always bloggin bout that college life

Working at my university’s writing center, I did a lot of résumé building with students fresh out of high school with little or no job experience or skills. They were usually looking for summer jobs, internships, or part time jobs for the school year. Together, we’d take a look at their experiences and put together a compelling résumé based on what they’d need to show to get hired. But before we get to building a résumé, let’s talk about getting there first.

The Job Search

Chances are, if you’re applying for a summer job or part time job for the school year, you’re not necessarily going to find work in your dream field. This is common, and you might as well assume it as you begin your search. What you can look for in your search is a job that will let you build skills that can be transferrable to other jobs in the future. Customer service experience comes in handy in so many fields, and there are so, so many customer service jobs available at grocery stores, coffee shops, and other retailers for workers with no skills. I recommend applying to stores because you will most likely learn customer service skills, teamwork, and time management at the very least. These can be major assets later on in life.

Writing a Résumé

It’s not as scary as you think. In fact, Purdue Owl provides a great example résumé here. Canva also has wonderful templates. Of course, what you choose to put on your résumé is more important than its appearance. And this is where you can compensate from your lack of job experience. Begin with volunteer work. What have you done that can be transferrable to a job? Have you worked at something like a bake sale, handling money and selling to customers? That would be perfect experience for a sales job. Perhaps the nature of your volunteer work has taught you particular values that will make you a good employee, like hard work and independence. You may also want to consider including your hobbies on your résumé if they demonstrate a great deal of discipline, like sports or playing an instrument.

Writing a Cover Letter

When you have the opportunity to write a cover letter, always write a cover letter! It’s definitely your chance to stand out and explain why you are the right person for the job. This is the only opportunity you have to explain how the experience you listed in your résumé is relevant. Once you have an understanding of the job you’re applying to and what it requires, you can show how your values and experience align with the available position. Make a strong case for yourself, really give the hard sell. For more information about writing cover letters, visiting Purdue Owl here.

As I am usually a straight A student, I thought I’d share some of my favourite study “hacks”, but be warned: i will not be gentle with you. I am going to tell you the brutal truth about getting great marks, because it is no use sugarcoating the fact that school is actually super hard work! 

discipline beats motivation

to be honest no matter how perfect your/any studyblr might be, looking at a blog will unfortunately never ever motivate you to study as hard as you will have to to get an A. Studyblrs may inspire you, but the one thing which will really get you studying is discipline. So, as cruel as it may sound, force yourself to be productive and you will get some serious work done.

have no social life

… at least on some days. if you find it difficult to fit your studies into your social life, try reversing the whole thing. Don’t make plans with your friends on days during which you want/need to study. This definitely isn’t fun, I know, but for me, I often find it difficult to get work done when I have plans later that day as firstly, getting a certain amount of work done within a strict time limit stresses me out and secondly, you should definitely use all the time you can get - especially shortly before the upcoming exam.

all-nighters equal bad time management

truth be told good students normally won’t have to pull all nighters as sleep is very important for not only your concentration but also for your health. To make sure that you get enough rest you should start studying as early as possible, for me that is normally one week before the particular exam, and plan what you will do on which day without trying to fit everything into the last minute. That will leave you relaxed, well rested and concentrated on the day of your exam.

find something that keeps you going

i usually drink a lot of coffee when i am studying, because during a hard study session i need to stay focused and awake. If you don’t like coffee, you could also go for black tea or green tea or simply some fruit as it is very important to get some vitamins (or in my case caffeine) in your system to not fall asleep while working.

ask for help

whether you swap notes with your colleagues or you mail the professor some questions doesn’t matter at all. It’s only important that you accept that you probably won’t be able to do everything on your own, so find yourself a study partner, ask questions when something seems unclear to you or even get a tutor. And definitely don’t be embarrassed about asking questions! Nobody knows everything.

no distractions

studying is boring and you might find that music makes it a little more exciting, but often listening to music or taking a lot of breaks is only keeping you from getting work done. So suck it up and study either silently, to classical music or to relaxing noises you can find on the internet. Also try not to take too many breaks. Don’t overwork yourself, of course, but also try to stay focused for longer than 15 minutes as this will allow you to be more productive and don’t study with friends if you end up chit-chatting to each other instead of working.

write everything down

even if you have a good memory, you won’t be able to remember a thing after class, so suck it up, don’t talk to your desk mate and focus on writing everything important down what the teacher says. even if you get handed enough material there will still be things which you should write down such as explanations, examples and additional information. that will help you later on to understand what you are actually studying.

you absolutely need to study

don’t ever think, no matter how much attention you’ve paid in class or how good you are at a certain subject, that you won’t have to study. there is always work to get done and if you are already good at something work on being better to excel at academics. 

are you familiar with the feeling of oh-my-holy-moly-my-life-is-a-complete-mess? me too fam. but now, it’s time for change. It’s time to get our shit together and here are some tips to get started.

note : this is just a beginning guide; which only includes 1/100 of the tips to get you life together. I’ll probably make a part two if this is helpful?

1. do not procrastinate.

sounds crazy? but honestly, just don’t. procrastination leads to stress and anxiety and helps you lose your shit.

but, how do we not procrastinate?

‌get things done early. remember that sheet of paper your professor gave around in class having the list of all the assignments to be done that semester? yes, do that work months before if you have time.

do your homework the day it’s given. (no watching tv before you do)

‌study in the time you’re actually studying. don’t go on your phone half the time. If you’re doing that, you may as well put your books away.

‌other resources -

the procrastination masterpost by @studious-simplicity​

how to stop procrastinating by @determinationandcaffeine​

how to stay productive by @julstudies​

productivity masterpost by @ib-studyblr

2. become the master of  “fake productivity”

fake productivity is basically when you do mechanical work (i.e. stuff which doesn’t require much brainpower) to get into the real “productivity” zone. it helps you brain prepare for the big task ahead. here are some things to do -

make your bed

do the dishes/laundry

clean your room (i know it’s messy yo)

get your closet together

empty your inbox (be it gmail or tumblr)

do a smol workout?

make a to-do list/ organize you calendar

do a easiest or the most enjoyable task off your to-do list

3. plan, plan and plan

your planner/bullet journal should be your best friend. plan those essays you got to write, that research paper you have to do, down to the time you need to go out for dinner with friends. Plan. Every. Single. Thing. I. Really. Mean. It.

+ and follow up with those plans!! you have already wasted a lot of time on planning, you hAVE to follow up with that planning, right?

4. wake up early

why?  waking up early gives you the time to do things slowly and carefully so that you get it perfect in one go and your life isn’t a complete disastrous mess.

how to wake up early? i got you.

how to wake up early by @theyrestudying

how to get up early and enjoy your day by @coffeesthetics​

the morning “me” routine by @fightostudy​

5. have a healthy lifestyle

an example -

x wakes up at 7 am every morning, goes for a short run to wake herself up and comes back to have hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, slices of bread and a mug of steaming hot tea. she starts on her work after that, doing it without stressing about it. Then, after a nice hot bath and a delicious lunch, she goes out to a cafe to work on her online classes and to hang out with her friends. coming back home, she does a quick workout, takes a shower and heads off to make dinner. Having an early dinner, she spends the remaining few hours relaxing, drafting blog posts and spending time with her dog. at 10 pm everyday, she heads off to her bed, looking forward to a glorious tomorrow.

..sounds like a fairy-tale, right? you can definitely live it though.

In general, your day should have the following stuff  -

‌sufficient hours of work using which you can get all your work done

‌a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner (yep, no skipping meals)

‌a workout, generally of 15 - 30 minutes at the least

‌interaction with people, like hanging out with friends or family

‌sufficient sleep and resting time (preferably 8 hours of sleep)

‌a fixed routine consisting of you waking and sleeping at fixed time

‌a ‘me’ time at some point of the day where you don’t worry about work or anything and focus on relaxing after a long day.

6. believing that coffee sucks

why? its basically a drug and if you need three cups of it just to get started on work, you’re going to have a really hard time during finals.

Instead, get enough sleep so that you have enough energy to study without being a coffee addict. or you can even swap coffee for water. (hey, you’ll be more hydrated!) side note - a cup of coffee per day is okay though. I love coffee too and I totally feel you but don’t overdose on it, okay love?

some extra things to know about -

‌have a companion to keep you accountable at the start.

‌do have a laid-back day once in a while, you’re human after all.

balance work and play. reward yourself for shit done.

keep track of your spending, earnings, investments, etc.

stop being a perfectionist. seriously, you dont need to rewrite all those notes, trust me (comes from a was-a-perfectionist-kind-of-still-am-but-trying-not-to-be perfectionist)

‌don’t stress yourself out. getting your shit together is a journey and not a result.

remember, change will come. yes, it will; but only if you take action. start now.

also, on a side note - and this might seem very ironic, but sometimes you don’t have to have your shit together. life is always a mess and trust me when I say this, no one - yes no one - has their shit together and sometimes it’s worth it to lead a messy life and enjoy it without having any fixed rules and regulations like you would have if you wanted that perfect life. enjoy the life you lead and stay wonderful, loves!

- ̗̀   the adulting 101 series   ̖́-        

part one : kicking a rut

go check out my other masterposts here and you can always send in a request for a masterpost as my ask box is always open!!