KD

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker

THIS BOOK is life changing. (Even Bill Gates thought so!) I learned so much, and not just scientific facts that satisfy my curiosity. My (seemingly defunct) sleep habits have been validated, and I’m now empowered with ways to drastically improve my physical, mental, and emotional health. Ever since finishing the book I’ve been enthusiastically telling others to please read it.

Some things I’ve personally learned:

Being a night owl, early bird, or somewhere in the middle is genetic. We literally can not change this “habit”, because it’s not a habit; it’s a biological function. About 40% of people are early birds, 30% are night owls, and 30% are in the middle. The theory as to why we’ve evolved this way is because as a social species, this natural ability to take turns keeping watch at night improves our survival as a whole. Thus we as a society need to rethink and rework the ways that our world favors early birds and shuns night owls.

All teenagers have a shift in circadian rhythm that is different than young children and adults. They literally can not naturally fall asleep until well past midnight, and thus should not be waken up until after their 8 hours of sleep. What parents–and society–expecting teens to go to bed by 10 pm and wake up by 6 or 7 am for school is like asking an adult to go to bed at 7 or 8 pm, and then wake up at 4 am. Horrible, right? And yes, that chronic sleep-deprivation does have real consequences, such as a link to increased physical and mental illness. 

The natural human sleep schedule is a continuous 7-8 hours at night, and a brief 30 - 60 min nap in the afternoon. Studies have shown that in cultures where this schedule has been suddenly disrupted (like a study in Greece), people with no history of cardiovascular disease suddenly showed a 37% increase in the chance of dying from heart disease (vs those who still maintained a mid-day napping schedule) over the 6-year study period. Yikes. 

Oh, btw, that whole observation in Western Europe about people sleeping in 2 segments in the night (and waking up in the middle to eat, socialize, etc) is not a biological thing, but rather, cultural. That is not how humans have evolved to sleep. 

I think we’re all kind of familiar with knowing that sleep is attached to remembering facts, but sleep is also necessary for learning new facts. Thus a good night’s rest is not just essential for doing well on tomorrow’s exam, but also for remembering tomorrow’s lecture in another class. To put it another way: you retain short-term memories in the hippocampus, but it has a storage limit (like a USB stick). Thus sleep helps move those memories into long-term storage so you can remember them, and by doing so, also frees up that space for new memories. 

Sleep is also essential for learning new motor skills. If you’re having trouble with say, playing a difficult piece on the piano, try again after a full night’s rest. When you’re sleeping, your brain is still actively working perfecting that sequence of piano keys you need to press. Thus the adage of “practice makes perfect” should be amended to “practice and sleep makes perfect”. 

Sleeping 6 hours/night for 10 days straight will cause a cognitive decline equivalent to staying up for 24 hours straight. And for those of us who keeps that exact same sleep schedule and think we’re “fine”, we really don’t realize how not fine we are because we think that’s our baseline normal. If you’ve ever wished to have more energy and be more productive, sleeping more may just be your magical wish-granting-genie.

Every hour in the US someone dies from a car accident caused by someone behind the wheel not getting enough sleep, due to the brain essentially “blacking out” to outside stimulus for a few seconds during a micro-sleep. As a perspective: a drunk driver is merely slow at reacting to say, slamming the brakes; a sleep-deprived driver going through a micro-sleep doesn’t react at all. 

Heart attacks across the US spike significantly the day following daylights savings when everyone loses an hour of sleep. The opposite is true when we gain back that hour in the fall: heart attacks drop the following day. And that’s just one piece of evidence that sleep supports a healthy heart. 

Sleeping 4 hours/night for just six nights increases your blood glucose levels so much you would be classified as pre-diabetic. 

It’s well known that alcohol can disrupt REM sleep. What was interesting is that alcohol-disrupted sleep can interfere with memory (and thus learning) even up to three nights later, even if you get 2 full nights of sleep before consuming alcohol. Therefore, if you have an exam on Monday, drinking on the Friday before will interfere with remembering everything you’ve studied the previous 2 days. 

Blue light, like those emitted from LED lightbulbs and the phone/tablet/computer screen you’re reading this from, stimulates our brain to wake-up and to stay awake. The evolutionary hypothesis for this is that we–and all land animals–evolved from marine life in the ocean, where the only visible light is blue, and therefore our brains recognize blue light as a cue to wake up. 

✧i decided to make some iphone 6 backgrounds!

feel free to use them! please reblog/like if you do

three graphic wallpapers for study inspo! 

✎ STUDY MOTIVATION WALLPAPERS ✎

New on Emma Studies Etsy Shop!

These are a couple of things I’ve added to my shop over the last few days! I have linked them all below:

2018 monthly desktop calendar pack

productivity time manager printable pack

post-it note landscape planner plan

finance organiser bundle

weekly task planner printable

weekly overview planner printable

No teacher will ever tell you how to study, they will only say that you have to study.

No one has any idea how to study, they just try out things and see what works for them.

There isn’t a “standard” or “universal” way of studying but there are tips and methods that work for most people.

1 method won’t work for everything. 

When it comes to languages, you’ll have a plan or an idea of what you should do, but you need to be open minded and flexible. You adapt to the situation. 

Having a partner for studying might be a blessing or a nightmare, it depends on you.

Always have snacks around. You don’t want to stop when you finally focus only to grab something to snack on.

Always have a bottle of water, or maybe 2.

If what you do it’s weird but it works for your studies, it’s not weird, it’s just a new method.

There’s no “talent” when it comes to languages, it’s just experience and some badass strategy behind the success. And this applies to studying in general from what i’ve seen.

Being organized and disciplined might not sound fun, but it saves your ass when motivation goes away.

Sooner or later, you realize that only you can get up and study. No one will give a shit if you do it or not, people are selfish, accept it.

Figure out if you are a planner person or not. Not everyone can follow a schedule.

Plan your breaks.

Just start doing something small. Once you start, you’ll work more than you planned.

Elle Woods, Rory Gilmore and Hermione Granger are the holy trinity. The motivation you can get from them is unimaginable.

Never underestimate the power of a motivation list. Just a list with people you admire can make you work. It’s that simple.

Sleeping enough is more important than you think!

You’re way much better than you imagine. You can deal with everything, just be confident.

Nothing is so difficult as you think it is, it gets easier once you work for a while.

Your mind will trick you and make you think in the middle of a study session that you can’t handle it but if you ignore that, you’ll realize it’s just a trick because you might not be used to study like that or for that long.

Organize your study space so you don’t waste 10 minutes. 10 minutes in which you might lose your mood for studying.

Keep a diary. Write in it your progress and your fears or whatever bothers you. You don’t need to write daily in it but just writing down and seeing what bothers you helps a bit.

Know why you’re studying! Without a goal in mind, in a couple of days, maybe weeks if you’re lucky, you’re gonna give up.

Studying in bed will make you sleepy. 

Eating lunch will make you sleepy and a bit lazy so choose an easy task for that time of the day.

Studying in pajamas is nice, but that outfit kinda sets your mind in the “i go to sleep” mood so just take some clothes that you don’t sleep in. Let’s face it, we all have old clothes that we don’t want to throw away but we wear inside the house.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Never compare yourself to others. Your only competition is you.

Don’t be afraid to be outstanding. 

It doesn’t matter if you have expensive pens or cheap ones, in the end, they all do their job.

There are people who like to decorate their notes, and there are people who like keeping them simple but everyone uses a highlighter at some point in their life.

You’ll ace everything by overlearning.

Others’ limits aren’t yours. 

Don’t check your phone. If you check it once, you lost.

Same with the snooze option in the morning.

Instead of saying that you don’t have time, better say “I’m not a priority”. See what effect that has on you.

Don’t judge people. The weirdo that no one talks to might have life tips that will save you. Or even better, might be a friend for life.

Tips and tricks won’t work if you don’t.

Always have a trick or two saved for later. Others might not be your competition now but you never know who wants the same job as you in 10 years.

The sooner you start, the sooner you’re done.

When you feel down, remember 1 skill that was a pain to learn but now it’s something you love.

Learn to listen.

Your goals are important to you but many people won’t give a damn about them. Learn to let go people who don’t respect your goals/priorities.

If people hate you, they a) envy you because you’re amazing, b) they are just shitty or c) a+b.

Always be innovative. Why? People will copy what you do if you have success so always be 2 steps ahead.

Don’t stress over exams/tests/presentations that passed already. They are in the past, don’t overthink these.

There’s no point in collecting tips and resources if you don’t start using them.

It takes time to be disciplined but that’s not impossible. You just need to want and try over and over again until you’ve got it.

Get used to make mistakes, others don’t even remember them.

Most people can’t memorize very well in the morning, avoid learning new words after you wake up.

Learning and studying doesn’t usually imply memorization unless you need certain formulas, terms and definitions. However, many teachers accept to use your own words when talking about something. The point is to understand something, not to quote your textbook.

Failing is okay. Procrastinating is okay. What’s not okay it’s when you stop trying and working only because you have a bad day, week, month or year.

Everyone fails and everyone procrastinates, remember that. No one’s perfect.

When you can’t focus, find a way to calm down your mind. If you focus, you can work for hours but if you are distracted by a feeling/thought just stop and talk to yourself because everything you do that day will be almost useless; your mind is not with you.

Don’t just read passively, try to take notes or annotate so you actually pay attention to what you read. Read it 100 times and don’t pay attention or read it twice and understand everything, your choice.

Most people will gladly help, you just need to ask.

Be open minded.

Your teachers might not give you the grade you deserve, people might talk about you behind your back, no one might see your value but they aren’t important. You work for yourself and that’s important, who knows, maybe in 15 years these people will ask if you’re hiring. Karma is stalking everyone. 

Your brain needs sugar, always have some chocolate/sweets around.

People will either hate you or love you. You shouldn’t care what they choose. Respect everyone, be yourself and love yourself. Who wants to be around you will stay in your life, don’t worry.

People don’t need to know what you’re doing 24/7. If they ask, tell them; if they don’t, don’t overshare.

Take your time to make/find a playlist for studying if you like having background noises while studying.

Bother to make one for motivation too.

Have at least 20 free hours weekly. Your brain needs a break too.

Not everyone needs to be like you, study like you or like what you do and that’s fine. After all, not everyone will have the same story.

Find a person who makes you feel better only by being around them. That kind of friend is priceless.

Try to read once in a while when you’re free. Maybe you learn something new.

Your attitude makes the difference. Just do your best and always be optimist.

When you have questions or you need help, just ask. Don’t assume things before asking. People might surprise you.

Don’t doubt yourself. You can do it, it’s just a matter of time.

People will betray you, your work won’t.

Always carry around your agenda or a small notebook/notepad. Just in case you need to write down a date, a phone number, just a reminder or you need to plan something.

Prepare for the worst but always hope for the best.

Learn how to know when you need breaks.

Also, learn how to control yourself during breaks. You don’t want to take a break of 5 minutes and end up with a 3 years one.

Nothing is impossible if you just ignore the negative comments and you focus on your goal(s).

FAMOUS AUTHORS

Classic Bookshelf: This site has put classic novels online, from Charles Dickens to Charlotte Bronte.

The Online Books Page: The University of Pennsylvania hosts this book search and database.

Project Gutenberg: This famous site has over 27,000 free books online.

Page by Page Books: Find books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells, as well as speeches from George W. Bush on this site.

Classic Book Library: Genres here include historical fiction, history, science fiction, mystery, romance and children’s literature, but they’re all classics.

Classic Reader: Here you can read Shakespeare, young adult fiction and more.

Read Print: From George Orwell to Alexandre Dumas to George Eliot to Charles Darwin, this online library is stocked with the best classics.

Planet eBook: Download free classic literature titles here, from Dostoevsky to D.H. Lawrence to Joseph Conrad.

The Spectator Project: Montclair State University’s project features full-text, online versions of The Spectator and The Tatler.

Bibliomania: This site has more than 2,000 classic texts, plus study guides and reference books.

Online Library of Literature: Find full and unabridged texts of classic literature, including the Bronte sisters, Mark Twain and more.

Bartleby: Bartleby has much more than just the classics, but its collection of anthologies and other important novels made it famous.

Fiction.us: Fiction.us has a huge selection of novels, including works by Lewis Carroll, Willa Cather, Sherwood Anderson, Flaubert, George Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others.

Free Classic Literature: Find British authors like Shakespeare and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, plus other authors like Jules Verne, Mark Twain, and more.

TEXTBOOKS

Textbook Revolution: Find biology, business, engineering, mathematics and world history textbooks here.

Wikibooks: From cookbooks to the computing department, find instructional and educational materials here.

KnowThis Free Online Textbooks: Get directed to stats textbooks and more.

Online Medical Textbooks: Find books about plastic surgery, anatomy and more here.

Online Science and Math Textbooks: Access biochemistry, chemistry, aeronautics, medical manuals and other textbooks here.

MIT Open Courseware Supplemental Resources: Find free videos, textbooks and more on the subjects of mechanical engineering, mathematics, chemistry and more.

Flat World Knowledge: This innovative site has created an open college textbooks platform that will launch in January 2009.

Free Business Textbooks: Find free books to go along with accounting, economics and other business classes.

Light and Matter: Here you can access open source physics textbooks.

eMedicine: This project from WebMD is continuously updated and has articles and references on surgery, pediatrics and more.

MATH AND SCIENCE

FullBooks.com: This site has “thousands of full-text free books,” including a large amount of scientific essays and books.

Free online textbooks, lecture notes, tutorials and videos on mathematics: NYU links to several free resources for math students.

Online Mathematics Texts: Here you can find online textbooks likeElementary Linear Algebra and Complex Variables.

Science and Engineering Books for free download: These books range in topics from nanotechnology to compressible flow.

FreeScience.info: Find over 1800 math, engineering and science books here.

Free Tech Books: Computer programmers and computer science enthusiasts can find helpful books here.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

byGosh: Find free illustrated children’s books and stories here.

Munseys: Munseys has nearly 2,000 children’s titles, plus books about religion, biographies and more.

International Children’s Digital Library: Find award-winning books and search by categories like age group, make believe books, true books or picture books.

Lookybook: Access children’s picture books here.

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

Bored.com: Bored.com has music ebooks, cooking ebooks, and over 150 philosophy titles and over 1,000 religion titles.

Ideology.us: Here you’ll find works by Rene Descartes, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, David Hume and others.

Free Books on Yoga, Religion and Philosophy: Recent uploads to this site include Practical Lessons in Yoga and Philosophy of Dreams.

The Sociology of Religion: Read this book by Max Weber, here.

Religion eBooks: Read books about the Bible, Christian books, and more.

PLAYS

ReadBookOnline.net: Here you can read plays by Chekhov, Thomas Hardy, Ben Jonson, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe and others.

Plays: Read Pygmalion, Uncle Vanya or The Playboy of the Western World here.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: MIT has made available all of Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, and histories.

Plays Online: This site catalogs “all the plays [they] know about that are available in full text versions online for free.”

ProPlay: This site has children’s plays, comedies, dramas and musicals.

MODERN FICTION, FANTASY AND ROMANCE

Public Bookshelf: Find romance novels, mysteries and more.

The Internet Book Database of Fiction: This forum features fantasy and graphic novels, anime, J.K. Rowling and more.

Free Online Novels: Here you can find Christian novels, fantasy and graphic novels, adventure books, horror books and more.

Foxglove: This British site has free novels, satire and short stories.

Baen Free Library: Find books by Scott Gier, Keith Laumer and others.

The Road to Romance: This website has books by Patricia Cornwell and other romance novelists.

Get Free Ebooks: This site’s largest collection includes fiction books.

John T. Cullen: Read short stories from John T. Cullen here.

SF and Fantasy Books Online: Books here include Arabian Nights,Aesop’s Fables and more.

Free Novels Online and Free Online Cyber-Books: This list contains mostly fantasy books.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Project Laurens Jz Coster: Find Dutch literature here.

ATHENA Textes Francais: Search by author’s name, French books, or books written by other authors but translated into French.

Liber Liber: Download Italian books here. Browse by author, title, or subject.

Biblioteca romaneasca: Find Romanian books on this site.

Bibliolteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes: Look up authors to find a catalog of their available works on this Spanish site.

KEIMENA: This page is entirely in Greek, but if you’re looking for modern Greek literature, this is the place to access books online.

Proyecto Cervantes: Texas A&M’s Proyecto Cervantes has cataloged Cervantes’ work online.

Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum: Access many Latin texts here.

Project Runeberg: Find Scandinavian literature online here.

Italian Women Writers: This site provides information about Italian women authors and features full-text titles too.

Biblioteca Valenciana: Register to use this database of Catalan and Valencian books.

Ketab Farsi: Access literature and publications in Farsi from this site.

Afghanistan Digital Library: Powered by NYU, the Afghanistan Digital Library has works published between 1870 and 1930.

CELT: CELT stands for “the Corpus of Electronic Texts” features important historical literature and documents.

Projekt Gutenberg-DE: This easy-to-use database of German language texts lets you search by genres and author.

HISTORY AND CULTURE

LibriVox: LibriVox has a good selection of historical fiction.

The Perseus Project: Tufts’ Perseus Digital Library features titles from Ancient Rome and Greece, published in English and original languages.

Access Genealogy: Find literature about Native American history, the Scotch-Irish immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, and more.

Free History Books: This collection features U.S. history books, including works by Paul Jennings, Sarah Morgan Dawson, Josiah Quincy and others.

Most Popular History Books: Free titles include Seven Days and Seven Nights by Alexander Szegedy and Autobiography of a Female Slave by Martha G. Browne.

RARE BOOKS

Questia: Questia has 5,000 books available for free, including rare books and classics.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Books-On-Line: This large collection includes movie scripts, newer works, cookbooks and more.

Chest of Books: This site has a wide range of free books, including gardening and cooking books, home improvement books, craft and hobby books, art books and more.

Free e-Books: Find titles related to beauty and fashion, games, health, drama and more.

2020ok: Categories here include art, graphic design, performing arts, ethnic and national, careers, business and a lot more.

Free Art Books: Find artist books and art books in PDF format here.

Free Web design books: OnlineComputerBooks.com directs you to free web design books.

Free Music Books: Find sheet music, lyrics and books about music here.

Free Fashion Books: Costume and fashion books are linked to the Google Books page.

MYSTERY

MysteryNet: Read free short mystery stories on this site.

TopMystery.com: Read books by Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, GK Chesterton and other mystery writers here.

Mystery Books: Read books by Sue Grafton and others.

POETRY

The Literature Network: This site features forums, a copy of The King James Bible, and over 3,000 short stories and poems.

Poetry: This list includes “The Raven,” “O Captain! My Captain!” and “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde.”

Poem Hunter: Find free poems, lyrics and quotations on this site.

Famous Poetry Online: Read limericks, love poetry, and poems by Robert Browning, Emily Dickinson, John Donne, Lord Byron and others.

Google Poetry: Google Books has a large selection of poetry, fromThe Canterbury Tales to Beowulf to Walt Whitman.

QuotesandPoem.com: Read poems by Maya Angelou, William Blake, Sylvia Plath and more.

CompleteClassics.com: Rudyard Kipling, Allen Ginsberg and Alfred Lord Tennyson are all featured here.

PinkPoem.com: On this site, you can download free poetry ebooks.

MISC

Banned Books: Here you can follow links of banned books to their full text online.

World eBook Library: This monstrous collection includes classics, encyclopedias, children’s books and a lot more.

DailyLit: DailyLit has everything from Moby Dick to the recent phenomenon, Skinny Bitch.

A Celebration of Women Writers: The University of Pennsylvania’s page for women writers includes Newbery winners.

Free Online Novels: These novels are fully online and range from romance to religious fiction to historical fiction.

ManyBooks.net: Download mysteries and other books for your iPhone or eBook reader here.

Authorama: Books here are pulled from Google Books and more. You’ll find history books, novels and more.

the curve of forgetting describes how we retain or get of information we absorb.

day 1: you go into a lecture knowing 0% and come out knowing 100% of what you know (regardless of whether you know it extremely well or not)

day 2: you did not do any reviewing of your notes from day 1 therefore you have lost 50%-80%

and as the days progress we forget less and less

think about midterms! notice how around midterms when you’re trying to study for something (that you haven’t been reviewing for regularly) it feels like the material is VERY difficult and almost as if you’ve never learned it before

formula to reshape the curve

within 24 hours of your lecture spend 10 minutes reviewing the material

a week later: it will only take 5 minutes to REACTIVATE the same material

ultimately, you will reshape the curve  

day 30: by this day your brain will only need 2-4 minutes to recall

information on the curve of forgetting was taken from the university of waterloo (x)

my formula to reshape the curve using the information above

before class: spend 10 minutes PREVIEWING the material. 

after class: spend 10 minutes REVIEWING the material

do this regularly. this will be your preview/review system for each class.

a week later: try to review a week later. i know that school/life can get pretty hectic, but try to make sure you are reviewing regularly.

maybe record yourself saying some important details/concepts from your notes the night before and on your daily commute to school plug in those earphones and listen to it. i am an auditory learner and i find that listening to my notes before i go to bed and right when i wake up have truly helped me retain information. studies have shown that the best time to study is right before going to bed and right when you wake up.

a month later: after a month, review what you’ve learned so far in your class. trust me this will be a very very short review. everything will look very familiar to you and it won’t look as difficult as it used to.

basically your review schedule should be the following: 

1 hour before learning the material

1 hour after learning the material (or within 24 hours of learning it b/c i know we’re all very busy people)

1 day later

1 week later

1 month later

remember everyone learns, studies, and retains information differently!! my personal belief is that your technique is what matters most. it is not about your innate ability/talent. find a technique that works for you.

more suggestions:

active learning > passive learning

when taking notes use the Cornell method. it forces you to ask questions and summarize what you’ve learned.

set frequent, short, review sessions

test yourself constantly! there are so many resources online. 

people who are under stress have difficulty remembering things so CHILL OUT

don’t rush, take your time

repetition is key

practice MAKES PERFECT

group items together

fish, vitamin b12, and green tea can help w/ memory

STUDYBLR WORLD DIRECTORY!

Please share and do not be afraid to mingle! Please do not hesitate to message me for corrections or additions! Cheers!

IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

Argentina

@aztrolab

@german-translator-in-the-making

@poarsty

Australia

@maybe-motivation

@justanotherstudyblrinthecrowd

@smartstudy

@study-fox

@studysimp

@sun-flowerstudies

@usedmoleskines

Belgium

@pocaw

Brazil

@bluesxrgntstudies

@nerdystudentgurl

@studyingfilms

@willitengineer

Bangladesh

@prakriti-t

Canada

@alex-the-elusiverenegade

@calscoffee

@headgirlstudy

@humscholar

@raonaidstudies

@solarstudies

@studyflwr

@tranquilstudy

Ontario

@idilstudies

@futureprofcurrentmess

@krisability

@lantern-academia

Vancouver

@boldlystudy

@bookmark-artisan

Costa Rica 

@oracleofdelythi

@studycafeu

Croatia

@slytherinsstudyblr

Czech Republic

@timesmiless

Finland

@arctic-anna

@marsipaanigekko

@meesstudies

@sosiaalitieteet

France

@chaotic-academic

@english-ness

@learning-to-think

@lucillestudies

Germany 

@deborah-biene

@forest-notes

@josis-teacup

@laurelwreathstudies

@mochistudying

@pa-eonia

@stu-dna

@thestupidlawstudent

@veralernt

@yasminstudies

Greece

@mewlblr

Honduras

@easygoingstudies

Iceland

@tungumalaast

India

@arainysigh

@caffeinatedtanyastudies

@celestialkaleidoscope

@cloudpearls-studyworld

@dabbascience

@ipitara-studyblr

@itsmanny

@letsdothisbruh​

@mahimavatsworld

@museeofmoon​

@rainisstudying​

@scorpihoe-studying​

@seekerwithsneakers​

@studyblog-sura

@studiac​

@study-diaries​

@studying1hourbeforetheexam​

@studyyteaa​

@sunflowerviolets​

Indonesia

@terhangus​

@theadolessons

Ireland

@caffeineinfusedstudy​

@gabrilearnelle

Italy

@alittle-studyblr​

@vivodiharry​

@waldenlustcafe​

Japan

@yourstudyfriend​

Mexico

@atheneable​

@determinedlittlecloud​

@messofmed​

@poweredbygreentea​

Netherlands

@for-nostalgic-purposes​

@godzilla-studies​

@lotus-notes​

@machine-studying

@pautumns

@6gym

New Zealand

@booksbutch​

Philippines

@divinity-study

@everything—goes

@futuristicwonderlandpoetry

@heyrosiebee

@matuklas

@micasamea

@plancake

@pomelo14

Poland

@aspiringravenclawbabe​

@studylikeanneshirley​

Portugal

@medustudies​

@zsandpearls​

Russia 

@sandrahaiko​

Serbia

@bookish-aesthetic-studyblr​

@getthatstudyon​

Singapore

@daydreamst​

@midnightatthelibrary​

@studyxwinnie​

Spain

@bea-estudiando​

@bluesstudying​

@owlscholar​

@watersignliterature​

Switzerland

@c8h12n4o2​

@plover-studies​

Trinidad and Tobago

@belle-keys​

Turkey

@study-van​

Ukraine

@ukrainianstruggles​

United Kingdom

@catalunya-dreaming​

@daintylittlestudyblr​

@maritsa-studies​

@nerdymedstudies​

@peachblossomstudy​

@wodexuexiao​

England

@anachrocity​

@barkomalfoy​ 

@bbstudies​

@blondestudyblr​

@ceriniity​

@chazza-studies-alevels​

@colossus-studies

@gooseofmanylanguages​

@gwndlnstudies​

@kurovec​

@languadore​

@moon-thestars​

@sammiestudiesstuff​

@somuchtostudysolittletime​

@studywithprincess​

@tulipteastudies​

 Northern Ireland

@cleo-adkins​

@kaldavstvo​

@la-galaxie-langblr​

@sidhestudies​

Scotland

@cosmoslaur​

United States of America

@anecdochees

@alex-is-here

@beeee-sweet

@bookbearstudy

@caffeiningly

@cassinotes

@christinestudies

@dionystudies

@fallstudies

@fleu-rie

@francesstudies

@istudynature

@janestudies

@jesuisdorii

@jingxixuexiblr

@june-studiesss

@keastudiesenglish

@larandomfangirl

@mathias-researches

@pyulystudies

@studyingsim

@sleepanon

@undasrego

@vic-studies

@victoria-studies-stuff

@witchylillie

Arizona

@smilestudy

@sydthefuturenurse

California

@ancientanthro

@antiscianstudies

@linear-functions

@mindfulstudying

@odysseyinink

@stillstudies

@365text

Florida

@literaturebylamplight

@theyellowhaunt

Georgia

@anxious-and-studying

@katestudiesx

@romanticism-studies

@moativational

Maryland

@mednerdblr

Minnesota

@lattestudies

@perabera

Ohio

@soft-scholar

Oregon

@soliloquy-sappho

Pennsylvania 

@i-better-study

Utah

@almondfoam

Washington DC

@warpedperception-studying

Washington State

@carcinophaga

Uruguay

personally, i find writing really hard, especially on my computer as there are some many distractions, regardless of whether the task is school based or not, so i’ve compiled a list of free apps, extensions and websites to help you with writing!

apps

writer’s block is a program which can be downloaded onto your computer, and is personally my favourite in this list. the word count or time limit can be inputted and you cannot close the program until the time limit or word count is reached. this is very useful for practising timed essays or meeting word count goals

monospace is a phone app that is available on android that is really useful for writing on the go, for whenever inspiration hits!

chrome extensions

calmly writer is a bit more advanced than writers block, and allows you to format your text and other cool features. this extension also works offline!

writer is a really cool extension that makes you look like a hacker, and it runs offline!

litewriter allows you to synchronise your notes across multiple devices, and customise you background and font!

websites

yarny is free website what has a word counter, and when you start typing, all distractions fade away! you can also save as much as you want if you sign up (also the website very nearly went bust a few months ago, so by checking it out you can help keep it alive!)

calmly writer is the same as the chrome extension above, but as the website in case you dont have chrome 

writer is the same as the above extension, but is the web version!

draftin is another free website that is completely distraction free

oTranscribe helps you to transcribe audio files, and has loads of really useful features 

plotbox makes script writing super easy, and you can get other people to work on it as well!

editing websites (not writing websites) 

cliche finder does what it says on the tin

hemingway app is a life saver for all you students, it grades your paper, and gives you advice for improving your essays

wordcounter counts your words and ranks the most frequently used words to see what words you overuse

750 words is a bit like nanowrimo, where you get points for writing words everyday, and stats about how much you write each day and for how long and other cool features!

if you have any other website that you find useful, feel free to them on!

this was a post requested by @caffeineandlanguages so i’ve pulled together a list of tips, youtube channels, and websites to help you with maths and actually liking it!

tips

for how to enjoy or focus on maths more

IN LESSONS

1.     AVOID DISTRACTIONS 

so this is quite hard (especially if you hate maths like me) Try and separate yourself from your friends if they distract you. If possible try and sit near the front and with your back to the windows as you will be less likely to want to stare out of the window.

2.     SIT WITH SIMILAR PEOPLE 

sit with people who work at a similar pace and at a similar level that you do. You will be able to help each other out and explain to the other any problems you may face, and it makes life a lot easier if you are working at a similar rate, otherwise one of you may be racing ahead, or lagging behind.

3.     ASK THE TEACHER!!!!!

I cannot stress how important it is to do this if you do not understand. If you try it first, and you still cannot do it (don’t not try and ask straight away as it tends to show you were not paying attention or not trying to attempt the problem on your own first, and it makes teachers mad) ask for help!!! It will do well in the long run, as they are there to help you, it is their job.

AT HOME/OUTSIDE LESSONS

1.     DO PRACTISE/PAST PAPERS

There are countless past papers online for all the different exam boards in the whole world, so either print them off, or work from the screen and use a rough notebook to record your answers. Use the mark scheme to see where you went wrong, and if you still don’t understand, ask the teacher to see if they can explain it to you. I find this so useful as it gets you used to the style of questions that get asked in exams

2.     GO TO HELP CLUBS

not all schools offer this, but if your school does, take advantage of it and use the time to ask teachers for help or to spend so time doing practise questions

3.     DO LITTLE MATHS PROBLEMS EVERYDAY

corbettmaths gives you all sorts of things to do, from worksheets to 5 problems a day. my friend does this and finds it really useful, so she definitely recommends this website

youtube

khan academy has loads of videos for just about everything, so is definitley worth checking out, regardless of what subject you may be struggling in. i’ve put a few links to some of their maths based playlists, but there are lots more on the channel:

arithmetic playlist 

pre-calculus playlist   

calculus playlist  

geometry playlist 

pre-algebra playlist  

algebra playlist

@studyign’s how to take math lecture notes video from her youtube channel

video math tutor is a purely maths youtube channel, with hundreds of maths videos, so you are bound to find something to help you with!

patrickJMT is another purely maths based youtube channel, and is considered one of the best maths channels there are on youtube

hegartymaths is a channel for those taking gcses or a levels instead of whatever they do in the us 

ukmathsteacher is another gcse/a level maths youtube channel, which has a sister site m4ths.com

websites

a little collection of useful maths websites :)

m4ths.com || mymaths.co.uk || bbc bitesize maths || aaa math ||  khan academy || ixl maths || sos maths ||

feel free to add anything!

hey guys! i’ve been seeing a lot of master posts going around so I thought I’d compile some together for college students :^)

Discounts (stores):

Amazon Student // 6-month free Prime trial on Amazon if you have an .EDU e-mail. Includes students deals, free shipping, streaming of thousands of content, etc. You can also get one free month here if you don’t have an .EDU e-mail

Ann Taylor // 20% off

ASOS //10% off 

Banana Republic //15% off full-priced items

Club Monaco // 20% off items

Eeastern Mountain Sports // 20% full-priced in-store items

Eddoe Bauer // ask about discounts at local store

Joanns // 10% discount 

Madewell //15% off in-store

Modcloth // 10% off

Sally’s Beauty Supply // sign up online for coupons

Sam’s Club // requires membership 

Target // varies, mainly online

Tom’s // 10% cash back

Topshop // 10% off

Urban Outfitters // 10% off on Student Days

Discounts (tech):

Adobe // 60% on Creative Cloud

Apple // various savings (You must input your school and other information. Link in name)

AT&T // 10% discount (You must input your school email address. Link in name)

Best Buy // sign up for student discounts and coupons

Das Keyboard // special pricing through website

Dell // discounts on laptops and tablets

Fujitsu // 5% on LIFEBOOK notebook and PCs. (You must call 1-800-FUJITSU for the deal)

HP // various discounts through website

Journeyed // various discounts through website

Microsoft // various discounts. (Check through your school as well to see if they have partnerships with Microsoft)

Norton // various discounts through website

Sony // up to 10% off (You must register to get the discount. Link in name)

Sprint // various discounts (Check with your provider. Link in name)

T-mobile // 10% off monthly bill (Check with your provider. Link in name)

Verizon // up to 20% off monthly bill (Link in name is to the EMPLOYEE DISCOUNTS page. Input your school email to see if you qualify.)

Food:

Chick-Fil-A // free small drink with order

Chipotle // free small drink with order

Dairy Queen // their website says they have one but I haven’t gotten a chance to go in and ask yet. Their Student Discount section is towards the bottom under local community partnerships.

Firehouse Subs // their discounts may require a partnership with the school so please ask about the discount to see if stores not near campus still offer the discount with your ID

Hard Rock Cafe // offers a student/discounted menu. Hard Rock cafes are located in Hard Rock Casinos.

Krogers // 5% discount off total order

Pizza Hut // 10-20% off  (depending on store)

Sweet Tomatoes // 10% off  (website says many stores but not all so please ask about it at your local store)

Subway // 10% off  (again at specific locations so please ask about it at your local store)

TCBY // 15% off

Waffle House: 10% off

Guides:

How to get your best grades in college

The ultimate guide to college organization

How to write the perfect college essay

The ultimate guide to packing for college 

How to stay calm and reduce stress during college

45 tips for staying organized in college

How to prepare for college over the summer

5 best apps for college students

How to make a study plan for finals

College is not “one size fits all” (and that’s a good thing)

More helpful blogs:

onlinecounsellingcollege

fyeahcooldormrooms

freshmantips

theprospectblog

essay-storage

Studying:

Flashcards

Calculators

Online Ruler

Thinking & Memorizing Tips

Research & Reading Tips

Finals Help Guide

Homework Help

Math Help

Geography Help

Study Playlist

Convert Anything To Anything

Productive Study Break Tips

Pull an All Nighter & Do Well On Your Exam

AP Cram Packets

Textbooks:

Alternatives To Expensive Textbooks

Download Free Books

Download Free Kindle Books