per aspera ad astra

⫸ get a pen and some paper to write notes! you’re going to want to keep track of all the important information

⫸ first, read the abstract to get a better idea of what the article is about

⫸ find the context of the introduction, and write down some main ideas even if they seem obvious.

⫸ if you have no time, go straight to the conclusion. if you want to further understand the “why” and “how” of everything, though, leaf through the whole article, making sure to pick out specific steps in their process.

⫸ the conclusion - this should sum up everything in the article. this is a good place to test your understanding of the article - if you don’t understand something in the conclusion, most likely you mixed something up in the body. try to reread sections that you don’t fully understand!

⫸ speed reading is useful, just so long as you take care not to mix up information or skip the very important parts. you should still take notes if you speed read!

⫸ read the first few sentences from each main and sub heading - it’ll further your general understanding of the document

⫸ to go a bit further, take notes on the limitations of the data, as well as the implications - this goes along with thinking of the data in real world situations!

☎ have confidence in what you’re saying by memorizing (or at least heavily familiarizing) your lines/ speech

☎ wear something that you feel good in! even if it’s not traditionally professional, wear something that’ll give you the confidence to fully speak out

☎ tell yourself that you can do it, because you can!

☎ remember, no one’s going to remember your speech in a month or so! even if you get embarrassed at some point, keep moving on and remember the past is in the past

☎ pick someone you know in the crowd and focus on them! talk as if you’re just having a normal conversation with them, instead of standing up in front of a bunch of people

☎ look calm! even if you’re internally sweating and cursing yourself, just play it cool on the outside. this seems weird, but it works! sometimes we just have to remember that people can’t tell what we’re thinking

☎ most likely, the audience won’t know what your speech actually says, so if you make a mistake, they won't know! 

☎ lastly, practice makes practically perfect! if you keep repeating the speech, you will get it eventually. just keep working on it!

✿ flash cards - write a question/ vocab word on one side of an index card, and the answer on the other side. then, go back and try to answer the cards without seeing the answer. you can go further to then divide the cards into 2 piles: ones you did know and ones you didn’t know - review until you know them all!

✿ margins - this is pretty similar to Cornell Notes! when writing notes in class, write down in the margins any questions or thoughts you have about a piece of information. go back later and make sure all your questions are answered!

✿ graphic organizers - take all your info and basically turn it into a pretty cheatsheet. this can be done with mind maps, venn diagrams , or many other types I don’t know the name of.

✿ teach - this is called the protege effect! basically, if you can fully explain a concept to someone else, it means you also understand it better! this helps for  a lot of auditory learners who have to talk through concepts to understand them, but also for literally anyone. 

✿ pomodoro technique - study for 25 minutes, rest for 5 minutes, and every 4th round take a 25 minute break, this really helps to improve focus!

✿ write - write down everything you know, without looking at your notes. then, fill in the blanks of what you don’t know! repeat this process until you have all the info memorized

✿ listen - listen to TED Talks, lectures, really anything you can find on your study topic! take notes while you’re listening, and maybe make a diagram or flashcards out of what you hear

✿ talk - talk it out with your friends, your parents, your stuffed animal, anything! just talk it out and work through all the kinks in your information

      remember, use what study method works for you! even if your best friend can breeze by without studying, know that it doesn’t mean you’re dumb if you have to study. in fact, it creates a work ethic that will stick with you for the rest of your life! :)

Hi!

I’d start with getting your school supplies. Most times, getting aesthetically pleasing school supplies motivates me to actually study. When buying things, I like to color code by class:ex.  my french notebook, folder, and anything I highlight in french class is always yellow! Doing this makes the inside of my bag a pretty rainbow and has the added bonus of organization.

Taking online classes is something I lover to do in my free time. Here are some helpful sites!

khanacademy.org

coursera.com

ocw.mit.edu

codeacademy.com

Lastly, reading is a m a z i n g. Even if you were out of school completely I’d recommend reading every single day.The library is your best friend! My local librarians know me by name, and they also know I tend to take out 10-40 books at a time. This is one of the best things because it keeps your mind sharp, and you just feel smarter, even if you never read a single nonfiction book. I have a reading list challenge here for you to check out!

Also, here are a Bunch of other guides made by other people! These are all summer productivity related :)

https://constellationstudies.tumblr.com/post/161696375505/summer-has-unofficially-begun-here-are-some

https://studynostalgic.tumblr.com/post/161479543223

https://daisystudies.tumblr.com/post/186631531320/summer-productivity-1-prepare-your-class

https://studycation.tumblr.com/post/185692047757/productivity-can-mean-different-things-summer

https://fuzzyhoodies.tumblr.com/post/163177628419/ways-to-stay-productive-in-summer

☕️ go to your study space! this can be your room, the library, anywhere you feel comfortable studying. my one suggestion for this is to not study on your bed - this can lead to sleep and focusing problems!

☕️ grab your favorite study snack/ drink - mine is a big glass of coffee and some cucumber slices

☕️ gather all your materials before you sit down to study 

☕️ color code your to do list in terms of when everything is due- something due tomorrow may be color coded in red, things due in a couple of weeks you can color code to be blue, etc.

☕️ for every task, fill out a specific to do list for everything you have to do 

☕️ set goals for yourself! for example, if you finish one project, let yourself scroll through tumblr for a strict 5 minutes - make sure not to get distracted and sucked down a whirlpool of cute animal photos!

♫  get a notepad or notetaking app and record every thought you have

♫  make lists of your ideas

♫  write down how you got your ideas - when you got them, what you were doing, etc.

♫  challenge yourself to write down  a new idea every day for a week

♫  create something that embarrasses you

♫ watch/ listen to something from (at least) 30 years ago

♫  pick a random theme, topic, or word, and write all you can about that for 2 minutes

♫  try to write from another perspective

♫  ask other people what  they think about your ideas

♫  cross out everything and start from the beginning

♫  write 7 solutions to a problem - they don’t have to be good!

♫  identify what’s blocking your creativity - stress? too many things on your mind?

♫  if you have a daily routine, switch things up for a day

♫  create something in your least favorite genre or style

♫  take a break

♫  create templates of your work that you’re proudest of

♫  create a playlist similar to the feeling you want to create

♫  clean your work space

♫  work outside

♫  merge your past ideas into one frankenidea 

♫ drink your favorite drink and eat your favorite food

♫  stay up late to work on your project

♫ create strict regulations 

♫  get rid of restrictions and rules

♫  work with a partner

♫  create things that no one else will look at

♫  take a day for no electronics

♫  spend a long time alone

♫  don’t edit or critique your work until you’re absolutely done

♫  stop aiming for perfection

♫  record your dreams

♫  go somewhere you’ve never been before

♫  talk to creative people

♫  write down why you want to be creative 

♫  learn something new daily

♫  ask yourself what your end goal is 

Language journals are often used by language learners to keep track of their progress, and as a way to constantly practice! They’re super helpful so you can know what words you need to learn and what words you already know.

As for the journal itself, a small regular notebook will do fine. Honestly, it’s what you prefer to write in. A fancier book might motivate you more, so you may want to buy a moleskin or something a little pricier. You can also buy an inexpensive notebook and decorate it how you like! Also, a big thing now is to have a journal online. Create a giant Word document, or create a separate folder on your computer’s hard drive. Apps like Bear and Notebook work great as journals. Because I’m learning French, I may put French quotes on the cover, if I was learning Greek I may put my favorite Greek God, and so on.

The cover is also a great place to put your language learning goals! For instance, your cover could say “100 Days of French”, if your goal is to to consistently practice French for 100 days.

As for what to put inside the journal, here’s a huge list of ideas! 

【Ｗｈｅｎ　Ａｎｄ　Ｗｈｙ　Ｔｏ　Ｔａｋｅ　

                                                                             Ａ　Ｓｔｕｄｙ　Ｂｒｅａｋ】

click here!  from @samsstudygram

also here! from @helnastudies

【Ｗｈａｔ　Ｔｏ　Ｄｏ　Ｏｎ　Ａ　Ｓｔｕｄｙ　Ｂｒｅａｋ】 

right here! from @marybstudies

here! from @eccstudies

here! from @j0study

here! from @studynostalgic

here! from @studyin-dancin

here! from @kimminstudying

last one, here! from @joolshallie

【Ｓｔｕｄｙ　Ｂｒｅａｋ　Ｓｎａｃｋｓ】 here, probably from @gentlysoft

again, right here from @parisgellerstudy

heeeeere! from @tbhstudying

here? yeah, sure, why not from @nellafromhealthysnax

lastly!! from @awesome-health-tips

Here are      new types of books to read! 

➼ Read a book over 500 Pages, such as The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or Crime and Punisment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

➼ Read a classic romance, such as Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin or Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

➼ Read a book published this year, such as Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson or The Binding by Bridget Collins 

➼ Read a book with a number in the title, such as  I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore or The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

➼ Read a book of short stories, such as Tenth of December by George Saunders or The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

➼ Read a nonfiction book, such as The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman or Enchantments by Mya Spalter

➼ Read a Pulitzer prize winning book, such as The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt or Less by Andrew Sean Greer

➼ Read a memior, such as I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou or Guts by Raina Telgemeyer 

➼ Read a book with a color in the title, such as The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne or The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

➼ Read a play, such as Hamlet by Shakespeare or The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

➼ Read a book set in your hometown, no suggestions here but go out into the world wide web and find a book! 

➼ Put your alarm clock on the other side of your room - Instead of being able to just roll over and hit that Snooze button, this makes you get out of bed to stop the blaring noise! Once you’re out of bed, stay out of your bed and see below for what to do next!

➼ Drink cold water or green tea - Or something else of an extreme temperature. While these two work best, anything that’s capable of burning your mouth tends to work to keep you awake.

➼ Create a morning routine - Create goals for yourself! Do you want to get that last bit of studying in, or go for a run? Or realistically, is there a nice piece of cake you want to eat before your family/ roommate/ cat can judge you? Set a plan to do that in the morning and will yourself to achieve these goals - i.e. create a reason for getting out of bed.

➼ Don’t drink caffeine before bed - This one seems obvious, but it’s hard to balance exhaustion and responsibilities. Yes, sometimes you need a pick-me-up cup of coffee to wake you up at 3pm, and that’s alright! Just don’t make a habit of it.

➼ Keep a sleep schedule log - Holding yourself accountable for your sleep may just do the trick! Whether it be an app, or in your bullet journal, log daily how much sleep you’re getting and compete with yourself to get more sleep. 

➼ Keep your room temperature in between 54 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (12 to 24 degrees Celcius). This helps regulate your natural body temperature and provides a comfier sleeping atmosphere. If you like things a bit cooler, make sure to have lots of blankets! 

➼ Lastly, no electronics before bed - This one is a tough one, but maybe the most important. Because the blue light of an electronic screen is meant to mirror daylight, it sets off hormones in your brain to stay awake. You don’t have to quit using your phone after 12pm, but stay aware of when you want to sleep and try to put your phone down an hour to three hours before bedtine,

These are basic graphs for AP Physics 1. From top to bottom, the order is: distance/ time, velocity/ time, and acceleration/ time. From left to right, the graphs show stationary, uniform motion, then uniform acceleration.

Here are some tips I can’t show through a graph!

d/t

➼ when the graph curves, it means there’s non uniform speed/ velocity

➼ a negative gradient in a graph means there’s uniform velocity in the opposite direction

➼ a positive gradient in a graph means uniform speed/ velocity

v/t

➼ when the graph curves, it means there is a change in acceleration

➼ the area under the graph equals the displacement

a/t

➼the area under the graph equals a change in velocity

resource: pedersenscience.com

Do you have an empty notebook that just lies on your desk, intimidating you? Do you have the impulse to buy every aesthetically pleasing notebook you come across? Do you want a new hobby?

I myself am not ashamed to say I said yes to all of these. So, I’ve compiled a list of ideas for your empty notebooks!

➼ Recipe collection - Are your grandma’s family recipes deliciously akin to Gordon Ramsey’s? Be anything but an idiot sandwich by putting them all in a notebook! Also good for afood experiment journal, i.e. how many eggs can you put in a souffle before it comes out sous - bon? Record your findings!

➼ Vacation planner - Pretty self explanatory. You don’t need to actually be going on a trip to start one of these! I have several of trips to France, Egypt, and Greece, full of things I can’t afford right now. Mostly, they’re a motivation for me to get my studies done so one day I can go to these beautiful places.

➼ Bucket lists - Currently, my bucket lists includes learning how to wayfind (who doesn’t want to be Moana?), traveling (see vacation planner above), and getting a PhD! Yours can be separated by goal type such as adventure, travel, scholarly, etc.

➼ Budget lists - As a broke student, I don’t have much money. When I do have some, I like to keep track of it. Of course, there are cool apps for this, but sometimes having it handwritten makes the money feel more like yours.

➼ Book list - I always seem to buy brand new books, when I haven’t read the ones I have at home. In my defense... well, I have no defense, but they had pretty covers! Moving on, you can keep track of all the books you have to read, the books you want to buy, and the books you’ve stolen from your school library. I won’t judge!

➼ Social media planner - I have a notebook to plan all my tumblr posts. I’m not improvisationally eloquent, so to speak, so I have to write everything down including when I plan to make the posts.

➼ Quote collection - I love this idea so much! It’s one of my favorite things to keep a pretentious quote on hand from The Secret History so I can show all my friends how much I love Henry Winter.

➼ Astronomy journal - Does the Libra moon throw off your Capricorn rising sign? Write about the moon phases and how they reflect your mood! Also, you can note the different constellations in the sky during a specific season to get a better understanding of our beautiful world.

➼ Handwriting journal - This one I take straight from personal experience. My handwriting was atrocious until 8th grade, when I started to want aesthetically pleasing notes. I used all types of pens, pencils, and brush pens in this book. Over time, my handwriting actually improved! Although it took a good 3 months to see a difference, slow progress is still progress. This can be accompanied by lots of calligraphy youtube videos and your teachers marking your test wrong because they can’t read your handwriting.

➼ Using a planner - I’ve used a planner since freshman year, and it is probably the sole reason I got my homework done on time. Some people like to make their own bullet journals and customize everything they can, and I’d recommend starting with a leuchtturm1917 dotted notebook, which you can find on amazon  here. I prefer just to buy a pre-made planner with dates and such already in it. I bought mine from staples for $40.00, and it comes equipped with stickers and a folder, something like this. If you want a less expensive option, small planners can be sold upwards of $3.00, like this one.

➼ Drinking more water - Yes, everyone says this, but it’s truly a good tip! I suffer from chronic migraines, and drinking 112 oz. of water a day helped them to go away. Even if you’re as fit as a fiddle, drinking water is a good habit to get into because you can’t get involved in trivial school drama if you’re peeing five times a day! 😂 A good app to keep track of this is Plant Nanny, in which you keep your anthropomorphic plant baby alive by logging your water intake. This is also something that can go in your planner/ bullet journal.

➼ Reading something new everyday - Learning is the key to, well, learning! Reading something outside of what you learn in school, even on weekends, is crucial to how your mind absorbs information. Your brain is another muscle, and you want the buffest brain out there.

➼ Give compliments out daily - This is something I wrote off a lot when I was younger. But, I started thinking about how I want my friends, family, and even strangers to treat me. I love getting random compliments! This also helped me make so many lasting friendships - I met my best friend when she walked up to me and complimented my shirt. Psychologically, the more you compliment someone, the more likely they are to want to be around you.