Get to Work

please take a couple minutes to shower, brush your teeth! it’s really important and it’ll make you feel much better in the long run.

eat something, okay? maybe you don’t have the energy to do much, but even a small snack helps if you haven’t had anything.

text a friend… or a cousin, or anyone you’re really fond of. in these trying times, it’s no good being too isolated from the world.

i know we all emphasize on hydration, so please go ahead and drink water! you can also get some tea or coffee if it helps you.

take your meds! don’t skip them on purpose, they’re important for your health. meds don’t make you more or less of a person.

other things you might need to do: making your bed can give you a better sense of accomplishment, watering your plants and spending time with any pets you have is also really helpful.

aida 🌸

Some tips/strats I’ve picked up in my first online semester!  I’ll prob add more as I start the spring semester.

Skim through notes from the last lecture, and look at your pre-lecture notes.  Make note of questions you’d like to ask at the end if your professor doesn’t answer them in the lecture.

Separate your work zone from your rest zone - sitting at a desk/table will help you stay focused and awake opposed to sitting in your bed or on the couch.

Similar thing for food - have a lil snack if you’d like, but eating lunch while taking lecture notes can be messy and distracting.  Have it before or after if you can!

Your privacy and comfort level is the most important, but please consider turning on your camera if you can.  Even if you are the only one in your class with a camera on, your professor will appreciate seeing a face.  Plus having a rapport with instructors will be beneficial!

I was really hoping other people would join me but I guess not 😭

Hello, lovelies! I’ve gotten a couple of asks about studying so I decided to condense them into one post for you guys! I’m trying to hit a bunch of different topics so if you need an even more specific post you can send an ask! Without any further ado, have some tips! My studyblr is @spacey-scholar​

Prep

First, you always need a good base for your day! Especially if you’re studying a lot.

Make a good full breakfast! Ex. Eggs and Toast, Smoothie and fruit, Pancakes and a cup of juice. 

How’s your hygiene? Do you need to shower, brush your teeth, wash your face, condition your hair? Do it! You’ll be distracted if you feel messy!

Get dressed like it’s a normal day. Staying in PJ’s is okay! But being ready for the day seriously helps focus!

Likewise, your space should be clean. A clean space is a clean mind! Remove dishes, trash, scrap paper, and extra items. Wide down your desk, organize your pens and books. Your space should feel like your space!

Now make a list of what you need to get done! What needs to be done Now, what needs to be done Soon, and what needs to be done Later? 

Order your list how you want your day to go, and don’t put super-tough subjects back to back, or subjects that are similar exercises i.e. reading thirty pages of two different books back to back is no fun.

The Studying

It’s important to buckle down with No Distractions! If you find yourself distracted put your phone away! If you need your phone, put it on Do Not Disturb until you’re done. I also do this at night for better sleep. 

Pick the best technique for you, Pomodoro, reward-based, group studying, etc.

Play music but only if it will not distract you! If you sing along or daydream it’s the wrong music! Classical, Lo-fi, and White noise are all good! My Spotify Here has some good ones.

Use a nice journal (I don’t mean expensive!) and pens/pencils you enjoy using. I like to have a specific journal and color dedicated to each subject. 

Take notes on recorded lectures and classes, if you’re doing online classes right now try to screen record or record the audio! That way if you space out you can play it later and take notes, and you can absorb the lesson better instead of being distracted.

Don’t worry about your notes, stationary, pictures, being beautiful and your grades being perfect. Life doesn’t always look the way it does on Instagram. And the people who spend hours trying to get a good photo of their coffee are not studying! 

Use flashcards! Quizlet is good if you need premade ones! If you can save up and buy them, Barrons AP Flash Cards are the best in my opinion. Very clean, not too long, very durable, and cover all subjects.

Feeling Distracted 

If you catch yourself drifting off and getting into your head, get up and take a quick walk, stretch, or energizer. 

It’s okay if this happens, don’t guilt yourself! practice affirmation. The best and smartest still get distracted. 

If you are drifting, why? Are you hungry? Tired? Thirsty? Bored? Get a snack and some water, take a break and rest, find a way to make your studying more enjoyable. 

Remember that Motivation and Discipline are different things. Sometimes we just won’t be motivated, we won’t want to do it and it will be rather frustrating. But the cure to this is not shaming its discipline. Remind yourself “This may be hard, and I may not want to do this, but I want to reach my goals and If this is what It takes I will make it happen. 

Always do just one more page of you’re tired. One at a time and oh you did it! Maybe just one more? One more? Eh, one more just to finish the train of thought, Oh just- I’m done? Nice!

If you really can’t focus just move on and come back to this subject, you can always ask for help.

Supplementary Things

There are so many apps you can use to study, for free! My favorites are Tide, Quizlet, Focus Keeper, Forest, Flora, Egenda, SpanishDict, Photomath, and Kahn Academy. 

You can also join a study group! You may know one, but if you don’t, there are a lot of online ones! I’m in a study Discord and have been for a while! it helps a lot and motivates me to finish my work!

You can make a studyblr, but don’t do it just for the aesthetics! It’s about studying, and sometimes that gets messy! Sometimes we fail a test, we spill our tea on our notes, we cry because we don’t understand the formula. That’s the part you don’t see!

Having cute stationery can really help, as well as nice organizers and decorations for your space! I don’t have much money so I get a lot of stuff on Amazon or FB Marketplace.

Health

Remember that no matter what you are good enough. It’s okay if you fail, it’s okay if you struggle.

It’s also okay if your path doesn’t go the way you expected! Maybe you go to a different school than expected! Or choose a trade instead! Maybe you take a gap year! Maybe your passion changes! Maybe it changes six times!

Your health is always more important than your school. If you are in pain, mentally or physically, if you are anxious, exhausted, burnt out, talk to your teachers about it! You matter more than a grade.

Your best is good enough! And your best doesn’t look the same as someone else’s best! Don’t compare!

hello beautiful queens, since we only have a few days until 2021 I want to tell you about a challenge that I’ve been doing for a bit now.

i’ve been beating myself up because of loneliness, lack of motivation etc. while in quarantine but i’m now realizing that this time alone is actually meant to be a blessing, a period where we beauties can finally accomplish things we said we would do but never came around to it. 🦋 here are some steps. reblog and add some more if you’d like 😇

1. get off social media. you’ve heard it before, you’re hearing it again. even a few days of taking a break can do wonders for your mental health. i’ve been realizing that the reason why my confidence was constantly lowering was because of comparing myself to the unrealistic standards of social media. taking a few days off to remind yourself that you’re THAT BITCH, that you deserve the whole world and that you are an ICON LIVING is soooo worth not checking what he posted on is story.

use the hours you save from social media to realize your dreams. get on that grind. get that bread, raise them grades. when you think about it, you don’t even remember half the shit you see on social media, it’s a mindless way to waste such valuable time.

2. take care of your health. stop skipping brushing your teeth. get your ass up and get those teeth SHINING. whiter than the people at a republican voting poll. whiter than donald trump’s ass. you get the drill.

wash your face. try new skincare remedies and products. figure out your skin undertone, type, what works for you etc. and arrange your beauty routine to fit that. slather on the products that you bought and saved for ‘special days’. get you a nice moisturizer that makes you feel like mf bella hadid.

3. stop with the excuses and start working for your dream body. the only person standing between you and that SNATCHEDDD bod is, guess what, YOU GIRL! you are so much more powerful than you think you are, once you realize that you CAN be one of those girls that wake up early to work out, that can CHUG that gallon of water like it ain’t nun, that can RUN that mile your potential is endless. get up and get sweaty. put in the work and the universe will put out the results.

4. get in tune. start a manifesting journal if you don’t have one already. start a daily journal to write down in every detail what you’ve done and how you’re feeling. i did this for 365 days last year when I was abroad and reading it takes me back so vividly, probably the best decision i’ve ever made.

try spells, try reading horoscope charts, try using crystals and tarot. i’m an econ major that has no religious beliefs but experimenting with spiritual, sacred objects brings me joy. i feel like i’m peeking into a part of our earth that only a select few are aware of. that’s why girls like me can find meaning and hope in the smallest things whereas old white men who think they’re too scientific for these things die early. 😋 lol.

make your house/room your sanctuary. love the space you live in.

retweet everything above but with a lil extra twist

✨living your best life✨ - beauty, fitness, a sharp mind - whatever it is that YOU want, starts with health first.

Drinking water, getting enough CONSISTENT sleep, vitamins, veggies, meditation/prayer/journaling (something to maintain mental/emotional/spiritual health) will be the foundation you build off of.

Start there - you’ll find yourself waking up with energy, more focus, and just a good baseline for wellness.