probably procrastinating

6.9.19

Minimally edited photos have been my thing lately

August 19

lazy study tips

1. use quizlet. quizlet is amazing because you can access your flashcards on your phone!! this way you can easily flip through them while waiting in line, watching tv, etc.

2. use the pomodoro technique. if you’re lazy like i am, sitting down for 6+ hours a day to study can be daunting. giving yourself multiple breaks throughout a study session will help to keep you going!

3. watch youtube videos. watching videos or listening to podcasts on the topic you’re studying could be a huge time saver and is a lot more interesting than flipping through a textbook. and you can easily do this in bed!! (i would not advise to do this instead of using a textbook all together just in case information is left out of the video)

4. try to build a steady study routine. block out a chunk of time in the middle of the day every day for studying. this way, you know that when the time is up, you have the rest of the day to relax!

5. get sleep. i’ve found that i’m at my laziest when i haven’t been sleeping much. avoid being sluggish throughout the day and get some rest! this will cut back on nap/rest time and increase productivity during the day.

6. consider the consequences of not studying. which will benefit you more in the long run- getting your work done now, or watching another episode?

7. reward yourself. give yourself a little treat (a piece of candy, etc.) after completing a set amount of work. this will keep you motivated to keep studying!

8. just start. the hardest part of studying is starting- force yourself to sit down and open up your notes.

💌 100 | before school began, i decided to fill out a ‘life audit’ [idea from this post]. a combination of current states and expectations for the next year. i think i’ll start doing this once per journal. i audited the following:

⭐︎ spirituality [originally mental health] ⭐︎ fitness + health ⭐︎ relationships ⭐︎ career [or possibly education] ⭐︎ goals ⭐︎ habits

the new school year is just around the corner, and as a newly graduated student i am here to offer you my tips and advice based on my experience last year.

1. start your college applications as soon as you can. the earlier you get them done, the less you have to worry about them. if possible, have a teacher look over your essays and help you edit them.

2. senioritis is a very real thing, so try not to slack off. treat this year like any other school year. do your homework and study. remember that colleges can withdraw an offer of admission.

3. cherish your close friends and those around you. these are some of the last times that you will all be together in one place. 

4. (this is kind of a continuation of number three) participate in school events. go watch school sports and go to homecoming and prom. i know some people think these kind of events are lame, but when you’re with the right people they are so much fun!

5. if you end up going to prom and/or homecoming bring a pair of fuzzy socks, especially if you decide to wear heels (trust me this will save your life). if you’re anything like me, your feet will start aching 30 minutes after you put on heels and you’ll want to take them off asap. thankfully, fuzzy socks are the epitome of comfortable. change into them once you get to the dance.

6. don’t be scared to talk to your teachers. they know you’re busy with college applications, so they’re usually very understanding. don’t hesitate to ask for extensions on assignments

7. visit as many colleges as you can. there’s no point in applying to a college you don’t “vibe with.” the atmosphere will help you decide whether or not you can see yourself there for the next four years. i visited many colleges, yet when i first visited the university i’m attending this fall  i immediately knew i belonged there.

8. have at least one safety school and one reach school. each year colleges are looking for different things, you never know what might happen. 

9. when applying for colleges remember that your SAT score does not define you. it’s easy to put yourself down if you didn’t get the score you wanted, but trust me it’s going to be okay :)

10. enjoy quality time with your family (especially the summer before college). i haven’t even left for college and i already miss my family. spend as much time with them as you can, you probably won’t be seeing them often in college.

11. EAT BREAKFAST. i had to drive 35 minutes everyday to get to my magnet school and i would usually wake up 50 minutes before school started. my biggest regret is not eating a proper breakfast everyday. a good breakfast gives you energy so you won’t be as tired during the school day.

12. get enough sleep and stay hydrated! please, please, please! this is the best thing you can do for yourself. 

13. be nice to the underclassmen and offer them advice. 

14. it’s okay to cry. during the year, at graduation, after graduation, it’s okay.

15. have fun! it’s your last year of high school, enjoy it!

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.

23.06.2019. Spent the holiday on my boyfriend’s parent’s house. They have a very cozy space to work, so I was able to write a few pages for my thesis. I wish my apartment had this amount of light! In a few days I’ll be going to my parents’ house on vacation – well, not really since I have tons of reading and writing to do. But I miss them and I miss my cats and also my old study space. I’m planning to go back to my French studies while I’m there, so I’m excited!

a bitter sweet letter to myself whilst i indulged in the croissant craving i had this morning + using my new tv dinner table that i bought for my reading corner (unreasonably happy with my purchase) ↓

‘to the future me that feels too ugly to leave the house,

maybe you are, maybe you are ugly. but guess what? it doesn’t matter! you could be the ugliest being in the entire universe & it still wouldn’t change the amount of value and worth you have as a person — what matters is your favourite book, your favourite song, the way your dog reacts when you come home, the way your heart feels full when you achieve something. what matters is not how beautiful you are, but how beautiful life is.’