Study Until You Succeed

100 days of productivity: 20/100 !

hey y’all! after a one day break, i’m back with more bio notes! school starts on monday and i’m not prepared at all, i don’t know how i’m gonna handle it but i guess we’ll see how it goes. hope u all had a great day!

AND GET SHIT DONE FOR REAL (part 1)

1. Study your syllabus. 

 In there you’ll get all the important information: books, assignments, scores, goals, due dates, deadline, you even get a planner. You can’t overlook any of this. Nowadays most syllabi are full of crap, they have more pages than they did a couple of years back, yet students are still confused or don’t even use it. These are the things I look for in the syllabus: 

Books. Yeah, you get a list at the beginning of the semester but some courses have readers or make use of articles as materials too. Which you are likely required to download or print yourself. I like to be 101% prepared and that means getting all my reading materials. I download all my books, readers and articles and organize them right away on Google Drive so I don’t have to look for them at the last minute. 

Learning objectives. My syllabi have a section dedicated to the objectives of the course. This is a lifehack by Shirou, folks. So listen carefully. If the syllabus says “create a marketing communication plan based on the marketing policy”, YOU 👏 WILL 👏 GET 👏 THAT 👏 SHIT 👏 IN 👏 YOUR 👏 TEST. 👏 NO 👏 ARGUING. You better start looking at what a marketing communication plan consists of. So write the objectives down in your notebook, in a document, somewhere you’re sure to look, so when the professor starts explaining that objective, you’ll paying 200% of your attention. I like to write them down with checkboxes. That way, if I see we’re getting close to exam week and the professor still hasn’t explained that objective, I’ll take the opportunity to ask and not lose any time. The entire course is likely to go around these objectives. So if you understand them, and can explain them, then you’re likely to pass that course. It has worked for me these past 2 years. 

Test. What kind of test will I get? Is it a written test, digital, presentation, essay? A combination of these? If it’s written or digital, you know it’ll most likely be individual. If it’s a presentation or essay, chances are high it’s in a group. I have the most difficulty with group works. They give me a hell of a time and I want nothing more than to avoid them. So I take this opportunity to see how hard I will have to work for the subject. And of course, if there are multiple exams within a course, I take a look at the percentage of each one of them so I get to prioritize the most important examination. If I have a presentation that counts for 20%  and I have to write a report that counts for 80%, I’ll work my ass off to get a perfect score for that report. Ultimately, that’s what’s going to raise my score faster. So it will be downright stupid to do a mediocre work on the report, hoping the presentation will raise my final score. 

Take a good look at the planning. Are there any due dates or deadlines for things you have to deliver before midterms or exam week? Highlight those! In my first semester, I overlooked those in between due dates where your professor gives you feedback. Bad decision, people. I could have had a higher score if I had delivered things as planned and get feedback. But nope. 😥

You’ve sat down at your desk. You have everything you need on your table or somewhere around you. You start to work. You think, “this is going well,” until a notification pops up on your laptop screen. And then another notification pops up on your phone. And during that period when your eyes were off of your study material, you also noticed a bag of chips, a magazine, your unfinished journal spread, your roommate bobbing their leg up and down and up and down, the pattern of the wood on your bookshelf, a text message, your bed … suddenly you can’t remember what you were supposed to be doing but instead think about how much you want to sleep. Or how hungry you are. Or how much you want to go hang out with your friends. Or your entire life choices.

I’m sure we’ve all been there. Sometimes it’s really difficult to stay focused while studying, and with all the distractions that surround us, it really isn’t surprising. However, there are ways that you can minimize the chances that you’ll give in to those distractions and focus on your work instead. Here are some that have worked for me:

Prepare for the session

The first thing you should do is clear your space. Don’t have things lying around that could make you distracted - put all your food where you can’t see them, your phone inside your bag, etc. However, there also comes a time when you have a thought that’s super important, but you can’t extend that thought or you’ll get sucked into a chain of other distracting thoughts. I like to have a notebook or piece of paper nearby where I can jot down these compulsive thoughts that I’ll get back to later - this is usually my bullet journal.

You could also find a study space where you’re the least prone to distraction. For me it’d be a cafe, since I would only have the things I brought with me. My dorm is where a lot of the distractions are: my books, all my journals and stationery, and my bed. Some people like studying in the library, but personally I find it distracting when other people around me are studying as well (especially when it’s super quiet and you can hear every pen click and page turn).

In addition, you might also want to do things like have a snack, go to the bathroom, and check your phone before you start your study session, so you won’t have the urge to do those things during your study session.

Block out your time and assign specific tasks

I’ve found that whenever I have a very vague schedule - like “I’ll study [ subject ] from 3 to 5 or something” or “I’ll complete these 5 tasks in 4 hours” or even worse “I’ll learn the whole syllabus in the next 2 months” - I don’t get as much done as I could. It’s hard to focus when you don’t really have a specific thing to focus on. You know how on the weekends especially, you have a whole list of things to do but every time you do one thing you get distracted by the thought of another? That can be solved by time blocking. Set aside a specific period of time to do a specific task, and eventually, those will accumulate into more productive hours.

It’s even more efficient to block smaller periods of time - 5 or 10 minutes or so. For example, even though I use the pomodoro technique of doing a task for 25 minutes then taking a 5-minute break, I break up those 25 minutes. If I were studying my flashcards, I might set a goal of finishing one stack - usually one topic - in 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the stack). If I simply assigned 4 pomodoro sessions to review all my cards, this would make me prone to stretching out the amount of time I spend on a single stack, and in that stretching of time comes a loss of focus. It is a lot easier to focus for 10 minutes on one thing than 25 minutes on 3 things.

Note: What has helped me study for exams is scheduling out my time in months, and then weeks, then days, then hours, then minutes, so I’ll know the direction I’m going in, but I also won’t be overwhelmed by the amount of tasks I have to complete since I can do one small task at a time.

Practice, practice, practice

Like everything else in life, in order to be good at something, you have to practice. Learning to maintain focus is the same. At first, focusing for 25 minutes might feel hard and maybe even painful, but as you complete more pomodoro sessions, you’ll find that focusing for 25 minutes is effortless (or whatever period of time you usually work/study for).

Another way to practice focusing is by meditating. Meditating is part of my morning routine, and it’s definitely helped me stay focused in other activities, so you might wanna give that a try. 

Work alone

I can tell you that of all the group study sessions I’ve had with my friends, most of them are much less efficient than if I had chosen to work alone. (The exception was when I was stuck with a bug in my code and my friend helped me figure it out.) Friends are very distracting, and even when you promise yourselves you’ll work on assignment or that you’ll only discuss the topic you’re studying, your conversation will inevitably stray from that.

Take breaks

When you’re tired, you’re sure to be distracted, so one way of combating that is to take breaks. It refreshes you so that you have more energy to focus during your next study session.

Aside from that, you should schedule your distractions during your breaks - go to the bathroom, grab a snack, go on your phone, or during longer breaks you can talk to your friends, take a nap, etc - so that you won’t give into those compulsions during your study sessions. Because you’ve already done those distracting things, when you’re studying, you’ll end up thinking something along the lines of, “Oh, I’ve already checked Instagram five minutes ago; my phone can wait,” or “I just had a snack, I can go get another one once I’m finished.”

That’s all the tips I have for you right now about how to maintain focus while studying. I hope this has been helpful, but as usual, if you have any questions, or some of your problems aren’t covered in this post, feel free to reach out to me by dropping an ask or sending me a message. Also, linked below are several of my posts that you mind find helpful. Have an awesome day!

Relevant posts

How to Beat Procrastination

The Mandatory Midday Break

4 Secrets to Efficiency

hey everyone, i’m going to be honest here, you will never get rid of procrastination completely. unless i’m wrong, and there may be some possible way to completely get rid of procrastination. if so, i don’t think anyone has figured it out.

anywho, i’ve been procrastinating for years, so i feel like i have some decent tips on how to procrastinate less. here’s my advice!

1. focus on your discipline the most. your discipline skills are your biggest defense against procrastination. there will be times in your life where you just DON’T want to finish your essay, we’ve all been there. you need good discipline to get you in focus. stop thinking about all of those distracting concepts that pull you into procrastination, and start doing your work.

2. you need to keep the good motivation to fight procrastination. it ties along with #1, except motivation is more long term. if you want to accomplish your goals, you get the discipline needed to work for them.

3. try to find time around the day to do some work, especially at school. i do school work at lunch, and sometimes in the morning, as well as occasionally in class if i have free time, since i don’t have a study hall. it helps since it feels like you have less work to do during your normal studying times.

4. remember, doing a little bit of work for a big assignment is better than ditching it completely. if you get a project on the first day, and only manage to do 1/5 of it on that day, it really is better than not doing it at all. you might thank yourself later. try really hard to at least do ONE thing on any work you get on the first day.

5. multitask if more than one assignment correlates with another. if you have a history worksheet and a history test coming up, use the worksheet to review concepts when you need to study. i do this often, and it helps me more than just doing the worksheet. this might not help others though, and that’s fine too! if you can only focus on one thing at a time, you do your thing.

6. i cannot stress this enough, find any good time management that works for you. one popular option is the pomodoro technique (25 minutes of working with a 5-minute break. i’ve heard of other options as well, from 20 → 10, 40 → 20, and even 52 → 17. if you’re not into routines, at least take a break for 5-10 minutes whenever you feel mentally exhausted! just not every 5 minutes, trust me, that leads to procrastination after the second or third “break”.

7. use your “break” time (from #6) doing something relaxing and NOT distracting. unless you have godly discipline skills, i doubt going on your phone will cause you to get back to work properly. take a small walk, eat a snack, stretch, etc.

8. use those app/program blockers to block social media and messaging apps if you’re like me and you have severely weak discipline skills. nothing much will happen while you’re busy doing your work. if something does occur, that’s up to you to find out when you’re done with your work.

9. find a good place to actually do your work! my favorite is the library, it’s so peaceful and it gives the right setting for studying. try your best to study in the least distracting place possible. if you can’t, attempt to decrease as many distractions in your location as possible.

10. find what works for you in terms of listening to music. i personally listen to kpop, and some of us know how catchy the music can be. however, i can usually listen to kpop while doing worksheets without getting distracted. however, if i’m studying, retaking notes, reading, etc. i need ambient music (i mainly use rainymood.com!) to make me concentrate. some of us need instrumentals and/or ambient music, others can’t listen to music at all. that’s fine!

11. turn off your notifications, turn on airplane mode, put away your phone, etc. do anything that works for you. i need my phone as well as internet, so i just turn off my notifications, but not seeing any distractions might make you more likely to do your work.

12. plan things out when you get home. i personally cannot do my work first thing when i get home unlike some people, i get too mentally drained from school! i take a shower, and then eat lunch while doing my work. find out what works for you. i also cannot do the hardest assignment first to “get it out of the way”. i need a medium level assignment to prepare myself for the heavy mental work for the hard assignments!

13. as referring to #12, if one advice doesn’t work for you, don’t use it! we are all different, so if practically everyone you know can do one thing, and you’re better doing the opposite of that, just do what makes you better at productivity.

14. plan out big projects, quizzes, tests, etc. do not cram! i repeat! please! do not cram! it doesn’t feel good at all, and you’re more likely to score worse anyways. try to balance out your work/studying every day or a couple days a week with a good amount of time for all of those days. it helps your memorization more, too.

15. some say that studying in a different place once in a while helps. i personally never tried this, because my brain cares more about adaptation, but it has helped other people i know!

16. get comfortable when you study, but not too comfortable. don’t study on your bed, and please don’t study on the floor. your brain thinks of your bed as the place to sleep, so it’s best to not be on your bed often unless it’s for sleeping. for me at least, studying on the floor really kills my back. please get comfortable and find a table or desk or anything good!

17. another thing i do is that i switch assignments if i feel like i’m not focused. it helps me a lot, i would assume it lets my brain change focus to another productive activity which results in me gaining focus on something important!

18. do anything productive if you have a long break (or if you’re procrastinating haha). it gets your brain in a productive mood and it can help you focus when you go back to your work.

19. reward yourself for whatever bit of work you accomplish. my favorite rewards are my biggest distractions that i look forward to when i finish all of my work. :”)

20. take your free time away to do some extra work every once in a while. it certainly helps not to cram everything in one day.

21. please remember that it takes some, if not a lot of time to improve a habit like procrastination. you will not improve completely in one night. and sometimes, you will procrastinate, and that’s okay! just keep improving yourself, you have time.

Cute cord management….seems to be one of the biggest issues along with storage organization and innovation today when it comes to glamming up your most valuable space in your home! I have a few tricks to share with you that will help with organization, cord management, and productivity.

Hack #1: It is proven that when you are happy and satisfied that you work more productively. So having cute accessories to go along with your work/study space is almost a given. Say goodbye to that 80′s stapler and upgrade to a matching desk set. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it’s a nice feeling to look forward to adhering that report together with your new stapler. Anything that will give you that extra boost of motivation to complete your tasks is worth investing in.

Hack #2: Instead of investing in a new iPad or tablet case, to make your device stand vertically, try looking for a dish stand/cookbook stand. I picked this adorable stand up at an outlet store for under $5! Like I previously mentioned, revamping your desk doesn’t have to be pricey. Now I don’t have to get rid of my favorite iPad case (let me know if you’d like the information to purchase the case I currently use, it has a kickstand for horizontal use) and the cookbook stand doubles as a clipboard holder for when I’m typing research papers or essays and need to reference information consistently. Other stands that were marketed for the same purpose on online retailers were at least five times the price of this handy stand. Plus, the kickstand in the back is adjustable if you’d like to have the device, paper, clipboard, textbook (yes, it holds my texts books as well and the arrow in front keeps the page from turning!), etc. at different angles. I would recommend this hack to anyone looking for a decorative book/device stand or anyone who needs a book or device stand on a budget. I should also note that Hobby Lobby sells basic versions of these holders in black, brass/gold, and silver. They are extremely affordable, especially if you purchase the plate holder with Hobby Lobby’s weekly 40% off coupon.

Hack #3: This is an example of how the stand works and looks from the front (second photo). I also use the stand for my planner. It is helpful to be able to have your planner/to do list right in front of you while you are completing tasks for the day. I have purchased a Create 365: The Happy Planner and it is set up with three boxes for each day. I use one box for each school (since I attend two different colleges) and the last box for other things I need to accomplish that day. I make little checkboxes inside each box for each task I need to complete and mark them off when I have finished the task. I also color coordinate for each class/school which makes it helpful when I am glancing at the planner so I can differentiate which items are for which class/school. This also helps on the monthly view of the calendar, where I continue to use color coding to write tests and papers. The colors match the binders I use for each class to keep everything consistent. I also have three snap-in tabs in The Happy Planner (I purchased these at Staples). I use the first tab for this month’s monthly view, the second tab I use for this week’s weekly view/today’s view (which you are viewing in this photo), and the last tab I use for next month’s monthly view so I can write down upcoming assignments and appointments. They are handy to have right at the top of the planner because the side view tabs are hidden when the planner is closed (which I do like for aesthetic purposes).

Hack #4: Cord management is a big issue because I have a tv on the wall above my desk. Which means inevitable wires…everywhere! So the one wire that I couldn’t hide, I took a tall floral arrangement and wrapped the cord in there. Which you cannot see from straight-on, but from this angle, it is slightly visable. So if you have cords that hang down the wall and you can’t hide them in the wall, for whatever reason, use a plant, picture, tapestry or lamp even to creatively hide them.

Hack #5: This is an important “hack” because if you don’t stay hydrated you’ll start to get tired and no one wants to be tired when they are in the middle of a great workflow! So stay hydrated so your body can function properly. When I say to stay hydrated, I mean with water. I invested in one of these metal vacuum bottles, I found it super affordable at Tuesday Morning. It holds 25 oz., so I know how much water I am drinking and it keeps my water cold in the car during the summer as well. These bottles can keep your water cold for up to twenty-four hours! Similar to the popular Hydroflask, which I wanted to try a competitor before I invested the full $50 in a Hydroflask. I’ll tell you why I won’t spend $50 on one if you comment and specifically ask me to. But we tend to drink more water if it’s colder, so I highly recommend investing in one of these “stay cold” bottles.

Hack #6: My last hack is to use one a cosmetics organizer as a pen/stationery organizer! I found this cute organizer at Hobby Lobby and used a 40% off coupon to purchase it under $10! It organizes my colored highlighters and felt-tipped pens. It’s an essential if you’re a pen junkie like myself. I also love how it can hold things as large as a post-it and a giant paperweight in the front compartment.

Please let me know if you enjoyed these hacks or have any questions on any of my purchases. I am always more than happy to help or answer questions.

Here are some study tips for different learning styles that I’ve gathered from talking to friends and from what some professors have recommended their students to do:

VISUAL

draw pictures in your notes

benefit from illustrations & presentations that use color

use diagrams, graphs, underlining, mind-maps, etc

study in a visually appealing place

AUDITORY

study in groups, discuss things out with other people

record lectures, take part in a study group, go to tutoring

reduce lecture notes to only the main ideas

read texts out loud, pretend to teach someone else

explain ideas to other people

recite, recite, recite

create jingles or mnemonics 

READ/WRITE

take notes during the lecture

underline, highlight, or circle printed material

borrow other students’ notes to compare and contrast

use a variety of colors, pens, highlighters, note cards, etc

write it out, re-write your notes, create mind-maps

make and use flashcards for studying

KINESTHETIC

trace letters and words to learn spellings, etc

take several breaks

write everything out

move around to learn new things

use non-distracting movement while you learn (like shaking your leg/foot, chewing gum, tap your pen/pencil)

listen to non-distracting music

study while walking or working out

MULTI-MODAL

write things out but also use colors and diagrams

move around, study in an isolated space, work at a standing desk