study addict

okay, so here in california precautionary measures against COVID-19 have become increasingly intense. most schools have closed and are preparing to make the transition to “distance learning” aka online classes. this is a big change for many of us – but don’t panic!

welcome to surviving online classes 101!

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✐ self discipline

this is more of a warning than a tip. working from home means you will have to exercise a lot more self discipline. it can be a little bit boring or lonely at times. you cannot count on motivation from others (professors, classmates, friends, etc.), so you will have to learn some self discipline. 

✐ create your own classroom

a good way to make the transition is to try and mimic the classroom setting as closely as possible. something that might be helpful is to set up a space designated for work. try to avoid the temptation to work in your bed or on the couch. that trains your brain to be alert in those places and makes it harder to relax/fall asleep. at least during online lectures, try and eliminate distractions that wouldn’t be present in a regular classroom (like tv or netflix playing in the background, or having your phone out)

✐ dress for success!

dress in the way that makes you feel most productive. if you’re one of those people who usually rolls into class wearing sweats and still kills it, good for you! if you’re one of those people who needs to put on a full face of makeup to feel alive and ready for the day, do that! even at home!! i personally never wear makeup but if i try to be productive in pjs… disaster. i’ve also found that cute workout gear makes me feel badass while still being comfy.

✐ create a schedule

now more than ever you need to figure out how to manage your time. you can use a planner, bujo, google calendar, the forest app, whatever. just make sure you keep track of things like

due dates and TIMES

exam dates

lecture times

hours spent studying

meals (pls eat 3 if possible)

water intake

sleep schedule

✐ pack your bag like you usually would

i know this probably sounds so dumb, but when you’re done working clean up after yourself. pack everything up like you would at school, to sort of signal to your brain that academic time is over for now. and then unpack and set up when you’re ready to get to work again. this is just another way to trick your brain into that school mindset while you’re stuck at home.

✐ don’t overwork yourself

break up your studying into chunks. being cooped up all day can make us feel like we’re wasting time, but be sure to schedule breaks and reward yourself after a solid study session. i’m a big fan of the pomodoro method, and it can be customized really easily to allow for more or less study/rest time. 

✐ maintain a healthy sleep schedule

now is the time to develop that healthy sleep schedule we all dream about. staring at a computer all day is exhausting and hard on the eyes and brain, so make sure to give them enough rest and time to recover each night. also, consider investing in glasses that block blue light, even if you don’t usually use glasses. this will keep our eyes young lol. 

✐ communicate with your teachers and classmates

most of us are making this transition to online learning together. any time you have questions, email your professor. reach out to your classmates at the beginning and exchange emails/phone numbers/social media so you can build a support system. if something goes wrong, screenshot it immediately and reach out to your professor. technology isn’t perfect, and mistakes can happen, just communicate them.

✐ turn things in early

this is my biggest tip. when you are relying on online submissions for assignments and digital lectures, you always want to allow extra time to fix any errors you might encounter. your professor will also be much more willing to help you fix a problem two days before a deadline rather than two minutes before a deadline. eliminate that uncertainty by playing it safe with online submissions. 

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For taking care of your health

How to fix your sleep schedule

The mandatory midday break

How to deal with study burnout

For when you can’t seem to get anything done

Staying focused: tips for maintaining focus while studying

Getting stuff done: how to deal with lack of motivation

How to beat procrastination

For organizing all the stuff you have to do

Energy management: a human-based organization method

Flexible time-blocking: a more breathable way to get things done

The ABCDE method: accomplish tasks more efficiently

Set yourself achievable goals. Never try to fool yourself into thinking you will read 10 chapters every day, run at least 5 miles, clean the whole house and manage 1 huge assignment in 1 hour. This won’t work, you know that and you’re just fooling yourself. Be realistic. Read 1 chapter, but actually read it, not highlight every word there. Read it again, make a summary of it, close the book, explain the material to somebody else or just write it down in bullet points. Do a 20 minute work out. Clean your table. Write 500 words of that 2k essay (or write 100 words, or 50, hovewer much you can actually write)\

Take breaks frequently, but not longer than 20 minutes. I am a big fan of pomodoro technique when studying because it gives me a sense of a timeline that doesn’t allow to check on my phone, on my email- anything. Once you decide to ‘i’ll rest for a bit’ that bit turns out to be 5 hours on tumblr and bam - you’re not sleeping at night because your deadline is due.  Set a timer for yourself. 25 minutes of reading, 5 minutes break. After 3 cicles make a big 15 minutes break. After another 3 cicles take half an hour. Set yourself the exact amount of time  you will work, and the exact amount of time you will rest. 

Turn off your Tumblr/Twitter/Youtube. No explanation necessary

Understand what you’re reading. I can’t stress enough about this one, because in my 4 years of studying in med school i realized just how many people try to memorize exactly what is written instead of understanding the concept. Listen, your memory will fail you. You’re not a perfect database that can reach for any data file that you need any time. People forget  things, this is how our brains operate.  Logic will never fail you. This is so important to understand to all of you in medicine, that if you understand the basic you can always draw conclusions from that. For example, it is no problem for me to answer the question like ‘Clinical manifestation of pneumonia’ because i understand the pathogenesis, and just draw logical conclusion. This is what clinical thinking is based upon, basically

1. Take a clipboard to school. You have to be prepared to do homework ANYWHERE at ANYTIME. Carry it in your hand with some paper and your homework clipped onto it and get work done whenever you can. Don’t keep the clipboard in your bag.

2. USE YOUR PLANNER EVERY DAY. Keeping track of assignments and important dates helps clear your mind. You don’t have to worry about remembering everything because all of it is written down. If you have a lot going on at once, start a bullet journal. If you can, divide your planner into sections based on different activities. For example, my bullet journal has 4 major sections: school work, extracurricular activities, community service, and general life issues. This creates order in the midst of chaos and also enforces the idea of taking everything one thing at a time. Your planner shouldn’t overwhelm you.

3. Get the biggest calendar you can find and hang it on the wall. The purpose of the calendar is to allow you to establish a general time frame for everything you need to do. PLAN AHEAD. Make sure EVERYTHING is on that calendar. Being overwhelmed by your planner is bad because it leads to a stressful day; your calendar takes on the role of allowing you to see the big picture. Having everything written down on a calendar creates a sense of urgency that’ll decrease the likelihood or duration of procrastination.

4. If you’re taking multiple AP classes, dedicate at least one day of the week to each subject. I had 7 AP’s so I studied a different subject each day. For example, every Monday was Macroeconomics day. I took my econ review book to school on Mondays and studied whenever I had some extra time. Start doing this 3 or 4 months before the exams in May to avoid cramming and excessive stress.

5. Sleep whenever you can but avoid sleeping on the way home from school. If you enter your home feeling sleepy the bed is going to be extra enticing.

6. If you NEED to pull an all-nighter (try to avoid them), drink a cup of straight up black coffee (no sugar) and take a 20 minute nap. It takes some time for the caffeine to kick in so you might as well get some sleep. You’ll eventually get used to the bitterness.

7. Sometimes you need to skip school but don’t skip unless you absolutely have to. If you do, you better not sleep in! Wake up normally and get to work ASAP. Do the makeup work and turn it in the next day, even if you don’t have to.

8. Study smarter, not harder. Figure out which study methods work for you. Note-taking is time-consuming so try to find alternatives. You don’t have to make everything aesthetically pleasing to post it on tumblr. In fact, if you’re compelled to take pretty notes just to post it on tumblr, LEAVE NOW. DO NOT WASTE TIME.

9. Do homework for the learning experience instead of the grade. Don’t copy work from your friends. If you use homework as a study resource, you won’t have to worry about long review sessions before a test. I have never studied for a Spanish test but the lowest score I’ve ever gotten on one is a 93. How? I did my homework.  

10. STOP TRYING TO BE PERFECT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. Perfection = waste of time. Don’t spend 10 hours writing an essay if you know you can get the same grade by only spending 2. I used to believe that the most important thing was being proud of everything you put your name on but none of that matters when you haven’t slept in 48 hours.

11. Complete the difficult tasks first. One of the many reasons people procrastinate is to avoid difficult tasks. If you save the hardest assignment for last, you’re more vulnerable to wasting time.

12. This one is very bad because it involves lying but it saved my grade a couple of times: ALWAYS turn in your homework. Why? Rarely missing an assignment gives you a good reputation and teachers tend to trust hardworking students. If you ever forget to do an assignment and you’re known to be a good student, your teacher is more likely to believe your excuse. Or, if you really left it at home, he/she/they might give you an extra day.

13. GOOGLE DRIVE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND. Can’t turn in your essay because you told yourself you’d print it in the morning and forgot? No worries! It’s in google drive! Need a past assignment for reference but have the copy at home? No worries! It’s in google drive!

14. Your study space significantly impacts productivity. Organize your room/space to maximize concentration/productivity.

how to be a more productive person☀️

review your goals: if you want to be more productive, the first thing is that you have to know what you’re working towards!

if you don’t have them written down, make sure to put them down in a safe space (one that you can come back to and review) such as your planner, bullet journal, phone, or more. and it can be helpful to write them down on sticky notes and place them around places you frequent like your mirror, locker, or door. 

if you’re just coming up with some goals, don’t make too many or else you won’t accomplish anything. focusing on one or two at a time will give you less stress. it might be helpful to make monthly or twelve week goals.

break those goals into actionable steps: even with just one goal, you might feel super intimidated to get things done. so make a list with all of the teeny tiny things you can do that will slowly help you reach your goal. 

prioritize: make time for the things that are important to you and cut out the things that are a waste of time (social media, television, and anything that isn’t getting you where you want to be). 

don’t wait for motivation: it’s so much more important to have discipline than motivation. while motivation doesn’t come up all the time, discipline makes you so that you’re trained to get up regardless of how unmotivated you are. 

just get up and do something so that there are no zero days! sometimes i like to remind myself of the 1 percent rule (by james clear): “making a choice that is 1 percent better or 1 percent worse seems insignificant in the moment,  but over the span of moments that make up a lifetime these choices determine the difference between who you are and who you could be”. 

in your everyday to-do list, be specific: instead of saying “study”, say “study chemistry notes for one hour after i eat dinner”. this gets rid of any indecisions you might have, so you’ll know exactly what you’re doing and when.

take breaks: in between your work, schedule in some breaks for ten to fifteen minutes to avoid burnout. here are some ideas:

read a book

go outside for a walk/run

put on a face mask

clean your room

get a healthy snack

drink some water

journal 

06.08.19

Practice mindfulness! This will increase your motivation and help to decrease your stress.

Create a to-do list every day, aim to get 2-3 big tasks done a day to remain productive.

Remove all distractions when trying to work. Remove phones, laptops, tv, children/siblings, etc, from the room you are studying in (unless you genuinely need them to study).

STOP MULTITASKING! Studies have shown that you actually waste time by switching between tasks (a loss of up to 40% of your time). Multitasking is also linked to poor mental health. Take your time on one task at a time and get them done quicker and more efficiently.

Have a de-stress day at least 1-2 times a week. This will ensure you aren’t stressing yourself out and giving yourself student burnout. It will also help you with motivation and efficiency when studying.

Keep a diary! Keeping your time organised, eliminates unnecessary stress and helps you to get things done.

Keep your study area clean. Less physical clutter translates to less mental clutter.

Study every day. This will ensure continuous learning and solidifying information in your brain (if you’re studying correctly in the first place).

Figure out your learning style. There are so many learning styles. Figuring out yours will help you study more efficiently and learn concepts faster. I am more of a visual learner, so I really benefit from diagrams and visually interesting videos.

Don’t forget to take breaks. I try to enforce 3 hours of solid study time a day, broken up by 5-10 minute breaks, every 20-30 minutes. Breaks give your brain time to absorb new knowledge, as well as to relax and not get too worn out.

No last-minute study! Give yourself time to learn and actually understand concepts. Last-minute study just leads to stress and can also cause you to forget previously learned information.

Flow charts and diagrams are a lifesaver! When done correctly they can help solidify information, make connections between topics, and perfectly summarise your content.

Try teaching others. Learning from teaching is so helpful, it solidifies information in your brain, whilst also helping others.

These are just some study tips that help me. There are a lot more to add but these are just the main ones I live by lol! Feel free to add your own in the comments or when reblogging. 

have 3 achievable goals a day: having a laundry list of things to do everyday is super unrealistic, and you just end up feeling bad about yourself because you didn’t accomplish your goals for the day.

leave your sundays open: i love sundays because they’re my day to chill out and catch up on school work that i wasn’t able to finish during the week.

recognize when you’re at your emotional limits: forcing yourself to get work done when you are unable to comprehend your study material does not benefit anyone.

learn how to say no: people will ask you for your time and it will stretch you to the limit, whether it be at your job, in your extracurriculars, or in your personal life. know when to step back and say no.

take care of yourself physically: take breaks, go for walks, shower regularly, get enough sleep, eat healthy, see your friends

celebrate your accomplishments: go out to eat with friends after a big exam, indulge in a night off after a busy week with some netflix and wine

make a study plan beforehand: it can be daunting to see how much work you need to put in to a class or task beforehand, but this allows you to spread your work evenly so you don’t become overwhelmed.

learn how to ask for help: it is very rare that people make it through school, whether it be high school or university or any graduate program, without needing the advice of others or just a kind soul to vent to. find that person.

never forget your hobbies: you will need things that keep you sane. if you love to play music, write, play volleyball, or cook, make you sure you don’t lose these things. they will become your escape when times get tough.

You are important in someone’s life.

There is always someone who needs your hugs.

This too will pass.

I am guilty of many mistakes while creating my own schedule. Over time I learnt how to organise my days correctly and today I will share some scheduling tips with you:

Try not to schedule your day unless it’s necessary

I like to keep 3 to-dos for a day. Not less and not more. For three tasks I don’t need to structure my time. 

If you do need to schedule often, make sure to have days where you can do whatever you feel like doing without having to follow a strict plan.

Be realistic with how much time you need for a task

If you give yourself too little time you will get behind on schedule and it will stress you out. At that point your organising will do the oposite of what it’s supposed to.

If you give yourself too much time you will end up procrastinating and slacking off, plus you won’t get done all the things you need.

Figure out how much time you need for regular things (15 minutes for stretching, 30 minutes for dinner etc.) and do your best to guess how much time you’ll need for things you usually don’t do (2 hours to write an essay…)

Give yourself time to be lazy

You will spend at least 5 minutes before every new tasks just being lost

Schedule in breaks that are long enough for you to actually rest

10 minutes is the minimum

Lists are sometimes better than setting specific times to start a task and end a task

Scheduling by time is often necessary but in days that are busy but not time restricted, try to avoid dividing things by time. Simply make a list of things to do in the order in which you want to do them.

Don’t schedule by the minute

If you need to know specific times, avoid making it too specific (like 12:30-12:35 think of new posts)

Put some fun activity into it

If your plan is all work and no fun all day, you won’t be able to stick to it or you’ll seriously exhaust yourself. Schedule in some netflix or something creative like drawing or writing.

summer:

invest in a book of short stories for each language you’re studying, and keep the book(s) on your bedside table. take advantage of the free time while out of school to get in the habit of reading through the short stories whenever you can. just a few minutes of reading the short stories every day will immensely improve your foreign language skills and keep you from forgetting the vocab & grammar over summer break

acquire a list of the books you’ll be reading for school in the fall and start reading them. to get the list of books, try asking someone who’s already taken the class, your future teachers, or a school counselor. reading the books ahead of time will not only put you ahead of the rest of your class by giving you time to work through the material in advance; it will also significantly lessen your workload during the school year.

this applies to the school year as well, but especially when you’re reading books in advance, keep a journal and pen at hand every time you read. write down the major plot points of the section you’re reading, what you like/agree with, what you dislike/disagree with, and one or two quotes that summarize the main themes of the section (make sure you include page numbers!!!!). when school starts & you’re assigned an essay on that book, you’ll already have the main points of the book laid out, and lots of great quotes—with page references!—to use in your essay.

two weeks before school starts:

take a look at your syllabus and get started on your first assignments. if you start now, you can stay at least one week ahead on all of your assignments throughout the year. this is a HUGE lifesaver when something comes up unexpectedly during the school year—like getting sick or having to go out of town for a few days at the last minute—and you don’t have time to get homework done, because if you’ve done it in advance then you won’t have to worry about falling behind.

get a planner app for your phone. i like egenda, but you can use any app where you input homework assignments in advance and it alerts you at various intervals of time before they’re due. it’s impossible to get a good grade on an assignment if you forget to turn it in on time, so just alleviate that issue altogether.

throughout the school year:

take notes. have a notebook open in every class, and write down all important names, dates, quotes, formulas, and theorems. write the current date at the top of each page, and have a separate notebook for each subject. if a teacher repeats something more than once in a class, underline it, because those are the things that appear on midterms and finals.

help yourself memorize things by writing essays about them. even if you’re not assigned an essay about a topic, try to write/type two or three paragraphs every week to summarize what you’re learning in a class. writing things in your own words is one of the best ways to remember them, and it will also help you to improve your writing skills. additionally, this should be applied to all subjects, not just literature or history (because even if you’re studying a STEM field and writing isn’t a huge part of the curriculum, you should still have the ability to write about STEM concepts in a way that is understandable and engaging).

befriend the smartest person in the class. figure out who always has the right answers and make yourself their ally. be a good friend to them, and then when you’re struggling with a concept, they will either explain it to you or—if they don’t know what the explanation is yet—they’ll help you search for it.

take advantage of indexes. almost all books have one, and they can be lifesavers if you don’t know the answer to a question. especially in history class, when there are a bunch of names that are super difficult to memorize. i know this is a pretty basic tip (if you can even call it a tip), but i’ve had a lot of friends completely forget about indexes, so this is just a brief reminder. :)

participate in class. this might sound super obvious, but you cannot retain information without discussing it! if you’re like me and participating in class sucks because of social anxiety, try to force yourself out of your comfort zone & remember that you are your own worst critic, but it’s also okay just to discuss things with a close friend or family member instead. the important thing is that you’re repeating what you’ve learned out loud and practicing explaining it to someone else, which will really help you to grasp the concepts.

three weeks before midterms/finals:

now is when all of your notes come in handy. go back through the notes for each class and study them, particularly the parts you’ve underlined. you shouldn’t try to memorize the pages, but you should study them enough that—by finals week—you could summarize the contents if someone asked you pointed questions about them. this is also when it becomes extra helpful to be friends with the smartest person in the class, because they will be an excellent study buddy. just make sure that you reciprocate if you ask them to help you study.

fill in any gaps in your notes by talking to your teachers and attending all of the office hours that you can. many teachers will give you a study guide if you ask for one, and you can literally go through and fill it in with info from your notes. remember, most of your teachers really do want you to do well, and they’ll try their best to help you achieve the best scores possible.

if any of your quizzes are open book, ask your teacher if you can put completely blank sticky notes on pages. bookmark the pages that have important events, quotes, facts, etc., and then if you forget something on a test you can refer to the book & it will be much easier to find the information. personally, the only open book finals i’ve had are the kind where you just write three 1000 word essays in 3 hours, but we are required to have at least 5 quotes in each essay, so if that’s the case for any of you guys then this tip is super helpful for bookmarking those quotes as well.

while taking a final/midterm:

read through the whole test first. figure out how long it is, how much time you have, and how many points each question is worth. if you’re worried about running out of time, start by doing the problems that are worth more points, and then out of whatever’s left do the ones that look easiest first. this will guarantee that you make the best use of your time & get the highest grade possible

🌸 you matter. even if you don’t think you’ve done anything of value, you have. you have value and worth. you always will. not when you get your shit together, not two years ago - always.

🌹 please take care of yourself. take your meds, drink some water, eat something. i know this is all over tumblr, but your body needs those things to function. eating and drinking and your meds will improve your mood and help you stay afloat.

🌼 be proud of yourself. you’ve made it so far! you’ve survived every bad day you’ve evr had. you’re so strong. you can do this. keep going. you’re a force to be reckoned with.

🌻 you’re beautiful. yes, you. don’t say “oh, this doesn’t apply to me.” because it does! you’re beautiful and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

🌷your friends do care about you. mental illnesses are just mean. they love you, even if your brain tells you different.

For all the procrastinators out there, here’s a list of tips that a fellow procrastinator has found very useful through the years to get her actually doing stuff.

Start studying from day one

I know you’ve heard this a million times, but seriously, before the panic of “I can’t possibly catch up with all of this’ kicks in. Once this happens, you won’t even want to try so you’ll just procrastinate even more. I know it seems overkill to study on the first day, but think of it this way, you’ve covered almost no material and it will take you no time. Also, it only takes 30 days to form a habit, I promise you revising every day becomes second nature after a while.

But I’m already in the middle of my academic year and I can’t possibly catch up!

I’ve heard that excuse a thousand times, from myself that is. So you can’t catch up? Well, don’t. If it’s a class where you don’t need to know the previous material to understand what you’re learning about right now, take it from that point and keep up with it. You can catch up on the previous stuff little by little when you have free time.

But it’s a cumulative class and I need to know the previous material to understand what the heck my profesor is talking about! 

Watch some youtube videos on the material or go to Khanacademy. You just need to grasp the basics, you can perfect your knowledge on those topics later on, if you have time.

I just can’t get myself to open the book 

First, what is it you need to do TODAY? Let’s say you need to study a unit that has x pages and you have three days ro study it. Today you will study x/3 pages. You get it, don’t just study aimlessly, give yourself a finish point. Then write down what you want to accomplish (it’s incredibly satisfying to cross things out) but don’t write more than 5 tasks (unless they’re really small ones) per day.

Now is when you find that you don’t actually want to do any of the things on that list, so what do you want to do NOW? Do you want to watch a youtube video? Read a book? Pee? What were you planning to do to procrastinate? Well you can still do it. That is, once you study a page (or x pages, whatever you feel up to). This can be repeated until you hit that finish point you stablished earlier. You can also add extra weekly rewards like ‘If I do all my studying this week, I can do x or I can buy y’ (think small stuff, x can be calling a friend to hang out and y can be a color pen). But remember, just as important as getting that reward if you do your work is NOT getting the reward if you DON’T do the work. I don’t mean like don’t indulge if you haven’t finished one or two tasks, but, if you’ve been slacking all week yet you get the reward anyway, what your brain understands “It’s ok, I don’t actually need to work”.

I just want to lie on my bed for a bit

Yes, studying on your bed is awful and you should avoid it. But you know what’s worse than studying on your bed? Not studying at all. If you’re like me and sometimes you just randomly get these urges in the middle of the afternoom to lie on your bed ‘for a bit’ and then you fall asleep, bring your study materials to your bed. DON’T lie down, just get into a slightly reclined sitting possition. I find that this kind of tricks your brain into thinking that you’re resting but you can still get work done.

I have to write a paper, not study

I was planning on telling you that I have literally no tips for writing papers and lab reports (these in particular are the bane of my existence, I literally feel such hostility towards them that I will refuse to even look at the document I’m sure it has nothing to do with being a failed writer) BUT luckily I’ve found something that kind of works. So, forget about your paper for a minute, open a text document, and just WRITE. You can literally write about whatever - your day, how adorable your pet is, or a random story that makes no sense whatsoever. Force yourself to write for about three minutes. Now look back at your paper. I find that once I’ve started writing, I am a lot more willing to keep doing it, even if it’s not about the same topic. This may not work for some people though. Also, write a SUPER rough outline or just bullet points of what you want to say like “Then we add HCl. Later decantation. Test for acid pH. Finally filter and evaporate”. Expanding on something is much easier than writing it from scratch.

Clean you desk the night before

I promise having a clean space to put your books on will motivate you the next day.

And finally, a little tip from a recent experience - YOU’RE GOING TO WISH YOU HAD DONE MORE 

Personally, every time “I can just cram for this” even crosses my mind, I remind myself of how stupid I felt last semester when it came to finals and how badly I wanted to go back in time and beat past me to a pulp. But also, I remind myself of how thankful I was to past me for every little thing that she HAD studied because it was one less thing to worry about. So, when you want to slack off, think of your future self thanking you for not doing so.

So, with this advice in mind, go hit your books right now and start becoming a better version of yourself!

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