elledays

drink more water instead of more coffee.

weekly goals are bullshit. set yourself 3-day goals. you’ll be less laid-back.

don’t just mindlessly stare at words. before you start studying, know your approach to it. have a plan.

summarizing the concept in your own words is the key part of taking notes. don’t just copy things down, convert them into your own way of talking, your own vocabulary, no matter how dumb and unprofessional it sounds.

don’t let the “studyblr aesthetic” fool you. studying doesn’t have to be pretty. summaries and notes can be messy as long as they’re comprehensible. you can always rewrite and reorganize them later. (honestly, you better do. and you better keep them.)

don’t throw away the papers you’ve solved your problems in. staple them to the fucking textbook. you need to see them constantly. cause you’ll need reminders of how far you’ve came, when you’re feeling discouraged.

don’t be an armchair analyst for your issues. if you have an idea then act on it.

remember: the exact point where it becomes difficult, is where your growth begins. take a deep breath, and try to focus on the paragraph in front of you.

get off your high horse and understand that if you’re a zero, you won’t go to 100 in a couple of days. first, you’ll need to reach 30, then from 30 to 60, and then from 60 to 90. nobody is 100 everyday. that happens very rarely.

you need to have fun everyday. you need to have peaceful time every single day. even on exam night. especially on exam night, actually. so make sure you’ve studied enough so you can have some time to yourself.

once you’re on a roll and in need of some challenge to stay on track, start writing down your studying hours. tell yourself you’re not allowed to do less than 80% of what you did yesterday. whatever the hell it was, even just one hour. so if yesterday you really studied for like, say 8 hours, today your goal is to study for at least 6 and a half hours. if you can’t keep up with that, make it 70%, or 60%. 

1. don’t complain about being busy. this is difficult, for many of us. but you need to avoid crafting an image of being busy because it makes you feel important - complaining about your workload actually just takes important mental energy away from you. instead of worrying about your to-do list, get on with it. a peaceful frame of mind is crucial.

2. when you think about getting a lot done, try not to see it as adding more tasks, but rather as eliminating more of them. what tasks are taking away most of your time and energy? sometimes it’s more important to eliminate than to add.

3. give yourself permission to procrastinate. some things need patience, and you need to be alright with not getting everything done in one go. it’s better to let the essay unfinished until tomorrow to edit it again, than edit past midnight when you’re exhausted - even when your perfectionist mind wants it done now. it’s okay.

4. set a priority. and by that, i mean one. let what you’re working in completely absorb your attention, and focus on it alone. don’t start thinking about all your other tasks, and problems. rather, do everything intentionally.

do your summer readings!

take some summer classes

visit colleges

see some museums

travel to exciting historical places

learn a new language

or brush up on some vocab from that language u dropped earlier

write a lot

get that dream internship

binge some crashcourses on that fun class you’ll be taking

start a bullet journal

create a studyblr

productivity can mean different things

summer productivity does not mean or have to mean that you are grinding everyday to get work done. being productive could simply mean self-care. productivity comes in all forms, from painting your nails to doing the dishes to reading a book. it could even be something along the lines of creating a new playlist or folding the laundry. it’s up to you.

first off, plan a little

write your lists down somewhere that you’ll check again (i’m using a google doc.) make three lists: daily checklist, short-term goals, & long-term goals. leave room for revision.

daily checklist

don’t pile on tasks on this. it is unrealistic to put like ten things on your list to do everyday, and it’s exhausting and can even be anti-productive trying to attempt to complete such a list everyday. pick two to three things to do everyday. for example, mine says, “1. do khan academy (for SAT prep) 2. check the DMV for available appointments (to renew my permit oops) 3. read a book or three articles.” the second one is subject to change because eventually i will get an appointment, so always leave room for revisions.

short-term goals list

this is the list where you put stuff that you want to accomplish by the end of the week, month, etc. for example, mine says, “finish ap government chapter one by friday.” these can be specific or general. like my short-term goals list also has my goal of reading three books every week.

long-term goals list

what do you hope to accomplish by the end of summer? do you want to re-invent yourself? be proficient in a language? have finished all your college apps? you define your goals here.

studyblr ways to be productive

read a book get ahead and look at your AP curriculums; make a study schedule watch TED talks watch documentaries listen to podcasts make study playlists visit museums

self care ways to be productive (these are nothing new, but just serves as a reminder that taking care of yourself is good and productive. it is in no way a waste of time, so don’t let anyone convince you otherwise)

take a bath or shower the simple hygiene stuff (brush your teeth, etc.) clean your living space delete apps you don’t use or need drink water journal, draw, make music do whatever makes you feel happy (if you don’t have anything, go a try a bunch of activities! do something that scares you, you might be surprised) exercise (it doesn’t have to be a whole lot, just walk around and stretch every once in a while) sleep, rest, take time for yourself

other ways to be productive

I think we can all agree that the mere idea of having holiday breaks from boring lectures and all-nighter study sessions sounds like heaven; although this romanticized idea of having so much free time often turns into wasted summer days, oversleeping, and basically an anti-social teenage version of house arrest. so, to help you out (or, more to help Myself) here are some things I do to keep myself busy, on a budget (kind of), and mentally healthy during long breaks from school.

continue your morning routine. this is important; by this I mean to basically treat your summer mornings as you would your school mornings, without the rush and alarm. brush your teeth, brush your hair, start/continue a skincare routine, get out of your pajamas and into real clothes, make your bed, make some coffee, eat some breakfast, do it with some music on, whatever you want. this keeps your mind and body into a daily routine. don’t let all your precious no-class mornings of summer go to waste!

savor sleeping in, but not too much. I know its super tempting to go to bed at like 2 AM and wake up the next “morning” at 12PM, but trust me, you’ll regret fucking up your sleep schedule once you actually have to set an alarm and get your ass to class next fall. I’m not saying you should force yourself to set a summer alarm (although, if you really want to train yourself this isn’t a bad idea tbh) but for the love of god, at least go to sleep and wake up at reasonable times. don’t waste your entire day!!

force yourself to see your friends a couple times a week, even if you really don’t want to. obviously this excludes mental health days, but I’ve found that spending time with my friends actually distracts me from any anxiety I’ve felt during the past week. I love my alone time, but human interaction is super important both mentally and physically. as college students we’re all pretty much broke, so don’t underestimate the power of free things- watching netflix at someone’s house, having a boardgame night, going to parks, you name it. as long as you’re with your friends, you’ll have a great time!

clean out your music library + make a playlist or two. y’all know I love a good playlist. this is something totally 100% FREE, and a perfect way to make use of your free time. delete all the stuff you don’t listen to anymore and make a few playlists of your favorite songs, or even go with playlist themes to organize your songs. it’s fun and your future self will probably thank you later for getting rid of so much audible junk.

get back into reading. this is something that was on my personal summer to-do list. I haven’t read a book for myself (aka not for a class) in sooo long, and let me tell you- I don’t know why I ever stopped reading. I know for a fact that once the semester starts I’ll have zero free time to read for myself, so summer is the perfect time to get into a new book or two!

eat your three meals a day +hydrate. I mean this. its very easy to skip/forget meals when you really don’t have any set schedule whatsoever, so plan your meals into your day. even make an alarm if its necessary. also: if you don’t know if you’re drinking enough water, you probably aren’t.

deep clean your room/workspace/closet. I’m super guilty for putting this off but, long breaks like summer are the perfect times to deep clean! what makes it easier for me to clean my room is to go section by section, which means not doing it all in a day (because that gets hella overwhelming and stressful, let me tell you). grab a garbage bag, put on some tunes, and pick a section to clean that day; you’ll be done with the entire space in no time!

outfit plan. for someone like me who has way too much in my closet and somehow still “never has anything to wear”, this is essential! set some outfits out on the floor/bed and take pics of them on your phone so that you can look back on them for some style inspo the next time you have “absolutely NOTHING to wear”.

find a new hobby, even if you’re bad at it. make some collages of your friends, make a scrapbook, learn photoshop, paint a little, learn how to sew, garden, cook, practice your phone photography skills… if there was a time for you to try out new things, it’s NOW.

make a post about all the shit you should do. I’m doing it right now. literally. you’re reading it right now. its not a bad idea.

tagged by @cancerbiophd for this, thank you!! <3333 these are all gonna be animated I haven’t watched live action movies in a while and these are Nostalgia from childhood 

1. mulan mulan mulan mulan mulan i watch the ending whenever I get depressed and it makes me feel Empowered

2. tangled. pascal is my emotional support chameleon 

3. moana. the songs heal me internally and the animation of the water is so beautiful that I cry 

4. kung fu panda 3. OK HEAR ME OUT the end is so emotional and it’s so funny that I forget everything bothering me

5. how to train your dragon. LISTEN the whole trilogy is adorable and I WANT A DRAGON

6. frozen. I admit it, I love singing the songs with my friends 

7. hercules. also to belt “I won’t say I’m in love” with my friends