desceaescada

Studying for my pathophysiology midterm coming up this Tuesday! Atherosclerosis is definitely one of my favourite topics to study for. 

Hey guys, I’m participating to the 100 Days of Productivity Challenge by @emmastudies Here is the highlight of the first 5 days, it’s going pretty well so far! This challenge really helps me getting motivated!

study tips for different learning styles

Here are some study tips for different learning styles that I’ve gathered from talking to friends and from what some professors have recommended their students to do:

VISUAL

draw pictures in your notes

benefit from illustrations & presentations that use color

use diagrams, graphs, underlining, mind-maps, etc

study in a visually appealing place

AUDITORY

study in groups, discuss things out with other people

record lectures, take part in a study group, go to tutoring

reduce lecture notes to only the main ideas

read texts out loud, pretend to teach someone else

explain ideas to other people

recite, recite, recite

create jingles or mnemonics

READ/WRITE

take notes during the lecture

underline, highlight, or circle printed material

borrow other students’ notes to compare and contrast

use a variety of colors, pens, highlighters, note cards, etc

write it out, re-write your notes, create mind-maps

make and use flashcards for studying

KINESTHETIC

trace letters and words to learn spellings, etc

take several breaks

write everything out

move around to learn new things

use non-distracting movement while you learn (like shaking your leg/foot, chewing gum, tap your pen/pencil)

listen to non-distracting music

study while walking or working out

MULTI-MODAL

write things out but also use colors and diagrams

When studying for a levels and gcses past papers are the most useful tools. Here’s how I used them when I was at school… 

1. organise yourself - figure out how many past papers you have and stagger them sensibly throughout the revision period. Check other exam boards in case they produce similar papers you can use for extra revision. Ask your teacher for access to the most recent papers which aren’t online. Leave the most recent past paper you have until last - I used to do it a few days before the exam.

2. do each past paper for the first time - complete the paper in exam conditions.

3. mark and analyse your results - use the online mark scheme to mark the paper. Create a grid (see picture above) that shows each question, the topic covered in the question, your mark, your percentage correct on that questions, and whether that percentage is green (full marks), amber (ok marks), or red (low marks).

4. read the examiner’s report - this will show the common mistakes students made, and may also highlight what the examiner’s look for every year.

5. revise the problem areas - revise the areas you got amber/red scores for e.g. create posters, type the information up with extra context, and of course: read, cover, rewrite (and repeat).

Don’t watch the clock;                                                                                            Do what it does.                                                                                                      Keep going.

10.18.17 // anatomy practical. is anyone else taking anatomy? plz help me. 💀

HOW TO BE PRODUCTIVE ON THE WEEKENDS

Hi study buddies it is Saturday night and I’m home alone and one thing I hate about being alone is that I really never get anything done. I’m either cooking or I’m in my bed and I just hate doing that because I’m so unproductive. I know a lot of us just hate studying especially during our “down time” and we also have other priorities we need to do during the daytime. So today I’m going over some tips on how you can make your weekend a little but more productive and studious. 

there are 60 hours between the end of Friday after getting out of school and the end of Sunday, substracting let’s say seven hours of sleep every day you have about 39 hours of free time.

That is plenty of time to relax, do all the activities you need to do and also be productive to work on assignments. The first thing you need to do is plan out your weekend and make a schedule.

if you don’t want to read everything, i made a video explaining the same exact productivity tips on my youtube channel {link}

STUDY EARLY + PLAN A SCHEDULE

Weekends are a time for you to relax, but if you can, try to start working early in the morning because you’re going to be more productive and your brain can actually function properly. 

By 12-1 AM at night is the time where the majority of people including me cannot be productive so just try to avoid working during that time period because it’s just not a good time to be trying to memorize math functions and write a week pieced essay. I know that every time I try to study during 1 AM or 2 AM I always end up being so slow at retaining information, it just becomes counter productive. 

Start your assignments on Saturday night or the afternoon and try to finish it during Sunday morning. (recommended)

if you have the motivation to start your homework during Friday obviously do your homework during Friday, that is the best thing to do, but for the majority of us I know we would like to relax for a little bit.

So just try to plan a routine and schedule that matches your weekend

FIND A STUDY PARTNER

So now that you have created a routine or something or you can follow. I’m going to go over some tips on how you can be more focused and concentrated on doing the stuff that you need to do.

find a study buddy or just a friend that you know can keep you company. 

go to your local coffee shop or someone’s house and work there because if you have someone nearby, they can keep you accountable for actually doing your work  (obviously find a friend that will not distract you).

 If you can’t meet them in person Skype them I know a lot of people go on Skype chats with your friends and do homework. I think that is a really good idea I’ve done it a few times myself and I’ve been pretty productive during them. So try to have someone nearby that can keep you on track so you don’t spiral down into a YouTube and Netflix day.

NO MORE DISTRACTIONS

Another thing you can do is actually download some applications  that can keep you off sites like Netflix, YouTube, and Facebook.

I talked about this in my how to be productive after school video and basically just download this app called “self control” {link}

what it does is that a blocks you from using sites that you would normally get distracted on.

So you can and manually put in sites like Facebook.com and Netflix.com The app will block you from using it for certain amount of time that you put in, so usually when I’m studying I block myself from using YouTube for about 30 minutes to an hour limit.

FIND A STUDY SPACE

Experiment with where you’re studying because I know I cannot concentrate for my life In my bedroom.

The majority of the times where I’m the most productive is in my kitchen

experiment with where you’re studying and find out if you were the most productive in your bedroom or if you’re the most productive sitting on a couch or on a dining table.

TO-DO LIST

My fourth tip is to have a to-do list of all the things you need to do.

 having a written down to do list is really important because sometimes you just forget about tasks and you might end up not doing some of them.

having a physical piece of paper saying that you need to do all these things by the end of it this day will help you to keep you on track.

LISTEN TO MUSIC (or not, it depends)

Another thing you can do is actually play some music

music helps a lot of people, including me, study more efficiently because it blocks out all the distractions from the outside world and keeps you focused inside your little bubble so you can work on your assignments

note that music isn’t always the best thing to listen to while studying especially for classes like history or english but I do really recommend it if you’re doing some math problems because it can be quite relaxing

And if you don’t know what to listen to I really recommend checking out my study playlist which is study & chill  {link}

study session playlist - instrumental music, piano solos, soundtracks from movies {link}

Autumn Semester - Week 3, Thursday

1.10.17 // 1/? Third Year

It is a beautiful, rainy autumn day. The leaves are falling, the tea is steaming. I am content.