flan studies 🍮

Hey! so i just created my very first studygram (shameless self promo @decafstudy follow me) and one of my irl friends saw my stories and posts and asked “How many hours does your day have? ´cause mine only has 24″ and that got me thinking abt how i take the most advantage of my days to make them feel (or look) 48 hours long! Here are a few of the things I incorporate on my daily student life to be more productive!

• IF YOUR FIRST CLASS STARTS LATE IN THE MORNING WAKE UP 2 HOURS EARLIER THAN NEEDED i know, am i crazy? ok so here´s the deal. If your first class starts, let´s say, at 11:00 A.M you might be tempted to wake up at 10:00 A.M, get dressed, and head to school. Not only does this create bad habits for when you get assigned a 7:00 A.M class (which will happen) but you lose MANY HOURS OF PRECIOUS TIME. Get your 8-9 hours of sleep and do not let yourself wake up later than needed. My class sometimes starts at 11:30 A.M so i wake up at 8:00 have a nice morning, relax, work out a bit, light up a candle and get ahead on reading and work for school! Your day will start and feel more productive!

• NEVER LEAVE CLASS WITH A DOUBT ON YOUR MIND I know this might create anxiety for people who are shy and do not like asking questions during class (i am one of those people) If you feel just too scared to ask during class APPROACH THE TEACHER AFTER CLASS ENDS. as soon as he dismisses class, approach him and ask the question. If you are not able to do so DO NOT STRESS, BUT WRITE THAT QUESTION DOWN ASAP ON A POST IT AND STICK IT YOUR NOTEBOOK. that way you will have the question at hand and you can seek tutoring later and ask, or even ask a friend BUT NEVER LET A QUESTION GO, NEVER think “i will ask it later” BECAUSE YOU WON´T and IT WILL DOOM YOU. This will save so much time when you study, because all your questions will be at hand and you will know what you have to focus on studying.

• WHENEVER YOU HAVE FREE TIME, USE IT TO WORK WHILE DOING SOMETHING FUN instead of just diving head first into watching a movie, ask yourself if there is something more productive that you could be doing rn (reading ahead, reviewing, doing extra math exercises) if the answer is yes, then put that movie on mute and work while taking a peek at the movie ever once in a while. This will not only help you with discipline and learning to keep yourself from distractions, but it will occupy your free time in something that your future self will thank you for later on.

• NEVER ASSUME THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO IT LATER again, think in terms of your FUTURE SELF how much would your future self love it if instead of studying 3 days before the exam, you studied a week before it? How much would your future self love it of instead of reading until 12:00 PM tomorrow, you divided the reading between today and tomorrow? never assume that you will have spare time ahead because chances are that you won´t and you will end up with A BUNCH of work that you didn´t do and that you can´t do at the moment. FUTURE SELF THINKING has saved my life.

• LEAVE TIME OPEN FOR MENTAL HEALTH/PHYSICAL/RECREATIVE CARE as much as i always put work first, I KEEP MY THERAPIST VISIT AND MY GYM ROUTINE STABLE no matter how much work i have. This helps me feel more balanced and like i am on top of everything, not just school, feeling good=more productivity.

• POMODORO TECHNIQUE i know many people know about this but if you don´t, this is basically a studying technique in which you work or study for 25-30 minutes straight NO DISTRACTIONS and then have a 5-6 minute break, and then repeat the process as many hours as you need. This really helps me not get burnt out when I have a heavy load of work. Watching study with me videos on yt is a good way of keeping the pomodoro system going. Some good apps that I use for POMODORO are Forest and Tide.

• HAVE AN APP CARPET ON YOUR PHONE THAT IS CALLED “PRODUCTIVITY” ie. download a BUNCH of cute as hell apps that help you get motivated and organised when you look at them. This will make you more prone to look at your phone as an INSTRUMENT rather than a DISTRACTION. (my fave apps are Taskade, Forest, Tide, Brainscape and Pocket)

• Lastly, GET MOTIVATED i know this sounds cliché, but the reason why i love keeping my day busy is because i surround myself with a romanticised idea of studying. Doing these kinds of posts, following a bunch of accounts with pretty notes, having a clean room and desk, going to the library and appreciating the color scheme or sounds around you, listening to relaxing sounds or music while working, downloading many pretty apps to keep myself on track while having a cute aesthetic… all of these things might seem small, but they make you feel cleaner, more balanced and more prone to LIKING the work you do.

Summer vacation is almost over, school is starting again, maybe already started for some, so we better try to make the transition as easy as we possibly can.

STEP 1 : Reflect on the previous year;

Think about what you did well, what you could do better this year, what exactly are your strengths, your weaknesses, your study methodes, everything. Find what you want to keep, change or improve and go from there.

STEP 2 : Resources and inspiration;

Now is the time to browse your favorite tags in all your favorite places: tumblr, pinterest, etc. Find anything that would be helpful: tips, printables, DIYs, etc, and take notes.

STEP 3 : Make a goal list; 

Grab a piece of paper, or whatever pleases you to jot down your goals for year to come, keep them SMART, and organized by importance.

STEP 4 : Clean and declutter;

EVERYWHERE. Start from your room, your wardrobe, your laptop, email account, etc. Make it clean, comfy and organized, redecorate it even if you so please.

STEP 5: Get a planner and actually USE it;

Start now, fill in the details you know of currently, the more you do now the easier it will be later. You can use a digital one also if it fits your need better, I personally prefer the ol’ pen and paper.

STEP 6 : Establish routines;

Morning, night, study routines, I even have a weekend routine. Also choose your fav study methods, note taking ways, … 

STEP 7 : Fix your sleep schedule;

It’s time to start sleeping at a reasonable time, and for a healthy amount of time.

STEP 8 : Get in shape;

Get exercising if you stopped during summer, do some face masks, whiten your teeth, get you hair done, … Just take care of yourself.

STEP 9 : Get familiar with your classes;

Make some tables of all the lessons in each class. Watch some crash course videos in the topics you’ll see the next year Review last year’s notes if you need to.

So you’re struggling to study efficiently away from home? Finding yourself getting distracted easily? Having difficulty creating a study schedule in this new environment? I know finals season is coming soon for university students, so I thought I’d share my personal study hacks that helped me during college! 

Find the least popular library: while the fancy main libraries have great appeal, the truth is sometimes you really only need a desk, a comfy chair, an outlet, and some peace and quiet

Go higher up for quieter floors: usually the higher you go, the quieter and more serious the floor

Always pack the essentials: during finals week, finding a good study spot is a commodity, so make sure you can stay as long as humanly possible and bring supplies: laptop, chargers (phone and laptop), water bottle, snacks, layers (including a huge comfy sweater that can double as a pillow), headphones, notes, pens and highlighters, and blank paper

Don’t be afraid of caffeine pills: caffeine pills can sound scary, but that venti coffee at Starbucks also has a shit ton of caffeine. Opt to finding caffeine pills that are each 100 mg (the amount in 1 cup of coffee), and save ~$50-100 on buying coffee all the time

Find (only) 1-2 good friends and make a regular study group: even if you guys don’t share classes, it’s nice to have people who are reliable, quiet, and fun to be around when studying. Also, libraries allow small groups to rent private study rooms which are clutch af

Use the Pomodoro method with a timer or app: this is wonderful for people who have difficulty focusing. Set an alarm for 25 minutes, and block all forms of electronic distraction from that time. The idea is to have 25 minutes of pure work with a 5 minute break to do whatever you want afterwards, and this helps train you to maximize your ability to focus and minimize brain fatigue

Empty classrooms and lecture halls on weekends = substitute library: on the weekends, college campuses are super dead. I’ve found that lecture halls and classrooms are deserted (and usually unlocked) during these times, which make for great quiet places to study

Listen to music WITHOUT lyrics while you study: you’ll be less likely to be sucked in to the music and distracted

Wear pajama or workout clothes: just trust me on this one

Every Photo From NASA’s Apollo Missions Are Now on Flickr

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST YOUR GRADES

hey!! I already have a bujo for over two years and am also a student so I developed some things to make bullet journaling as easy & productive as possible as a student. I hope I can help some of you!

PROS:

looks nice, you can post pics of it

(creative) freedom, you can structure / design it like you want

a place for your creativity

you have space for study plans, to do lists, essay planning

increase your productivity

it’s fun

CONS:

can take a lot of time & work

your not always motivated to do all your spreads yourself

get discouraged because it doesn’t look like you want it to

not really made for planning in the long term

you can get more focused on the ∼aesthetic∼ rather than the productivity of your bujo

so think about it: is a bujo really smth for you? don’t feel pressured to have one just because of the studyblr aesthetic! do what’s best for you and if that’s a planner than that’s fine!!

SET UP

yearly overview

this is the most important thing to keep me organised. basically I just make a calendar where I write down all dates for my exams, deadlines, holidays etc.

grade tracker

you can search for a printable or just make a table yourself. I write down the subject, date, type and my grade. this is super helpful at the end of the year when you want to know your final grade. a friend even noticed a mistake our teacher made (the teacher wrote down the wrong grade) so don’t forget to track your grades!

timetable

explains itself I think? I mark this page with a post-it so I find it quickly when I want to know what period I have next.

goals for the school year

it’s important to set goals and keep them in mind. but be realistic! for example I know I won’t get straight a’s but I try to keep my average above a b. some examples for goals: have x grade in x subject, do my homework the day I get it, start studying x days before sthe exam, wear what I want to school etc.

weekly spreads

I tried different methods for how to write down my homework and assignments. what works best for me is to just include them in my daily to do list & appointments. for example when I get math home work I just write down M: p.45/3 and when I did that homework I just tick it off. this way I don’t have to do some complicated layout and also see which homework I still need to do.

TIPS:

don’t focus too much on the aesthetic

find out what works for you, I like to plan out my spreads on sundays, other people just go with the flow

write everything down! even if you don’t have strength to make it aesthetic simply just write it down

try to be consistent with your bujo otherwise it doesn’t help much

have fun!!

OTHER IDEAS FOR PAGES THAT HELP WITH SCHOOL:

study plan

what you need to study for an exam / test

deadlines

essay planning

motivational quotes / motivation to study

ideas for outfits

aww how sweet!