Somnium

yeah because when you see this

tell me you don’t get annoyed.

tumblr’s algorithm only cares about posts that are reblogged, it doesn’t count likes. posts don’t get promoted or circulated when they only have likes (the way instagram functions), only reblogs matter for increasing reach on tumblr as a platform.

but yeah, tumblr’s system definitely doesn’t advantage non-popular artists, but there’s a big problem from within the community too. i have over 400 followers and i consider myself lucky when more than 2 people reblog my art, so imagine how much worse it is for people with even less followers.

just a disclaimer first, this is an incomplete list and it's just based on my personal experience! everyone's level of anxiety and experiences with it is different so some of those might not be helpful. feel free to add your own!

PLANNING. We know planning is important. But it's also exhausting and maintaining a planner in which you write every day seemed very hard for me. I was already stressed out about it in mid-September! If you find yourself in a similar situation, my advice is: homework calendar. Take a little calendar to class every day (little ones don't weigh a lot) and whenever you get homework or a test date, write it down! It isn't as stressful as a whole planner and you still remember about homework!

HOMEWORK. In the perfect scenario, students do all of it. But it's not easy, especially when you have anxiety or go through depressive episodes. Figure out who actually checks homework and who doesn't. My math teacher gives us tons of homework and never checks it, so I save those for test prep.

TEACHERS. If it's possible, talk to them (or have a trusted adult do it) about what's going on. I know it varies from teacher to teacher but some of them are really understanding. A school's counselor opinion could also be helpful.

SCHOOL COUNSELORS. Again, experience varies here. If your counselor is okay, make a deal with them (like "is it okay for me to come over when I feel a panic attack coming?"). It feels a little safer, knowing there's a place where you can go and calm down.

THERAPY. If it's possible, go to a therapist! Try to set the meeting hours directly after school so you don't have the time to sit at home - once you do, you will not feel like leaving.

TIME MANAGEMENT. Sometimes it feels like leaving things for later is a brilliant idea. It usually is not. Try doing little things, like bits of research or reading: on the bus, during breaks...

AVAILABLE SPACE. If school breaks get too loud for you, go to the library. You can just sit there in peace and quiet! The advice also refers to your home. Change rooms where you study. Or change places in one room. Even sitting on the other side of the table makes it more interesting to my brain.

A PLAN JUST IN CASE. Having a panic attack at school is definitely not something enjoyable and I sincerely hope it never happens to you. But have a plan in case it does! Knowing the exact steps calms me down a bit and I don't have to worry about that thing adding to my anxiety.

NO ALL-NIGHTERS. It's actually important for everyone. But I learned it the hard way, all-nighters and anxiety don't mix well. Sleep before a test because even low quality sleep is better than the jittery feeling of anxiety and sleep deprivation.

STUDY METHODS. Anxiety really takes a lot from your energy. Study smart, not for long. My recent method is reading my notes outloud while gesturing with something (I'm using a plastic pitchfork, and I have used a sword in the past).

SELF-CHECK. Yes, anxiety sucks. And it makes you feel bad. Whenever you feel it hit, ask yourself some questions. The basics are: did I eat? Did I drink water? Am I getting enough fresh air? Have I done anything nice today? (I created a special printable table for myself with questions like that, I could upload it if anyone wants to use it!)

break down goals further and further into easily achievable tasks/steps

visualize your end goal

visualize all of the steps

tell yourself you’ll just do the first part of the task/work for five minutes (and then see if that momentum carries yourself forward)

ask a friend for encouragement

close all of your tabs/apps, close your laptop, and start over

change your physical environment (go somewhere else, even if it’s just a different room)

picture a goal and then set a short count-down timer. try to complete the goal before the timer runs out

picture a reward – could be the reward of that good feeling that comes with completing something, or it could be a piece of candy, etc

come up with the first step (should be very easy, like “stand up”) and then count backwards from 5. you should be doing that by the time you reach 0.

make a schedule even if you have no intention of following it.

new people are coming your way with love

a huge success may be waiting around the corner

the possibilities are endless

In many fields of study you’re going to encounter scientific papers at one point in your academic career. The following tips are taken from my six years of reading psychology papers.

Empirical articles

Empirical articles are reports of studies that involved some type of data to draw conclusions. Examples of this are (quasi-)experiments, epidemiological studies, intervention studies, observation studies. These papers typically consists of four sections.

Introduction: background, literature overview, leading up to research questions and hypotheses. Sometimes, the authors give a 2-3 sentence summary of how they addressed these questions in the current study as well.

Methods: detailed report of what the authors did to address their research questions

Results: detailed report of the findings, with no interpretation. Typically filled with numbers and statistical analyses

Conclusions: after a brief summary (usually), the authors draw conclusions based on results, answer the research questions, link it to existing literature, comment on the studies’ strengths and limitations, give pointers for future research, and mention implications

In a well-written paper, the introduction and discussion can be read without reading the middle part and give you a good grasp of what the study is about. This is not to say the middle part is not important, but in some cases you just don’t have the time to go through the analyses before an exam.

Some empirical studies consists of several sub-studies (usually in purely experimental research. In my field of psychology this is usually by social or cognitive psychologists). Apart from a general introduction and a general discussion, the set-up of each individual experiment is the same as mentioned above.

Before you start, ask yourself “what do I want to get out of this article?”

Are you studying for an exam?

Know what kind of questions to expect. Ask for practice exam question if possible. This will be help you focus on what is important

Generally, understand why the study is important/what it added to our knowlegde, how the questions were addressed, type of measurements used, conclusions, limitations

Think about the paper, too, rather than just trying to memorise it. What did you think about it? What would you do differently? What did the authors improve? These kinds of questions might show up on the exam

Don’t study papers in isolution. See if you can explain certain findings in one paper with a model posited in another paper, for example. Or try to think of what one author would say about someone else’s methods

If you’re running out of time or energy, read only the introduction and the discussion. Although the methods and results are also important to get an idea of how reliable and good the study was, the main ideas and findings will be in the intro and discussion

Are you writing an argumentative essay?

Keep the topic of your essay in mind and focus on that

You’ll be tempted to only look for papers that provide evidence for your thesis, but try not to discard counter-evidence. How can you explain contradictory findings? There should be nuance

Are you writing a (bigger) research paper (e.g., your thesis)

When you’re working on a bigger project it’s useful to summarise all relevant papers in a table (I like to use Microsoft Excel). List the articles in rows and their properties in the columns (e.g. author names, year, journal, hypotheses, basic theories, N, sample characteristics, measurements used, findings)

If you prefer, you can also do it on paper and combine it in a folder. However, I prefer the flexibility of a digital file, because I often go back and change or add things once I get a better understanding of a certain paper.

I created two examples (one, two). These are taken/based on paper overviews I made for an essay and my master’s thesis. (I only left a couple of papers, but you’ll typically end up with way more articles of course!)

In the beginning phase, you want to focus on the introduction (to get an idea of what has been done in this field) and the discussions (where are the gaps), but later on you’ll move on to methods (what did they do and how it can be repeated/done better). Mark the papers that you like the best! They will guide your process to coming up with your own research questions, but also help you in a later phase when you don’t know how to structure a certain section

Literature reviews

Reviews are papers that combine the knowledge we gained from previous studies that have been published. The great thing about these papers is that they kind of read like a text book! They are structured into sections and you are spared the trouble of reading and summarising all these papers yourself! However, there is no way to know how the authors worked on the paper, as it’s not systematic. Sometimes authors do wish to make a certain point and only discuss certain points. I would say review articles are an especially great starting point if you’re interested in a topic that you’re fairly new to and want to quickly learn about. Systematic reviews

If you’re looking for a more thorough type of review, there’s the systematic review. It’s relatively rare, but I love these babies. Someone (a team, probably) has gone through the effort of systematically going through all the papers published on a certain topic that meet certain criteria, read them, and organised all these findings into a paper that reads a bit like a mix between a text book and an empirical paper.

Meta-analyses

If you want to take the rigour even further, you’ve got yourself a meta-analysis. These authors are the real MVPs. In psychology, there is a huge replication crisis (with many “groundbreaking” studies failing to deliver the same results in replication studies) as well as a publication bias (it’s far easier to get published when you have interesting or unusual results). Meta-analyses help these issues a bit (does the field need a reform? Yes. Will I discuss that here? No). In meta-analyses, the authors systematically go through databases looking for papers that meet certain criteria (like in systematic reviews, but instead of just listing and organising previous results, and basing their conclusions of the authors’ conclusions (basically), they re-analyse the research question using the statistics from many papers studying roughly the same thing. The advantage is that you have a much larger sample, different measures may be used (reducing the risk of instrument-specific findings), and there is an estimate of what the effect size would be if there were no publication bias. Not always easy to read, definitely not easy to write, but they are helpful for the field.

Case studies

HOW TO APPROACH CLASSES A guide to getting the most out of your classes and lectures

By Eintsein

So I’m pretty sure everyone on here has heard of the 100 days of productivity and I just wanted to give some tips. This is a short list

Try a smaller period of time first. Is it realistic to go from 0 to 100? No! Try 10 days, 30 days or 50 days. Lower yourself into it a bit rather than go full on.

Take break days. If you have to miss out a day then do it because doing 100 straight days could just lead to a bunch of stress and ruin it in the long run. Take a day off if you have ago and tell yourself that you’ll continue the next day.

Productivity isn’t always studying. It can be small tasks like cleaning or even just a day to recharge and focus on self care is productive and important.

If you have to quit half way then do it. You always think that you can do it but sometimes it just gets a bit much and sometimes you just know you have to stop half way. I said it’s quitting but that sounds like you failed. You haven’t failed if you stop. Situations arise and you just have to know when is best to cut it short.

I know it’s a short post but I think these are the main things to know. Anyway thanks for ready 😊

So, I’m sure you’ve had it, that feeling that you simply cannot do anything, you’re exhausted, and looking at another darn sentence is going to make your head explode. The dreaded study burnout - I’ve been there. How do you deal with burnout you may ask? Well, you stop studying and look. after. your. self!

So, here’s a list of little self-care ideas for the exhausted students’ soul:

listen to your favourite album

Take a bath and put extra bubble bath in. Don’t have a bathtub? Have a nice long hot shower!

Re-watch your favourite episode of a TV show on Netflix - I personally prefer Brooklyn nine-nine or parks and recreation.

Call up a friend that you normally don’t get to talk to or usually just text. Ask them how they are doing and get talking, no matter what it’s about.

Re-arrange your wardrobe or dresser. Organizing helps clear the mind and makes your room feel less stressful/cluttered.

Pamper yourself with body cream and give yourself a proper manicure/pedicure.

Search for Pinterest recipes for a DIY at-home facial.

Light a candle in your room.

Write in a journal about what has been going on in your life lately.

Buy yourself flowers!

Invite someone to go get coffee with you that you normally wouldn’t.

Strip your bed of all the sheets, pillow cases, and comforters. Wash and dry them with lots of dryer sheets/softener - a cosy bed guaranteed!

Go to a museum in your city (or somewhere nearby) by yourself. Allow yourself to spend as much time at one exhibit/piece as you want.

Find a library that currently has that book you’ve always wanted to read and go pick it up.

Go for a run or hop on a treadmill/elliptical - extra fun if you listen to a playlist or podcast!

Create a new playlist of all your favourite songs and load it up onto your phone or Spotify to play when you are on a commute/hanging out at home.

Make a handmade card for someone you love. Pinterest has a ton of great ideas and they don’t cost anything!

Go through your wardrobe/dresser for old clothes that you don’t wear or use anymore. Research and find somewhere to drop off the clothes to donate.

Get a massage. These can be expensive but are worth it and a once-in-awhile treat your back and neck will thank you - these are the most likely places to store stress in the body.

Prepare yourself some comfort food. Macaroni & cheese, pizza, chocolate cake or ramen!

Write down a list of the 20 things and people you are thankful for in your life right now.

Find a cool podcast to listen to! There are heaps on the ios Podcast app and also on Spotify for my android pals!

Make yourself breakfast early one morning and enjoy it in bed.

Find an event going on in your city and attend it. Scared to go alone? Invite a friend/family member/co-worker.

Look at old photos with people you love.

Go for a hike or long walk in your area - pay close attention to the sights and smells.

by a horrible procrastinator

scheduling:

keep things realistic. you may think you can read 200 pages of jane eyre in one night, and honestly, you could…but you won’t unless that essay that’s 30% of your grade is due, you know, tomorrow.

you know your habits better than anyone. try to work around what you know you’re going to do. can you read about 25 pages without getting totally bored/sidetracked? well, make yourself do that. it’s only 25 pages, right?

try to accomplish one thing every day. don’t ever let your day slip away from you without doing anything. even if that “one accomplishment” is making a stupid text post on tumblr or revising your notes or washing your sheets…just be productive!

this is especially important for those of you with mental illness! having a “zero day” can really plummet your mood or set you in an unproductive rut.

if you really feel like you need a day to just chill out, napping can count as your accomplishment

don’t push studying off! you’ve probably heard this one a million times, but seriously. don’t. you’re not going to retain 10 weeks worth of information with one study session…okay, maybe you can, but do you really want to?

the best, low-effort way of remembering information is to, at first, review it often. right after you learn the material, review it a couple times during the week. maybe re-write your notes that weekend. then, the next week, visit one or two times, just glazing over parts you don’t really remember well. then, maybe once every two weeks, etc…by the time you get to finals, you’ll be familiar with all the information! trust me, it works.

organize your to-do’s. personally, i make a huge to-do list for the entire week. then, i delegate different ‘levels’ of urgency to it (see below.) you can do this however you want, but i do it this way to help me visualize how lazy i can be and not pay for it…

i tend to organize it by these ‘categories’ / ‘urgent levels’

is there a quiz on the material due soon

how likely is there to be a pop quiz

what’s my grade in the class like / how badly do i need that ‘a’

does the homework/assignment need to be turned in

etc

actually doing it:

studyspo helps. okay, i know this is kind of obvious considering i’m a studyblr, but… you see that notebook you just bought? isn’t it fucking adorable? don’t you want to make some sweet, sweet note-love to it? you know you do.

don’t spend too much time setting up your work space or browsing tumblr. seriously. you know when you’re overstepping.

have some nice playlists. preferably with music you already know! if you don’t know the song already, chances are it’s just going to become a distraction.

8tracks is a great site for this! you can make your own mixes or take a listen to one of the many, many study / chill playlists available. again, take a listen to the track on your way to class or whatever before actually trying to study with it on.

instrumentals + classical + video game music are the standard

get organized. messy = stressy. seriously. organize your desk, organize your notes. even if it’s not really your style, at least try to keep things ‘in your personal order.’ try to pretend you have your shit together. you will be so much more productive & confident if you feel in control of your situation.

if you’re a perfectionist, you may want to disregard this. really. you don’t want to put ‘tidiness’ above productivity.

taking pictures of your awesome, super-nice work space is awesome motivation. give that illusion of productivity. become tumblr famous.

if you can afford it, matching stationary and cute shit like that is super awesome feeling. it makes studying aesthetically satisfying.

take care of yourself. brush your teeth, put on that nice-smelling lotion, drink water. eating healthy foods, getting some exercise, all that good shit people tell you to do…it really is important. it’s kind of hard to focus or remain motivated if you’re miserably bloated & haven’t showered in 3 days.

especially for my neurod or mentally ill followers!

i fucked up: 

repeat after me: IT’S OKAY. IT’S OKAY. we all fuck up. you’re allowed to fuck up. sometimes assignments don’t get done, sometimes we don’t do as well on tests as we’d like. it’s okay. you’re okay.

recovery. alright, so, now that we’ve accepted that we’re human beans who sometimes grow upside-down…

cuddle in a blanket, and write down what you think you did wrong. did you not study enough? do you need to go to your professors office hours? write down your ideas.

let your failure motivate you! you hit your lowest point, alright? now you can focus on doing better, even if it’s just a few points difference.

you can do some things wrong. you don’t need to get an A every single time. did you understand 50% of the material? well, that’s halfway there!

you’re not going to be perfect at everything. we all have growing pains.

Do yoga

Meditate

Express gratitude

Read 10 pages a day

Drink green tea over coffee

Have 8-9 hours of sleep every day

Skincare

Stretch for 5-10 minutes every morning

Eat fruit over chocolate

Compliment people you admire

Be creative (in any way you want)

Hang more pictures

Take care of your plants

Take your vitamins daily

Reduce the time spent on social media

Cut off all the toxic people in your life (+ unfollow all the toxic people)

Listen to inspiring music

Relax

Don’t overwhelm yourself with tasks

Exercise 3x a week

Drink water!

Spend time with people you love

Journal

Recycle

Smile more

Be kind to yourself

Be positive

…

STOP Cramming

cramming is good for the short term, such as just before a test (i’m talking like an hour before), but shouldn’t be used as an effective study method. you only learn the information in the exact way you read it, so any practical application on your test won’t be easy to answer. you also will struggle with answering the same questions you studied for, but asked differently.

Spacing Effect

the spacing effect is essentially the opposite of cramming. instead of doing a 4 hour study session, break it up into groups of 30 minutes. do 30 minutes, take a nice long break, go back for 30, and repeat. that break in between gives your brain time to encode and store the information. this can be done in either one day, or over the course of a few days before the test.

Mnemonic devices are your best friend when dealing with lists of information

any sort of rhyming scheme, letter association, acronyms, etc. is proven to help you. any american can say ROY G. BIV and know exactly what they’re talking about, another example is HOMES for the great lakes. another major example is “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”/PEMDAS for the order of operations. this helps with lists, i use it all the time in biology for stuff like the Levels of Classification or Characteristics of Living things. for AP Euro i remember “Descartes with a D” because he “Doubts and wrote Discorse on Method”.

Hierarchy Organizing for Midterms and Finals

by breaking information down into a hierarchy, you can figure out how to study all your chapters at once. these are often called “graphic organizers” and it takes the whole topic, then breaks it into subsections, then subsections of those subsections. here’s an example i found for my Memory unit

the whole unit is memory, the subtopics are sensory memory, short term, then long term. then comes the subdivisions of long term memory and so on. this is wonderful for study planning in regards to large information tests.