make your own momentum.

190801

I'm laying in my bed and my dog is snoring very loudly and I love this sound

- do more things that make you forget about your phone

- do not compare yourself to other people: trust that you are progressing in your own way

- keep your heart soft, remember that there are genuinely kind people & good things in the world

- finish what you start

- be consistent, and do not be swayed by temporary moods or criticisms from people who don’t matter.

- smile more often

- be okay with being bad at something

- do not blame yourself for people who make you feel unworthy. find new people to talk to and don’t isolate yourself even if you feel awkward or unlovable. don’t convince yourself that you’re better off alone.

- go outside more often and find beauty in small things

- read more books

- be the kindest person you can be

- be so busy you have no time to be bored or dwell on the past

- learn to be patient. don’t rely on instant gratification, wait for the sense of accomplishment after completing a daily goal or achieving a long-term goal

- see bad days as a chance to start again

11.08.18 // college apps are the most stressful thing i’ve done in my entire life.

firstly, thank you so much for 100 followers! you are all sweethearts <3

so, 2018 is pretty much over. this was my first year as a university student and i learned a lot of things, not only academically but about how to deal with being a full-time college student. so, these are my tips you, precious souls that are about to start college too (or any college student, actually). these are drawn from my experience, but i really think they could help!

find a coffee shop that you like. find out if they have students discounts. if they have it, hold them close to your heart and never let go. my favorite coffee shop is in the mall next to my campus and they have 10% off for students of the universities nearby. i think at this point all the baristas know my name, because i go there almost every day. trust me, you will need the ally.

actually, students discounts in general are your best friend. in my country, every student has 50% off in cultural activities such as cinemas, concerts, museums, theaters, basically everything that requires a ticket. there are places where you can get discounts from all sorts of stores. in my university, we have access to language classes for a really cheap price. look them up, research, and that will save you a lot of money in the long term.

on the same note, find out what you have access to. dedicate some time to walk around your campus and the other campi your university may have in the city. talk to other students about programs, events, everything from big things, like internships and scholarships, to small ones. my university, for example, provides free transportation from one campi to another, since it has multiple campi all around the city, and that has saved me a lot of bus tickets. those hacks are usually things you can only learn from experience, so get yourself out there asap.

get to know the surroundings of your campus, especially if you’re new to the city. knowing what is nearby, what kind of stores and restaurantes you have within walking distance, which public transportation stops or stations are close, if there are any cute coffee shops, museums and such. you’re going to spend a lot of time in that area, so get to know it.

use! google drive! for! everything! google products like google drive, google photos, google docs/sheets/slides are a MUST-HAVE. they’re completely free and they will for sure make your life 100x easier, seriously. i used google docs for LITERALLY every single group project i had this year.

LEARN HOW TO USE MENDELEY!!!!!!!!!!!! it is a sources and references manager that will make dealing with research papers and papers in general actually your whole life SO. MUCH. EASIER. i used it to write a huge semester-long scientific article last semester and it saved my life. here is a video on how to use it, and i might do a post later on how i use it, but download it and get acquainted to it because it’s MAGICAL and people don’t talk enough about it.

go to every possible class in the beginning of the semester so you can skip classes in the end of it without having to worry about attendance. in the end of the semester, you will be so burnt out and stressed that you will BEG yourself a day off, but if you have skipped classes back in the beginning of the semester you won’t be able to skip them now because of attendance, and you’ll want to punch yourself in the face. so please. resist the temptations and don’t skip classes in the beginning of the semester unless you really have to.

that’s a cliché one but try and be one of those people that join things. clubs, projects, events, meetings, there’s something out there for everyone. find something that you like and join. not only you’ll probably get credits for it, it’ll be an opportunity to get to know other people and to understand the dynamics of the academic world. and, in the end, it usually ends up being a lot of fun! and, if fun for itself is not enough motivation, remember i got two (2) paid internships in my first year because of the extra activities i had on my resume. just remember to make to be doing something that you like and that makes you feel comfortable and enjoy the ride!

and lastly, but most importantly:

don’t! feel! pressured! to! do! anything!

you don’t need to prove yourself. no one is keeping scores, even though it sometimes feels a lot like it. take your time. if something is making you uncomfortable, leave. you don’t have to do something just because everyone else is doing it. you can always try again in the next semester. repeat with me here:

college is NOT a race.

college is NOT a race.

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.