fashion student

100 days of productivity (Day 5)

[5.21.2018] // weekly spread

→it is so close to summer vacation and honestly? idk how to feel about it. 💛 →q: what are you guys doing this summer? ☀✨

here are tips I discovered very recently:

something is better than nothing. 5 minutes of work are better than zero. Just because you missed something on your schedule doesn’t mean you can’t still work on it, even for 5 minutes. Grow and build on this.

second drafts / reviews can be done after.

Don’t think you are going to do your very best work on the first try. Take the weight of perfectionism off your shoulders.

don’t think about doing it. just do it as fast as you can.

build on your productivity, not your failures.

If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once.

if you have a set of different goals to accomplish, begin with the most important one. Wait until the rotine of working for that one settles in (you feel productive and comfortable-ish), and then begin with the next. Repeat.

this way you’ll be building your way up and not juggling everything at the same time, hoping everything works out.

be patient with yourself, you’ll get there!

set smaller deadlines for your goals

have monthly and weekly-ish deadlines

e.g. if you are doing a project, due 22nd Feb, set personal deadlines, like have Introduction written by 2nd Feb, have Methods written by 10th Feb, have project complete by 18th Feb.

take them as seriously as you possibly can, don’t miss out on yourself.

write realistic daily tasks and don’t stop until you finish them. after them you can do whatever you want

on writing realistic daily tasks, the secret is knowing you can only do so much in one day, but trusting you can accomplish everything in the course of any period of time (a week, or 2 weeks or a month, etc.) because you will combine the work from all these different days.

it’s very tempting to write down all the tasks you need to accomplish in one day to just get over with it, but the real deal is you won’t accomplish half of them. You’ll feel very unproductive then, wich leads to demotivation.

spread daily tasks in the time necessary.

have a consistent sleep schedule.

if your mind isn’t ready everything will fall apart.

have one rest day per week where you plan nothing, do whatever you want except studying. this can be harder than you expect!

“Your only limit is you.”

04.15.18 // henlo…..just finished my portfolio film for IB…. it’s literally april and there’s freezing rain lmao hello?? spring??? where tf are u?? 

Valentino

I think it’s time to share with you what I actually do when I study. Here’s a list (non-exhaustive) of the main tools I use before an exam. Enjoy! 

I read my notes consciously, then I hide them and try to write down everything I remember. Then I’ll take my notes again, and look for what’s missing. Not only it permits me to see what I still don’t know, but it also consolidates what I already know. This one really works if you have to learn pathways, key concepts, etc. Re-write as it comes to your mind, make a mind-map, use arrows, etc.

Once I identified what I don’t know, I’ll just put a mark on my notes, so I know that this specific part needs to be more reviewed.

When I feel overwhelmed by all the stuff I have to review, I’ll just divide it into sections and create a study plan! 99% of the time, this makes me realize that it’s not that terrible and I can get through this! I feel much better then!

The Forest App. I don’t use it systematically but it really helps me keeping distractions away (AKA my phone) and in the end, I can have a little peek view of my study session!

Whenever I’m reading something important that I know I won’t automatically remember, I write it down on a piece of paper. Indeed, I always use a bloc-notes when studying, so I just write down important points. By doing this, I become more active when learning and actually remember better! And sometimes I keep those pieces of paper so I can re-read them just before the exam.

I try to stick to a memorization routine. For example, if it’s the first time I read a specific topic that I have to memorize, I’ll re-read it 3 days after, then again a week after, then 10 days after, etc. This is the best way to memorize: « repetitio est mater studiorum » as my anatomy teacher says.

When reading your notes, always try to think about what could be the possible questions that are “exam askable”.

If you have any specific topics to learn about the same main subject, try to summarize each topic on only one paper sheet. It’s been proven that we tend to memorize more when we see the information only on one paper than many. For example, I’m currently preparing my microbiology exam, so I did a sheet for each virus or bacteria and put them in plastic sleeves and store them in a binder. By doing this, I’ll be able to re-read them all the days before the exam and retain the most important information! 

The textbook is cool, but sometimes I’m in a rush and summaries made from previous years students will do the job. Of course, I make sure there’re no mistakes inside. And it can actually help with difficult subjects. 

I only use flash cards for vocabulary (my dear Spanish!) or pharmacology. They are the PERFECT way to memorize some things by heart!

I multitask intelligently. For example, when I workout I listen to audiobooks or watch medical-related videos on youtube while walking on the treadmill