my mind palace

Dear Person Hiring for this Job,

I am writing to ask you to consider me for X position.  This is a paragraph about why I want to do X position in general.  It includes at least one personal detail and at least one job skill I consider a particular strength.  It argues that I am passionate about this career.  It is not long.

I have had the opportunity to gain experience in this job by - paragraph about my work or study experience.  It should go from most recent experience back.  Include some details about your responsibilities/achievements in your most recent or most important positions.  If you have mostly study experience, give more detail about what exactly you studied.  If you shadowed people, mention that.  If your work experience is largely unrelated, try to shoehorn some of it in (e.g. I gained experience working with people by).  You can supplement with relevant hobbies.  (But if you do have recent, relevant work experience, you should largely be detailing that.  Only embroider the other stuff if you need to flesh it out.)  This should be the longest paragraph.

I hope you will consider allowing me to do X thing at your company.  This is a few sentences about why I want to work at your company in particular and what I think I could bring.  Try to mention at least one detail from the company website, so they know you visited it.  This is a short paragraph that parallels the first one.

Thank you very much for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

1) Remember that the person reading this cover letter wants to know how you can contribute to the company. Not how excited you are about the position: it’s all about what they gain. Try framing the whole thing in that sense — “You would gain my X awesome skill that would help you Y with your mission.” “Here’s why I’m awesome and a great fit for making your company go better.”

2) At the end, ask for the interview. “I am available at PHONE NUMBER at your convenience. I look forward to speaking with you about this great opportunity soon.” Maybe even say you’ll be following up at a specific time and date. Ask for the job. People respond to that, and it’s a good way to fake confidence until you make it. Ask for the job.

to find love

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how i make my notes look nice 

0. Why Bother?

This sounds superficial, but I love pretty things. I also love to doodle, but this is a productive way to do it. It helps your notes seem more organized and manageable, and because they’re so pretty you’ll want to study from them instead of shoving them into the deep dark recesses of your bag.

1. Borders and Dividers

You know how pictures always look better in a frame? The same goes for notes. 

These don’t need to be anything fancy, they can be boxes or squiggly lines. Here are some ideas, ft. my slanting columns and messy scanning :)

2. Nice Headers

I usually have 2 classes of headers - one for the title of the notes and one for subheadings in the notes. 

My heading system is fairly consistent - I only have two types of main headers and a few subheaders. Here’s how mine look, ft. another bad scan

Here are some more ideas!

3. Tables, Diagrams, Graphic Organizers

Instead of writing information in big blocks of text, you can organize it in a different way.

4. Doodle!

Drawings related to the topic can improve visual interest and memory. You can also draw random things that are somewhat related to the topic, just to spice up the notes. For example, in Biology I drew plants when learning about the chemical processes of photosynthesis.

5. Get Inspired

You can browse the studyblr and studyspo tags on tumblr, my pretty notes tag, or some pictures of how I structure my notes.

Some people with beautiful inspiring notes:

@studyguideverified @studykouffee @studypetals @studyrelief​ and many other blogs, tag your faves in the reblogs please!

Normally I just skim over the photos, but when looking for inspiration you should look closely and incorporate elements you like into your own notes. While you’re at it, you may as well read the information because learning!

IMPORTANT

Pretty notes are very popular in the studyblr community, but don’t feel forced to make them. If it doesn’t help you, don’t waste your time. I don’t recommend rewriting your notes just to decorate, make sure you’re also clarifying/condensing/adding to/etc the information.

It’s that time of year again. We are all excited to begin a new year of academics; it means new stationery, new teachers, new beginning. On the other hand, we’re all nervous about early mornings, late nights, copious amounts of stress, and lots of mental breakdowns. Hopefully, this post will make your life a little easier, teach you something new, or introduce you to awesome products you’ve never heard of!

These are some of my favorite apps to help me get through my school year. I’ve included some for both iOS and Android products, as well as a few Chrome extensions!

“The Homework App” (iOS) - This cute little app allows you to keep track of all your school assignments. You can add classes, color code them, add assignments, and SO much more. It’s probably one of the most helpful planning apps I’ve ever downloaded. I do fine without buying the premium version.

“Chegg Flashcards+” (iOS/Android) - BEST FLASHCARD APP I’VE FOUND. Seriously this app is great. Upgraded version definitely not worth it. The other Chegg apps are pretty nice for homework help as well.

“Sunshine” (iOS) - This app isn’t exactly school related, but if you’re very temperature sensitive like me, it’s perfect. Design is adorable, and I love the notification you get every morning!

“Sleepytime” (iOS/Android/Web) - This sleep scheduler is perfect for those of us who have a lot of trouble getting up in the morning. You just put in the time you’re falling asleep and it gives you all the recommended wake up times based on your sleep cycles so you don’t wake up wanting to die!

“Forest” (iOS/Android/Chrome) - If you get distracted by your phone or the internet while studying, you need this app. It’s a timer that grows a little tree while you focus! Be careful though, if you leave the app for too long, the cute lil thing will die!

“Socratic” (iOS) - Need help with a homework question? This app gotchu. Just type it or take a picture, and it provides you with resources, step by step instructions, and, of course, the answer.

“Grammarly” (Chrome/OSX) - Awesome little spell/grammar checking app. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work with Google Docs.

“Any.do” (iOS/Android/Chrome) - Task list app. I use this seriously every day.

Whether you’ve been collecting stationery your whole life or have just been introduced to the studyblr world and have no idea what’s popular, this section will be a dream.

The famous Muji gel pens - Luv luv luv these! Cheap, high quality, and adorable, these are great for starter pens.

Pilot G2 Gel Pen - These are pretty popular. They’re inexpensive and moderately good quality. Personally they aren’t my favorite.

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner - My favorite fineliners! The triangular shape makes them easy to hold, and they don’t bleed through paper much.

Stabilo .88 Fineliners - Since they’re so similar to the Staedtler fineliners, most people pick one or the other. I have both because I like to have a variety of colors, but it’s up to you really!

Zebra Mildliners - These highlighters are known for the variety of cute colors, I just love em! They’re great quality, my only complaint is that some pens (Muji gel pens in particular I’ve found) can smear a lot with these.

Clear Tipped Highlighters - These are awesome for textbooks. Sharpie has some, and so does Muji.

Muji notebooks - I use these for bullet journaling (if you don’t know what that is, check out this video here) and as paper for mind maps. They have tons of different kinds, my favorite being this dotted notebook. Very inexpensive as well!

Moleskine Notebooks - These are SUPER popular. I’ve never used one, but I’ve heard great things!

Campus Kokuyo Paper - This paper is my favorite. You can get it in notebooks or loose leaf. My favorite is the graph paper. I use it for my notes daily. If you’re going to use it often, I’d recommend getting the binder notebook for them as they don’t work well in normal binders.

WASHI TAPE! - Who can forget? I have a huge collection of them. Get them from Etsy, Target, Amazon, and pretty much any craft store.

Websites:

Muji

Jetpens

Kikki K

Ohh Deer

Poppin

Yesstyle

Note taking is probably one of the most important parts things in school! In order to study efficiently, your notes should be organized and personalized to YOUR advantage.

Cornell Note System - This method of note taking is popular and effective.

This note taking masterpost by @thescholarlysquad

How to make revision notes by @aspiiro

College note taking 101 by @briellestudies

How to structure your notes by @iwillbeapolyglot

Last minute revision by @muststudy

I happen to have NO lunch period this year, so I’ve been looking a lot into good snacks to bring. These are great for lunches too!

Mason Jar salads - It’s exactly what it sounds like; a salad in a mason jar. I would recommend getting plastic jars from Target or Amazon to avoid messy situations!

Granola bars/protein bars - Perfect for on-the-go breakfast or a quick snack between classes!

Cheesesticks - Quiet to eat and very filling!

Yogurt - Sooo healthy

Hummus & pita chips/veggies - My favorite snack!

Popcorn

Oatmeal/overnight oats - Great for study snacks or mornings where you’re being rushed! ( @studydiaryofamedstudent has a ton of great food recipes on her blog!)

Smoothies

Soup

School is stressful. We all get down. Here’s some tips to help alleviate some of that worry!

TAKE A BREAK. I cannot stress this enough. Overworking yourself is the worst thing you can do. Put down the textbook, listen to some music, have a cup of green tea, and just chill for a bit.

Get lots and lots of sleep! I know it’s not always possible, but try to aim for at LEAST 7 hours a night. It will help so much, I promise!

Organize! When I’m stressed, I like to regain control over my life. Try bullet journaling if you haven’t already. Make lists. Get a calendar. Organize your room or your study space.

This masterpost by @mindpalacestudy

Going into high school? Here’s some help!

My masterpost on high school survival

This post by @studyinding

This post by @universi-tea

A bunch of miscellaneous things that I absolutely adore and I think you will too! (Plus some other helpful posts)

My favorite backpack - Herschel backpacks are the bomb.com!

The most popular bag on studyblr - Not a huge fan, but whatever floats your boat!

Really cute USB humidifier - Where I live, it gets very cold and dry and I get sick a lot, so this is an adorable godsend!

Cute animal paperclips

Cute sticky notes

A water heater you can keep at your desk to make tea all the time!

Speaking of tea here’s a USB mug heater

And oh this amazing frickin pen case

Some cute header ideas

Tips on learning a new language

Staying healthy in cold weather

Online study resources

How to get a 4.0 GPA

HUGE study masterpost

Guide to pretty notes

Website with ALL the answers

Week 41. This week’s highlights: We watched Emir for our Filipino class. It’s a musical film and it was quite great. We also had a test on Discrete Probability Distributions. To be honest, I feel anxious because I think I did not do well. I’ll just wait for the results and try harder next time. On the other hand, most of the week was spent with dear Photoshop since I had to finish different posters for the Student Council.