#chemnotes

June 18 || On the chemist’s day in Brazil, I spent my morning recapping the procedures of GC for analysis in the next week. 

𝐐𝐎𝐓𝐃: What is you hardest subject in school?

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𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥: structural note taking often looks like a skeleton where you have a title, headings/subheadings, then notes. For most of my revision notes, I use structural note taking so I can easily locate a certain heading without having to look around too much.

→ 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚜: • Good for quick notes • Makes revision simpler and efficient • Good for quick and neat notes

→ 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚜: • Not necessarily as detailed • Isn’t meant to answer specific questions–it’s just notes (unlike Cornell)

𝟐. 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥: cornell notes are probably my all time favorite; I use them for concept heavy subjects like chemistry and math. There’s a section for specific key words/vocabulary/questions you answer, a section for notes, as well as a section for a summary. I’ve done variations in the placement of the summary box (you can keep it at the end of the notes or at the end of the page–I prefer the page but that’s just me :)

→ 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚜: • Can be extremely detailed • Summaries prove very useful during revision • Perfect for retaining a ton of information • Keeps you engaged during note taking

→ 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚜: • Can be messy if the formatting isn’t paid attention to • Is slightly difficult to use for relatively easier topics (in my opinion)

Just remember that these are my opinions and things I’ve picked up from my own (or my friends’) experiences. Not all of this needs to apply to you and these are simply facts/opinions from my perspective. (i.e: don’t come after me if you disagree with something 😋)

Stick around for part 2 😊

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𝐀𝐎𝐓𝐃: My hardest subjects are debatable between Chemistry Honors and World Lit. I’m a ‘native’ English speaker and literally, I don’t understand what my English teacher wants from me however, for chem honors, my teacher doesn’t “teach” anything—which my English teacher does in a sense. So I’m probably going to say tie between those two haha

𝐐𝐎𝐓𝐃: What is the longest time you can focus for?

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The study mindset is literally the mindset when you're productive and learning at the same time. From personal experience, it's something that is painfully hard to get into, especially if you're a super hyper student like me. Here are some things that have helped me slip into a mind space that allows me to think productively. Enjoy!

𝟏. 𝐃𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬: It's very common that people watch TV on their work station and study where they sleep. The issue with that is, you're confusing you own brain as to what it's supposed to be doing. Let me explain. Your brain associates certain places with certain mindsets; your bed is for rest and relaxation, your study area is for your grind and your dinner table is for eating. If you mix up your activities and don't do them where they should be, your brain will still continue to associate that activity with what you normally do there. So if you do your HW on your bed, high chances are that you'll get tied real quick.

𝟐. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝: Before I work, I like to calm my thoughts using breathing exercises, with calm music, or a simple and quick meditation. If your thoughts are racing, it becomes really hard to focus and in turn, to get work done. Trust me, calming your mind down makes so much of a difference.

𝟑. 𝐔𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬: When you run, you take a break right? Because our muscles aren't machines that can be worked continuously. Our brain is in fact a muscle too, and it needs break from that consistent grind you make it do sometimes too. Use breaks when you can afford it. They allow your mind to regain and realign its focus after hours/minutes of concentration. If you don't take breaks, you risk being burned out too (which isn't something anyone likes dealing with).

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𝐀𝐎𝐓𝐃: I usually work for 50 minutes and take a break for 10. I've tried doing more, but it's simply not possible for my mind lol.