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Sunday, 7 August 2016 7/100 Days of Productivity Using @cmpsbls study schedule printable to plan out my first semester at university!

Hi guys!! I’m super pumped for the new school year, so I decided to make school related posts.

So this is my first post for back to school 2016. 

I decided to do a general one before going in depth to specific classes/subjects.

Saving money:

make a list of all the supplies you have, and then a list of the things you will need to buy

before you buy anything, look for the best deals in various stores/websites. There are probably tons of back to school sales going on

bring your lunch to school instead of buying it on campus (I spent wayyyyyy too much money on food last year, not making the same mistake again!)

pay your bills on time so you don’t have to pay late fees

if you can, walk or use public transportation instead of driving your own car (bus/train passes are cheaper than gas for the whole month, and you’re also being environment friendly)

Textbooks

here is a masterpost with free textbook websites

if you can find the textbooks in pdf format, definitely use them because free 

if you happen to have a tablet or iPad, that’s perfect because you can read the textbook in it.

if you don’t have one, don’t worry! You’re probably only going to work with a few chapters anyway, so you can print them out recto verso and write on them during class

in case your professor actually says you’ll need the whole book, you can go to a photocopy shop to print it out. They usually charge a couple to a few cents for each page.

and of course, if what you pay for printing out the book is almost the same as buying it, it’s not worth printing it out

in that case, try to borrow/rent textbooks instead of buying them (note: if the price for renting a used book is really close to buying a new book, you might as well buy it so you don’t have to worry about writing/underlining)

Pens and pencils

Bic pens are quite cheap (I saw an 8 or 10 pack on the Target website for like a dollar) and they’re my favorite!

if you like wooden pencils, good for you because they’re cheap as hell

if you prefer mechanical pencils, there are tons you can get for all kinds of prices. I like the Uni-ball ones, and am currently using a Kokuyo one, but honestly you can’t really go wrong with any mechanical pencil

Other stationery

if you live in the US, or anywhere that has Target stores, you are in luck. 

go to the Target dollar tree/section and you will find the cutest stationery ever for sooooo cheap (yes, I’m extremely envious)

go to a dollar store or anything similar to that where you live, and you will surely find cheap stationery

AliExpress has incredibly cute stuff and, most importantly, cheap and with free shipping most of the time (obs.: check the little “free shipping” box, and select “price low to high”, to make your job easier)

Organization

We all love the idea of being organized, but how do we actually get there?

Desk

before starting the new school year, it’s very important to clean our study area (I will post a video about this soon, when I clean out mine)

take everything out and off your desk and clean it

clean each object before placing it on your desk again, so you don’t get it dirty after having just cleaned it

get organizers for your drawers: I use a flatware/silverware tray from IKEA, it cost me like 2,99$ and it’s great because it’s plastic, so you can just wash it in the sink

you can also make an organizer with little boxes you have lying around, or even with cardboard

use cups (any kind) for your most used pens and pencils, so they’re always on hand

use the organizers for storing all your stationery, such as post its, paper clips, washi and scotch tape, stickers, etc

if you want, maybe get a bulletin board where you can pin a calendar or anything you want to be visible (you don’t have to nail it to the wall, you can just set it on your desk so it stands!)

Before class

5 things to do every Sunday night post by a fellow studyblr

skim through the chapter you’ll be working on, so that you’re not hearing the material for the first time in class

if you have extra time, maybe you can even make a little summary of what you read

eat a good breakfast!!!! It’s very important because if you don’t eat well, you won’t be as focused and productive in class as you could be 

After class

store any papers you were given in class in your binder/folder

eat something when you get home if you’re gonna start studying, etc so your brain is “fed”

do your homework as soon as you can

some people work better after relaxing a little when they get home, and others work better if they do all their work right when they get home, and only relax later - figure out which method works best for you

if you have a planner/journal, get to planning and writing down any tasks you need to get done and, if possible, do them right away

Studying

There are tons of different methods out there, and I will soon make a post about different study methods. As for now, here are some posts on different methods:

how to study

how to do well on tests

tips to learn a new language

ENFP study methods

exam tips

how to study 

Time management

have a planner/bullet journal/a weekly or monthly calendar printed out where you can see exactly what you have to do each day + what is coming up

break everything down and organize what you have to do into tasks

avoid procrastination with all of your strength

here’s a post about it

this post introduces an app that organizes your time for you

in case you have multiple activities, such as work or a sport, you will want to make your study sessions more productive to save time, so use the Pomodoro method when studying, and eat some good snacks while you’re at it (post coming soon *wink wink*)

What to keep in your locker aka first aid kit

deodorant (trust me it’ll come in handy)

gum (very important)

band-aids

pads/ tampons (at least 2 or 3, and if you use one, replace it asap)

chapstick

tissues (trust me you will need them. carry a pack in your purse/bag with you as well)

TISSUES!! I can’t tell you how many times they’re saved me. If you buy food to take away and forget to bring napkins, tissues. If you go to the bathroom and only realize there’s no toilet paper when you go reach for it, tissues. If it’s hot as balls and your forehead is looking oily, tissues. I could go on…

moisturizer (Nivea has small little versions of theirs, they’re perfect for this)

nail filer

razor (in case you missed a spot when you shaved; totally optional)

a toothbrush and some toothpaste (what I do is when a tube of toothpaste at home is close to being empty, I throw it in my bag - not too heavy, still enough for a few uses)

a clean pair of underwear (you probably know what for)

a clean t-shirt (in case you spill something all over yours)

if you’re a makeup user, maybe a concealer, powder and a colored lip balm, like a BabyLips or something along those lines

dry shampoo or baby powder (they do the same)

Some of these are not as essential as others, but you can probably fit all of them in a makeup bag! Except for the t-shirt probably :/

You might want to also have a hoodie and a tiny umbrella in your locker, in case you dress totally inappropriately for the weather one day and need to protect yourself from the cold and rain. Don’t forget to put both back in your locker the next day!!

Extra tip (feat. tissues): if you forget to put on deodorant before you leave the house, and you’re feeling smelly, try quickly washing your armpits in the bathroom when no one’s around, then gently dab a tissue on them to dry (because sensitive skin and toilet paper in schools can be rough surfaced) and then put on some deodorant. Fresh again!!

Where to get all the studyblr supplies

all of the MUJI supplies can be bought at MUJI stores, on the MUJI website or on Amazon

washi tape: Amazon, office supply stores, grocery stores, AliExpress (where I get mine)

Staedtler and Stabilo fineliners: pretty much every store that sells office supplies, Amazon or Jetpens

Zebra mildliners are a bit tricky to find in physical stores, especially in Europe (at least in Portugal), but you can buy them on Amazon (reasonably priced), or on Jetpens (nice price, but shipping is kind of expensive for European countries)

Pilot G2 pens: office supply stores, Amazon or Jetpens

Pilot Juice pens: office supply stores, Amazon or Jetpens

Moleskine and Leuchtturm1917 notebooks can also be bought on office supplies stores, on Amazon, or on BookDepository (Moleskines)

if you have El Corte Inglés in your country, they sell Moleskines as well!!

here is a masterpost with some supplies

here is another one

if you want cheaper alternatives to all of these, this masterpost and this masterpost will help you

Alright guys, I think that’s all of my general tips for school. I’m planning and working on a few other posts, so be on the lookout for them! 

If you’d like, you can inbox me suggestions for posts you’d like me to make (e.g. how I study; how to organize your desk; etc). You can also leave me feedback!

The fonts that I used in my picture that I’ve posted to my blog were:

Movus Brush Pen

Shorelines Script

Moon Flower (this may appear a bit hard to read when smaller in size so I use a thicker ‘alternative’ DK Lemon Yellow Sun)

DK Lemon Yellow Sun

Other great fonts that I use:

Lemon/Milk

Roomfer

Olivier