was my-studaeing

little spread dedicated to spiderman homecoming! i love this movie sm 💗 tom holland is an amazing actor omg 😭

Ohh boy, I’ve done so much math this week, I’m lovinggg this subject 🙆🏻💕

When you are balancing classes, homework, extracurriculars, and a full/part time job, it can be hard to find the necessary time to look after yourself. The important thing is to make good use of the small chances you get during the day! I’ve broken it up into time chunks, to make it easier.

Two Minutes

Brush your teeth/hair etc

Wash your face, or splash cold water on it

Drink a glass of water

Stretch! (especially if you've been sitting down for awhile)

Five Minutes

Take the stairs!

Jumping jacks/squats (I do them all the time behind the counter at work!)

Take a break and eat a piece of fruit

Ten Minutes

Walk instead of bussing

Reapply sunscreen if needed

Take a power nap if you need one

Do a short meditation

Twenty Minutes

Find a short yoga routine on youtube

Go for a quick run

Take a longer nap

Write in a journal/ Notebook if that's your thing

Thirty Minutes

Workout

Do a full yoga routine

Run/walk around your block a few times

Take the time to prepare a special, healthy snack for yourself!

One Hour or More

Workout weights or cardio

Tidy your room/ office space

Catch up on other duties (to relieve stress)

Prepare a meal and make enough for a lunch the next day

As its summer in half of the world, I’d like to remind my friends in the northern hemisphere that health in the heat means drinking cold liquids to stay hydrated, wearing sunscreen to prevent burns and skin damage, and spending time in the shade throughout the day! 

Here’s a list of some of the things I learnt in my first year of college that I wish I had known before I started:

Unidays!! So before I started I went out & bought new clothes, notebooks, stationery etc. for college, & I wish I hadn’t because most of the stores I bought from, have a student discount when you use Unidays/show your id in store. ((They also have 10% Apple if you’re buying new electronics!!))

Lecturers do care. All through secondary/high school, I was told, “when you go to college, lecturers won’t care about you.”  From my experience, this isn’t true. Most lecturers do care because your performance in exams reflects on them as a lecturer. While they won’t spoon-feed you, they are there to help you if you’re struggling/have a few questions. 

Don’t copy down the lecturer’s slides (if they post them online!). In my first semester, I wrote everything off the slides, and spent so much time in the lecture paying attention to the slides, I missed what the lecturer was saying, which is more important to note down as you won’t be able to find it online. 

What buildings and lecture halls my classes were in. If you can, try going to each building/hall to see exactly where you need on your first day/week.

You don’t need to sit at the front of a lecture hall to get the best out of a lecture. I thought before college the only way I could pay attention would be by sitting up the front but I’ve found this isn’t the case for me. I work best sitting in the middle because then I don’t have to make eye-contact with the lecturer (something I find really uncomfortable) and I’m not worried about what’s happening behind me. Everyone’s different so try to find a place that suits you! 

It’s totally okay to do things alone. In school, I feel like there’s a bit of a group culture, where you can’t do anything without someone else but in college, it’s good to go to lectures/have lunch and go the library by yourself sometimes (& no one will judge you for it). 

The library isn’t the only study place. The library can be intimidating especially for 1st years. When I started I loved reading rooms which were smaller and more private. 

How to print stuff off in college. Learn how to do it asap! I only found out in my second semester. It’s just something that’s handy to know! Before you go to college just google your college’s name & print and you’ll find out how.

The college doctor’s office is free/a lot cheaper! I didn’t actually use the doctor’s office but it’s good to know how much it’s going to be if you do need to go! (This depends on what college you go to, check beforehand)

You don’t need to buy the textbook. I know so many people who paid a lot of $ for a textbook when they could have used one of the library’s multiple copies or got a cheaper one from a past student.

College can offer a lot more than just classes. Volunteering opportunities, societies, clubs, counselling services are just a few things that are available that aren’t related to class, make use of them.

The people you’re friends with the first week, may not still be your friends at the start of the year (and that’s okay!). You’ll meet a lot of people in college and it can take time to find people you really connect  & want to be friends with. 

You may have to study something you’re not that big of a fan of at first. Some courses are general to start off with and let you specialise later. Don’t be put off by this, work hard and it’ll pay off when you get to pick what you want to study later!

College is hard. You may get homesick, find your classes difficult, or feel lonely but it get’s better. It’s only normal to find a new situation difficult but stick with it & you’ll get through it!!  

Best of luck if you’re starting college this year!! Remember to enjoy every moment of it! 💛

Notetaking

Sound Note - take notes while you record audio

Evernote - notetaking that syncs across platforms

Paper 53 - minimal notetaking that syncs

Microsoft OneNote - collaboration and syncing, best for Office users

Google Keep - jot things down, best for Google suite users

Notability - take notes and annotate PDFs

Mindly - create mind maps

Day One - a digital journal

Flash Cards

Quizlet - the quintessential flash card app

StudyBlue - another commonly used app

Cram - best for its “cram mode”

Eidetic - uses spaced repetition for effective memorization

Planner 

My Study Life - schedules, tasks, reminders, and more

StudyCal - keeps track of tasks, exams, and grades

24me - automated reminders and event planning

iStudiez - schedule and prioritized task list

Google Calendar - a calendar, best for Google users

Glass Planner - a calendar and to do list with incredible functionality

To Do List

Clear - organized to-do and reminders

MinimaList - simple to-do and focus timer

Trello - collaborative project organizer

Todoist - clean and functional task manager

Default notes app on your phone

Time Management

Forest - plant trees by staying focused

Pomotodo - pomodoro timer with to-do list

Timeglass - custom timers

Tide - pomodoro with white noise

Alarmy - forces you out of bed 

Pillow - smart alarm that tracks sleep cycles

Productivity

Workflow - automate tasks

Habitica - turn your habits into an RPG

Continuo - simple, colorful activity tracking

Freedom - block distracting apps

Free Learning

Coursera - free MOOCs

TED - listen to Ted Talks

Duolingo - language learning

Memrise - spaced repetition language vocabulary

Khan Academy - free video lessons

Ambient Noise

8tracks - curated playlists

Spotify - online music streaming

Coffitivity - cafe ambience

Noisli - background sound generator

Rain Rain - rain sounds

Binaural - binaural beats

Health

Rockin Ramen - recipes based on ramen

MealBoard - meal planning

Lifesum - healthy eating

Stop Breath And Think - mindfulness meditation

Pacifica - mental health management

Sworkit - personalized video workouts

Waterlogged - hydration tracker

Reference

WolframAlpha - Google on steroids

Oxford Dictionary - all of English at your fingertips

RefMe - citation generator

PhotoMath - solve math problems by taking a photo

Mathway - step by step math help

Desmos - free graphing calculator

Wikipedia - not the best source, but it’s handy

Miscellaneous 

Companion - stay safe when walking alone

Mint - money management

Toshl - finance manager

December 2nd, 2016

2.5.17 This month was crazy, but my calendar spread makes it seem much calmer :))) ❄️

7.24 studying on vacation sucks but so does falling behind and getting stressed because you’re falling behind