teachers, or a school counselor. reading the books ahead of time will not only put you ahead of the rest of your class by giving you time to work through the material in advance; it will also significantly lessen your workload during the school year.

this applies to the school year as well, but especially when you’re reading books in advance, keep a journal and pen at hand every time you read. write down the major plot points of the section you’re reading, what you like/agree with, what you dislike/disagree with, and one or two quotes that summarize the main themes of the section (make sure you include page numbers!!!!). when school starts & you’re assigned an essay on that book, you’ll already have the main points of the book laid out, and lots of great quotes—with page references!—to use in your essay.

two weeks before school starts:

take a look at your syllabus and get started on your first assignments. if you start now, you can stay at least one week ahead on all of your assignments throughout the year. this is a HUGE lifesaver when something comes up unexpectedly during the school year—like getting sick or having to go out of town for a few days at the last minute—and you don’t have time to get homework done, because if you’ve done it in advance then you won’t have to worry about falling behind.

get a planner app for your phone. i like egenda, but you can use any app where you input homework assignments in advance and it alerts you at various intervals of time before they’re due. it’s impossible to get a good grade on an assignment if you forget to turn it in on time, so just alleviate that issue altogether.

throughout the school year:

take notes. have a notebook open in every class, and write down all important names, dates, quotes, formulas, and theorems. write the current date at the top of each page, and have a separate notebook for each subject. if a teacher repeats something more than once in a class, underline it, because those are the things that appear on midterms and finals.

help yourself memorize things by writing essays about them. even if you’re not assigned an essay about a topic, try to write/type two or three paragraphs every week to summarize what you’re learning in a class. writing things in your own words is one of the best ways to remember them, and it will also help you to improve your writing skills. additionally, this should be applied to all subjects, not just literature or history (because even if you’re studying a STEM field and writing isn’t a huge part of the curriculum, you should still have the ability to write about STEM concepts in a way that is understandable and engaging).

befriend the smartest person in the class. figure out who always has the right answers and make yourself their ally. be a good friend to them, and then when you’re struggling with a concept, they will either explain it to you or—if they don’t know what the explanation is yet—they’ll help you search for it.

take advantage of indexes. almost all books have one, and they can be lifesavers if you don’t know the answer to a question. especially in history class, when there are a bunch of names that are super difficult to memorize. i know this is a pretty basic tip (if you can even call it a tip), but i’ve had a lot of friends completely forget about indexes, so this is just a brief reminder. :)

participate in class. this might sound super obvious, but you cannot retain information without discussing it! if you’re like me and participating in class sucks because of social anxiety, try to force yourself out of your comfort zone & remember that you are your own worst critic, but it’s also okay just to discuss things with a close friend or family member instead. the important thing is that you’re repeating what you’ve learned out loud and practicing explaining it to someone else, which will really help you to grasp the concepts.

three weeks before midterms/finals:

now is when all of your notes come in handy. go back through the notes for each class and study them, particularly the parts you’ve underlined. you shouldn’t try to memorize the pages, but you should study them enough that—by finals week—you could summarize the contents if someone asked you pointed questions about them. this is also when it becomes extra helpful to be friends with the smartest person in the class, because they will be an excellent study buddy. just make sure that you reciprocate if you ask them to help you study.

fill in any gaps in your notes by talking to your teachers and attending all of the office hours that you can. many teachers will give you a study guide if you ask for one, and you can literally go through and fill it in with info from your notes. remember, most of your teachers really do want you to do well, and they’ll try their best to help you achieve the best scores possible.

if any of your quizzes are open book, ask your teacher if you can put completely blank sticky notes on pages. bookmark the pages that have important events, quotes, facts, etc., and then if you forget something on a test you can refer to the book & it will be much easier to find the information. personally, the only open book finals i’ve had are the kind where you just write three 1000 word essays in 3 hours, but we are required to have at least 5 quotes in each essay, so if that’s the case for any of you guys then this tip is super helpful for bookmarking those quotes as well.

while taking a final/midterm:

read through the whole test first. figure out how long it is, how much time you have, and how many points each question is worth. if you’re worried about running out of time, start by doing the problems that are worth more points, and then out of whatever’s left do the ones that look easiest first. this will guarantee that you make the best use of your time & get the highest grade possible

and that’s all i can think of right now! hope this can help at least a few people :)

I did it y'all

Finished the first 3 pages in a little over 45 minutes, then kept at it and finished all 6 pages of notes that I needed to catch up on.

We’re doing les phrases hypothétique, which I forgot about from high school and actually love, they feel like a math problem.

I still have a psych module to do tonight, but I’m proud of how productive I’ve been so far today.

life tip

Recently I’ve tried a few things that have improved my productivity by a crap ton. Honestly, I highly recommend it.

1. The 2 Minute Rule. If it will take less than two minutes to do, do it now. I get back to my dorm after class and the first thing I do is change out of my jeans and into running shorts. Before, I would just ball them up and throw them in my wardrobe, still inside out. Now, I fix them, then I fold them and either stick them on my shelf to be put back on in a few hours or put them on a hanger. It’s quick, easy, and you’ll be really grateful in the future that you got it out of the way. And on that note, #2.

2. “Future Me will thank Past Me for this.”

I used to never make my bed. It was annoying and tedious. However, it also annoyed me when I studied because it was a messy room, and for me, a messy room = a messy mind. Now, when I wake up in the morning, it’s the first thing I do. I do this because I keep telling myself that Future Me will be grateful that I got it out of the way. Future Me can now study without having anxiety about the state of her room. Literally, if it’s something you know you’ll be moaning and groaning about in the future, do it now. It’s literally that simple.

Productivity can really be that simple, y’all. It doesn’t always have to be waking up at 6am and going on a 5 mile run. Sometimes it’s so simple as doing something small now so you don’t have to do it later.

studying while dealing with depression

Hi everyone! It’s werelivingarts!

Depression is a very common mental disorder that can affect negatively on the way you feel, think and act. I think that giving some tips and strategies on dealing with depression while studying would be essential to some of you who might struggle out there to get started on assignments. 🙂 Hope that this can help you to fight against depression and embrace your positivity while studying! Remember that you are loved and you are enough ❤️💙💜

And if today all you did was hold yourself together and survive, I’m still very proud of you. 🍀💐

study moods by subject

chemistry: a seat in the first row, diligent note taking, falling asleep in a textbook, color coded sticky notes but with no real system, fingers running across old ink

literature: studying in bed, a cat snoozing on the pillow, orchestral movie soundtracks playing softly, rereading passages that were absentmindedly passed through

math: strong cups of coffee, graph paper planners, crowded lecture halls, a furrowed brow, warm sweaters, that one special spot in the library

history: clicking pens, stacks and stacks of books, annotations in the margins, study sessions spread out on the floor, flickering candles, working in complete silence

biology: colorful illustrations, well worn flashcards, reusable water bottles, always breaking pencil lead, carefully drafting important emails

art: getting lost in readings, pastry and a coffee, receipts repurposed as bookmarks, love for rainy days, in class hand raising anxiety, a whirlwind of a backpack

world languages: early mornings, a deep seated quizlet addiction, studying with friends, practicing presentations aloud in an empty room, fidgeting in chairs, detailed study guides

engineering: hands running through hair, cups of tea either drank while they’re too hot or entirely forgotten, typing quickly, the sound as hallways fill in between classes

music: stretching fingers after long periods of writing, 11:59 submission for a 12:00 deadline, celebrating the completion of a task with something sweet, deep respect for teachers

how do i overthink so much and then Still make the wrong decision