Study & Co.

Okay so this year I’ve been on a MISSION to get healthy since previously in year 9 through 10 I was developing extremely unhealthy eating habits and, was overweight, couldn’t perform in sport the way I wanted and was depressed. I know other people want advice as a young student trying to get healthy so here’s how I’ve gotten to where I am.

I stopped buying unhealthy foods. Honestly this meant doing my RESEARCH and finding out what is good for my body and what isn’t. Writing a shopping list specific to the meals I knew I was going to make during the week and STICKING to this list. 

I joined sports I liked In my case this was going to weekly squash training, going on runs and doing heaps of interval training in my bedroom when I was crushed for time with a heavy workload.

I replaced my granola bars with fruit Snacking is something I do! and something that helps me throughout the day but I realised that those protein/granola bars I was eating were LOADED with sugar and were truly not healthy for me! So I stopped buying them!

I found a couple recipes I loved and rotated them! It’s about finding alternatives to the things you love and replacing them! e.g. whenever im on my period I halve a wrap, put some pasta sauce and cheese on it and put it on the sandwich press and have that instead of pizza with a heap of veg on the side!! Every now and again I get a heap of new recipes and change it up!

I forgave myself and allowed myself to enjoy unhealthy foods This might sound counter intuitive to some but if I’m out with friends, I’ll buy chips and a salad!! I didn’t punish myself for enjoying these treats, it’s just something I ate! I remind myself that I don’t have these things often and move on!

I started walking places That local shopping centre you need to go to for some supplies? Walk there! Your school is only a 30 minute walk? Go for it! Or even just going for a walk for the sake of going for a walk! Stuff like that is not only good for the soul, it can VASTLY improve your metabolism!! 

I became calorie conscious This meant I became AWARE of how many calories I was eating and how many I should be eating. I don’t count calories by any means, I’m just aware. This helped me realise that by eating ‘clean’ I was actually only eating around 1100 calories which was WAYYYYYY under the amount I should be eating for how active I am so I was able to increase my calories and feel SO much more energetic

1. Try to set up a regime. Try your best to wake up early. I know it’ll be 6 or 7 AM on the first two days then the time shall increase proportionally as the motivation to wake up early plunges into the marina trench. So, instead of thinking,“ I’ll wake up at x AM” make it a point to wake up atleast before x + 30min(max).

2. Freshen up and eat breakfast every single day. A long day either with or without commute is dreadful on an empty stomach. So either eat before you leave home or grab something before the classes. On that account, never skip meals or lunch during school time. There was this incident in the first week where one of my classmates skipped lunch (because there was hardly any time) and fell unconsious in chem lab because of exhausion and the smell of chemicals. So the next class, almost all the profs and lab assistants gave us a lecture on the importance of lunch.

3. Excercise. Yes, I’m guilty of thinking about it and not following it properly since day one. But in my defence the comute to and back from uni is a very active lifestyle. But, by the end of the semester, I was waking up at 5 AM and swimming for an hour and cycling atkeast 3 to 4 times a week. So, trust me when I tell you that, It will take time but, it will happen.

4. If at all you are comuting, keep some extra snacks/fruits with you. You’ll be hungry half way before you reach home and the craving to go grab a bag of chips or some junk every single time is not a healthy choice.

5. Eat lunch and breakfast every single day. Try not to skip. Unless, you want to be that guy who faints at a lab or during some class. Yes, that happened to a few people in my lab.

6. Actually be consistent. Don’t just wait for “motovation to study” to come knocking on your doord or fall right into your arms. The only time it happens is a day or two before the exams. Do a little everyday. It does not mean that you sit by the desk for hours together or be a bookworm. Just study a little everyday. Be preared for your classes. If you do not want to learn what will be taught in advance, atleast study the stuff taught in last class. IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE AND GRADES.

7. Keep a diary / bullet journal to keep track of your studies, assignments and tests. The need not be very asthetic or time consuming. (Have you seen mine?) Just use it to make sure you complete your tasks.

8. Be accountable to your tasks or ask someone ypu trust to make sure you do not waste time. It can be your friend, sibling, parent, roommate or anyone you know who will check up on you. I would ask my mum, grandpa or one of my friend to make sure I was studying and not wasting time when I really had to get something done or study during my study holidays or a month before the finals.

9. TRY. TRY. TRY to keep your phone away when you are studying or block certain apps from it. Keep some time away for using your phone and wasting time so that you do not do it when it’s study time.

10. You must always take your own notes. Because, if you take them from somwone else, it will be according to their needs and understandings. You might not find things that you don’t understand in them. On that note, try not to waste a lot of time taking them and beautifying it.

11. Use cornell notes, mindmapping, key points or split page method.( Since I’m done with exams I’ll be posting about them soon.)

I’ll add more as I think of them if remember some.

beginning of the year tips: organisation is important and here’s how to do it 

Hey, guys! this is the other Lou from @pensandcalculators ! First, I wanna thank @study-at-the-disco for letting me join this series! (and being patient with m bc my oh my did I suffer through staff training before this and was supposed to finish this earlier) but more to the point – I just wanna give some advice to my freshies this year, whether that be high school or college, I think these tips are relevant and this is what helped me but is also super helpful for those starting a new school year!

*side note but real talk: start your shit right*

objects that are in motion stay in motion – if you start the year off right, you’re more likely to end the year on a good note, as opposed to starting in the middle of the year and scrambling to catch up.

Bujo vs. planner - If you want a bujo, make it fit your needs. Realistically, having a premade planner is easier to manage, especially during the busier months. I mainly use my planner to write down bigger events as soon as they’re made available to me and then (on the day of or the day before) I write in whatever tasks I think I can accomplish during the day after inputting said events, class time, meals, showers, etc.

if planner, digital or regular planner – personally, I use both! I use the Jorte app because of the combustibility of it where I can see what the next 3 or 4 days will look like on account of the widgets and colour-coding capabilities. This is where I input routine stuff like class times, mealtimes, showering times, and gym times so that I don’t have I use my regular planner to write it in every day since I’m planning to do the same things at the same time every week. On my regular planner, I mostly write in things like big events (e.g.: career fair or school trip) and tasks that need to get done (e.g. email a professor, exam or project deadlines - but not homework and you’ll see why - and non-academic deadlines)

exception to the above point - whenever I am majorly stressed, I forego my normal routine from my digital planner and that is when I write EVERYTHING in my planner without a time frame but in order of importance. this relieves my brain from having to remember what I have to do next and instead allows me to focus on the actual event and optimise performance. during mealtimes, I might ‘turn off’ my brain (not think about schoolwork at all) unless a change in priorities forces me to readjust my schedule

E.g. class (focus on notes)-> lunch (‘brain off’)-> class (notes) -> nap (‘brain off’) -> interview @ 2pm in x center (focus on preparing) -> ethics homework -> dinner (‘brain off’) -> psych reading -> shower (‘brain off’)

a wall calendar is also handy! This is a great visual to be realistic about whether I really need to start a project if it’s not due until the end of next or if I should really get my butt studying for the test that’s “next” month but is actually next week. Only major academic/administrative deadlines (exams, projects and major papers) and school/social functions go on this calendar (in other words, not day-to-day homework)

more on my weekly schedule (as input on my Jorte planner app)

I input all my class info and set the event to “repeat” so that I don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the semester. I also input colour-coded mealtimes (purple), class times/work times/weekly organisational events (black - these are together because they are time slots that I can’t shift around), even shower times (blue) so I have an established routine that’s easy to visualise and already preplanned every week!

My study life app -

lemme tell you how this thing works. Obvs you gotta make an account, but like, this will color code your classes for you and the respective homework you have for them and remind you of the homework you have up to three days beforehand and exams a week beforehand. super tedious but super helpful - an alternative to this is to just print the assignment pages from the syllabi, staple them so they’re together, and highlight the assignments as you finish them so you know where you are/should be at

So, my lowest grade is usually like an 84-88 in math. Everyone I know always asks how I’m so smart, and - while I admit I am pretty smart - I always tell them my grades are good for 3 reasons.

1. ORGANIZATION

Now, before you say you can’t stay organized, neither can I. This is due to my adhd, so I found a way too keep my papers and notes organized week to week.

My trick is that every weekend, on Sunday, either after dinner or when I should be asleep, I empty my back pack and go through each paper. I categorize them into 3 things.

- Notes

- Assignments

- Other

I have a file folder, and I have files for each class. My “other” pile is sorted into papers from each class, and put into those files. My assignments get put in folders for the class or, since I sometimes put 2 classes to 1 folder, classes. My notes get put in their binders and set aside for later.

2. NOTES

I take the world’s sloppiest notes, but I can’t use those to their full advantage. So Sunday, in a time when I won’t be disturbed and can ride that adhd hyperfocus train, I gather my notes, that I take on loose leaf paper, and rewrite them. I just write them down again, in a super neat and clean set up. I then go back and add color and stuff when they’re all rewritten.

This helps my grades because A) I can remember them better since I took the time to rewrite it, and B) they are now readable, and my teachers allow you to use notes on individual tests and assignments or to study for 10 minutes before the test.

3. LATEWORK

I hear from tons of people who say that if they don’t finish an assignment on time, they never turn it in. Stop!!! That’s hurting you more than partial credit!!! A 20 hurts you FAR less than a zero (0). And, if you’re lucky like me, and you know you won’t finish on time, tell your teacher before you get to their Class or after!!! If it’s an assignment you had a day or two of time to work on, go in before school begins and tell them one on one that you will turn it in a day late!!! My teachers appreciate this heads up and often don’t count off since i told them before class. But if it’s an assignment that was due at the end of class, tell them you will turn it in later. Either the next day, or later that same day. I had advisory/study hall right before last period, so I would tell my teachers that I would turn it in during advisory. They often didn’t count off.

Somehow August is already here, which means that in a couple of weeks I’ll be hauling all my things up four flights of stairs to move back into college. Here’s everything I’m doing to get ready!

make a plan

I’ve been making lots of lists lately – things I need to buy, things to pack, things to do. I’ve been planning out what days I need to get things done by working backwards through my calendar. If I’m leaving the 15th, then I need to be all packed by the 14th, which means that I’ll need to wash all my clothes the 13th. Planning this way makes it a lot less overwhelming, because you start by planning the big obvious things first, and then break down what you need to have done before to make those happen. 

shop + pack up

Luckily, since this isn’t my first year in a dorm I don’t have to do as much to get ready, but I still need to go through the boxes from last year and weed out the things I don’t need, and pick up some things I missed having last year. The things I need now are basics: soap, laundry detergent, index cards, but if this is your first year living away from home your shopping list will be a little longer.

I hold off on buying most school supplies until after the first day of class when I can decide exactly what I need. I hate ending up with extra notebooks, especially in a tight space!

Once I have everything, I’ll start packing it up and keep the boxes in my closet so they’re out of the way. Be conscious of your move-in situation when you’re packing. If your building doesn’t have an elevator, you’ll want to use small boxes or bags for the heavy stuff (books, cleaning supplies) and use those bigger bins for your pillows and clothes. 

wrap up summer projects

Is there anything you want to accomplish before the summer is over? Take stock of any projects you’ve been meaning to get around to, and get around to them. For me, that means finishing up my portfolio and painting my bathroom.

see old friends

Make time to have coffee with friends, dinner with your grandparents, and one last sleepover with your high school bestie before you leave town. Schedules are crazy once school starts back for everyone, so it’s probably your last chance for another year to see some people from home. 

relax

Most importantly, I’m taking advantage of my last days of break! I’m going to take every chance to sleep late, catch up on Netflix, and enjoying a few more days without responsibilities. 

This semester I will rest enough, eat enough, and drink enough

This semester I will be productive, organized, and proud of my work.

This semester I will take deep breaths. 

This semester I will move my body.

This semester I will take up space. I will remember I am not, will not, and should not make myself small.

This semester I will practice saying “yes” to some things and “no” to others

This semester I will face stress but I will always return to my breath, to my center, to alignment, to balance.

Hello there, so since I’m done with my first grade of high school for over a month now I thought it would be really nice to share with you some of the things I learned throughout this year that I really think have changed who I am today, cause at the end of the day it’s not all about books it’s about taking care of yourself first. Let’s go!

• Love your body: Oh hun I can not stress this enough; I went into high school being so insecure about my body (believing I was fat at 55 kilos which is just crazy) and generally not feeling so great about myself with my acne, crappy phone etc. Learn to appreciate yourself throughout this year. I became so comfortable with my weight because I exercise every once in a while and I am very careful of what I eat and I know I’m doing the best I can. Did I gain 7 kilos?? Yes I did, but I know that this weight gain was so necessary since I was feeling so weak and dizzy at times before, and because I chose studying over gym. So if you feel upset about your body it’s seriously something that with dedication you can reach every goal you have for it, it’s natural that if you study all day and don’t have time or energy to work out your body will gain two kilos or three but that’s life baby and we are humans so don’t beat yourself up because your stomach got bigger or your thighs IT’S NATURAL❤️.

• Reconsider your friends: As we grow as people and personalities it’s natural to change the people we hang out with. Either because they don’t have the same beliefs or values as us or because they’re underestimating and insult us in any possible way. For me this year racists, homophobes, sexists and every other person that was violating other people’s rights was just cut off of my life, no need for all this negativity trust me.

• Allow yourself to make mistakes: Assignments all wrong or out of subject, essays that came out completely awful, Science tests that I completely failed; it’s all part of the program. Don’t freak out. I had one specific subject last year that went miserably awful, Science. Didn’t understand the teacher, the stuff we were doing and overall couldn’t keep up with the pressure because I had my mind in classes that I was really interested in like Ancient Greek or History. If this happened in Junior High I would probably cry if I had seen these grades, but now that I realized that what I want to do has nothing to do with Science and I didn’t fail at the class I really want to focus on the things that matter for my future (without this meaning that you don’t try just a bit to do something at the subject you’re not interested at). Always keep your notes in class, always behave kindly, and if you don’t get it at the tests and all that like me, grab your teacher and tell him that you can’t understand and that you’re trying, it’s better to let him know that you can’t learn it than let him think you don’t care about his class.

Hey friends!! Today, we’re knocking out five things to avoid before the rise of the new school year (all of which I’ve fallen victim to at some point in my years of schooling). And if you want to see my things to do before the school year, click here! Enjoy.

1. Starting a long show you could be prone to binging. 

Binging is an interesting phenomenon in today’s society. It’s like a badge of honor, a sport, and a vice that brings people together, all at once. And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for packing in six episodes of Friends before a night out. However, starting a ten-season show right before school may not be your best bet for a productive year. If you know you can ration out your episodes carefully, by all means, click play. But if you’re like me, you’d do well to avoid the tempting S1E1.

2. Putting off summer assignments.  

I’m saying this out of sheer experience when I say that it is too early in the year to let procrastination be taking over your tired soul. And you might be thinking, “Well, it’s too early in the year to be getting assignments to procrastinate over.” Whether or not that’s true, I have a news flash: you have no control over what you’re assigned. You only have control over what you do about it. (If you’re struggling with mental illness, that control may be a lot harder to achieve and maintain. But, as someone who has struggled with mental illness for a long time, I can testify that putting off that homework will only worsen your health later on. Take baby steps and try to start now.)

3. Keeping emotional baggage in your life. 

Especially with people you’re gonna see at school. Your energy is precious. Toxic people and festering wounds are not worth it. If you’re feeling particularly baggage-heavy, try taking a social media detox. Whether it’s for an hour, a day, or a week, you’ll feel more clear-headed and clear-hearted afterward.

4. Overplanning! 

Sometimes, I can get so lost in creating spreads and making lists that hours go by without any actual work being done. The illusion of productivity makes overplanning hard to avoid. So, if you have some things you still want to get done before school starts, try finishing one before you sit back down with your Staedtlers and Zebra Mildliners. It’ll be one thing you can check off at the start of the day and will be so so gratifying. 

5. Getting overwhelmed before it even starts. 

literally everyone has made a post about this, but i’m gonna put my two cents in anyway. here are the things i (almost) always keep in my school bag. some might be right for you, some might not be. 

basic school supplies  this can look different depending on your major and personal preferences. for me, a soc major: notebook or loose leaf paper, two pens, two pencils, two highlighters, planner, mini stapler

self care items  lotion, hand sanitizer, hair bands, chapstick!!

reusable water bottle  and a snack depending on the schedule

electronics  phone, laptop (for certain classes), chargers, headphones

essentials  wallet (money, license, student ID), keys, mints or gum are good for bad breath and mild stomach aches

medication  of course anything that needs to be taken at school or any emergency meds (inhaler, epipen, etc.). i carry an as-needed prescription for anxiety everywhere i go

fidgets  look, i don’t like fidget spinners myself, but i didn’t realize that i’ve been using fidgets for anxiety for years. i consider them grounding tools. my favorites are crystals, kinetic sand, and this little knit fiber tube with a marble inside that allows you to push the marble back and forth. these are great for boring classes, important meetings, and general anxiety/attention issues

aka how I survive medschool, due to popular demand.

During school (weekdays)

I wake up at 6.30 AM, wash my face, apply moisturizer & brush my teeth. (I shower the night before)

If I’m hungry I’ll have breakfast (eggs, ALWAYS) but 99% of the time I don’t have feel like eating in the morning & I only eat when I’m hungry. But I have 2-3 small meals packed from the night before.

I get dressed quickly (I pick out my outfits the night before, game changer let me tell you), fill in my brows, apply mascara & that’s all I do for getting ready.

My house is 20 minutes away from uni, my classes always start at 8 AM, I finish at around 2.30-3.30 PM

I get home at around 4 PM, the first thing I do is  put comfy clothes on, grab a snack, chill on social media for an hour or so, eat dinner at around 6 PM

I have my coffee after dinner (I only allow myself 1 coffee per day because I get really bad tachycardia) & I study for about 2-3 hours.

You can find my study routine here.

Then I pick out tomorrow’s outfit, make tomorrow’s meals, shower & do my nighttime skin care routine.

I’m usually done with everything at about 9-10 PM, I do whatever I feel like doing until about 12 AM that’s when I usually go to sleep :)

BACK TO SCHOOL: HABITS TO DEVELOP

hi guys! i’m back with a masterpost of sorts, and a positive one since my posts haven’t been the most optimistic recently… 

for some of us, back to school is right around the corner. for others (including me), we have a month left, and the realisation that school exists and we should probably start preparing is beginning to settle in. 

start waking up earlier: wow, wow, wow. the most generic ‘tip’ ever to exist. but it’s true - if you keep waking up at 12pm, you’ve already lost most of your day and don’t have all that much time to do stuff. so, wake up earlier. i wake up naturally between 7 and 9am anyway (9am is a lie-in for me, thank you body clock *eyeroll*) so this isn’t a huge thing for me, but goddammit if you want any chance of not being an angry teenage monster when you have to go back to school, start waking up earlier a few weeks before summer ends. 

follow your school routine: i saw this tip recently (i can’t remember who posted it, i’m so sorry! credit to you!) where you follow your school routine every morning, which can not only normalise it so you don’t associate that routine with school (that made no sense, i’m sorry - it just reduces the association with school, and when school comes around, you’ll hopefully associate it with summer break) but it gives you some kind of purpose in the morning so you don’t end up in bed all day with a jar of nutella for company…. i see you. 

journal: this doesn’t have to be a perfect bullet journal like the ones you see all over tumblr, or a planner. i mean a journal, to write in and press flowers in if you wanted to, and just sit and feel like those girls who sit under a big window with books and a handwritten inky journal with no technology in sight that you see on tumblr in the lead-up to autumn. (phew, that was a long sentence). this grounds you, but KEEP IT PERSONAL! not school related! as a person who’s brain works on associations, it’s important to keep potentially stressful environments and aspects of my life completely separate from places of solace (in this case, the journal, where i go to write and say everything i need to). 

have a ritual: yes, i’m a witch, so this could be a witchy ritual. but no, i’m talking about something you do weekly, whether it’s a friday night, a sunday or a mid-week pickup on a wednesday. this is an evening where you, for example, finish all your work by 8pm and then devote the rest of your evening to chilling. the fuck. out. put your books away and get your bag ready for the next day, and get up from your desk. draw a bath or take a shower. a long one. preferably a bath, so you can sit with bubbles and a book and chill out completely. then, make a cup of tea and sit in bed with a book or your journal, or an episode of your favourite netflix show. then go to sleep feeling really calm and at ease. 

do your work as soon as you get it: every year - every term (okay sorry, semester. jeez, i’m a brit. anyway.) for that matter - we say to ourselves that the second we get homework or a project, we’ll do it immediately. do we end up doing that? no. should we? yes. set that same goal this year, and at least try to do it. okay but seriously, this is important if you want to keep up, all jokes aside. 

check who you’re surrounding yourself with: are these people motivating? positive? do they lift you up, and keep you on the right path? or do they drag you down with their own woes that they drown you in, or do they belittle you, or make you feel like school is dumb and ruin the motivated mindset you had ten minutes ago? if so, leave. find new, better people who tick all the boxes. in school, you need a support base of people who help you academically, and listen to you - but remember, you need to be returning that. you need to listen to them when they need it, and help them in return. 

eating breakfast: i suck at eating when i’m not at school - in the three weeks i’ve been on summer break, i don’t think i’ve eaten lunch once. but school reminds me to eat, and i come v close to dying if i don’t eat breakfast before school, but i know that suddenly eating in the morning after six or seven weeks of… not… can suck and can make you feel pretty shit, so start doing it a week or so before - if you haven’t noticed, these habits are all things to start before school, so they’re already habits by the time summer ends! 

make a study group (chat): i’m kicking my social anxiety in the ass and i posted to my snapchat asking for people to message me if they’d be interested in being in a study groupchat on snapchat, which hopefully could turn into an actual study group when exams get closer. i’ve never done this before, but it seems promising so i highly recommend you try this as well! it doesn’t have to be a post-on-story-and-wait-for-applicants, it can just be your friends, and have that chat be strictly-study related, not just a groupchat. i had one like this last year, and we had strict rules that you weren’t allowed to talk about non-study stuff, since it was a group with my best friends and we had two other groupchats (i take things way too seriously lol)

“I’m scared school will be too high paced for me at the beginning and i might fall behind.”

“What if i fail?”

“I’m afraid I won’t make my grades/reach my goals.”

“School is going to start soon and it’s stressing me out really bad. I don’t know what to do or where to start!”