stu_notes

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Find yours here:

desk planner printable

These kinds of weekly planners are my favorite thing to use when planning out my studying. Here's why:

ability to block out sections of the day

space to add to-fo's

space for a focus

customizable

I added a space for your 'focus of the day'. This can be very helpful for being mindful of how you spend your time. it can be a quote you find inspiring, a task you need to work on, or some kind of goal you're working towards.

if you use it please tag me so I can see how you use it.

Link to FREE desk planner:

I just discovered my new favorite day of the week. The 'reset day'. It's a day where you spend your time productive, recharge & reset yourself for the new week. It doesn't have to be the only focus of the day, it can also just be a few hours or minutes of your day.

This routine will help you start a new week on the right foot, feeling organized and ready for a new week. Apparently, it should also help you to stop feeling like your life is all over the place. And that's something I can use right now so that I feel less overwhelmed with life. I will share with you how I do it, but you should definitely change it to fit it in with your routine. The important part is that you choose the elements that work for you.

Schedule a day (or a part of a specific day)

Okay, so here's the deal. Look at your weekly schedule and choose a day you can implement this in your life. It does not have to be a Sunday. I choose to do this on Monday because Sundays are always so hectic in my house.

2. Write down your goals

When you've figured out a day, start by thinking about the goal. Why are you doing this? What are your reasons for doing it? To relax? To care for your health? To get organized? To connect with your loved ones? Setting your intentions will make you more likely to stick with the routine.

3. What to do

I divide the process into 5 categories:

mental health

Do something for yourself, for your mental well-being. Do things that you enjoy doing, or that make you feel relaxed, and energized, or things that help you clear your mind like talking to friends or writing in your journal.

physical health

Get moving. Studies show that walking actually helps you to feel more energized & it helps you to clear your head.

environment/space

Organize, clean, tidy, and declutter your space. A clean space = a clear mind. It helps you to feel less overwhelmed with where your life overall.

work/school

This category is all about catching up on work or school-related things. Review how your previous week went & plan your new week. Make a new brain dump to-do list. Update your calendar, plan your study schedule, and more.

motivation

A new week means new weekly goals. So think about your goals, and write them down. Plan your week. But, more importantly, plan something to look forward to. Something that will get you through the week.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChH2JGao1tw/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

My go to method is to talk to myself aloud. But to be honest, I have a tough time sitting still & reading through my notes and saying them aloud. It’s just so boring, ahah. I guess I’m more of a kinesthetic type of learner.

So here are my tips on keeping memorization entertaining, and keeping you focused on the information.

self-testing

Test yourself by actively recalling what you just studied. Take a break & go for a walk, try to think of everything you’ve learned in your last study session. This helps to understand the areas you’re struggling with; you can then go back to memorize those areas.

2. walking or standing

This is something I learned from my logopedist a long time ago. And I still use it to this day. When you notice yourself getting fired up or just not being able to concentrate; just walk around your room or stand up and try again. Or try memorizing while walking. For some reason, this helps my brain to calm down. It helps me think, and focus; so I’m able to memorize a lot better.

3. fidgeting

This has also to do with me being a kinesthetic learner. When I keep my hands busy with a mindless exercise I’m able to focus on my studying way better. I get less distracted by random things around my room. Even research shows that physical activity helps your brain to control focus and attention. Even some foot-tapping or gum chewing may help to block out distractions, fight boredom, and increase productivity.

4. writing

There are 2 types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic.

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The most important one: Intrinsic. The best way to motivate yourself is that it has to come from within you. It’s usually when you are interested in something, or curious to investigate something. When you have a sense of achievement. In this case, you will experience higher concentration. It’s easier to get into that study ‘flow’. You’ll have more fun while working for school. This is the best for the long run. This will keep you going.

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On the other side, there’s the motivation that’s driven by an external trigger. Think about money, career, good grades, exams. So to receive some kind of reward. The problem is that you’ll always need some kind of reward to get things done. But it’s a great way to get you started, to get moving. It’s a more short-term motivation.

Ah motivation, a famous word that’s being used so much on the studygram. “How do you have so much motivation to study? How do I get more motivated to study?” To be honest I kinda dislike this question and here is why:

For so long I wondered why it is that I never seemed to work on my fullest potential. It’s as if I can never be as productive as others are. And the more I tried to be ‘more productive’ the less motivation I had to study. And it’s not that it helped me to get better grades or anything. I was just so focused on others and the amount of studying they did, that I just never felt satisfied. And I wondered why it is that I can never be happy with the work I did that day.

We live in a society where being “productive” or being “busy” is seen as a status symbol. Productive people are super glorified. They are the people everyone wants to become. This applies to everyone, by the way, whether you are a student or working. There’s always going to be someone better, smarter, more productive, more successful. A colleague, a friend, a classmate. Life is a competition. The problem is that you can never win, no matter how hard you try. I learned this the hard way. After I failed almost all my first year classes, I decided to change my mindset and stop putting the energy in comparing myself to others and just started focusing on my own study journey.

Let’s throw in a bit of animal psychology intermezzo :)

Animals live by the cost-benefit analysis. You may have also seen this in a business class. It means that they only put their energy into a situation or action when they know it will give them more benefits than costs. For them being productive doesn’t mean the ones who are the most busy during the day. Ever wondered why your cat or dog sleeps so much during the day? Animals will always try to conserve their energy. They have evolved to sleep for long periods of time, so that they can use their energy to hunt or play. They sleep, to be more productive when looking for food.

Focusing on my own study journey meant that I decided to look into myself to find the answers to those questions on motivation: “How do I get more motivated to study?”

🪐 Hey everyone! 🪐

I made my own wallpaper to match my desk atmosphere. I think it turned out great!

Days are getting shorter - the length of daylight starts to decrease. This makes me more aware of the stars and space. That’s why I chose a space theme. What do you think?

If you use it for yourself please send me some pictures. I would love to see how you use it. And when you post it & tag me on Instagram (@stu_notes). I’ll share your post on my stories.

Let’s talk about the Instagram algorithm. That’s such an important thing for everyone on Instagram. And honestly, it’s so stupid because it feels like everyone is creating art for a computer. And it’s so exhausting to always have it in mind while posting something. Also, it’s very discouraging too, you know?

I always see these posts that say “how to gain more followers. More likes. How to trick the algorithm.” And they make me so sad sometimes because I feel like that’s what you’re supposed to do. But no, that’s not what I want. I don’t want to be focusing on those things all the time. So I always try to keep in mind why I started. Why I’m doing this:

- I’m meeting a lot of new people online

- I get to take pictures of things I love

- I’m able to find my style/ aesthetic

- it has motivated me to focus on my studies and do more of the things I love.

ANXIETY AND EXAMS - save to read later

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Hello everyone ✨🧠

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I promised you that I was going to talk about anxiety during the exam period. So here I go:

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The first thing to know is that stress during exams is perfectly normal. It means that it is important to you and that you want to perform well. But what if the stress becomes too much for you? Here are my tips and the things that help me.

PLAN PLAN PLAN 🦶

But how? I don't have enough space here to explain it in detail. I Have often discussed planning on my insta. But this is the essence: My planning system is always very different during the exams than during the semester. I use Google Calendar to get a visual idea of ​​how I want to spend my time. I split my day into 'morning' 'afternoon' and 'early evening' study sessions. This way I don't always stress about the time that passes and I can keep track of what I want to study and when. But the goal is to feel well prepared for the exams. Don’t forget to plan your study breaks too! 🥰

PREPARATION IS KEY 🐝

Hey everyone, 

I thought it would be fun to create my own study planner for the exams on an online platform instead of on paper. I Usually make these in Word document so that I can print them. But I’ve noticed that I had to change up so much in it that it got super messy. The good thing is that Notion allows you to drag tasks to another day if you didn't finish them. SUCH A BONUS!!