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Bras last longer if you let them air dry. Don’t put them in the dryer.

If you have a problem with frizzy hair, don’t dry your hair with a towel. It makes the frizzies worse. (I recently read an article that said to use a t-shirt? I brush mine out and let it air dry.)

Whites wash best in hot water. Everything else can be in cold - save on your electricity bill.

You can kill 99.9% of germs in a sponge by putting it in the dishwasher for a cycle or by microwaving it for 2 min (be sure to make the sponge damp before microwaving and to put a cup half full of water in with it and please DO NOT squeeze the sponge until it has cooled off)

Airing out your room/house and letting sunlight in every so often can decrease the number of household pests like silverfish and ants.

Black underwear is best during your period as stains are less likely to be visible.

To save money, put aside 10% of each paycheck into a savings account. It’ll add up.

Unless your hair has something on/in it (like grease or mud or something), using conditioner first can actually be the better choice. The conditioner holds in the good oils that help you hair look sleek and beautiful, which shampoo would otherwise wash away.

Speaking of shampoo - if you have long hair, washing just the bits that touch your scalp is generally enough. The rest of your hair gets cleaned with just the run off from your scalp.

If you put a tampon in and it’s uncomfortable/you can feel it, you didn’t do it quite right. A properly placed tampon is virtually unnoticeable by the wearer.

Apply deodorant/antiperspirant a couple hours in advance of when you need it. This gives the product the chance to block your sweat glands. Using deodorant just before going somewhere where you’ll sweat (this means walking outside for people in high humidity places) results in your sweat washing the deodorant off and starkly limiting its usefulness.

After running the dryer, use the dryer sheet from that load to brush out the lint catch - it gets everything off in a fraction of the time it’ll take you to get it clean with your bare hands. Paper towels also work well.

Wash your face everyday, or as often as possible. Forget which brand of cleanser is best. Just washing your face everyday will guarantee you clearer skin. And do you best not to pop pimples, as tempting as the urge may be.

Yes, even if you’re taking the maximum credit load. Because if I can do it, you can do it too. Note: My credit load also included a handful of honors courses. 

Side-note: I’m going to be a junior (how??) and an RA (!!!) in the fall. Life moves fast. College moves faster. Anyways, 

Here are my top tips: 

1. LOOK AT THE SYLLABUS AND WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. This is step number one, and it’s not up for debate. If you do this, there’ll be no surprises, and if there are: point it out to the professor (a simple, ??? this wasn’t on the syllabus ??, usually works). Also, you have to check and see what constitutes as an A in that class. Sometimes it’s a 90, sometimes it’s not. (a 96 was an A- in one of my classes last semester. I’m so serious.)

2. Get a calendar. Not a planner. One of those giant calendars with puppies or something on it and write down everything you have to do for the month. Put it above your desk. This helps A LOT because you can see everything you have coming up for the next few weeks, instead of jus playing it day-by-day. 

3. It is OK to use ratemyprofessor. Sometimes it can be really helpful, but pay attention to the more in depth reviews that talk about what the homework, tests, quizzes and projects are like (instead of “her lectures are boring :///) 

4. Sit in the front of your class. You’ll be more likely to pay attention and less likely to scroll through instagram. (by the way, mine is @parissdb :) It also grabs your professors attention, so even if you’re shy, they’ll at least know your face.

5. Do that extra credit. A lot of professors offer it in the beginning of the semester, and hardly anyone does it because no one’s thinking past tomorrow. It may be what saves you in the long run. 

6. Figure out your best method of note-taking. For me, it’s good ol pen and paper. It helps me remember everything. Some people prefer typing it out. This is beneficial bc it makes it easier for you to find exactly what you’re looking for. (Thank you, command + F)

7. Put your effort into the percentages. If an assignment is worth 1% of your grade, do it well, but don’t exhaust yourself. It’s 1%!!!! If it comes down to it, spend more time studying for that exam that’s worth 30% than the group project worth 20. 

8. Please. Stop studying what you already know. We’re all guilty of it. It makes you feel better knowing you have chapters 1-3 down, even if you don’t know 4-7. The key to studying is to learn what you don’t know. 

9. Learn how to study. (Yes, it’s actually a skill that has to be learned.) I’m the biggest procrastinator I know, especially when it comes to studying. But I’ve found that studying 2 days before an exam usually does the trick for me. I create a master study guide during day 1 and study it all on day 2. Depending on what time the exam is, I may review on the morning of day 3. 

10. SAVE SOME TIME FOR FUN ffs. Seriously. You don’t have to study 24/7, and I don’t know about y’all but my attention span was not built for that.

I might add more to this later, or make another post because I could give these tips for ever and ever. But hopefully this helps someone out there. 

complimenting at least one person a day

looking after yourself by actually scheduling it into your day

making time to talk to friends/fam

looking at the bright side of things

finding productive things to do when you’re free instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media

getting a hobby that engages you and helps you relax

stretching and meditating

taking care of your skin

smiling more

doing more of what you love doing

exercising more

being in nature often

hydrating and moisturizing

taking long walks

going to concerts, parks and museums

reading interesting books

petting smol animals

A case in point of this so called ‘phenomenom’ is when you keep putting of you essay for a class you are taking. You keep convincing yourself that you have lots and lots of time to write it and suddenly your deadline is tomorrow. What do you usually do in these kinds of situations? I bet you usually open a new document and just start writing something, a quick draft, because you think you just need to get something done. In other words, you are actually just taking an imperfect step towards your end goal, which in this case is a finished essay. When you’ve taken your imperfect step, you often get this flow and just keep working and working until you are satisfied with your input. It seems surprisingly simple, right?

As we come to the end of our senior year in high school, we thought we would share some tips that we learned over the past year for dealing with college/uni applications. We know the college process can be super stressful and confusing, so we hope you guys find this helpful! <3

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Check out our studygram: @studyinginstyle

i always have a hard time finding good stuff to listen to while i’m studying so i’m here to hopefully help some people with the same problem and share some of my faves! i’ll divide this post into instrumental and non-instrumental albums/playlists in order to make it even easier for you guys to navigate :-) 

happy studying!

instrumental albums and playlists

signs and wonders by elisha david 

interstellar soundtrack 

studio ghibli movies soundtrack 

theory of everything soundtrack

the immitation game soundtrack

the crown season 2 soundtrack

lofi/jazzhop playlist

lofi/jazzhop playlist 2

new feelings by elijah who

don’t make me cry by elijah who

complete harry potter movies soundtrack

peaceful piano

pride and prejudice soundtrack

le petit prince soundtrack

classical music for studying

disney score to study to

non-instrumental (with singing) albums and playlists

reading, studying, and rainy days

acoustic covers

kpop study music

calm indie songs playlist

your favorite coffeehouse

study zone

paradise by slow club

sorry for the delay on getting this out, hopefully its not too late for you guys (i’m not sure when exam season ends). whilst i obviously believe that everybody, irregardless of whether you have a mental illness or not, should be proactive during stressful life events such as exams to protect your mental health, there are certain aspects which can make life tricky and hard going when you have ongoing mental health problems and are having to navigate exams.

so a bit of context - i’m 24, i’ve had issues with my mental health since i was 14/15 (depression, anxiety, trichotillomania, an eating disorder, and a couple other bits that i’m not 100% comfortable discussing right now), and i’ve sat my GCSEs, A Levels, and 5 years of med school exams whilst balancing my grades against my mental health, to varying degrees of success. over the years i’ve developed a couple of habits i rely on when doing/preparing for exams that i thought could maybe help somebody else in a similar position. note: these tips might not help you, i just wanted to share them in the off chance that they might, and they also are not a substitute for seeking help and support elsewhere.

a lot of these are to do with managing either depression/ED behaviours during the revision period, or panic/anxiety during an exam as those are the two major problems i personally face.

1. stock up on daily life necessities, if you need to - when i’m stressed or very depressed i can get quite self-neglectful and that becomes even more likely if i have to get out of the house to buy new stuff. so take a look at whether you’ll need more toothpaste/shampoo/shower gel/toilet paper in the coming weeks, and if so (and if you can), buy replacements in advance and keep them stored away so that if you run out, you don’t even have to think about replacing them.

2. make sure you have enough medication, if you take them. i like to have enough daily meds to last me at least till the end of exams, and enough PRN for if i entered a very difficult time. my doctor knows that occasionally i’ll request a longer script and as long as i’m stable and i have good reason for it, he generally writes it for me, so maybe think about talking to your doc about it. note - there are people for whom it is not safe to have longer scripts and larger quantities of medication, please please if this applies to you, do not consider this an option (i used to be in that position of having to have weekly scripts and it is frustrating but so necessary)

3. start revision early and then try not to get swept up into the panic of studying all day every day during revision period. i find its a lot gentler on my mental health to study for double the number of days but half the number of hours each day. plus spaced recall is one of the best ways of learning material and by stretching out your revision time you can really maximise this.

4. i split my day into three sessions: morning, afternoon and evening, and in general i aim to only stay ‘productive’ for two sessions each day, taking one session off for down time, whether that be watching tv or going for a walk. this down time does not include ‘life admin’, this is reserved for destressing/decompressing - i don’t grocery shop/pay bills/other necessary life things during this time. this is ‘me time’.

5. special exam arrangements aren’t just for physical disabilities or learning difficulties. i was first allowed special exam arrangements in my fourth year of uni and honestly they’ve made a world of difference, i used to panic upon entering large exam halls with hundreds of people, i’d feel nauseous for the first 30 minutes of every exam, i’ve had to leave countless exams for 5-10 minutes to calm down (which undoubtedly had an impact upon my grades), i’ve also not been refused permission to leave whilst panicking and have had to calm myself down in the middle of an exam hall. now, i sit exams in a small room with 5-10 other people, at a regular table, not an exam desk, the invigilators have been instructed to let me leave if i’m panicking, and if i do leave, the clock is stopped so i don’t lose that time. and the impact? i haven’t actually had to leave a single exam i’ve taken, and if thats not an excellent result, i don’t know what is. ahead of the exam period, contact your exams team or the disabled students services to see what they can do for you (you will most likely need medical evidence such as a letter from your doctor)

6. if you can’t get special exam arrangements, visit your exam venue beforehand, if you can. before fourth year i would visit the exam hall and make sure i was familiar with it so that when i came for the exam i could just walk in and sit down. i was lucky in that we didn’t have assigned seating, so i’d also look and make a mental note of where i wanted to sit (at the back, near the doors).

7. meal plans - at my point in my ED recovery i haven’t had to follow a meal plan for years, but during exam periods i do tend to meal plan just as a fail safe option, to keep me on track

8. make sure theres at least one person out there who is familiar with your situation and perhaps that the exam period might make things worse, who you can check in with every so often. i know lots of people tend to go underground during exam season and this then becomes difficult when you need somebody to talk to or if you need another mind to bounce ideas off. for me, thats a couple of good friends, but it could be family members or a tutor or a counsellor.

9. have a serious think about whether you should request mitigating circumstances. it’s not a shameful thing at all, and you deserve to have every factor considered if there are reasons why you may not get the grade you deserve. remember that most places require you to do this before the exams begin and will require medical evidence.

10. exams make me panicky, and this expands to discussion of exams (even at one point my parents wishing me good luck before i went to take an exam would make me panicky) - if this is you, consider floating the idea of banning exam discussion at home/at the dinner table. when i was doing my A levels i banned my parents from asking when/where my exams were, whether i was prepared, how i felt etc etc and it made home a little ‘safe haven’ from the panic. they may not completely comply but that will also make it known to people the impact that their discussions have on you.

11. if food is an issue for you, stock up on things that take low to no energy to prepare and eat - ignore people who say how unhealthy it is because you know whats more unhealthy? not eating at all. things like pre-prepared fruit and veg, tubs of hummus, ready meals (yes!), tins of soup/stew, frozen pizzas, jars of pasta sauce, cereal bars, precooked rice sachets. ideally, cook up a bunch of meals ahead of time and stick em in the freezer in individual portions to defrost when you need them, but i know not everybody has the energy or ability to do this. this way you look at your meal plan, see you’re scheduled to have a snack, go downstairs, grab your snack and eat it, rather than having to decide what to eat and then have to make it yourself.

12. get a cup with a straw. simple, but i never drink as much water and am never as hydrated as i am when i have a cup with a straw.

13. ear plugs - i don’t actually keep them in during the exam as i worry about missing announcements, but i like them for the pre-exam period waiting around the exam site as they block out everything else and stop me having to listen to people worrying around me (thats the worst). if they’re obvious, they also stop worrying friends coming over and spreading their worry to you.

14. foamy pencil grips - i stick them around my pens to make the barrels wider, easier to grip and less likely to slip out of sweaty hands - my hands can get very shaky and sweaty and if i can’t grip my pen it makes me even more panicky so they help soooooo much

15. extra strong mints - i take these into the exam with me so that if i have an anxious moment during the exam, i have a sip of water, a mint and a deep breath and centre myself again, something about the extra strong sensory stimulation is really helpful to me

16. i don’t wear conventional bras to exams. when i’m having a full on panic attack the bra strap feels like its constricting me and i feel like i can’t breathe - when i sit exams i either go bra-less or wear very soft bralettes. sports bras might work for others but i find them also very constrictive as they’re designed to be so supportive.

17. if you have PRN for panic/anxiety, bring it into the exam even if you don’t feel like you’ll need it and don’t leave it in your bag, if you need it lots of invigilators won’t let you go digging through your bag even if it is for meds. personally i’ve never actually taken my PRN during an exam as it’s an extremely sedating medication so it would effectively ruin the rest of the exam (although there have been a couple of instances where i probably should have), but just having it out there on the desk with me is a reassurance.

18. bring a snack for afterwards. just taking an exam is in itself exhausting (especially at uni where exams can be 3+ hours) let alone managing anxiety symptoms for hours, plus your adrenaline will be pumping enough that you probably won’t realise you’re hungry so i always bring a piece of fruit and a cereal bar to eat whilst decompressing after each exam.

19. if an exam went badly and you feel it is due to problems during the exam that you feel should be acknowledged (for example, you had a panic attack during the exam) speak to somebody about it as soon as possible after the exam ends. i mean literally go directly and tell somebody as soon as you leave the venue. don’t email it or wait till another day, that will be too late. it’s difficult because most places require mitigating circumstances to be submitted in advance of the exam, and many unis have a ‘fit to sit’ policy (whereby if you show up you are effectively making a statement saying that you are well enough to sit the exam) but for things that have happened during the actual exam, nothing can be done unless you report it, either to your tutor or your school exams office

20. don’t feel pressured to discuss the exam with your friends afterward. its so so common for people to sit around analysing the questions in depth and it can be so damaging. you aren’t a party pooper or spoiling anything if you ask people not to discuss the exam when you are around. they’re free to do whatever they want when they’re not around you but you have a right to request that they refrain when you’re around. there are plenty of other, more interesting things to do.

My last week of freshman year was hectic, so say the least… still can’t believe I’ve done an entire year’s worth of college. This wasn’t what my original plan was, but sometimes plans change, and your path changes, and your entire future changes, and sometimes thats okay. I don’t think everything happens for a reason, but I do think that some things just might. So looking forward to what’s to come next!

Now Playing:

Evil- (RAC mix)- James Vincent McMorrow

hey everyone!! love summer but miss the routine system school gave you?

well here’s a list of tips i’ve drawn up so that you can have the best summer possible and stick to your summer do-to list!

1. wake up early! 

and no, this doesn’t mean you have to wake up at 5am everyday (unless that’s your cup of tea!). although it’s summer and often times we feel the obligation to stay up till 3am watching videos and waking up at noon, it will mess up your body clock and may actually prevent you from accomplishing your goals.

by waking up around the same you used to (+/- 1 hour), your body establishes and maintains a healthy circadian rhythm and allows you more time in the day to follow your list! which brings me to number 2..

2. write down your goals for the summer!

i can’t stress this enough. get out a piece of paper / blank document and write down every thing you want to accomplish this summer. this may include: 

get a job 

eat healthier 

read x amount of books 

exercise 3x a week 

write a short story 

learn an instrument 

learn a new language 

hang out with friends more 

watch a tv show 

finish summer assignments 

this then leads me to my favourite part:

3. plan your day / accomplish those goals! 

get out that planner / bullet journal / piece of paper and write down everything you’re going to do today in order to achieve your goals!

this is an example of what your daily planner could like!

good morning!

a good morning = a good day. wake up everyday with a goal set in your mind. what do you want to accomplish today. why? set an alarm clock, get up, and drink a glass of water. then (yes) make your bed. freshen up in the bathroom and make some breakfast. watch the sunrise. do some stretches. refresh your mind. remember your goals. write your plans for the day down. these are your plans and you will accomplish them. and yes, taking naps and watching movies can be a part of your plan. fuel your mind and body. the world is yours to seize. 

good night!

time to wind down and reflect. freshen up and get to your planner. did you accomplish as much as you could? what inhibited you from doing so? why? what were some of your accomplishments today? you may choose to write this down or mentally reflect. before going to bed, clean up your room / workspace. remember, room clutter = mind clutter. remember to avoid social media at least an hour before going to bed. set an alarm clock for the next morning and set your phone as far away from your bed as possible. get at least 7-9 hours of sleep and prepare to seize the day again the next morning.