grow like flowers do

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. 

this post is part of the student guide and the technology mini series

One of my goals next year is learn how to use technology more effectively in order to stay productive and organised. Thus I thought it could be helpful for me as well as you guys to make this post - a masterlist of different websites, apps and extensions that will make your life as a student that little bit easier. I’ve sorted these by purpose rather than device, so that whether you’re looking for a note-taking program or cooking ideas you’ll be able to find something useful. 

Plan / Organise

Todoist: Beautiful and powerful project manager and general to-do list 

Any.do: Simple, flexible and well-integrated task manager

Carrot To-Do: Motivational and simple to-do list with personality

Pocket: Save articles, videos and other digital content to read later

Pinterest: Collate and sort inspiration into image-based ‘pinboards’ 

Swipes: Easy task manager that focuses on what’s really important

Trello: Well designed and intuitive project planner / manager

Clear: Minimalistic and beautiful to-do lists

Focus: To-do extension with inbuilt focus timer

Manage Your Schedule

My Study Life: Organise your class schedule and homework tasks

The Homework App: Very pretty and highly functional class schedule and homework tracker

Calendly: Schedule appointments with others using this availability tool

Google Calendar: Simple and smart scheduling app

Glass Planner: Combined, distraction-free calendar and to-do list

Lanes: Simple tasks, calendar and pomodoro timer in new tab

Plan: Gorgeous planner with productivity analytics

Handle: Simple planner and to-dos with email inbox integration

Take Notes

Evernote: Save and sync short multimedia notes ( +Penultimate: Handwritten notes that integrate with the Evernote app )

Notability: Create longer handwritten notes + annotate pdfs

Paper: Lightweight app for beautiful and intuitive notes and sketches

Google Docs: Crisp and collaborative word processor with automatic integration with Google Drive

Outline: Highly organised digital multimedia notebooks

Coggle: Create simple mindmaps

Mindly: More complex and beautiful mindmaps, although more expensive

Day One: Keep a digital journal

Store Files

Google Drive: Store various file types in a cloud-based program

Google Photos: Back up and organise your photos / image files

Focus Better / Manage Time

Forest: Focus for 30 minutes to grow a cute virtual tree

Flat Tomato: Pomodoro timer with additional time management tools

Tide: Simple and attractive pomodoro timer + white noise

Pomodrone: Minimalistic pomodoro with goal setting and analysis tools

Pomello: Desktop pomodoro that integrates with trello for easy task management

Noisli: Simple background noise for focus + relaxation

Be Limitless: Analyses how long you spend on different websites and offers productivity suggestions

StayFocusd: Block access to distracting websites while you work

Timewarp: Gentle reminders to stop using distracting sites

Be More Productive

IFTTT: Automate processes that use multiple apps for higher efficiency

Toby Tab Manager: Manage tabs to avoid overload + up productivity

Tab Snooze: Snooze tabs until later

Infinity: New tab extension with bookmarked pages, to-dos, notes, etc.

Spark: Smart email inbox manager to stay organised and save time

Inbox: Another email organiser designed by Google for Gmail

MyScript: Handwritten, intuitive input makes calculating quicker

GistNote: Highlight web content and sort highlighted material

RefMe: Quickly and automatically create bibliography references

Spaces: Collaborate with groups easily in this shared-space program

XKit: Tumblr extension that makes tasks such as reblogging and tagging faster

Improve Work Quality

Wolfram|Alpha: Data engine / tools makes knowledge easy to access

Grammarly: Powerful editor / grammar checker improves writing quality

DataShine: Conduct research with mapped UK census data

Wikipedia App: Get lost in this treasure-trove of information

Revise Well

Quizlet: Smart flashcard program with collaborative fucntionality

Memrise: Adaptive revision for learning languages and other vocab

FlashTabs: Flashcard in every new tab you open helps you revise consistently 

Duolingo: Learn / revise languages via this interactive and fun program

Khan Academy: Do practice tasks and take prep courses for the SAT and other tests - great way to efficiently revise maths !!

CliffsNotes: Cram easily with summary guides and test prep - also has really great guides to popular and classic literature ( +alternative )

Kahoot: Fun and highly useful group revision games / competitions

Stay Healthy

Waterlogged: Track your water intake and get reminders to drink more

Drink!: Drinking reminders for your web browser / laptop

Sleep Better: Track your sleep and dreams + set smart alarms 

Good Morning Alarm: Very pretty alternative to Sleep Better

Take A Break: Reminds you to take a break while online

Habitica: Track / manage your habits in this fun game

Productive: Powerful and well designed habit tracker with many features

Streaks: Alternative to Productive - prettier and better interface imo

Streaks Workout: A version of Streaks designed specifically for working out

Seven: 7-minute guided workouts to keep fit quickly

Zombies, Run!: Motivates you to run by playing a guided ‘zombie escape’ game as you do

Charity Miles: Raise money for charity by running, walking or cycling

Lumosity: Fun and personalised brain training ( +alternatives: A | B )

Manage Mental Health

Headspace: Quality guided meditations on different topics

Pacifica: Simple and daily stress / anxiety management tools

Smiling Mind: Meditations designed to improve mindfulness

Live Independently

My Fridge Food: Enter ingredients you have, get recipes you can make

SafeTrek: Stay safe while out alone via easy alerts when in danger

Penny: Track your money / spending and see how you could save

Honey: Save money by automatically applying promotions when shopping online

Konmari: Organise your belongings by minimising what you own

Roadtrippers: Plan road trip routes around America easily

Stay Entertained

Flipboard: Automatically collate articles from all over the web into your own personalised digital magazine

Quartz: Get current new in an interactive, easy-to-digest manner

Medium: Read short and engaging essays on a variety of current topics

Netflix: You know the deal

Whichbook: Find a book you’ll love with this detailed search ( +Bookling: Motivate yourself to read more and track your progress )

Letterboxed: Review films and create lists of favourites, to-watch, etc.

Goodreads: Like a book version of Letterboxd

Just today I reached 100 followers! I never thought I’d get even 30, and I’m super thankful and extremely grateful for all of you.

Here’s a list of blogs I follow- all of which are absolutely incredible.

I realised partway through making this list that it’s extremely long (or long for me, at least) and so I’ve put it under the cut!

《30072017 • Last week of July • 🎧 : Forever Young - Bumzu x Han Dong Geun》

When your body is in winter but your bullet journal is in summer. // inspo: @studyingmood