WORK HARD

Kawaii Snacks

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drink more water instead of more coffee.

weekly goals are bullshit. set yourself 3-day goals. you’ll be less laid-back.

don’t just mindlessly stare at words. before you start studying, know your approach to it. have a plan.

summarizing the concept in your own words is the key part of taking notes. don’t just copy things down, convert them into your own way of talking, your own vocabulary, no matter how dumb and unprofessional it sounds.

don’t let the “studyblr aesthetic” fool you. studying doesn’t have to be pretty. summaries and notes can be messy as long as they’re comprehensible. you can always rewrite and reorganize them later. (honestly, you better do. and you better keep them.)

don’t throw away the papers you’ve solved your problems in. staple them to the fucking textbook. you need to see them constantly. cause you’ll need reminders of how far you’ve came, when you’re feeling discouraged.

don’t be an armchair analyst for your issues. if you have an idea then act on it.

remember: the exact point where it becomes difficult, is where your growth begins. take a deep breath, and try to focus on the paragraph in front of you.

get off your high horse and understand that if you’re a zero, you won’t go to 100 in a couple of days. first, you’ll need to reach 30, then from 30 to 60, and then from 60 to 90. nobody is 100 everyday. that happens very rarely.

you need to have fun everyday. you need to have peaceful time every single day. even on exam night. especially on exam night, actually. so make sure you’ve studied enough so you can have some time to yourself.

once you’re on a roll and in need of some challenge to stay on track, start writing down your studying hours. tell yourself you’re not allowed to do less than 80% of what you did yesterday. whatever the hell it was, even just one hour. so if yesterday you really studied for like, say 8 hours, today your goal is to study for at least 6 and a half hours. if you can’t keep up with that, make it 70%, or 60%. 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Beloved

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (this was the only free version I could find, and it’s a downloadable thing, so do so with caution)

The Call of the Wild

Catch-22 (it was either this version or one where the entire thing was in comic sans font)

The Catcher in the Rye

Fahrenheit 451

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Gone With the Wind

The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Gatsby

Howl

In Cold Blood

Invisible Man

The Jungle (personally I don’t like this formatting, but the site doesn’t look sketchy so…) - there’s also this which is the proper book format in a pdf, but it’s directly photocopied so it might be hard to read some of the print

Leaves of Grass

Moby Dick

Native Son

Our Bodies, Ourselves (we learned about this one in APUSH!)

The Red Badge of Courage

The Scarlet Letter

COULD NOT FIND Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (the ebook is 47 fucking dollars??? and i can’t even find sketchy websites that’ll let me download a pdf. if anyone manages to find a link, lmk please)

Stranger in a Strange Land

A Streetcar Named Desire

Their Eyes Were Watching God

To Kill a Mockingbird

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Where the Wild Things Are (this is a slideshow!!!! how fun)

and made me so much more effective is called “active recall”.

the concept of active recall is based on the fact that we retain information much faster through testing ourselves than through any other study method!

each time you ask yourself a question and try to answer it, neuron pathways are enforced in your brain, and every time you try to retrieve information, the connection to this information grows faster and stronger.

but what exactly does this mean? this means that the best way of studying is actually not through input, but through output.

if, for example, you’ve read through your lecture notes and understood them, the most effective way to remember them for a long time isn’t to read it again, to paraphrase it or to highlight the most important parts. instead, the best method to use is to test yourself by formulating questions and trying your best to answer those without looking at your materials.

if you can’t answer a question, look it up, either in the lecture notes, in the lecture itself, in a textbook or on the internet.

this way, you are forcing your brain to engage actively with the material as much as possible, which is why it’s been shown by several studies to be the most effective method for studying.

once i started using this method, i wasn’t just remembering a lot more and saving myself so much time otherwise spent with highlighting or making notes - i was actually a lot more confident to speak up in class when asked something and performed so much better in oral examinations!! by actively recalling the material, you’re basically giving your brain the best workout ever, while skipping time-consuming methods that lead to no results.

so read through your latest lecture slides, open your notebook, and think of some questions!

ps: you can also color-code your questions to denote how well you can already answer them!!

in the past, i had to prepare for several exams by self-studying for long hours at home, so over the years i’ve learned the best ways to adapt to this situation, which i now present in this little infographic. i hope it can ease some of the pressure! 💜

now that most of us are at home, i thought this could be useful to the ones who aren't that used to learning material on their own and aren’t sure where to start, or which order of steps to follow. happy studying! 💗

I’ve been receiving tonnes of questions on Note - Taking recently, so I’d thought I make a post. Plus, I had fun making these graphics.

There are three different methods that I prefer when it comes to note taking:

Notes written During the Lecture

I highly recommend taking notes during the lecture.

I also use abbreviations for quicker and more efficient note taking. Some examples of abbreviation that I use are:

w/ - With

w/o - Without

e.g. - For example

Notes written After the Lecture

As for notes written after the lecture, I tend to seek the help of Google Spreadsheets or Microsoft Excel. This way I am able to organise information learnt. I do this by dividing the information provided into two columns, one for keywords or questions and the other for definitions and answers. 

*Note: This method was adapted from the note taking method I’ve used during college. 

Rewritten Notes

I also rewrite my notes. My rewritten notes are arranged based on the order they appear in the syllabus unless there are pieces of information that are related to more than one topic.

I use a black pen or pencil for my written notes, as well as coloured pens and highlighters to highlight the key words and terminologies for emphasise.

Before writing them down, I tend to visualise the layout - alternating between words and pictures/diagram. This definitely helps me with remembering for exams. All I have to do is imagine that I’m looking at that page and I can remember where everything is.

______________________________________________________________________

Please click on the images for a much clearer view. 

You’ve been a lot to ask me about how to stay motivated, especially in exam period. I know it can be quite hard to focus (even for me it’s challenging!) but I’ll give you some tips I personally use when I’m super un-motivated.

Build a routine. Really try to stick to a routine when you come back home from school, do what works best for you! I personally know that when I have a routine all becomes kind of « automatic » and it gets actually easier for me to study since it became part of my routine! Start slow ! For example, fix yourself a 1-hour study session every evening, then add another hour, etc. Don’t forget to also add some activities in your routine that isn’t study related like working out, reading, etc.

Find a good playlist. You can find tons of them on Youtube. I think it’s better to listen to an instrumental-only playlist so you can get more focused. I know that when I listen to certain playlists, I really get in the mood to study!

Upgrade your workspace! I already wrote a whole post about it here :) With a new and organized workspace, it will be more welcoming and you’ll actually want to spend more time there and therefore study more!

Find your WHY. And I know you’ve heard this one over 10000 times, and that’s because it is SO important. You hate math at school? Think about how amazing it is to use math as an instrument to think and to develop our way to resolve problems! Take every lesson as if it was an occasion to learn something new or at least an occasion that will get you closer towards your dream job/ university

Know when you’re effective. For example, I know that I work better under pressure, so I tend to procrastinate more and then study 10 hours a day the 2 weeks before an exam. So yes, sometimes my pre-exam anxiety is my main motivation to get through everything. Of course, this one doesn’t work if your exam is in two days!

Test yourself. This one works wonders for me. And you know why? Because when I test myself and I actually see all the mistakes I make and it reminds me that I need to study more and I get so stressed that after taking a fake test I’m able to study for 5 hours straight in order to answer all the questions I did wrong aha

Take breaks. It’s totally OBVIOUS and NORMAL that if you’ve been studying for hours without taking a proper break you’ll lose motivation. You’re not a robot. If you just feel you’ve been re-reading the same page of your textbook over and over it’s just time for you to do something else! If you’re short on time, here are some « break taking » ideas. If after a 10-minute break you’re still not effective, I would recommend taking a longer break, like an hour, before starting to study again!

Discipline. Yeah, I know everyone talks about that so-called motivation and blah blah blah but the truth is : no one really wants to stay all day at home or in a library to study. No one really likes getting up at 6 am for a morning workout (or at least for me), but what keeps us going is self-discipline. Sometimes you gotta force yourself, one step at a time, and you’ll see that you’ll trigger your inner « study machine » without even noticing it. Note that this point can be linked to the first one!

Find yourself a study buddy. It isn’t really my thing since I prefer studying alone, but I know that for some people it really makes a difference. Of course, it has to be a study partner and not a gossip partner!

Study in a library or in a coffee shop. I personally prefer coffee shops. I don’t know why but actually having people around me kinds of pressures me to study and to focus and I feel guilty when I check my phone as if people were looking at me because I wasn’t studying. I don’t know if you sometimes feel the same way, but, try it anyway.

If you found these tips useful, please let me know by reblogging and/or liking this post :) 

For more similar posts, you can visit my blog : anatomyandcappuccini.tumblr.com 

Exams and finals are fast approaching for many people and we’ve all been in a place where we have too much to study and too little time to do it. I am an avid procrastinator so more often than not, I let all material build up in my desk and then I stress out to go over everything before the exam! Fear no more! I have the perfect formula for you!

Stop procrastinating! Going through productivity/study tips youtube videos or studyblrs is not going to do the work for you. Stop obsessing about it, leave your phone out of your study space and organize everything you have to do.

Make a list with all the chapters/topics you have to study. That way you can have a notion of everything you should know. Once you get over them, you can cross them out and feel productive enough to keep going. Trust me, that feeling is one of the best when you are studying!

Study smart, not hard — Understand what are the most important ones and focus on those. If you have little time, there is no way you can go over every material (if it’s too much like usually happens in college/uni) and also, no professor will question everything with the same detail in the exam.

Distribute the amount of material for the amount of days you have — leave at least 2 out. It’s important to organize the material during the amount of time you have so you don’t get too lazy in one day and then stress too much over the many things you have to study on another. Evaluate well what might take longer or not and if it doesn’t work as planned, adjust your plan in the end of the study day. The last two days before the exam are important to leave free for revisions and exam preparation.

In those last 2 days, test yourself. It can be previous exams from previous years (they’re the best option), tests online, quizzes with a friend. Exams from previous years are my favourite option - professors aren’t very original so it’s highly possibly that they will repeat questions. The line of questions are also very similar and even if there aren’t many repeated, at least you already know the basis. Tests online similar to what your professors use are also a good option as well as quiz a friend and vice versa, however, this last option might take longer and not work in little time. If you work well with a study buddy, testing each other would be beneficial for both.

REVIEW ONLY what you’re less prepared for, what you did wrong in the tests, what professors ask the most. If you don’t have enough time, you don’t want to waste it reviewing what you already know. If you know, you know. Believe and trust yourself!!

Don’t stress yourself, it will be alright. Stressing over little time can be a good pressure and motivator but too much can do the opposite effect and that’s not your intention. Find a balance, use your study breaks well enough to rest and relax so you won’t be too overwhelmed in the middle of an afternoon and do nothing the rest of the day.

GET A GOOD NIGHT SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE. You can wake up earlier to review but make sure you have at least 7 hours of sleep that night. Sleeping well the night before the exam is essencial for your brain to process everything you’ve studied. It will also allow your brain to be fresh and ready to work by the time you take the exam. If you are too tired from an all nighter, your brain will be tired and not work as quick and efficient as you need it.

I feel like I have to share my pathway towards success with you because I spent all my life considering success as the very end of the journey when in reality you can have it all along the way. And I think that understanding this is fundamental, not only for your studies but also for your everyday life.

I’ll start by showing you a little example. During my long stay in Cartagena I had the occasion to do a few salsa dance lessons with some of my friends (yeah cliché I know) and as I was listening to the salsa teacher I kept telling myself that I was too rigid and not coordinated at all and that I’d look terrible dancing.

When we had to practice the moves I couldn’t keep up with the rhythm and honestly, I was a mess. The teacher even came to me to tell me that I was thinking too much about the moves!!

In that very moment, I thought: “ok Margot, now think you’re a latina goddess, you’re sexy and you’re a born-to-be a dancer”. As soon as I started telling this to myself, my moves completely improved. They got so much better that I was the only one in the group who was able to perform all the moves correctly on the first try.

What I want to tell you with this story is : you won’t go anywhere as long as you keep a negative mindset. The second you switch your mindset and you turn it into something positive, a little miracle happen. Just as me being able to perform good dance moves (and trust me that this one is really a true miracle :)

Now, I know it’s easy to say but I really want you to understand this because it’ll change your life like it changed mine : whatever you think about, you become.

The minute you start filling your brain with useless thoughts like “I’m not enough of this”, “I wish I had this”, “I wish I looked like that”, “I’m too fat to wear that”, “I have no self-control”, “I’m bad at maths”, etc. well guess what : you’ll still be bad at maths, you’ll stay sad and in months from now you’ll be stuck in the same place.

Here are some bits of advice about what you should be doing instead. Notice that this post is inspired by Gabrielle Bernstein’s book “The Universe has your Back” and also by other inspiring video’s I watched in the past few months :) 

Focus on your goal and imagine how you’re gonna achieve it, how you’re gonna feel and how proud you will be. Make it as clear as possible. Write it down in your journal if you want. Visualize every single detail. If your goal isn’t clear, it’s ok! You can still think about how you can improve your life or how you can work on just loving yourself more. And don’t be afraid to think big.

Practice positive affirmations. This one will be hard in the beginning because we all are used to focus on the things we don’t have, or the habits we want to get rid of, but we never pay attention to what we already have or why we really want success. Instead of thinking “I want to stop biting my nails so I won’t be ashamed of them” think “I’ll be so proud of myself if I stop biting my nails and I’ll feel more confident!”. Trust me, it makes ALL the difference.

Practice gratitude. You have no idea about the positive impact it has. If you struggle with this, try to make a list of at least 5 things you are grateful for every night before going to bed. Write it in a journal or just think about it for a moment. There’s no “wrong” way to practice gratitude. You can be grateful for the pizza you had today, or your cat. It just has to be positive.

Get some inspiration. Read a new book or look for some videos that inspire you. Get closer to people you admire. Inspiration is so important because it allows you to get a better view of what you want to become. I really started changing my mindset the first time I read “You Are a Badass” by Jen Sincero. It has been so eye-opening to me that I started practicing more and more positive actions ! I also found TED Talks to be really helpful for me!! 

Judge less. I know, we’re all humans. We all judge and it’s totally normal to do so. However, we can modify our judgment towards a lot of situations : whenever you notice yourself judging something or someone, take a step back and think why you are doing so, it’ll help you to see clearer and you’ll let more space for love. You don’t know what’s behind the people you’re judging and it doesn’t help you to reach your goal. Use this energy to work on yourself instead.

Stop comparing yourself. Don’t stop because you think you’ll never be enough. You don’t know what the others are going through, you don’t even know what they are thinking. I remember in my first med school year that I was constantly focusing on what the others were doing and comparing it to what I was working on instead. I spent so much energy doing so instead of studying that it made me fail my exams. And you know what the funniest part is? That the people I valued better than me failed their exams too. This definitely changed my vision! The next year I only focused on myself and on my own study methods and I passed all my exams :) 

Start where you are and celebrate small victories : you’ve been feeling like crap and all you did was taking a shower? It’s fine. You took care of yourself. Be happy about it. Be grateful to be able to do so. Don’t wait for the right moment to start something because the truth is that there’s no right moment and that you’ll never really be ready. Success is more about the journey than the destination. Always remember that.

Stay true to yourself. Don’t seek perfection but start loving every part of yourself instead. Don’t apologize for being authentic because it will allow you to understand what truly matters to you in every situation. Being your own self will also help you focus on your goal and not letting distractions around. You’ll gain confidence as you’ll know what works best for you and you’ll be able to let go of negative things in your life.

Also, don’t apologize for your success and your abundance. You are worth it. You’ve always been. 

I hope these tips will help you to reach your goals! You deserve to be happy and successful!

Margot X

Wash your hair. Don’t worry about all those articles online about the best haircare products of 2019 and whatnot, get in, wash it like you usually do, get out. Leave it to air dry, it’s less work for you.

Brush your teeth. Even if you brushed them this morning and are probably going to brush it tonight, do it anyway. Especially if it’s exam time, all that tea or coffee you’re most likely downing (props to you if you only study with water) probably makes them feel kind of gross.

I know most of these lists tell you to run a bath, but let’s face it, for those of you who even have a bath in the first place, the thought of filling that tub and sitting there in complete silence for a couple hours seems like a trek. And ironically exhausting. So instead, just brush your hair, take a nap (set a nice soothing alarm) and once you’ve gotten out of bed, wash your face or at least splash cold water on your face.

CLEAN clean clean clean CLEAN. Easier said than done, but at least start by clearing one messy component of your area; it could be your floor, your desk or your bed. You don’t need to clean and re-organise your entire room marie condo-style for you to actually have a reason to take the time to clean in the first place. A little goes a long way, and you don’t ALWAYS need to do the hard yards ya know.

I would say read a book, but sometimes your brain is melting or buzzing so it can’t really focus on anything lengthy. So instead, find someone reciting a poem online, and just listen to it. I recommend Jeremy Irons and his voicing of tons of T.S Eliot poetry, or Allen Ginsberg reciting his own poetry (Howl is a classic).

If you’re one of those people who drowns their sorrows by listening to music, don’t listen to music!! Don’t reinforce your pain!! So to that I say, listen to a podcast. If the classic podcast genre of true crime is a little too stressful and you’ve already cried twice today, listen to interviews with actors, screenwriters and directors. It can be really refreshing to listen to people you already enjoy the content of talk about their work. I recommend Awards Chatter and Happy Sad Confused.

Stop staring at screens! Just physically sit outside for a bit, you don’t need to go for a jog or do a general workout, just…sit. People-watch, try and memorise the exact scene in front of you, from the mis-en-scene to all the colours and sounds and the way the sunlight feels on your eyelashes. Write it down if you want to, you could even denote a single notebook to your little outdoor descriptions. Or just write on a napkin. To each their own.

Have you eaten today? And I mean something hearty, something that isn’t primarily made out of air and salt. Something that falls under the umbrella of snack does not count; meal is more like it. If not, eat. Preparing food might feel exhausting, but so’s going a relatively long amount of time without something nutritionally substantial.

Deadlines met. Positive energy. Goodnight sleeps. Mental health together. Making connections. Coffee because you want it, not because you need it. Studying but not over studying. Good grades. Easy sailing. Building healthy relationships. Staying on top of things. Falling but getting back on track. Never giving up. Keeping your head up.

here’s a list of my favourite playlists that i listen to when studying. only one playlist has lyrics so if you find that distracting you can skip it!

1 am study session - lofi hip hop/chill beats (1 hour)

a rainy town - animal crossing ost + thunderstorm ambiance (1 hour)

breath of the wild relaxing music with rain (1 hour)

lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to (live radio)

relaxing life is strange music (1 hour) *has lyrics

relaxing music from uncharted series (45 mins)

skyrim music & ambiance - night (1 hour)

skyrim music & ambiance - rainy day (10 hours)

studio ghibli summer night piano collection with nature sounds (7 hours)

the last of us - relaxing music compilation (30 mins)

the legend of zelda - calming & relaxing music compilation (1 hour)

the witcher 3 - peaceful music & nature ambiance (1 hour)

the witcher 3 toussaint - relaxing music for sleep and study (1 hour)

uncharted - ambient music & ambience (1 hour)

𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓊𝓃𝒾 🍑 

In this post, I list 7 of my all-time favorite apps / chrome extensions that I use daily.  I hope I can help out some fellow uni students who are struggling.  This might help make studying less painful and a tiny tiny bit more enjoyable. 

love, edith 🌾