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a growth mindset | 17.11.2017

special thanks to @jasperstudies and miss piggott for being so positive while I was struggling with the A2 exams. now that those are over, it’s time to give back!

He asked somebody to raise their hand and ask him when we would use calculus in our everyday life. So one student rose their hand and asked, “When are we going to use this in our everyday life?”

“NEVER!!” the teacher exclaimed. “You will never use calculus in your normal, everyday life. In fact, very few of you will use it in your professional careers either.” Then he paused. “So would you like to know why should care?”

Several us nodded.

He picked out one of the varsity football players in the class. “You practice football a lot during the week, right Tim?” asked the teacher.

“Yeah,” replied Tim. “Almost every day.”

“Do you and your teammates ever lift weights during practice?”

“Yeah. Tuesdays and Thursdays we spend a lot of practice in the weight room.”

“But why?” asked the teacher. “Is there ever going to be a play your coach tells you use during a game that requires you to bench press the other team?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then why lift weights?”

“Because it makes us stronger,” said Tim.

“Bingo!!” said the teacher. “It’s the same thing with calculus. You’re not here because you’re going to use calculus in your everyday life. You’re here because calculus is weightlifting for your brain.”

I do indeed, although they mostly revolve around writing, reading and translations —I’m afraid I’m not very original that way. 

Also, I’m playing fast and loose with the term “essay” here. 

I always see tips for not procrastinating, and maybe they are really helpful to people with good self-discipline but I read them and feel worse about myself bc for some reason I had a preconceived idea that I just couldn’t do those things…maybe seeing all those tips and tricks made me believe that studying was an easy task, only suitable for people with the newest stationery, most aesthetic study spaces or prettiest notebooks.

I thought studying was just something i couldn’t do well, like my brain wasn’t built for that. I felt like I was destined to always procrastinate and be a failure.

A big part of getting over procrastination was realizing that studying is one of the most difficult things to do as a student. for procrastinators, it takes a huge amount of effort to stop scrolling through social media and get out books. personally there is a huge fear and anxiety associated with “studying” and it makes my stomach churn and heart race just thinking about it. to get out from the safe space of distractions to facing our fears is immensely difficult.

if you want to study, it takes a LOT of effort to turn off your phone, get out your books & pens and do questions that make you feel dread and anxiety and inadequacy.

it takes a great deal of effort to confront the habitual thoughts in your brain that say “you’re stupid” or “what’s the point” or “this is too hard” or “i’ll never understand this” or “this essay will never be perfect so why even try.” 

it’s immensely difficult to fight your inner perfectionism, denial, avoidance, making excuses, or feelings of inadequacy as they are deeply ingrained defense mechanisms all created to avoid studying.

for some people like me these voices are even louder because they’ve procrastinated so much that there’s an overwhelmingly huge pile of studying they need to catch up on.

People regard studying as some sort of common thing that “anyone knows how to do.” but it’s actually a difficult skill that needs to be learned and practiced, like learning a musical instrument. you wouldn’t give up on that if you weren’t good after 2 days, why feel the same about studying?

Motivation & Discipline

anonymous asked: been studying the whole of june because my exams are after the holidays and i think I’ve lost motivation? what should i do? there’s no time for me to take a break :-(

The most difficult part of studying is definitely starting to study and sticking to it. Having motivation is helpful at first and will help you get started on your goals, but after this point it really comes down to your discipline to continue doing things!

What’s the difference?

Motivation is only going to encourage you to do something, whether it’s from looking at pictures or rewarding yourself after tasks.

Discipline is habit that forms out of the motivation you have given yourself previously. Eventually this task becomes normal to you and motivation won’t be necessary for you to do it. The task is just a regular part of your routine, like eating lunch.

Example: We all want to rest a few extra minutes (or hours) when our alarm rings in the morning. When this happens, you start having a mental talk with yourself. “Should I even go?” “Is sleeping in worth it?” You may even start motivating yourself to get out bed. “There’s a test today and I can’t miss it!” If you have discipline, you get out bed without this mental talk.

A lot of Studyblrs study based on motivation by reminding themselves about the rewards of studying, such as where they will be in the future if they study now. A lot even read quotes and look at photos & blogs. This is a good start if you are new to studying, but it’s definitely not efficient. A lot of people who study this way end up procrastinating because they give themselves breaks as a reward. Everything you have to do will build up, and that obviously isn’t fun! All you will want to do is crawl into bed.

Studying based on discipline means that you study out of habit — or that it has become a regular part of your routine. Like how you know when to eat, you know when to study. This is a lot more efficient than motivational studying because tasks won’t build up as bad. Instead of avoiding tasks and crawling into bed, you just do them.

How do you develop discipline?

The first step is understanding that sometimes you just have to do the task. Even if the task at hand isn’t fun, it has to be done! It’s now or later, and choosing later only leads to procrastination and task build-up.

Doing something sooner than later is a huge key in developing discipline. When you make the decision to put off work that needs to be done and to rely on your future self, your future self is going to be in a lot more stress and exhaustion! Things will continue to build up and won’t get done, either not on-time or not complete at all.

This can lead to you not getting the grades or qualifications you could have gotten, which may stop you from achieving your goals.

Comes to terms with the fact that some tasks are more important than others! You shouldn’t put scrolling through your dashboard, reblogging posts, watching Youtube, and even reading fan-fiction above more important tasks.

Learn to rely on yourself and yourself only. Like the first bullet, you simply have to do the task; you can’t say no or your future won’t be the way you want it to be! Disregarding the meme, keep telling yourself to just do it.

Know the difference between a break and simply stopping. If your break consists of you saying “I’ll do the rest later” or “I’ll continue tomorrow,” that’s not a break! Breaks should:

be no longer than an hour,

should be used to help you recharge, and

should have a task themselves.

Instead, say: “I’ll set a timer for 30 minutes so I can get a snack and relax.”

Remember: the point of a Studyblr is to help you study. Don’t just reblog aesthetic photos; reblog masterposts, resources, and things that will actually help you!

Other Posts on Motivation & Discipline: 1 | 2 | 3

We wish you luck on your exams! :)

What seems hard now, will someday be your warmup. Just keep going.​

11.6.2016: i’ve been pretty inactive lately, i apologize! school and college apps have me swamped!! but here’s a sneak peek at my quick weekly planner (not bujo this time tho!) and a couple ‘o flowers to make up for my absence!!!