#studenttips

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heyyyy angels, mindy here!

okay, listen. we need to talk about something that people love to roll their eyes at. making studying aesthetic. every time someone posts a pretty study setup, there’s always someone in the comments like, “you don’t need pastel highlighters to get good grades 🙄” or “discipline is about hard work, not vibes.” and okay, sure. but also?

if your study routine feels like punishment, you’re gonna run from it.

the way something feels matters. if you walk into a cozy, candle-lit café with soft music playing, you’ll want to stay there for hours. if you sit down at a messy desk with harsh lighting and a chair that makes your back hurt, you’ll last 15 minutes max. same work, different environment, completely different experience.

so why wouldn’t you make your study sessions feel good?

the truth is, romanticizing discipline makes you want to be consistent. and when you crave the work instead of dreading it, that’s when everything shifts.

so let’s make studying feel like an experience instead of a chore.

✧˖° why aesthetics actually matter

people like to pretend that discipline should be cold, harsh, and mechanical, but your brain doesn’t work like that.

➼ your brain loves sensory rewards. if your study space looks, smells, and feels good, your brain will start associating it with pleasure instead of stress. ➼ habit-building depends on emotion. if studying is something you enjoy (even a little), you’ll do it more often. if it always feels miserable, you’ll avoid it. ➼ your environment shapes your identity. if your space and routine reflect the kind of person you want to be, you start stepping into that version of yourself.

this isn’t about making everything look cute just for the sake of it. it’s about creating a feeling that makes you want to show up.

✧˖° how to romanticize discipline (without making it a distraction)

because let’s be real... if you spend two hours making an aesthetic notion template and zero minutes actually studying, you played yourself. the key is to set up your space and then get to work.

✧˖° 1. make studying a full sensory experience

romanticizing discipline isn’t just about visuals. it’s about creating an atmosphere that makes you want to sit down and focus.

➼ sound: play a study playlist that makes you feel productive (lo-fi, classical, rain sounds. whatever works). keep it consistent so your brain recognizes it as a “focus” trigger. ➼ scent: light a candle, spray a room mist, or use an essential oil diffuser. scent is one of the strongest memory triggers, so pick one that makes you feel calm and focused. ➼ touch: make sure your chair is comfortable, your desk is clean, and your study tools feel good to use.

it’s about tricking your brain into thinking, this is a space where we focus.

✧˖° 2. design a study space that makes you want to sit down

your environment dictates your focus. a cluttered, uninspiring desk will make you feel restless. a cozy, minimal, well-lit space will make you want to stay.

➼ keep only the essentials. a clean, distraction-free setup makes it easier to focus. ➼ add a little inspiration. a vision board, a cute calendar, a motivational quote. just something that makes you feel like that girl when you sit down. ➼ lighting matters. natural light is best, but a warm desk lamp can make nighttime study sessions feel cozy instead of exhausting.

again, the goal is to create a space that makes your brain want to work.

✧˖° 3. make discipline feel like a lifestyle aesthetic

some people make discipline look miserable. but the people who actually stay consistent? they make it look effortless.

➼ romanticize the act of opening your books. make it feel cinematic. the soft scratch of your pen, the glow of your laptop, the warmth of your tea. make it feel like a movie (mean girls, gossip girls... etcc) ➼ dress like the best version of yourself. even if you’re studying at home, wear something that makes you feel put together. ➼ upgrade your study tools. if you like the way your planner, pens, and laptop setup look, you’ll actually want to use them.

this is about shifting your identity. when you see yourself as the kind of person who enjoys discipline, you become her.

✧˖° keeping the balance: romanticizing vs. actually doing the work

okay, but let’s not pretend like aesthetics alone are gonna get you an A. you still have to put in the work. the key is to use aesthetics to enhance your discipline, not replace it.

➼ set a “setup time” limit. you get 5-10 minutes to set up your space. after that? no more tweaking. just start. ➼ use a study timer. 50 minutes of deep work, 10-minute break. repeat. this keeps you from getting stuck in the “pretty but unproductive” trap. ➼ reward yourself after real progress. light a candle before studying, but don’t let yourself scroll Pinterest for an hour instead of doing the work.

discipline first, aesthetic second. not the other way around.

✧˖° final thoughts

romanticizing discipline isn’t about making things look good for the sake of it. it’s about shifting your entire mindset so studying feels good.

when you make your study space feel warm, inviting, and yours, you stop dreading it. and when you stop dreading it, you show up more often. and when you show up more often? you actually get sh*t done.

so go romanticize the process. set up your space. light the candle. play the playlist. and then? open your books and do the work. because that girl you’re envisioning? she’s already you. you just have to step into her.

do not fall into the trap of "aesthetics over work" because there will be NO reason for you to romanticize studying, if you don't actually study.

with love,

mindy

Hey everyone 👁👄👁

Just wanted to give a little heads-up: in the next few weeks (or months, who knows honestly), I might be super inconsistent with publishing updates or new one-shots. Or I might not post at all. There's no in-between.

The reason? I've somehow managed to line up multiple exams at the same time, and as a certified procrastinator, I obviously left most of it for the last minute. So now I’m just trying to survive the academic chaos I created for myself.

That said, one-shot requests are still open, and I’m always happy to see your ideas. Just know that replies might be slower until I dig myself out of this pile of textbooks and regret.

And if anyone has actually figured out how to study quickly and efficiently... please. Share your secrets. I’m desperate.

Thanks for sticking around, I’ll be back to writing properly as soon as I can breathe again.

Much love and Caffeine,

Time Management: How We Juggled Multiple Creative Projects

If there’s one thing we learned in Multimedia Arts, it’s that creative deadlines don’t care about your sleep schedule. Between animating frame by frame, fixing kerning at 3 AM, and rendering a 3D model that takes longer than your lifespan, juggling multiple projects felt like an extreme sport. But we survived (somehow), and here’s how: (check replies)

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

𝙸𝙳: Raven Storm

𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚂: Ready to be a blanket burrito 😆

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

Ello ello! How’s everyone’s Friday going?! Or did go? 😂💞 Are you all hyped for the weekend? I literally cannot wait to crash with my blankets...although probably only for 5 minutes cause school work awaits as usual 🤧✨

Here’s re some study timers I use! I will say, they all are great and completely worth it! I’m a broke student so these apps are free but there may be a premium option if you want to go for that 💝

I hope you enjoy and take a break over the weekend! You deserve it!! 🥺💗💗

ﾟ☆ Raven Storm ☆ﾟ

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

🅵🅲: 235

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Okay guys, let’s be honest, most of us don’t really know what the hell we’re doing most days.  Especially in college.  But I’ve spent enough time in college that I have enough tips to discuss with ya’ll.  Now my tips and points might be different because I do six week classes in cycles.  So a semester for you is three class cycles for me.

Understand Your Workload: All of us at this point should know what we can and cannot handle.  When you’re enrolling in classes understand what each class will entitle from you.  A regular college class requires at least 3 hours to study per day at least.  My last cycle I spent a good four to five hours just working on one class at that time, and it was a history class.  Granted my workload is a lot heavier than most students because of the time crunch but still, you’re going to be busy.  The greatest example is if you try to enroll in math and psychology classes at the same time.  Here’s what I recommend for you: if you want to take a class that has a heavier workload then enroll in another class that is somewhat easy.  If you’re taking a math class, go ahead and take a history class.  If it’s a heavy workload like mine, I took a public speaking class with my Western Civilization class.  Trust me, you’ll thank yourself when you’re doing all your assignments.

Prepping Your Book Bag Properly: Now folks, listen to me, you do not need six thousand little things in your bag.  I get it, it might seem amazing to be that one student with an assortment of pens, stickie notes, and notebooks, but it’s not.  If you’re like me who has to walk to school and back, I don’t have time for this.  What you should carry is: computer, computer charger, phone charger, headphones (if you study), a planner if you use one, binder for any papers you’re given throughout the day, a small bag for some pens, highlighters, and one sticky note pad.  And of course, following my next tip.

Bring Water, Gum, and Snacks to Class: Ya’ll I can’t count the times I dealt with hangry class mates because they either skipped a meal or it was close enough to a mealtime.  In my college we’re allowed to bring food because some of the students here come from work or at the other facility that’s a ten minute drive.  But that’s not the case for other locations.  So bring some water bottles, gum that’ll help you if you didn’t bring snacks, if you do bring snacks tho. . .make sure it’s not something sweet, I would recommend something more filling.  E.g. Granola bars (These are Your Best Friend).

Take Breaks When Needed:  I get it, you go assignments due in a couple of days, you need to finish studying for that test, but if you’re tired and can’t focus - please take a break.  A little trick I do is run a timer of 25 minutes and then when it goes off set another one for five minutes.  This gives me time to de-stress, process all the information I just absorbed, and enough time for bathroom breaks.  

Like & Repost If You Are Going To Give This A Try!

So if you’re in school right now, your teacher has probably already started to teach you the curriculum, and some of my classes are just read the textbook, learn from the textbook, and come to class to be tested from the textbook. So really I am just reading the textbook and making notes then adding any needed information during the lecture whether in person in class or online through our school/khan academy/crash course. 

DISCLAIMER: This is a system that I have been using for the past three weeks and is in no way perfect or a “universal” way of notetaking. If you can adapt part of this to use, or if you like to use all of it. That is your prerogative and I hope that this can help you the slightest bit. 

So here is how some of my notes look, mainly all you can see are my history notes which I take in class, I don’t really write a lot for history, just because I “read” the textbook (it’s really just reading the summary at the end of the chapter) anyways so I write down anything that my teacher says that I feel is important or useful. I take down main ideas and if I had questions, I will read about them in-depth and also try and just search them up. 

Write the main ideas, any headers you see will have a main point in the text underneath, so make sure you’re reading properly. Any tips “Exam Tips” write them down and box them in with a pen or highlighter so that you can tell what is important when glancing through. Also, start with primarily black and white notes, then highlight things when going over that are important and that you need to know. 

hi. so, i’ve never been that girl who studies all the time, and gets perfect grades. i hate studying a whole subject just because i have exams. i tend to cram my studying on the night before exams. i think that i have survived my whole time in uni only doing that, and i thank god i have never had to repeat a subject. if you’re like me, never in touch with studies, always easily distracted, then i guess i can help you out? not a lot but i think it can somehow help you hahah

1. 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. i know, it sounds so basic and like “what?” but trust me. most of the works assigned to you are going to help you understand the subject. it really, really, helps a lot.

2. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬. JUST. DON’T. postponing your work at the last minute will cause you to rush and end up doing work only for the sake of submission, instead of actually understanding it. take the time to read through your works after you’re done.

3. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬' 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. copying your friends’ work won’t help you understand the things you need to understand. do it by yourself, and ask for an explanation if you don’t know the answer from a friend. seriously. DON’T COPY ANYONE’S WORK. IT DOESN’T HELP YOU.

4. 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. it seems like most students rarely ask because they think that it’s not a big deal that they didn’t get that one tiny detail right. but that’s so so wrong. ask your teacher about the questions you have. they’re not decorations. they’re there to help you out.

5. 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. so, in school, during the first classes i attended, i tend to space out and not pay attention. this caused me to not understand the whole thing. you lose a lot of focus in classes, i get it. it’s boring, you’re sleepy. but the things that your teacher teach you is actually how you can understand them. they also give out main points that might actually help you in your tests.

6. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬. the main point of taking notes is so that when you come across a question that you might not know how to solve, you can always look back into the notes. you don’t have to write down the whole thing. just parts that are being highlighted by the teachers. it really helps.

7. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. this is one thing that really gets me to understand in the best way possible. in order to teach your friend, you have to get the whole thing understood by yourself first. this is by far the fastest way possible to understand your subjects.

8. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞. make sure that you take at least one hour out of your day to check on your works. everyday. this way, you won’t miss out on any works given. if you have no work, take this time to revise on what you have a hard time to understand.

9. 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐬. practicing on old exam papers are SUCH A GREAT HELP. i’ve only done this throughout my whole time in university and i’ve only gotten at lowest a solid B. analyse the questions and try to answer them. you’ll be shocked on how much this can help you.

10. 𝐃𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬. practice to answer any questions this way. in exams, you’ll be so used to answering this way, and you can save your time trying to answer the harder ones last and not hand in an empty paper.

11. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩. your brain won’t function if all you do is sleep 4-5 hrs per day. your body as a student needs at least 6 hours, and max at 8 hours. don’t do less, don’t go overboard.

12. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐏 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐒. much like sleep, your brain will focus on if your body is in the best condition possible. don’t study on an empty stomach, don’t study without getting hydrated enough.

13. 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨-𝐅𝐢 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜. personally, i listen to lofi music while studying. it has a calming effect for your brain, making it easier for your brain to receive informations. listening to songs with lyrics will probably distract you and cause you to sing along, instead of actually studying.