Study blog

To Do Lists

to do lists by @apricot-studies​ let’s do this! by @thearialligraphyproject​ assignment tracker by @thearialligraphyproject​ hand drawn to do list printable by @setldwn​ to do lists by @studeying​ unresolved matter by @boligraff​ brain dump by emily ley to do lists by me 

Daily

daily planner v2 by @boligraff​ daily planner by @arystudies​ daily planner + today’s meals by @studyvet​ the simplified planner by emily ley daily schedule by buttoned up daily planning page by day designer

Weekly

weekly planner by @cofene​ one step at a time by @vestiblr​ weekly planner by @theorganisedstudent​ weekly planner by @arystudies

Monthly 

calendar series by @thearialligraphyproject 2016 calendars by @annistudio​

Studying

definitions of terms by @thearialligraphyproject​ exam study pack by @ennui-for-me​ formula sheet by @studyvet​ polyglot starter pack by @ennui-for-me​ overcoming the curve of forgetting by @studyingalpacas reading academic articles by @ennui-for-me

Trackers

productivity tracker by @hexaneandheels habit tracker by @studyvet goal getter by @theorganisedstudent monthly spending by buttoned up

Other

The appearance and organization of my notes plays a huge role in the amount of time that I dedicate to studying and my overall performance on tests.  Therefore, I’ve spent the past several years experimenting with various methods, and these are a few of the techniques that I’ve found to be most beneficial.

Cornell Method

The Cornell Method emphasizes identifying the key points of a textbook passage or lecture and consolidating information as much as possible.  

I’ve found that this style works best for literature and science courses that require extensive, dense reading and note-taking.  It allows me to easily and quickly identify what I understand versus what I still need to work on.

Adapted Cornell Method

I’ve created my own adaptation of the Cornell Method by eliminating the summary section at the bottom of the page and incorporating Post-It notes throughout the body of the page to highlight lists and key points.  And, of course, I had to add some color!

Outline

This is, by far, my favorite method due to its flexibility and clean, minimalist appearance.  While the image above doesn’t depict a true series of bullets at varying levels of indentation, you can experiment with different types of bullet points as well as varying spacing.  

I prefer using this method for maths because it allows sufficient space for me to draw graphs, record examples, and solve problems.  

Mind-Maps

Mind-maps are extremely helpful for organizing complex or extremely confusing topics.  There’s no right or wrong way to go about drawing one, and much of the final appearance will be related to the material that you’re diagramming.  Keep in mind that certain topics and information will more readily lend itself to this sort of portrayal.

Knowing what to and what not to write down from a textbook is a often an issue when studying. Should I include this or is that completely necessary? Hopefully these few tips will help anyone struggle to use their textbook!

Read the textbook prior to taking notes - This helps give you a solid understanding of the material so you can summarise and shorten your notes. Have a good understanding is great to help shorten your notes, since you can avoid copying the menial information.

Highlight some key points, terms and concepts before taking notes - Remember not to over-highlight, keep it brief and minimal; key words, facts, and statistics!

Have a colour coding system - This helps to visualise your notes when trying to memorise information and also makes your notes more effective material to learn from. Making sure you’re using the same colours for highlighting your textbook and writing your notes. My colour coding system can be found here.

Use the layout of the textbook to organise your notes - I found copying the headings and subheadings really helped simplify and ensure I was learning each section. It’s much easy to find information when you’re skimming through notes. This also ensures that you can remember what topic areas relate to others, meaning you can add more into your essays under exam conditions!

Include different ways to show the information - Use mindmaps, bullet points, graphs, flow chats, and post-it notes to help visualise the content. Breaking up your notes with graphics is a good way to avoid full pages of writing and great for memorising statistics or key elements of a topic.

Supplement your notes - Use other textbooks and your own research to expand the depth of your notes. This is highly important for subjects that can require evidence, statistics and evaluations. Making sure this information is embedded into your notes is great for writing essays.

Add your own personal touch - Add doodles, acronyms, and abbreviations to help your study. Little things that make important information unique and standout will help you recall it later!

Summarise each chapter - Make a final summary of each chapter using sticky notes or flash cards. Once you’ve read your textbook, you’ll have a collection of chapter summaries ready to study from.

like

i love learning new stuff

and reading new books

but when i stress myself out to the point where i’m crying because of exams

that kinda takes the fun out of it