miles :)

Tips

 I may not be an expert on studying, but I’ve had straight A’s all year for the first time ever, so I think I’m finally getting a hang of it, so here are some of the things I’ve done to ensure I can make the most of my work.

Do your work like as soon as you know it exists

If you use a planner/calendar, put the due date for the assignment as earlier than the actual date!!!!

Color code, I cannot stress this enough

Don’t be afraid to use quizlet

Don’t study past 9 pm

Make sure you take care of yourself

Make sure your study room is nice and cool, it’s hard to work when I’m sweaty and stuffy imo

Don’t be afraid to reference the rubric of the assignment

Make your study material your own!! A lot of people, especially in the studyblr community, stress about aesthetic and organization, but I quickly found that I work best when my notes are organized for me.

Don’t be afraid of ruining a notebook’

Use index cards!!! Really

Drink water and have healthy snacks on hand

Exercise every now and then

I cannot stress this enough, get a planner/calendar/bullet journal/some sort of timesheet. I had to force myself to use a planner consistently for about a month before I was able to use it without even thinking about it.

Finally, make sure you make time for you. It is okay to stop your studying if you have to go to sleep or if you’re sick or if your friend wants to go get ice cream. Take care of you, because the better shape you’re in, the better work you’ll produce.

How to study when you don’t want to

I think I have a pretty good amount of knowledge about studying when you don’t want to because studying is not my favorite task

1) quizlet is your new bff

Download the quizlet app on your phone. Make or find a quizlet set for what you’re learning and go through the flash cards when you have some downtime and then play the little games so you’re learning while having a little bit of fun. I know my friends and I really love using quizlet and we made a class that anyone can add to so we have a mix everything and we like playing the games to see who can get a higher score so maybe get a few friends to do that with you

2) summary paragraphs are also your new bff

After you have a class of notes write a small paragraph summarizing all of the main points so you can read it quickly when you have time and don’t feel like pulling everything out to study. This is probably my favorite way of studying when I don’t want to because it’s quick and easy and good for learning material fast if you miss something.

3) flash cards

Make some flash cards with review questions on one side then a general answer on the other side. Go through the cards and put the ones you can’t answer or are having trouble with in a different pile then only go over those until you know them then go through the whole stack again the next day and see if you know more than you did. I like doing this one but sometimes it’s not the most enjoyable so take the cards with you to school and ask a friend if they want to study with you and quiz each other. We do this a lot at my school in my psychology class because we usually have some free time in there and we all quiz each other right before marine science so it’s fresh in our heads.

4) go outside/change location

Sometimes we don’t want to study because we feel stressed so go outside or to a more open place and just read your notes for a few minutes. Even a few minutes of studying is better than nothing.

5) search “*topic* song” on YouTube

I know it’s a little weird but when I missed a day of plate tectonics in science we were moving really fast and I didn’t have the best grasp on plate boundaries so I went to YouTube and found a song that was kinda cheesy but it helped me learn it and I ended up singing the song in my head during the test.

I’ve seen a few (fabulous) posts about dealing with school and mental illness, but I’m hoping mine will be useful to people with more severe forms of mental illness, who might need slightly different advice. That isn’t to say all mental illness isn’t difficult to live with, just that I don’t really see posts for people like myself. Another disclaimer: this might not be true for everyone, but it is true for me. Read lots of guides and find out what works for you!

1. Communicate with your professors

I know how hard it is to talk to your professors sometimes, but it really is so helpful. If you’re having trouble completing work on time, speak to the ones you feel comfortable with in person, and to the ones you don’t feel comfortable with (this may be all of them! That’s okay.) feel free to shoot them an email asking for help. It’s still scary, but it’s better than living in a pit of unfinished work. (I have a prof who lets you text her and it’s so much more comfortable for some reason!)

2. Do NOT take break days

This seems counter intuitive, but in my experience, mental health days quickly turn into mental health weeks, which are not good for your long term mental health or your GPA. What I would suggest is taking lighter days. Always try to complete at least one goal. That goal can be small or large, whatever you feel you can handle. The important thing is to stay in the habit of working, so that even if you hit rock bottom you maintain that habit.

3. Prioritize high value assignments

So you’ve got 50 pages of reading for a lecture tomorrow, vocab to study for a ten point daily quiz, and a paper due in two days. That reading might be really important, but it isn’t immediately important to your grade. Work on your paper first. Even though you have a few days to get it in, it’s a big stressful project and it’s better to break it into chunks (however many you want). If you still have time after a reasonable amount of work on the paper, study for your quiz. Prioritize high value assignments first. One of my biggest mistakes was trying so hard to get absolutely everything done during bad periods. 

4. Get your chores done/practice good hygiene

Chores don’t seem like a top priority, but just trust me. You’re not going to feel very good if you’re unshowered with your teeth unclean as you trudge into a kitchen that smells like rotting food because of the giant insurmountable pile of dishes in your sink. Just do a little bit each day, like with the studying. I even micromanage my hygiene and daily chores using Habitica. I find this incredibly helpful. You want that check box filled in so you don’t have to see a three day streak of not having your teeth brushed. Embarrassing.

5. Micromanage

As you may have been able to tell, I’m a big fan of micromanaging. I have a planner for school assignments and Post-It to-do lists. Planners are for accomplishing assignments, and to-do lists are for when you’re actually at your desk and breaking an assignment/other coursework down into parts. It’s motivating to see a visual representation of all your hard work, and the system also makes me want to tick off all the boxes.

6. Get ahead if at all possible

This might not be possible for everyone. I have bipolar disorder, so I have good days and bad. The most important thing you can possibly do is work hard now so that you don’t have to on bad days. Falling behind sucks. It’s extra stress that might trigger more of your symptoms. We don’t want that! Don’t treat yourself like a slave, but aim to work daily. 

Hello everyone! Today we’re gonna tackle the big question: How can I study when I have no motivation, at all?

I’ve just gone through a whole week full of tests and I’m really tired of revising material, again and again. Yes, even I lose motivation to study sometimes!

So, let’s move on to the tips.

1. Set goals and visualise them. And imagine what will happen in the long run. If I really work hard for this exam, I’ll be going up that stage in front of 500 students to receive that .prize that everyone’s eyeing for. Take Oprah Winfrey, as an example. As a child watching her grandmother toil away, Winfrey says she’d tell herself over and over again: “My life won’t be like this. My life won’t be like this, it will be better.”

Source: x

2. Break down your tasks into tinier chunks. That way, you’ll feel like you’re being more productive and feel more motivated to cross of the entire list.

3. 10 minutes rule. Your brain will think it’s more acceptable to learn 10 minutes, but when you are learning, you may want to continue to finish the task (which will exceed 10 minutes).

Source: x

4. Study with friends/a pal/family member. This tip varies, it depends whether your friends/buddy/family member is supportive and will actually motivate you to get your work done. I’m not really into the whole ‘group study’ style, because well, I’m not that productive if there are people around me. 

5. Get the help you need. If you’re still confused about algebra, ask your teacher for help. He/she won’t bite! Instead, they’ll be pleased that their student has the initiative to ask for an explanation.

6. Think about how privileged you are, being in a school and having an access to education. Many kids out there don’t even go to a school. Be thankful people!

Source: x

7. Acknowledge Your Accomplishments

Reward yourself when you complete a task. Snack on some granola bars, watch a YouTube vid— whatever that makes you happy . Then move on!

Source: x

That’s all! Hope you have a really productive study session after trying out these tips + tricks! 

Kyra

P.S. watch this video by @studywithmariana for some more additional tips! They are really practical and effective!

have contact with this language by hearing it on movies, tv shows and music. this will help you with your pronunciation skills and with your vocabulary

learn vocabulary and grammar at the same time

read kids books and translate what you don’t know. it might be hard at the beginning, but keep trying 

speak to yourself will help you like crazy. I like to pretend that I’m acting or that someone is interviewing me hahah see the magic happens 

READ AND WRITE. this is as important as speaking. It used to be so hard for me to write in English and I felt awful because I could actually speak very well. But my writing skills were just a lower level than my speaking level. Thankfully it’s getting better with practice. 

try to study a little everyday. if you don’t have time to do so, watch a movie or something, but have this contact with the new language at least once a day

18.2.18 // 5:20pm

today i had a bass audition and it went really well! i played fluorescent adolescent by arctic monkeys, and i’m really proud of the fact that after about ten months of teaching myself (i’ve never had a lesson, i learnt off youtube + tabs) and a few jam sessions, i’m good enough to actually perform. 

other than that, it’s been a pretty chill day. got the biggest chunk of my work done over the weekend, which is good!

in the most general aesthetic terms possible

1600s: most witch-hunts ended in this century. no witches were burned in North America; they were hanged or in one case pressed to death

1700s: the American Revolution. Marie Antoinette. the French Revolution. the crazy King George. most pirate movies

1800-1830: Jane Austen! Pride and Prejudice! those dresses where the waist is right under one’s boobs and men have a crapton of facial hair inside high collars

1830-1900: Victorian. Les Miserables is at the beginning, the Civil War is in the middle, and Dracula is at the end

1900-1920: Edwardian. Titanic, World War I, the Samantha books from American Girl, Art Nouveau

1920s: Great Gatsby. Jazz Age. Flappers and all that. most people get this right but IT IS NOT VICTORIAN. STUFF FROM THIS ERA IS NOT VICTORIAN. DO NOT CALL IT VICTORIAN OR LIST IT ON EBAY AS VICTORIAN. THAT HAPPENS SURPRISINGLY OFTEN GIVEN HOW STAGGERING THE VISUAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ERAS IS. also not 100 years ago yet, glamour.com “100 years of X” videos. you’re lazy, glamour.com. you’re lazy and I demand my late Edwardian styles

like, they don’t know us personally or anything, but you know they want you to succeed, improve, and live your best life

these are small things you can add to your day to be 10% more productive with the estimated time it’ll take! these are things i do (or try to do) most days. they’re small enough to feel manageable, and i for sure don’t use all of them but i find that when i use at least 2-3 in a day i feel a lot better about the material.

retype notes in google docs (10-15 min/1 hour lecture)

Utilize pomodoro technique for at least one subject (25 min work/5 min break. total 30 min)

Look over notes before class (5 min)

Look over notes after class (5 min)

Make notecard summary after class (i find this one especially useful for calculus!) (10 min/notecard)

Explain short concept to a friend (10 min max)

write down to-do list of tasks (5 min)

Go over concepts in your head on your walk to class (absolute FAVORITE because of my daily calculus quizzes within the first 10 minutes of class) (as long as your walk is!)