#hctips

Set your priorities straight. As you’ve entered school, you know that your academics are basically one of your priorities, aside from your personal health. You are a student, after all. You should know that you should be making time for all the school work you’re supposed to be dealing with. If you’re having trouble with this, I suggest you write your priorities down, and rank them according to which one weighs the most. This will make you feel much more headstrong and goal-oriented.

Use schedulers and planners. You’re human and it’s okay to forget things. Get digital with apps and programs or get traditional with notebooks and planners. Involve your planning with a combination of both. This really helps especially if you’ve created a system for remembering things more efficiently, eg. color-coding, bullet journaling, weekly overviews, having legends, etc., which leads us to the next point:

Schedule in advance. Complete the difficult tasks, the easy tasks, the medium tasks. Do what you can. Set deadlines for yourself. If you’re fully aware that three weeks from now, you’ll have 3 exams in a day, start studying as early as possible. If you have to attend to an event and have an exam the day after, bring any study material with you. Do homework the day they’re given to you, especially if they’re fairly easy. If they need some research or data collection, make it a point that you do it after class or on the nearest weekend. Break the habit of doing something because a classmate has already started doing his/hers. Instead, do it for the motivation that you’ve set for yourself.

Prevent causes of distraction. There are only 24 hours in a day, and a fraction of which we use for fulfilling our basic necessities. Utilize the remaining time for productivity. Delete social media apps if you have to, or turn off your internet. Better yet, turn off your phone and exchange phones with your roommate or your friend. Keep it. Forget about it for a moment. You can always leave your feed but it will never leave you. You can always return to it after you’ve done your work.

Multi-task! I can never stress the importance of learning multi-tasking enough. Whenever I’m in a long meeting, I usually bring my laptop to review notes or write a paper. Of course, it would seem rude to some so it’s better if you would give them a heads-up. If I’m in a class I find easy and if the professor allows us to study or drift off, I usually study for other classes that I need more attention in. While I take showers, I discuss the exam material from my memory out loud. If you have to wait in line for some errand, bring a book. Sometimes while doing my night care routine, I would listen to audio recordings of my professor. Some of these examples may come off as rude or off-putting, I know. But that’s just me. You can always find other safer situations where you could practice multi-tasking.

Now, not tomorrow. If you happen to finish a scheduled task and got a little free time, it gives you all the reason to do some of the things you have scheduled for other days. If you can do it now without any constraint, why would you choose to do it later?

Ask for help. If a friend’s not too busy, don’t be afraid to ask for a little help! You can ask them favors of proofreading your essay. You can ask them about the notes that you didn’t take down of. You can ask them about how this certain professor's exam types. The possibilities are endless. Just know the right people and places. Don’t dwell too much on tiny details. If you have misunderstood a certain topic, ask your roommate, ask the person next door. Go to the nearest library. Check the internet for answers. You can consult your teacher or professor. Don’t be afraid to ask for a little assistance. No man is an island.

You have all the time on your hands. If you believe that you can do it, and if you really want to do it, you will. Taking up other commitments and responsibilities is never a problem, as long as you know you can handle them without sacrificing another. You are always allowed to say no. If you have as many organizations as me, remember that work should never get in the way of your priorities. Just keep in mind that everyone has their certain limits, and you do too.

If all else fails, CLUTCH IT!! I’m not joking, I’ve done this multiple times. I came out alive but I have to admit that not all of my crammed output had the best marks (although some of them did!). If you don’t want to be in this heart-racing situation, then be as diligent as possible with your work! Make it a habit.

Always remember that these tips may or may not help anyone the same as it did with me, but I’m glad that I have this opportunity to get this out there. Find your rhythm. I know it takes time, but don’t stress yourself too much because all of your efforts will be successful. Some efforts may just be rewarded in ways that you didn’t plan to, while some just lead you nearer to your dreams. Just keep doing you, and you’ll get through this.

hi, love! merry christmas to you too! c:

thank you so so much! i’m surprised you found me on google??? but that’s cool beans! yes, i’m on a 5-week holiday break after ending my /gruesome/ first semester and i’m about to start my second sem on january, so i don’t really have acads to pursue at the moment BUT i have enrolled myself in an online course related to my bachelor’s degree in coursera, so i’m pretty busy on there. (i might do a post about this soon, too!) + what i like about it is i have control over my pacing and i could finish the course material just before my classes start, so they won’t overlap. i am a very busy person when i’m in uni :-(

aside from coursera, i’m starting my bullet journal for 2017 (my first ever bullet journal as well lol) because i’ve been very enticed by pretty notes and cutesy stationery all around pinterest and tumblr mehehe and i’m catching up on a ton of series and movies i didn’t get to watch during the sem.

believe me when i say that even with that time-friendly online course, i still tend to procrastinate and go out with my friends. it is hard to stay motivated most especially bc christmas is literally toMORROW WAHT

i can really attest that it’s hard to focus lalo na’t ang daming distractions everywhere that you could easily have access to plus free lahat ng friends mo unlike pag may classes, so there’s a little shuffle with your priorities pag vacation. 

my advice would probably be to stick with a constant routine for the break (if you don’t have other plans for the day, just make adjustments whenever you really have to). i’ve trained myself to wake up around 8am during the vacation and have breakfast around that time, so my body would “adjust” and generally start being productive during the late morning + afternoon. do errands/take a bath early and set a time na kapag acads, acads lang muna. delete your social media apps if you really have to be extreme with your study habits. (i’ve done it for the last two months of my previous semester, legit na walang facebook and twitter).

for acads naman, you can download quizlet on your phone for flashcards (it also works on pc! it’s very helpful, swear). you can also write some notes. make a schedule na for this day, you’re gonna cover these topics, etc. i’m pretty sure you got it!

also, if you’re on a mac (but i think it’s also available on pc): i’ve installed a lot of apps + browser extensions to help me focus on my online course more (i.e. momentum, fliqlo, myHomework, and microsoft onenote). it wouldn’t just be handy for the break but for the rest of my academic stay, i guess. 

i guess putting your goal in front of you (literally and/or figuratively, whatever suits you!) would really help you to get that extra push. what are you doing this for? i’m guessing you have 2-3 weeks left for vacation, you can still do a lot in more or less 340 hours! make sure that in at least 60% of your 24 hours, you are or have been doing something productive (aside from our daily human tasks). just apply the right amount of pressure on yourself, kaya mo yan! i believe in you :-)

hello there, friend! i absolutely love you and your studyblr, teajuice as well! c: i’m doing really well and currently on term break hehe. how about you, what are you up to? 

*warning: quite a long read ahead*

first of all, welcome! *cue in sparkly stickers and washi tapes* i just recently got into the whole studyblr community myself around a week ago, and all i did was just post original content (which may vary from pictures of your own bullet journal, your notes, masterposts, or academic tips or mental health guides!) under a lot of tags (it feels embarrassing to put like a million tags and such but i promise it would help especially that we’re just starting)

a lot of blogs had inspired and are continuing to inspire me, and i suggest you follow a lot of other studyblrs (you can check my blogroll, if you want: http://holocrams.tumblr.com/b) for inspiration and a lot of quality content. you should also check out others’ posts under the #studyblr tag! c:

secondly, i guess getting involved isn’t about having a lot of followers but more of how you learn from other studyblrs to how they learn from you, too. the followers are basically just a bonus from this. 

third, it really helped to join studyblr follow trains and mini games all around the community. i’ve searched far and beyond and now i’m currently following almost 700 active studyblrs. create a little introduction post if you’re ready to open part of yourself to the community, and let your favourite studyblrs know that they have inspired you in this journey. (example, http://holocrams.tumblr.com/post/154625716128/hello-i-guess-its-about-time-for-me-to-introduce)

fourth, i totally get you, being so small in this huge community does get intimidating. but you have to remember that everyone is like you, blogging and scrolling from their computer or mobile screens, so take a deep deep breath and don’t be nervous at all! if a certain ~famous~ studyblr does some number games, don’t be hesitant to participate c: or leave them a friendly message (not necessarily asking for them to check your blog out) out of no where, i swear a lot of people would surely appreciate that.

what i’ve noticed ever since is that, the people inside this loving community are all so friendly and are willing to help you. so take your time adjusting! i hope to see more of teajuice soon on my dash :-) i’m pretty sure with that kind of dedication, you’ll be comfortable soon enough.

p.s. thank you so much for coming to me, out of all the people out there! you don’t know how much this means to me hahaha. if you ever need more advice or just a friendly chat, i’m just a message away!