SequoiaStudies

cut up fruit on a plate

doing work at the same table

adjusting someone’s collar, brushing off lint on their shoulder, fixing their hair

bringing home leftovers

Counting down till exams

Are you hydrated?  If not, have a glass of water.

Have you eaten in the past three hours?  If not, get some food — something with protein, not just simple carbs.  Perhaps some nuts or hummus?

Have you showered in the past day?  If not, take a shower right now.

If daytime: are you dressed?  If not, put on clean clothes that aren’t pajamas.  Give yourself permission to wear something special, whether it’s a funny t-shirt or a pretty dress.

If nighttime: are you sleepy and fatigued but resisting going to sleep?  Put on pajamas, make yourself cozy in bed with a teddy bear and the sound of falling rain, and close your eyes for fifteen minutes — no electronic screens allowed.  If you’re still awake after that, you can get up again; no pressure.

Have you stretched your legs in the past day?  If not, do so right now.  If you don’t have the spoons for a run or trip to the gym, just walk around the block, then keep walking as long as you please.  If the weather’s crap, drive to a big box store (e.g. Target) and go on a brisk walk through the aisles you normally skip.

Have you said something nice to someone in the past day?  Do so, whether online or in person.  Make it genuine; wait until you see something really wonderful about someone, and tell them about it.

Have you moved your body to music in the past day?  If not, do so — jog for the length of an EDM song at your favorite BPM, or just dance around the room for the length of an upbeat song.

Have you cuddled a living being in the past two days?  If not, do so.  Don’t be afraid to ask for hugs from friends or friends’ pets.  Most of them will enjoy the cuddles too; you’re not imposing on them.

Do you feel ineffective?  Pause right now and get something small completed, whether it’s responding to an e-mail, loading up the dishwasher, or packing your gym bag for your next trip.  Good job!

Do you feel unattractive?  Take a goddamn selfie.  Your friends will remind you how great you look, and you’ll fight society’s restrictions on what beauty can look like.

Do you feel paralyzed by indecision?  Give yourself ten minutes to sit back and figure out a game plan for the day.  If a particular decision or problem is still being a roadblock, simply set it aside for now, and pick something else that seems doable.  Right now, the important part is to break through that stasis, even if it means doing something trivial.

Have you seen a therapist in the past few days?  If not, hang on until your next therapy visit and talk through things then.

Have you been over-exerting yourself lately — physically, emotionally, socially, or intellectually?  That can take a toll that lingers for days. Give yourself a break in that area, whether it’s physical rest, taking time alone, or relaxing with some silly entertainment.

Have you changed any of your medications in the past couple of weeks, including skipped doses or a change in generic prescription brand?  That may be screwing with your head.  Give things a few days, then talk to your doctor if it doesn’t settle down.

Have you waited a week?  Sometimes our perception of life is skewed, and we can’t even tell that we’re not thinking clearly, and there’s no obvious external cause.  It happens.  Keep yourself going for a full week, whatever it takes, and see if you still feel the same way then.

—

(via elauxe)

A self care list. I’ve been working on this. I promise it’s worth it.

STAYING MOTIVATED

Create realistic goals: get ___ grade on next ____

Manageable let down; get back on track

Keep track of grades: focused, know where stand, no surprises

Start small

Low risk confidence builders

Take time to relax/give self rewards

Days off, breaks, rewards

All work & no play =/= living

Little organization goes a long way

Reward achievements!

Keep balance with exercise, clubs, friends

2h/d: friends and exercise

Remember that hard work pays off

Isn’t a breeze to try to get a 4.0 GPA; but it’s possible

You’re smart enough and can achieve it

90% there with these tips, 10% is just pure hard work

Only chill on weekends

Monday-Friday: school mode

Have time for some fun

If work as hard as should during week, will need weekends to blow off steam

Be self-motivated

Grades can matter, not everything, but follow through on what needs to be done

Not most important part of college but underperform? You will regret it

GPA cutoffs exist and matter to employers

College is full of distractions and opportunities

Nobody will hold hand and the work will suck but all the prouder of yourself to be

Suck it up, buckle down, get it done

If think need break, probably don’t

Turn off the little voice

Realize not alone in questioning ability

Avoid people who tend to burst bubbles no matter what 

Physical triggers to stop

Incentive to get something done when know have something else during the day

Don’t have a gaping abyss of study time

Work has to get done, in the end

Books, examiners, and especially your future self isn’t going to care about your excuses for not doing the work

Take the first step

It will almost be fictional how hard you thought the task was going to be

Just keep going because you simply can’t afford NOT to do anything today, nonzero days

Leeway, don’t give your perfectionism control over your life

MUNDANE HABITS

Sleep! Think and function, mind & body

CAN sleep if keep up with coursework instead of procrastinating

Will miss out on some fun stuff

Need to stay awake in class

Figure out what need for full speed

Stay relaxed

Stay physically healthy

Diet and exercise

1 hour exercise during week

Weekends off

Traditional breakfast not necessary if value extra sleep

Systematic habits: neat, prepared

Master material

Look for real world applications

Learning is a process: be patient, don’t expect to master off the bat

Designate study area and study times

Do trial runs

Practice tests

Ask a TA to listen to your oral performance

Study groups

Don’t copy other people’s psets and solutions

BEFORE SEMESTER

Spiral bound notebook, can color code with folders/etc if need be

Lecture notes: front to back

Reading notes: back to front (if fall behind on)

Seminar notes: mixed in with lecture notes, different pen color/labeled

Outline format

Bullet points for everything

Same NB for one set of class notes, separate notebooks for all classes

5-subject notebook

Midterm and exam material in it

Mesh sources, study guide

All study material from week/month in one place

Pick the right major

Indulge in favorite hobby feeling

Pick professors & classes wisely

Take a small class

Pick classes that interest you so studying doesn’t feel torturous

Want to learn

GRADES SPECIFIC

Prioritize class by how can affect GPA

More credits: more weight

Work enough to get an A in your easy classes: take something good at

Don’t settle, don’t slack off, don’t put in minimal effort to get that B/C. Just put in a tiny bit more effort to ensure A

Will have harder classes and need to counteract

Take electives can ace

Anything but an A in an elective is kinda mean and an unnecessary hit for your GPA

FIRST DAY/WEEK/HALF OF CLASSES

Get to know teaching style: focus most on, lecture/notes

Pick and follow a specific note taking format

Outline

Date each entry

Capture everything on board

Decide productivity system

Google Cal

Todoist

Agenda: remind meetings, class schedule, important dates/midterms/quizzes/tests, no homework 

Always wanted to be prepared

Rarely last minute

Have plan, stay focused

Homework notebook

Good redundancy

Study syllabus

Know it thoroughly

Plot all due dates after class

Penalize if fail to abide by

Study the hardest for the first exam

Seems counterintuitive

Hardest/most important test

Pay attention to content and formatLess pressure: just need ___ on final to keep my A 

Easy to start high and keep high

Go into crunch mode at the beginning

End softly

Get plenty of sleep, exercise, and good food in the finals days before the exam

DURING SEMESTER: PEOPLE

Get to know professors: go to office hours, care about grades/course/them

Easier ask for help, rec letter

Get to know interests and what they think is important

Figure out their research interests, 60% of their job is research

Learning is dynamic

Discussion helps

Get feedback early when not sure what doing

Take comments constructively

Consistent class participation: ask questions, give answers, comment when appropriate

Understand material

Find a study buddy in each class: don’t have to study with

Somebody can compare notes with, safety net

Pick somebody who attends, participates, and take notes regularly

Make some friends

Participate as fully as can in group activities

Be involved

Learn – not be taught

Be punctual

Good impression, on human professors

DON’T BE LATE

Skipping class =/= option: It’s “cool” to get attendance award

Make all the classes: it’s hard to feel confident when missing key pieces

Get full scope of class, everything will make a lot more sense and save a lot of time in long run

Mandatory class: higher graduating cumulative GPA

Go to class when no one else does/want to show up, reward

Get to know professor, what’s on test, notice, r/s build, material not in reading

Unless optional and super confusing professor

Sit in one of the first rows

Don’t fall asleep

Fake interest if you have to

Tutors

DURING SEMESTER: THINGS TO DO

Take notes! Provided is bare minimum, accessed by students who aren’t attending lecture

Based on lecture and what read –> test; it’ll be worth it

Write it down

By hand

Bored? Doodle instead of going online

Read all assigned–even if need to skim

Seems cumbersome and maybe impossible

Figure out what’s important

Look at the logical progression of the argument/what’s important/what trying to prove

Understand everything that you do read–even if don’t read everything

PIck 2 examples from text per topic

Complete course material on time

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL DAY BEFORE IT IS DUE

Begin as soon as possible

Sometimes it’s just straight up impossible

Have it look attractive

Library doesn’t just mean = study

Social media in the library is still social media

Confusion is terrible

Read other textbooks, review course material @ another uni/by another professor, google the shit out of it

Review

Do not wait, do throughout semester

Exam prep

Ask for model papers, look at style & structure, thesis, how cite

Get old tests

Look at type of questions (detail level and structure)

Can solve old exams cold

If give out paper exams in class: probs won’t repeat questions, focus more on concepts but still learn the questions

Have class notes and psets down cold

Do all the practice problems

Read through notes a few times; rewrite into a revision notebook

Highlight major topics and subtopics

Different highlighter for vocab terms

Overall picture, go from concept to detail

Look at overall context and how specific idea fit into whole course

Ideas, don’t memorize all your notes

Better understand = more able to use and manipulate info and remember it. Understand = manipulation.

Charts, diagrams, graphs

Lists

Practice drawing labeled structures

Flash cards for memorization

Every school requires some degree of grunt memorization

Say it aloud, write it down

Get friends to quiz you

Self-test: severely challenge self, have a running collection of exam questions

Explain difficult concepts to your friends; force yourself to articulate the concept

Never pull an all-nighter

Do not spend every hour studying up to the exam

Eat, shower, sleep

Don’t wait until night before exam to study

Prep takes time even if reviewed throughout semester

Ask about format–don’t ask the professor to change it for you

Law of College: it will be on the exam if you don’t understand it

Ask professor, internet, textbooks

Night before exam

Jot what want to remember/have fresh

Read through in morning/before exam

Physical prep

Sleep, have test materials

Day of exam

Don’t cram every single spare minute

Go to bathroom before exam

Never miss an exam/lie to get more time

You won’t be any more ready 2-3 days after when supposed to have taken it

Slay exam. Get A. 

WEEKLY 

Friday morning: go through each syllabus, write down in HW notebook

All hw during weekend; study/reading assignments during week

Save everything

Divide big tasks into small pieces to help propel self

Standard study schedule: block off lectures, labs, regular commitments

Note the weeks that have assignments and tests that will require extra studying

Don’t oscillate too heavily every day with study times (i.e. don’t study 2-3 hours for weeks and then 10-12 hour days right before an exam)

Eat and sleep to make more extended work periods liveable and enjoyable

DAILY

Set an amount of time would like to study every day

Try to study most days

Avoid vague/zoned out studying –> waste of time

Do a little bit daily but don’t let studying be your whole day

Review notes: 30mins/day, each class from that day

Look at important ideas/vocab

Prioritize new vocab because language is most fundamental and important tool in any subject

Circle abbreviations and make yourself a key somewhere so you don’t forget what the hell that abbreviations meant

Check spelling

Rewrite/reorganize notes if necessary

Format of ideas is just as important as the concepts themselves, esp. when it comes time for exam review

This helps you retain the material so you’ll be ahead next time you walk into class

Chance to ID any knowledge gaps that you can ask about for next class

Keep up with reading

Skim text before lecture or at least main topic sentences

Jot down anything don’t understand; if lecture doesn’t clarify, ask the professor

After lecture: skim again, outline chapter, make vocab flashcards

Highlight similar class and lecture notes

will definitely be tested on

Review and make study questions

Study

Disconnect from anything irrelevant to study material: help focus and your GPA

Don’t limit studying to the night

Study whenever, wherever between classes

Variety helps focus and motivation

Especially if tired at night and can’t transition between subjects

I wanted to help you create explosive productivity so you get big things done (and make your life matter). Here are 21 tips to get you to your best productivity.

#1. Check email in the afternoon so you protect the peak energy hours of your mornings for your best work. 

#2. Stop waiting for perfect conditions to launch a great project. Immediate action fuels a positive feedback loop that drives even more action. 

#3. Remember that big, brave goals release energy. So set them clearly and then revisit them every morning for 5 minutes. 

#4. Mess creates stress (I learned this from tennis icon Andre Agassi who said he wouldn’t let anyone touch his tennis bag because if it got disorganized, he’d get distracted). So clean out the clutter in your office to get more done. 

#5. Sell your TV. You’re just watching other people get successful versus doing the things that will get you to your dreams. 

#6. Say goodbye to the energy vampires in your life (the negative souls who steal your enthusiasm). 

#7. Run routines. When I studied the creative lives of massively productive people like Stephen King, John Grisham and Thomas Edison, I discovered they follow strict daily routines. (i.e., when they would get up, when they would start work, when they would exercise and when they would relax). Peak productivity’s not about luck. It’s about devotion. 

#8. Get up at 5 am. Win the battle of the bed. Put mind over mattress. This habit alone will strengthen your willpower so it serves you more dutifully in the key areas of your life. 

#9. Don’t do so many meetings. (I’ve trained the employees of our FORTUNE 500 clients on exactly how to do this – including having the few meetings they now do standing up – and it’s created breakthrough results for them). 

#10. Don’t say yes to every request. Most of us have a deep need to be liked. That translates into us saying yes to everything – which is the end of your elite productivity. 

#11. Outsource everything you can’t be BIW (Best in the World) at. Focus only on activities within what I call “Your Picasso Zone”. 

#12. Stop multi-tasking. New research confirms that all the distractions invading our lives are rewiring the way our brains work (and drop our IQ by 5 points!). Be one of the rare-air few who develops the mental and physical discipline to have a mono-maniacal focus on one thing for many hours. (It’s all about practice). 

#13. Get fit like Madonna. Getting to your absolute best physical condition will create explosive energy, renew your focus and multiply your creativity. 

#14. Workout 2X a day. This is just one of the little-known productivity tactics that I’ll walk you through in my new online training program YOUR PRODUCTIVITY UNLEASHED (details at the end of this post) but here’s the key: exercise is one of the greatest productivity tools in the world. So do 20 minutes first thing in the morning and then another workout around 6 or 7 pm to set you up for wow in the evening. 

#15. Drink more water. When you’re dehydrated, you’ll have far less energy. And get less done. 

#16. Work in 90 minute blocks with 10 minute intervals to recover and refuel (another game-changing move I personally use to do my best work).

#17. Write a Stop Doing List. Every productive person obsessively sets To Do Lists. But those who play at world-class also record what they commit to stop doing. Steve Jobs said that what made Apple Apple was not so much what they chose to build but all the projects they chose to ignore. #18. Use your commute time. If you’re commuting 30 minutes each way every day – get this: at the end of a year, you’ve spent 6 weeks of 8 hour days in your car. I encourage you to use that time to listen to fantastic books on audio + excellent podcasts and valuable learning programs. Remember, the fastest way to double your income is to triple your rate of learning. 

#19. Be a contrarian. Why buy your groceries at the time the store is busiest? Why go to movies on the most popular nights? Why hit the gym when the gym’s completely full? Do things at off-peak hours and you’ll save so many of them. 

#20. Get things right the first time. Most people are wildly distracted these days. And so they make mistakes. To unleash your productivity, become one of the special performers who have the mindset of doing what it takes to get it flawless first. This saves you days of having to fix problems. 

#21. Get lost. Don’t be so available to everyone. I often spend hours at a time in the cafeteria of a university close to our headquarters. I turn off my devices and think, create, plan and write. Zero interruptions. Pure focus. Massive results. I truly hope these 21 productivity tips have been valuable to you. And that I’ve been of service. Your productivity is your life made visible. Please protect it. Stay productive.

So I’m finishing up my Ph.D. and preparing to depart for the real world (no, just kidding, I’m going to be in school forever, only in a different capacity) and I thought I’d put together a list of some college tips to share with you all. I graduated with my B.A. in 2012, magna cum laude, with 2 majors, 1 honours thesis, 2 on-campus jobs, and 3 music things. Since then, I’ve gone to grad school and also taught six semesters of first-year seminars. Now I’m going on the job market for teaching positions. All of this means that I’ve seen both sides of the college experience, as a student and as an instructor. There are a lot of great & useful college advice posts going around studyblr this time of here, and I wanted to add my own. I hope it’s useful. So here we go, with a “read more” because it’s long (sorry if you’re on mobile):

academics

find your classrooms ahead of time (profs’ offices too)

figure out how long it will take you to walk between places

figure out where your best seat will be & claim it

say hi to the people next to you, learn their names

take notes in class

take advantage of extra credit

try your best not to fall asleep in class (and if you do fall asleep, apologise to the prof afterwards)

bring your glasses if you need them, don’t be stubborn about it

check out the library, wander in the stacks, talk to the librarians

figure out how & where to print

buy used books/textbooks, or rent them, but be careful with ebooks (some profs don’t allow them)

plan breaks into your class schedule, or block everything together, whichever works best for you

work out the pros & cons of 8am classes and/or night classes

plan ahead – have a planner, put things in it, do them

fake deadlines are a thing (write down earlier deadlines, trick yourself into meeting them, bask in satisfaction)

grades won’t be what they were in high school

keep in mind GPA values: a 3.5 will see you graduating with honours

be nice to the departmental administrative staff, thank them for helping you (even with small things)

office hours versus emailing profs: both will get your questions answered (probably) but if you can go and talk in person, do it

profs & TAs are people too, they have lives, they have bad days

if something comes up, talk to your prof, be honest but don’t overshare, just show them you’re trying

on that note, try

The Great American Eclipse as seen from Oregon

What measures are taken to secure the building ?

Are the walls thin? Brief info of who lives in the building. Are they college kids? People that work through the day? Elderly? Is it a mix? Where does the garbage go?

when and for what reasons are your landlords allowed to enter your home? how much of a notice should they give you before entering?

can the landlord make modifications to your home or apartment without your approval? to what extent?

what are the options and conditions for breaking your lease early if there’s an emergency? (this is ESPECIALLY important for anyone moving to a new state/considerable distance where you are not able to visit the apartment/home before you rent – students get taken advantage of ALL THE TIME with this shit)

if your first or last month at the property is a partial stay (i.e. you move in on july 15th, and rent is typically due on the first) make sure you don’t pay the full first month’s rent before you know the area laws! in many states, you are only legally required to pay for the time you are occupying the property

is renter’s insurance necessary? many apartments want at least 30k coverage, which can run a couple hundred dollars extra per year

-ask if there’s been any consistent/frequent trouble with electricity/internet connectivity/cable if you have it

-what KIND of electricity? 

-what kind of heating (hot water/electric)

-how secure is the neighborhood (if you don’t know) 

- Do they have a policy on rent increases? (Also check if there’s a legal limit to rent increases in the area).

- Are utilities paid in a separate check or with the rent?

- Are utilities metered or pro-rated (in older buildings it’s common to be charged by square footage and/or number of occupants, which can leave you subsidizing the people who turn the a/c down to 60 in the summer or the heat up to 80 in the winter - you may not be able to avoid this but it’s worth trying).

- Are there any switched circuits in the apartment. Buildings built in the late sixties through the early eighties often have switched circuits. If they do, then with the number of devices used these days you will probably have to have something important on the switched circuit - tape the switch in the on position! (Trust me).

- What are the rules on hanging pictures?

- Who is responsible for paying for and replacing bulbs in permanent fixtures? If it’s you and there’s a fixture with weird/unusual bulbs (globe style, chandelier style, etc) ask where you can buy the bulbs.