always thinking

headphones

portable charger

I’m not saying you’re lazy but you’re human and you wear out quickly.

1. Take good notes the first time around. I see some people say rewriting them is a good way to memorize but let’s be honest, you’re not going to do that. Instead bite the bullet and do what you can the first time so you can read them later. It’s also just more time efficient. And don’t ask other people for notes, they’re not you and notes need to be personal to be effective. So don’t skip class too much.

2. You don’t need 100 different highlighters to be successful (but you can if you want). The key is keeping it succinct. Write down what your teacher says and find it later in the book. Read those passages a couple of times in your head and out loud to yourself to commit the info to memory. Honestly just highlight the key words so that when you see it on the test, the info connected to it floods back.

3. Use your phone to organize your shit. You always have it with you. God knows you ain’t gonna buy multi colored sticky notes and a $30 planner. And you might forget your textbooks and planner but not your phone.

4. Make a reasonable to do list you KNOW deep in your soul you can commit to. It’s a better motivator to see stuff get done than to see stuff not get done.

5. Try to get stuff done before noon. That’s my best advice. Early rise and early done makes you feel accomplished even if all you’ve done is read a few pages. This is probably the best time management advice I ever received in my life.

6. Don’t cram but if you have to get up and walk around to keep yourself energized.

- Mark Twain

This is honestly my favorite quote. It’s changed how I look at life and religion.

how to start studying after school

clean up your desk: it’s hard to concentrate when there’s a pile of rubbish on your desk. the chance of you fiddling with things is also higher! you’ll get more done by cleaning your desk! if you’re looking for an easy way to organise your desk, check out these handy organisers!

get your books: get out all the books you need to study that particular subject. if it’s geography, an atlas might be handy.

get a notebook: if you’re in uni or college it’s a good idea to re-write all your notes for your classes that day. make them look clean and tidy. if you’re in secondary school and you’re studying for a test, summarize everything you have learned. in any case, it’s best to have a few notebooks on your desk too. here’s a 4 pack of spiral notebooks for $7.04!

grab some pens: seems self explanatory! i recommend you having an ordinary pen, a highlighter and a pencil on hand. (a.k.a. the basics!) here are some super cute gel pens!

turn off your phone: by turning off your phone, you will get less distracted by social media. sure, people won’t be able to reach you but you’ll get some peace and quiet. obviously leave it on if you’re expecting an important call!

look for a study playlist: if you easily get distracted by your laptop too, skip this step. i personally find it harder to get distracted by my laptop than my phone, so i leave it on and look for some music to study to. here’s a masterpost of some good playlists to listen to!

get a glass of water: you really need your h2o, everyone. grab a large glass or fill up a water bottle. some super cute ones: i ii iii

get a healthy snack: if you’re like me and you love snacking on things while your studying, the best thing to do is to grab something healthy. cut up some apples and sprinkle some cinnamon on them (try it. it’s amazing.), grab some hummus and some celery or carrots or cucumber to dip in it, fill a little bowl with nuts, treat yourself to a square of dark chocolate! if you’re studying during dinner time or lunch time, make yourself a nourishment bowl to nibble on. for more study snack ideas, go to pinterest and snoop around the study snack tag for a while. try out my favourite smoothie bowl too!

take a deep breath: i know from personal experience that sometimes the workload can be really scary and freak you out. the most important thing to do is to take a deep breath and to tell yourself you can get through all your work. you can do anything if you try hard enough!