#nikkimasterpost

15 Studying Tips (mainly for HS):

1. Work in sections each day- don’t try and get everything done in one go. 

2. Try a timed break method to let yourself rest when you have a lot of work to do. I personally do a 30 minute studying session and 20 minute break in between. 

3. A finals studying method: If you have a class like history and need to remember a lot of events and concepts, gather all your old papers and write down the main topic of each. Once you have all the topics, write everything you know about them in bullet points. If you can’t think of anything, reread/scan over the paper. Repeat until you get the main idea of all the topics. Bonus: rewrite all the information into a compacted study guide for later studying. 

4. If you like to highlight- only use about 2-3 colors if it's only a worksheet. More than three colors works better with longer text and books. I’d also recommend using pastel or light highlighters because it's much easier to read the words plus it won’t bleed through as much.  

5. Try listening to music when studying. You never know if you work better with some background noise. I personally use video game/anime/movie background instrumentals. 

6. Another tip about listening to music- try using music you’ve listened to over and over. If you use a song you’ve never heard before, you’ll be tempted to get distracted and listen to the song instead of focusing.

7. Have a finger snack nearby like pretzels, crackers, fruit etc. Having a meal while studying can be distracting because you’ll want to eat instead of study. Plus, it’ll make studying a lot slower and more tedious. 

8. Plan, plan, plan! Having multiple projects and tests coming up can really stress you the hell out if you only have one night to do it all. Plan ahead of time and schedule a few days to study before the test. 

9. Over the weekend or when you don’t have anything to study for, tidy your desk. Get rid of any old paper you know you won’t need and throw away trash. If you have the extra time, clean your whole room. 

10. Try and get inspired with studyinspo. Or maybe you like motivational quotes or ‘tough love’ type of motivation; anything that can get you feeling artsy and determined is good in my book. Spend a couple minutes or even twenty minutes to try and get inspired. 

11. If it’s been over twenty minutes and you still aren’t feeling it, you may have to force it. Sit down in your chair and work for five minutes. Feeling up to it now? No? Keep going for another five minutes. If by now you still aren’t motivated you may have to wait until tomorrow to study or continue to force it. 

12. Try not to be absent if a big test is coming up. The extra day of being in class will be so helpful compared to skipping a day. But mental health days are important too. 

13. Talk to your teacher. Ask them questions during and after class to show that you care. Even ask some casual questions about their day. There’s many benefits if you become friends with the teacher. Who knows, they may let you get an extra point on a test even if you don’t exactly deserve it. 

14. Make your own study guide if the teacher doesn’t supply you one. Ask what’s going to be on the test and jot down them down to review later. Staying after can benefit too if the teacher is vague on the test content.

25+ Self-care ideas

1. Take a moment to breath. Don’t do anything but lie in bed and look up at the ceiling.

2. Or if the act of not doing anything stresses you out, then clean. Tidy up the room for 10-15 minutes.

3. If you’re feeling lazy, grab your favorite book and browse through your favorite scenes.

4. But if you're feeling extra lazy, take a 30-60 minute nap. Reset yourself, but be careful because it might mess up your sleep schedule.

5. If you're feeling dehydrated, chug some water. Even if it’s not a lot, it’ll really help.

6. Add some lemon/ lime if you don’t like plain water. There’s also flavored or sparkling water if you’re into that jazz.

7. Treat yourself to some warm coffee/tea late at night. If it’s a hot summer day, afternoon ice coffee is the best.  

8. Make some hot chocolate on a winter’s night and snuggle under a pile of blankets.

9. Change into your favorite pyjamas/comfy clothes. If you’re going out, wear your best outfit and doll up.

10. If you love makeup, play around with it. Find your favorite go-to makeup look. Or if you need a laugh, put on some bright red lipstick and blue eyeshadow.

11. If it’s warm out, sit outside and read. Or play a card game with a friend. Or run your fingers through the grass. Anything that makes you feel happy.

12. If you have to go out when it’s cold, pack on the layers and go for it. Once you're done, reward yourself with a warm drink (coffee,tea,hot chocolate etc.) and watch tv or netflix.

13. Be creative. Write, draw, dance, sing, act, read. Anything.    

14. Need some inspiration? Cats. Cars. Monsters. Marshmallows. Cats in cars with marshmallow monsters. Go nuts.

15. Try something new. Never wrote in the perspective of a child? Go for it. Never have drawn flowers before? Give it a try. Haven’t sang for a long time? Do it again.

16. Stretch your legs and your arms. If you’re’re up for it, go for a walk. Or run. Pretend a bear is chasing you and run for life. You’ll get such a euphoric rush I swear.

17. Take a shower. Crank up the hot water, or cold if that’s your cup of tea. Reflect on things. Or take a relaxing bath instead

18. Pet a puppy or kitty. If you don’t own one, go to a shelter and just pet them. Or you can even volunteer at some shelters to play with them.

19. Watch your smaller pets run around. Whether it’s mice, rats, gerbils, rabbits, ferrets or hamsters, they’ll sure be entertaining to watch if you're feeling bad.

20. Browse on social media. Peek at instagram/ twitter and see what your friends are up to.

21. Talk on the phone with a old friend. Or your best friend. Maybe even your crush if you’re brave enough.

22. Cook yourself a fancy dinner. Or bake yourself some cookies or cupcakes. If you’re feeling lazy or don’t like to bake, make a mug cake.

23. Talk with family whether you live with them or not. Text your grandmother/ grandfather. Or your cousins.

24. Bullet journal. Create a new spread and write these ideas down for later. Or start one if you haven’t yet.

Hello! I finished up my freshmen year and I’m now moving onto being a sophomore. I thought I’d write you some tips based on my experiences since school is already close for some people. 

First Day Advice:

First and foremost, relax! The first week is bound to be hectic but after that, everything goes relatively smoothly. Honestly, when I went to go to class on the first day, I ended up walking into three different classrooms before finding the right one. I had no idea where I was going and if I made one slight change in my commuting from class to class, I would be completely lost. But of course everyone else was doing the same thing-panicking and getting lost. 

Don’t panic if you don’t know where your classes are going to be! I’m not sure about other schools but at mine, in middle school you would tour the high school three times. Still after those three times, I could barely remember where the stairs were. I promise that after the first day, things can only improve from there. By a week later, I knew where all the important classes and some extra rooms were. 

Seniors may be dicks to you. At my school, this ‘treat freshmen horribly’ trend only lasted the first day. After that, as long as you don’t threaten to punch someone in the face, you’ll be fine. 

Different rules- most of which aren’t even followed. Middle school is by far the strictest when it comes to rules. By high school, most of the rules disappear. For example, you have to have a clear water bottle because you can only have water. You know those clear sparkling flavored waters? Those aren’t allowed. Supposedly, you can only have water in my high school, but 75% of the girls bring in Dukin coffees every day. Nobody really says anything unless you have a strict teacher. 

Academic Advice:

For the love of god, do your homework! It affects your grade a lot if you miss a bunch of assignments and get zeros. At the same time, if you miss only a handful of them for the whole semester, don’t stress cause it won’t ruin your grade. 

Do well on tests and all that jazz. Same as before: don’t bomb multiple tests and quizzes and expect a good grade. But if you get a few tests back that weren’t up to your standard, don’t worry. Also if your teacher allows it, retake it or do corrections. 

Balance your studying time. Again, you’ll have to try and find a happy medium. It’s good to over study rather than under study, but it can wear on you quickly. Don’t stay up studying ‘till midnight for three nights straight because you’ll feel awful in the morning. And make sure you study the correct information because all that time would be wasted if you take the test only to realize that it’s on nothing you prepared for. 

Self Care:

Sleep is so important. I’ve never been one to follow a strict sleep schedule and I would pay for that on some days. I’d recommend 7-8 hours each night but if you can get 9+ that’s even better. Only get less than 6 hours if absolutely necessary. 

Take a day out of your week to fully relax. Do whatever relaxes you. Take a long, hot shower or soak in the bath with candles and a bath bomb. Cook dinner for your family or bake a mug cake. Draw pretty pictures or doodle in your bullet journal. Sleep a little longer than normal or take a quick nap. Have your ‘me day’ be as important as acing that test. 

Have a daily routine to wash your face, whether it be in the morning to wake you up or in the evening to feel refreshed. You don’t even need a face wash, although I’d recommend one. Try and wash your face every day or every other day. Trust me, it feels nice. 

Friends, Family & Relationships:

Let’s be real, you're probably going to lose a few friends. Drama is sprinkled everywhere in freshmen year. Between grades, relationships, family troubles and a bunch of other short-term problems, losing friends is something that’s likely to happen. Now don’t freak out, it's not like your friends are going to leave you and drop like flies. Who knows, you may not lose any. The first year of high school is also a good chance to see who your friends really are. 

But at the same time, you’ll make a bunch of friends. Seriously. I’m quite the introvert and haven’t made any new friends in years but I think I made around five friends freshman year.

Don’t be afraid of older kids. For my computer class, I was the only 9th grader. There was only two 10th grader, one 11th grader and the rest of them were 12th graders. Honestly that was one of my favorite classes. I obviously didn’t belong in this group of mostly rowdy senior guys but they were all so nice to me. I later learned that that computer class was stupidly easy and was basically a study period where you got college credit for doing nothing.  

Relationships- tread carefully. I’ve been told multiple times not to date in high school but I still disagree. Be cautious of who you date. Seniors are a big no no. See, I liked a senior and he liked me back, but we both knew we shouldn’t date (he was 18, I was 15) and he was leaving for college soon. We didn’t date, but being friends was good enough. Also, judge their personalities. Falling for someone who is a bad person or is manipulating is going to make life so much harder for you. 

Random Advice:

Bring a water bottle every day to class

Have an emergency bag with a snack inside :)

Eat a little in between classes if you can 

Make your lunch light because you may not have a lot of time to eat

Have a planner!! 

Sit in the front or the middle of the classroom 

Make sure you always have a few pens/pencils with you

Try and have at least one friend in every class

Explore clubs and other extracurricular activities 

Participate if you feel comfortable doing so 

Learn to get over grudges and beef with others

You may miss your old middle school life, but learn that you have to move on 

Remember headphones for when the nice teachers let you use them

^ Bring an extra pair for your friends who don’t have any of their own

If you're gonna screw up, then screw up now while you still have time