Ken

by a horrible procrastinator

scheduling:

keep things realistic. you may think you can read 200 pages of jane eyre in one night, and honestly, you could…but you won’t unless that essay that’s 30% of your grade is due, you know, tomorrow.

you know your habits better than anyone. try to work around what you know you’re going to do. can you read about 25 pages without getting totally bored/sidetracked? well, make yourself do that. it’s only 25 pages, right?

try to accomplish one thing every day. don’t ever let your day slip away from you without doing anything. even if that “one accomplishment” is making a stupid text post on tumblr or revising your notes or washing your sheets…just be productive!

this is especially important for those of you with mental illness! having a “zero day” can really plummet your mood or set you in an unproductive rut.

if you really feel like you need a day to just chill out, napping can count as your accomplishment

don’t push studying off! you’ve probably heard this one a million times, but seriously. don’t. you’re not going to retain 10 weeks worth of information with one study session…okay, maybe you can, but do you really want to?

the best, low-effort way of remembering information is to, at first, review it often. right after you learn the material, review it a couple times during the week. maybe re-write your notes that weekend. then, the next week, visit one or two times, just glazing over parts you don’t really remember well. then, maybe once every two weeks, etc…by the time you get to finals, you’ll be familiar with all the information! trust me, it works.

organize your to-do’s. personally, i make a huge to-do list for the entire week. then, i delegate different ‘levels’ of urgency to it (see below.) you can do this however you want, but i do it this way to help me visualize how lazy i can be and not pay for it…

i tend to organize it by these ‘categories’ / ‘urgent levels’

is there a quiz on the material due soon

how likely is there to be a pop quiz

what’s my grade in the class like / how badly do i need that ‘a’

does the homework/assignment need to be turned in

etc

actually doing it:

studyspo helps. okay, i know this is kind of obvious considering i’m a studyblr, but… you see that notebook you just bought? isn’t it fucking adorable? don’t you want to make some sweet, sweet note-love to it? you know you do.

don’t spend too much time setting up your work space or browsing tumblr. seriously. you know when you’re overstepping.

have some nice playlists. preferably with music you already know! if you don’t know the song already, chances are it’s just going to become a distraction.

8tracks is a great site for this! you can make your own mixes or take a listen to one of the many, many study / chill playlists available. again, take a listen to the track on your way to class or whatever before actually trying to study with it on.

instrumentals + classical + video game music are the standard

get organized. messy = stressy. seriously. organize your desk, organize your notes. even if it’s not really your style, at least try to keep things ‘in your personal order.’ try to pretend you have your shit together. you will be so much more productive & confident if you feel in control of your situation.

if you’re a perfectionist, you may want to disregard this. really. you don’t want to put ‘tidiness’ above productivity.

taking pictures of your awesome, super-nice work space is awesome motivation. give that illusion of productivity. become tumblr famous.

if you can afford it, matching stationary and cute shit like that is super awesome feeling. it makes studying aesthetically satisfying.

take care of yourself. brush your teeth, put on that nice-smelling lotion, drink water. eating healthy foods, getting some exercise, all that good shit people tell you to do…it really is important. it’s kind of hard to focus or remain motivated if you’re miserably bloated & haven’t showered in 3 days.

especially for my neurod or mentally ill followers!

i fucked up: 

repeat after me: IT’S OKAY. IT’S OKAY. we all fuck up. you’re allowed to fuck up. sometimes assignments don’t get done, sometimes we don’t do as well on tests as we’d like. it’s okay. you’re okay.

recovery. alright, so, now that we’ve accepted that we’re human beans who sometimes grow upside-down…

cuddle in a blanket, and write down what you think you did wrong. did you not study enough? do you need to go to your professors office hours? write down your ideas.

let your failure motivate you! you hit your lowest point, alright? now you can focus on doing better, even if it’s just a few points difference.

you can do some things wrong. you don’t need to get an A every single time. did you understand 50% of the material? well, that’s halfway there!

you’re not going to be perfect at everything. we all have growing pains.

11.5.17

( 0 7 . 0 6 . 1 7 ) 🎧 whenever, wherever - shakira

this morning i had an exam that kinda actually went well for once! bless that momentum bc i gotta go into super hardcore mode for molecular bio now.

17.02.17 // 4/100 days of productivity

003/100 days of productivity🌿

2017.01.11

good things happen when you realized that a bullet journal isn’t just for writing and keeping schedules, you can also use pictures from magazines to create collages to spruce up your spreads!!! revamped my spread from a while ago; collage inspired by nct 127′s limitless (rough version) music video. 

1. Not getting enough sleep. You absolutely need sleep. Yes, you might have a big test tomorrow, but chances are you’ll be unable to retain anything late at night after hours of studying anyways. You will most likely get more out of an entire night of sleep than those two extra hours of studying.

2. Unrealistic goals. Don’t make a to-do list you’re certain you won’t finish. Don’t schedule finishing three papers in one evening. Be realistic. Things usually take more time than we think. Looking at long lists of checkboxes unchecked isn’t exactly motivating.

3. Too much coffee. I love coffee. Most of you reading this probably love coffee. But always make sure not to don’t drink too much of it, and don’t drink coffee too late in the evening. If you’re not careful, it can screw up your circadian rhytm. This applies to anything with caffeine, not just coffee. Tea is usually not that bad, since many don’t have caffeine, and the ones who do have quite small amounts, but stay away from the energy drinks.

4. Working in bed. This is something I used to do A LOT, but you can see a significant improvement in the grades I got after being more strict with myself, forcing myself to sit by a desk instead. This is how those 2+ hour naps happen. Find other places you can study and be comfortable at the same time. Just avoid the bed if you want to be productive.

5. Tumblr. Yeah, so this is a bit ironic, considering this is posted on Tumblr, but: when starting a study session, close Tumblr. If you can’t stay off, download a website blocker.

6. Spending too much time planning. Let me explain this: If you spend half the time you have available planning your study session, and then the rest actually studying, you’re probably not all that productive, unless the excessive amount of planning truly makes you a lot more productive in your study session. Plan out your study time quickly, don’t spend too much time on it. You might feel productive, but the goal here is to study, so make sure you actually do.

7. Thinking “I’ll remember this, so I won’t write it down”. No. You will forget this at some point. WRITE IT DOWN. This applies to everything, not just studying and school. Make a note on your phone, in your journal, wherever. Just jot it down somewhere, you’ll be thankful you did.

8. Falling behind. This is not mighty specific, but it is important. Once you fall behind in one subject/class, you’ll most likely fall behind in at least one more. Do a little bit of work every day, and get things done right away (see the next paragraph), and you’ll avoid falling behind! Getting back on track is much harder than just keeping up throughout the year.

9. Not getting things done right away. Most important thing on this list. Received a set of maths practice problems today? Get it done today. Get it out of the way (but don’t rush through it), so you can continue with other things. On the day before it’s supposed to be done, you’ll be so glad you didn’t wait, avoiding an evening of stress trying to get it done.

10. Only writing down things written on the board/Powerpoint. Sure, the key points will usually be here, but the important details are those said out loud by the teacher/lecturer. I know it’s hard to write down things from the board/Powerpoint while also listening and taking notes from what they say, but I’d recommend focusing on taking notes from what they say. The things on the board/Powerpoint are probably key points you already know, or that you can read about in the textbook. The info said out loud might not be.

11. Being afraid to ask questions. If you have a question, ask the teacher/lecturer. Sure, there might be other ways to find the answer, but you’ll probably get a more straight-forward, clear answer from the teacher or lecturer. Also, ask right away, don’t wait. If there is something you don’t understand, going forward with the curriculum will be harder. This one might be hard for many, but try the best you can. If you are graded partially on activity in class or you ever need a reference, asking questions will make your teacher realise you are interested in the subject and learning.

In the end of this post, I’d like to remind all of you how much resources are put into your education. Your country is investing in your education and future. Appreciate the privilege of education. Realise that not everyone gets the opportunities you get, so make sure you’re not wasting them. Wow, this suddenly got very deep. But you know what I mean. 

005/100 days of productivity🌿

2017.01.19