existential crisis.

Here’s to my strong girls. My powerful girls. My ruthlessly dedicated girls.

The ones who stand up for themselves and for what’s right. The ones who fight and fight hard. The ones who fall but pick themselves up and never quit. Striving for the best in themselves and in the world.

To celebrate 1.3K+ followers on tumblr, I’m making my first masterpost on how to create a study space! I’ve also included some tips I’ve discovered in creating my own study space :)

My Personal Tips

Have lighting from the front - so there are no shadows on your work. I put my desk right in front of my window, and adjust the blinds to control the lighting levels. If you’re lucky, aim for a west-facing window if you’re a morning person - I can’t study when the sunlight lands directly on my work, so I prefer ambient sky lighting in the mornings. 

Have a document organiser - the best ones are the pull out drawers, one quick pull in and out to chuck the sheet in; it’s better than a manila folder. Don’t get open ones like paper trays (they collect dust easily as I discovered). Try and get one with the same number of subjects that you do + one spare for admin (they usually come in 5 sections anyway :D), so you can file all worksheets by subject. Archive at the end of each semester. 

It’s fine for your desk to get messy at times when you study. It’s a reflection of the way you study; when I study I already get the main gist, so I don’t always go chapter 1.1, chapter 1.2, etc. I usually just see something that I don’t know, then go and search through my notes for the information. Make sure that everything has a “home” though - something you return it to at the end of a study session. Since I use loose leaf, and multiple textbooks at once, it wastes time to put everything back every time I look up one statistic. 

For example, __% of all retinal detachments are causally associated with a cystic vitreoretinal tuft. I remembered there’s a percentage, but not what the exact percentage is. I know it’s located in Module 6 of OPTM3231, and vaguely remember it’s in one of the lectures and not the study guide. So that means I have to whip out at least 3 lecture sets from a subject a whole year ago to find that information. (it’s 10% just in case you wanted to know)

Study at a temperature of 21′C (71′F). Numerous studies have shown that this is the ideal temperature for studying. Not too cold or warm. 

Leave your drinks and snacks outside so that it forces you to get up. I think a lot of studyblrs recommend you have every single thing that you need with you when you study. They recommend that you just stick your butt in your chair and buckle down and do the hard yards. However, many studies have shown that those who sit down less have better productivity. In fact, boys in school who had less moderate physical activity actually found it harder to improve their reading skills, and math skills were also negatively impacted. 

Recently, many offices have implemented standing desks, which is much better for your physical and mental health. I always get up at the end of every hour or pomodoro period and get a small glass of water. And usually I’ll also cut up a pre-measured portion of fruit and stick it in the fridge so that I can eat it in between breaks. Sometimes if you have a hard question, you need to take a break and come back to it so that you can look at it from a different perspective. 

Make sure you only do physically repetitive tasks during a break. Some people will browse the internet or their phones. I don’t advise this, because I’ve lost track of times way to many times for that. Best if you do something that doesn’t require any mental engagement. Drinking, eating, washing dishes, taking a shower, star jumps, etc. It makes it so much easier to get back into it. 

And sometimes you just gotta change your study space. I study in one place for about 4-5 weeks before I need a change of pace. I usually switch between the optometry computer labs and my desk at home (pictured in the banner). Even at home, in the afternoon I like switching to an east-facing window so I don’t get sun. And if I can’t study at uni any longer? Get on the train home, and study for 50 minutes there. A change of pace does wonders for increasing your productivity. 

Studyblr Posts

teeny tiny study spaces by @etudiance

general tips by @lycheestudy

mindful study space by @succulentstudy

study space checklist by @study-site

perfect study space

study cove by @hexaneandheels

how to create a study space by @studyign

how to set up your study space by @maddiemoate

study space guide by @study-well

Around the web

how to create a study space in your room by collegeinfogeek

creating a study space by charles darwin university

10 tips for creating your ideal study space by ameritech college of healthcare

create a study space by about education

how to set up your perfect study space by kikki.k

12 tips to create the perfect study environment by rassmussen college

create a good environment for studying at home by Art Markman at edutopia

how to create a good study environment at home by hackmystudy.com

how To decorate and furnish a small study room by homedit

14 strategies for creating a workspace… by paid to exist

My Weekly Study Tips

WHAT I WISH I’D KNOWN BEFORE UNIVERSITY STUDY TIPS SERIES

0 Choosing a Degree , 1 Administration , 2 Getting to Class

3 Studying , 4 Extra-Curriculars , 5 Exams , 6 Social Life

7 Part Time Work

SEE ALSO

Catching Up with Your Studies , Dealing with Bad Results

Sleeping and Waking Up Early , Google Keep

Studying and your Visual System

My 2017 Planner and Bullet Journal , Study Space , 2017 goals