notion has been the ~hot~ program of 2020 and rightfully so because its awesome. so i thought id share how i set up my workspace and how i plan to use it for online classes. ive been using notion this summer to prepare for the incoming academic year and after 3 months ive finally streamlined my setup to the barest essentials! template below!

why i keep it minimal:

to avoid information overload - i knew that i didn’t want everything on my notion because i posed a potential distraction and i would end up being overwhelmed in the long run. now that classes are online, i needed one less stressor on my digital space. 

easy, stress-free organization - like i said, i needed one less stressor on my digital space and having my notion setup to be straight-forward, user-friendly and easy to organize & navigate is super helpful and vital for my sanity. 

just user preference  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - while i do have everything on my notion, i dont have everything on it (ya know what i mean?). things like my calendar and schedules, class notes, habit trackers and weekly to-dos are either on other programs and databases or simply on my bullet journal.

i use the website instead of downloading the program so that i can set it as my startup page when i open microsoft edge (which has been surprisingly faster than chrome these past few months)

ok now on to the setup! click for hd!

home base 

i only have one workspace (home base) with 2 major sections:

personal (for my personal pages)

education (for my school-related pages)

there’s also a third section which acts as an overview of my monthly goals and a widget for the weather forecast of the week

personal pages 

info or my general notebook

pretty self-explanatory. everything is on here like blog posts, business ideas, pros/cons lists. theyre all tagged accordingly so i can sort through them with ease. its pretty straightforward lol. (i also wrote this post on this section :OO whoa meta) 

lists 

here is where you can find my tbr list, to watch list, wishlists n links to online stores and most importantly, my gravity falls specials/digital shorts watch order. any content list that i need/or might need for the present/future is on here. 

there’s also a third section which acts as an overview of my monthly goals and a widget for the weather forecast of the week

education-related pages 

i only have 1 section under this right now and its for my first semester things. the plan for this section is to keep my information for the semester/year im currently in.

in the per semester page, there are 4 sections:

syllabi/course info

other things 

goals for the semester

calendar of activites

syllabi/course info

i plan to digitalize my syllabi (or at least try and get the most important information) so that topics, and deadlines can be easier to navigate per subject

other things 

this is just for other references information or files i want to digitalize and keep track of  the semester

goals for the semester

similar to my home base format, i have an overview of goals and reminders for the semester on this page. this is mainly just to keep me motivated and remind me of what needs to be done 

calendar of activities

the calendar i have on here is different from the one notion provides because i’ve embedded my google calendar on here for better accessibility. you can only embed one calendar at a time so i only have my calendar for school events included on here. 

and that’s about it! thanks for reading this hodge-podge of content i made with my bare hands (digitally). i hope this helps or inspires your notion journey! 

:DD <33

notion has been the ~hot~ program of 2020 and rightfully so because its awesome. so i thought id share how i set up my workspace and how i plan to use it for online classes. ive been using notion this summer to prepare for the incoming academic year and after 3 months ive finally streamlined my setup to the barest essentials! template below!

why i keep it minimal:

to avoid information overload - i knew that i didn’t want everything on my notion because i posed a potential distraction and i would end up being overwhelmed in the long run. now that classes are online, i needed one less stressor on my digital space. 

easy, stress-free organization - like i said, i needed one less stressor on my digital space and having my notion setup to be straight-forward, user-friendly and easy to organize & navigate is super helpful and vital for my sanity. 

just user preference  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - while i do have everything on my notion, i dont have everything on it (ya know what i mean?). things like my calendar and schedules, class notes, habit trackers and weekly to-dos are either on other programs and databases or simply on my bullet journal.

i use the website instead of downloading the program so that i can set it as my startup page when i open microsoft edge (which has been surprisingly faster than chrome these past few months)

ok now on to the setup! click for hd!

home base 

i only have one workspace (home base) with 2 major sections:

personal (for my personal pages)

education (for my school-related pages)

there’s also a third section which acts as an overview of my monthly goals and a widget for the weather forecast of the week

personal pages 

info or my general notebook

pretty self-explanatory. everything is on here like blog posts, business ideas, pros/cons lists. theyre all tagged accordingly so i can sort through them with ease. its pretty straightforward lol. (i also wrote this post on this section :OO whoa meta) 

lists 

here is where you can find my tbr list, to watch list, wishlists n links to online stores and most importantly, my gravity falls specials/digital shorts watch order. any content list that i need/or might need for the present/future is on here. 

there’s also a third section which acts as an overview of my monthly goals and a widget for the weather forecast of the week

education-related pages 

i only have 1 section under this right now and its for my first semester things. the plan for this section is to keep my information for the semester/year im currently in.

in the per semester page, there are 4 sections:

syllabi/course info

other things 

goals for the semester

calendar of activites

syllabi/course info

i plan to digitalize my syllabi (or at least try and get the most important information) so that topics, and deadlines can be easier to navigate per subject

other things 

this is just for other references information or files i want to digitalize and keep track of  the semester

goals for the semester

similar to my home base format, i have an overview of goals and reminders for the semester on this page. this is mainly just to keep me motivated and remind me of what needs to be done 

calendar of activities

the calendar i have on here is different from the one notion provides because i’ve embedded my google calendar on here for better accessibility. you can only embed one calendar at a time so i only have my calendar for school events included on here. 

and that’s about it! thanks for reading this hodge-podge of content i made with my bare hands (digitally). i hope this helps or inspires your notion journey! 

:DD <33

Hello, lovelies! I’ve gotten a couple of asks about studying so I decided to condense them into one post for you guys! I’m trying to hit a bunch of different topics so if you need an even more specific post you can send an ask! Without any further ado, have some tips! My studyblr is @spacey-scholar​

Prep

First, you always need a good base for your day! Especially if you’re studying a lot.

Make a good full breakfast! Ex. Eggs and Toast, Smoothie and fruit, Pancakes and a cup of juice. 

How’s your hygiene? Do you need to shower, brush your teeth, wash your face, condition your hair? Do it! You’ll be distracted if you feel messy!

Get dressed like it’s a normal day. Staying in PJ’s is okay! But being ready for the day seriously helps focus!

Likewise, your space should be clean. A clean space is a clean mind! Remove dishes, trash, scrap paper, and extra items. Wide down your desk, organize your pens and books. Your space should feel like your space!

Now make a list of what you need to get done! What needs to be done Now, what needs to be done Soon, and what needs to be done Later? 

Order your list how you want your day to go, and don’t put super-tough subjects back to back, or subjects that are similar exercises i.e. reading thirty pages of two different books back to back is no fun.

The Studying

It’s important to buckle down with No Distractions! If you find yourself distracted put your phone away! If you need your phone, put it on Do Not Disturb until you’re done. I also do this at night for better sleep. 

Pick the best technique for you, Pomodoro, reward-based, group studying, etc.

Play music but only if it will not distract you! If you sing along or daydream it’s the wrong music! Classical, Lo-fi, and White noise are all good! My Spotify Here has some good ones.

Use a nice journal (I don’t mean expensive!) and pens/pencils you enjoy using. I like to have a specific journal and color dedicated to each subject. 

Take notes on recorded lectures and classes, if you’re doing online classes right now try to screen record or record the audio! That way if you space out you can play it later and take notes, and you can absorb the lesson better instead of being distracted.

Don’t worry about your notes, stationary, pictures, being beautiful and your grades being perfect. Life doesn’t always look the way it does on Instagram. And the people who spend hours trying to get a good photo of their coffee are not studying! 

Use flashcards! Quizlet is good if you need premade ones! If you can save up and buy them, Barrons AP Flash Cards are the best in my opinion. Very clean, not too long, very durable, and cover all subjects.

Feeling Distracted 

If you catch yourself drifting off and getting into your head, get up and take a quick walk, stretch, or energizer. 

It’s okay if this happens, don’t guilt yourself! practice affirmation. The best and smartest still get distracted. 

If you are drifting, why? Are you hungry? Tired? Thirsty? Bored? Get a snack and some water, take a break and rest, find a way to make your studying more enjoyable. 

Remember that Motivation and Discipline are different things. Sometimes we just won’t be motivated, we won’t want to do it and it will be rather frustrating. But the cure to this is not shaming its discipline. Remind yourself “This may be hard, and I may not want to do this, but I want to reach my goals and If this is what It takes I will make it happen. 

Always do just one more page of you’re tired. One at a time and oh you did it! Maybe just one more? One more? Eh, one more just to finish the train of thought, Oh just- I’m done? Nice!

If you really can’t focus just move on and come back to this subject, you can always ask for help.

Supplementary Things

There are so many apps you can use to study, for free! My favorites are Tide, Quizlet, Focus Keeper, Forest, Flora, Egenda, SpanishDict, Photomath, and Kahn Academy. 

You can also join a study group! You may know one, but if you don’t, there are a lot of online ones! I’m in a study Discord and have been for a while! it helps a lot and motivates me to finish my work!

You can make a studyblr, but don’t do it just for the aesthetics! It’s about studying, and sometimes that gets messy! Sometimes we fail a test, we spill our tea on our notes, we cry because we don’t understand the formula. That’s the part you don’t see!

Having cute stationery can really help, as well as nice organizers and decorations for your space! I don’t have much money so I get a lot of stuff on Amazon or FB Marketplace.

Health

Remember that no matter what you are good enough. It’s okay if you fail, it’s okay if you struggle.

It’s also okay if your path doesn’t go the way you expected! Maybe you go to a different school than expected! Or choose a trade instead! Maybe you take a gap year! Maybe your passion changes! Maybe it changes six times!

Your health is always more important than your school. If you are in pain, mentally or physically, if you are anxious, exhausted, burnt out, talk to your teachers about it! You matter more than a grade.

Your best is good enough! And your best doesn’t look the same as someone else’s best! Don’t compare!

aliferous: (adj.) having wings

apricity: (n.) the warmth of the sun in the winter

aspectabund: (adj.) letting emotion show easily through the face or eyes

aurora: (n.) dawn

balter: (v.) to dance gracelessly, but with enjoyment

cafune: (n.) the act of running your fingers through the hair of someone you love

catharsis: (n.) release of emotional tension

charmolypi: (n.) a mixed feeling of happiness while being sad

diaphonous: (adj.) light, translucent, and delicate

dulcet: (adj.) sweet

ephemeral: (adj.) fleeting

ethereal: (adj.) extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world

eutony: (n.) the pleasantness of a word’s sound

halcyon: (adj.) a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful

illecebrous: (adj.) enticing

irenic: (adj.) promoting peace

kalon: (n.) beauty that is more than skin-deep

kalopsia: (n.) the seeing of things as more beautiful than they actually are

lacuna: (n.) a blank or missing part

lilt: (n.) a pleasant gentle accent

ludic: (adj.) full of fun and high spirits

meraki: (n.) to do something with love or soul

nefelibata: (n.) cloud-walker; one who lives in the clouds of their own imagination

nepenthe: (n.) something that makes one forget their sadness

nubivagant: (adj.) wandering in the clouds

numinous: (adj.) feeling fearful yet awed and inspired

orphic: (adj.) beyond ordinary understanding

pyrrhic: (adj.) won at too great a cost

pulchritudinous: (adj.) breathtaking, heartbreaking beauty

scintilla: (n.) a tiny trace or spark of a feeling

selcouth: (adj.) unfamiliar, strange, yet marvelous

sirimiri: (n.) a light drizzle of rain

susurrus: (n.)  whispering, murmuring, or rustling

sweven: (n.) a dream

temerate: (v.) to break a bond or promise

viridity: (n.) innocence

as someone who has two jobs and studies full time, it’s important to grab every second i can to study! but sometimes when you don’t have enough time to get stuck into research or proper deep learning, it can be hard to know what to do. here’s some stuff i normally do when i know i don’t have long to study.

practice flashcards

when i had a politics exam coming up that i was really nervous about, i just carried my flashcards with me in my wallet and i would do them in my spare time on the bus, waiting at the doctor, etc!

revise notes from class/readings

i feel like this is an obvious one, but just quickly skimming back over your notes every so often helps cement knowledge in your long-term memory and will improve your learning overall for the semester. this is a super good thing to do if the time you have to kill is ‘waiting to go into class’ time!

write a part of an assignment that you already know how to do

i used to never do essay or report writing when i knew i didn’t have too long, because i thought i wouldn’t be able to get anything worthwhile done. more recently, i’ve found that i actually work quite well when i know i only have ten minutes - i just throw a few sentences i’m sure about together, bullet point one paragraph, etc. it actually makes it much easier to know where to start when i sit down for a long session of work!

get on top of admin stuff

one of my favourite things to do in an in-between moment is just go through and format my assignments that i have coming up - put headers in, make sure the document template is set up correctly, or fill in referencing for something i’m partway through. it doesn’t require as much brainpower as other tasks, but it still takes time and needs to be done, so it’s good to get it out of the way!

pretend you’re on a talk show and script in your head what you would say about your subject as an expert in the field

i don’t know, is this a political philosopher thing? this is probably a political philosopher thing. but i find this so fun and whether you can do it confidently or not demonstrates how well you’ve grasped a topic, what you remember, where the gaps in your knowledge are. what kinds of questions would get asked about this topic? how would you answer them? (this is secretly great exam prep if you, like me, get exams with long answer questions).

2019 Printables

A set of 2019 monthly planners to help you have a productive year!

download link

Hope you like them, and tag me with #eintsein when you use them so I can see them in action. Have an awesome day :)

January Wallpapers

It’s 2019! And it’s January! And I’ve made some wallpapers for y’all! They’re all pretty simple, with the exception of the illustrated one, which I spontaneously decided to do.

All wallpapers are available with Monday/Sunday start.

Also, I’ve been watching Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki films recently so that’s where I got my quotes. But anyway…

Download them here

Don’t forget to tag me with #eintsein when you use them. Hope you all have an awesome, healthy year ahead of you <3

P.S. If there are any issues with the files, just drop an ask/message me.

Photo credits

Photo by Max Ostrozhinskiy on Unsplash (coral quote)

january: fresh journals, black and white notes, bullet journals filled with motivational quotes, cold brew coffee, loves writing letters, finishes everything on time, a daydreamer, seems laid back but really they’re stressed about everything

february: doodles in the margins of notes, the person who lends you their pens, sloppy handwriting, loves motivational speeches and classical music, finishes easy assignments early but writes their essay the night before its due,

march: straight A’s, study playlists, the teachers favorite, color coded notes, everyone thinks they’re naturally smart (but really they’re spending every night studying), forgets to eat sometimes, hasn’t slept for what feels like years

april: open windows, listening to the rain and thunder, tea pots full of earl grey, a functionally messy desk, fairy lights, always losing their pens, a huge nerd, afraid to raise their hand in class in case their answer is wrong

may: cramming for tests, lives in the library, highlighters and sticky notes everywhere, drinks espresso, would definitely consider bringing their coffee pot to school, messy desk, if an assignment is due at 9:00 they’ll submit it at 8:59

june: late nights, smoothies for breakfast, hanging out with friends, takes notes on their laptop, minimalist, organized, says they’re studying but they’re actually on studyblr, tries to study everything at once and gets distracted

july: staying up late to read, learning new languages, focuses on the learning and not the grade, watches documentaries for fun, loves the classics, owns a thousand pens, takes studyspo pictures, hundreds of unread emails,

august: stationery shopping, getting ahead in class, iced drinks, spending weekends with friends, takes very little notes but does well in class anyways, a relaxed personality, healthy snacks, the master of self care

september: a morning person, new pens and folders, a perfectionist, audio records classes and re-writes notes, over works themselves, loves the smell of new books, competitive, “i’m gonna fail!” but ends up getting A’s and B’s

october: chai lattes in travel mugs, will study for three days straight and then not study for a week, snacking in class, uses washi tape and stickers, sleeps for eight hours but is tired anyways, terrible at accepting compliments

november: gratitude journals, mental health days, the baristas at their local cafe know their name because they’re always studying there, study groups, loves to travel but never travels, cinnamon in their drinks, trouble sleeping, sweet smiles

gaaaaatsby ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

hello pals!! this is a masterpost of half (or so) of the reference posts i reblogged/made. i tried uploading this masterpost as just one big masterpost but i had over 250 links so that failed and here i am again. here is part one, encapsulating studying + certain subjects which will be followed by part two (slightly more general) here! enjoy ✨

studying, school, + learning

what i’ve learnt throughout my years of being a student

notes, studying, and self-study resources

self-study resources

starting a studyblr

college + uni

how to get studying

online study guides

good habits

exams!

study management

school is starting soon

back to school (1)

back to school (2)

back to school (3)

back to school reminders

50 things to know for back to school

get prepared for a new school year

school resources

final grade calculator

writing emails to professors

cheap textbooks etc!!

save money on textbooks

school

first week of school stuff

testing effect

make studying fun

high school tips

101 study tips

types of learners

lazy kid’s guide to good grades

catching up on missed work

university tag

igcse resources

sat tag

act tag

ap tag

ib tag

a-level revision tips

diy school supplies

test taking tips

a complete guide to studying (well)

time to study!

groupwork (1)

groupwork (2)

tips tag

study effectively from textbooks

studying better

surviving your least favourite class

studying a subject you hate

success

doing research

understanding the question

pomodoro

study tips

tactile learning

how to concentrate

concentration

exam day

ultimate study masterpost

study tips for exams

school survival

studying on the go

how to read academic journal articles

how to study smart

how to remember anything in 3 steps

distraction-free studying

motivation

my study instagram + study blog

+ motivation links

motivation masterpost

stay motivated

get that homework done!

reaching goals

getting motivated

motivation through anime

writing

writing tag

recover an unsaved draft

uni writing resources

add citations!

annotating (1)

annotating (2)

advice for writing papers

writing helps

essay writing tips

how to write an essay

writing term research papers

active vs passive voice

writing masterpost

academic writing resources

essay checklist

reduce your word count

essay writing links

how to write and execute a huge piece of work

summary writing

the discursive/argumentative essay

the narrative essay + the descriptive essay

note-taking

note-taking in class

cornell note-taking

cornell (2)

lecture notes

illustrating notes

banners

maintaining good notes

note-taking

sticky notes

flashcards

colour-code + highlight effectively

colour-coding

studying from textbooks

study guides

upgrade your notes

illustrate your notes

mind maps

note-taking for different lecture types

ribbon drawing

smart highlighting

lettering ideas

how i take notes

note-taking tips

aesthetically pleasing notes

fake cursive notes

languages + literature

the ultimate english masterpost

shakespeare

literature masterpost

annotating

studying a foreign language

100+ legal sites to download literature

approaching poetry analysis

write a killer unprepared text essay

literary analysis research papers

classics

how to ace lit

reading lit

write a rhetorical analysis essay

practice oral comprehension!!

how i study for english lit

poetry analysis (1)

poetry analysis (2)

how i learn languages

self-studying languages

languages tag

how to open a new book

literary devices

literaty devices w/ printables

literature masterpost

grow your vocab

a guide to vocab

language learning tips + resources

SUPER IMPORTANT FOR POLYGLOTS

tips + tricks for learning a language

chinese

english

french

german

greek

italian

japanese

korean

latin

maltese

polish

russian

spanish

swedish

humanities + other subjects

studying humanities subjects

gathering materials for a humanities research paper

philosophy

philosophy tag

psychology tag

politics + government

women of wwi

ap world history

coding

design resources

sciences + math

how to memorise diagrams

biology (1)

biology (2)

studying biology

biology help

biology note-taking

anatomy + physiology

physiology

physics

ap physics

chemistry (1)

chemistry (2)

chemistry note-taking

studying chemistry

maths tag

how to study for math

how to study math (1)

how to study math (2)

math (1)

math (2)

math (3)

10 tips to excel in maths

avoid carelessness in calculations

succeed in math without really trying

math resources and links

algebra (1)

algebra (2)

precalculus

geometry

space + astronomy (1)

space + astronomy (2)

hope this helps + please check out part 2 as well!! ilysm 💗 

ps here is a list of all my masterposts just in case 🐝

journal series: (a reading from my journal):

OK, so you fucked up.

big whoop. literally everyone fucks up. and anyone who expects you not to is obviously insane, lying, and just trying to sort out their own lives. you’re nothing special.

that little voice inside telling you that you aren’t good enough? that your dreams aren’t worth it? shut him/her up right now. they don’t know you. you’re the hero in this story. don’t let evil win. not today.

let today be for acceptance and change. let that version of you win.

lots of blue pages lately