Engineering Major, Professional Procrastinater

[13/100] Days of Productivity

Heeeeey, It’s been a lonnngggggg time since I’ve done a giveaway, so I thought it was about time!! I really appreciate all of you that follow me, whether you’ve been here from the start, or you’re new! So this giveaway is a thank you to you all!! 

It is almost my 3 year anniversary, since making this blog, so it’s a perfect time i suppose!! 

I’m going to be giving away a book/s of your choice up to the prices of £15/€20/$20 to the winner

The rules are: 

You must be following me (As this is a thank you to my followers) 

Book depository must ship to your country 

Only Reblogs Count - likes will not count 

you can reblog as many times as you like, just please don’t spam your followers haha 

you must be willing to share your address with me 

Do not follow to unfollow again afterwards (I will be checking) 

If you’re under 18, make sure you have a parent/guardians permission to share your address if you win 

No giveaway blogs please 

Ends 31st March 

Good Luck everyone!! 

Things you may want to avoid doing in the future. 

 Doing, wait, not doing these things always works for me. 

Staying up late. 

 Sleep is yes.  And as my speech coach puts it “there are only so many all nighters a person can pull before they just can’t”.  Not only will staying up uber-late make the next day a battle between you an a surprisingly pillow-like desktop, if you’re tired, your work probably won’t be the your best.

Over-scheduling. 

 It’s easier to look at a schedule with 3-4 assignments than it is to look at one with 9-10.  When scheduling, if you have a plethora of assignments, prioritize.  Write down the most important assignments, and leave any others off the page or in the margins.  You only have so many hours in the day and it’s better to complete the most important tasks than none at all.

Pro-tip: The Pareto Principle.  The Pareto principle revolves around the 80%-20% ratio.  Allow me to explain, if you have 10 pieces of work, there are probably only two of them that will take up 80% of the work.  And 8 of them that will take up 20% of the work.  The key to prioritizing is finding those two assignments (or however many = 20% in your workload) and doing them first

Working in bed or laying down.

 NONONONONONONONONONO.  This is how “cat-naps” happen.  You swear that you’re going to get straight to work and then your phone on the bedside table lights up.  It’s too hard to organize a book, a notebook, and a laptop on a bed without moving the laptop off of your lap.  So why not check it?  

Working in bed helps the boogeyman grow under it.

Over-working.  

If you take on more than you can handle, you will not get the results you want.  It’s perfectly alright to challenge yourself.  In fact, it’s great.  But, there is a difference between being ambitious and stressing yourself out.  If it’s too much, go back to the Pareto principle and prioritize. 

Drinking excessive amounts of coffee and energy drinks. (Especially in the afternoon.)  

One (maybe two, if you ordered a tall) cups of coffee in the morning is fine.  But in the afternoon or the evening, stick to exercise, healthy snacks, and naps.  Sugary energy drinks as well as coffee that contain caffeine can speed up your heart rate, cause stress, and irregular breathing patterns.  If you become addicted to caffeine these things will accelerate and can end up hurting you detrimentally.

Over-using productivity apps.  

Productive apps are awesome, if used correctly, don’t abuse them.  It was difficult for me to use productivity apps on my phone at first because the other things on my phone would distract me.  If you plan to use productivity apps on you phone and computer make sure that you have the self-control needed o use them properly.

Tumblr. - I’m only half kidding

Those are the general ones, these are a bit more subject specific

Math/science

Falling behind. 

 In other classes falling behind is not recommended, but is usually fixable by reading a few chapters or asking a friend for notes.  Because of arithmetic’s complex nature that relies not only on facts, but applying them it is very difficult to master one a concept while you’re supposed to be mastering another.  Often, learning one key concept can help you with many other assignments, not learning key concepts can make those other assignments 10x harder.

Receiving low homework scores.  

In all of the math classes I’ve been in, the homework scores were more of your grade than your test homework.  Always turn in your homework, even if it feels impossible, try your best, and never leave your paper blank.  Even if you got all of the answers wrong, many teachers will give you serious credit for trying and failing rather than just failing.

Learn everything from the teacher. 

 There are a plethora of online math resources that are awesome, and math teachers usually only teach one method of solving a problem.  Try Khan Academy , For Dummies, or IXL.  Or look around a bit, there are a lot of other great sites, those are just my favorites.

Learn everything. (This is usually for science.) 

 In science (especially in biology and Earth sciences.) you are introduced to a myriad of concepts and vocabulary words that might seem like too much to memorize.  Don’t.  Look at what your teacher puts emphasis on and memorize that. Also, if you are using a textbook, there is a good chance that the textbook is filled with notes on the ‘key concepts’ or learning requirements for each chapter.  These are also things that you should attempt to memorize.

English/writing/history/ other humanities

Not develop an opinion. (Especially in history) 

 If there’s anything a english/ writing/ history teacher loves, it’s an opinionated student.  Textbooks give you facts and figures, and you can interpret them however you want.  So, do just that.  This will show your teacher not only that you are interested in his or her subject, but that you are engaged in the material that they gave you.

Ignore teacher comments. (No matter how small.) 

 It isn’t fun to read nit-picky comments about your work.  Especially on your writing.  But look at them.  Even if you receive a good grade on a paper, applying corrections on your next one will ensure that you get a better grade the next time.  

Staying quiet in class.  

I understand that for some people this one is hard, for some people this one is practically impossible.  But teachers love it.  If you can, voice your opinion and answer questions in class as frequently as possible.  I’ve even received extra credit for being verbally engaged in class more than other students.

Not trying to learn everything.  

This one is a lot like the ‘not ignoring teacher comments’.  A lot of information slips through the cracks (especially in english)  that pops back up on exams.  Because most of what is learned in an english class is not drilled into you like it would be in a math or science class, to do well, you have to drill yourself.  I’ve been told the difference between ‘affect’ and ‘effect’ plenty of times, but I didn’t truly learn it until this year when I had to study it for an exam.

Pro-tip: Don’t challenge your teachers.  They determine your grades.  Momentary satisfaction is not worth a bad grade.

🌻

First of all sorry for being basically inactive for a few months. I have a hard time sticking to things and stay interested and honestly, school has been kicking my butt and mental energy and this blog have been the least of my worries. 

I don’t recommend not caring about school and only doing the bare minimum but for some all this A+ studyblr community can put really high expectations which isn’t always healthy. 

I wanted to make this post as a way to keep your grades when you are not able to put in as much effort as you would like or you simply don’t care enough. I talk about effort, motivation, procastination among other things. Personally, I don’t put in a lot of work in school and I basically do the bare minimum, at least my personal bare minimum. Which brings me to my first point.

Minimal Effort - what is yours? Finding what you believe is the bare minimum is important. For me, it is paying attention in class and doing written homework and assignments - not reading. For others, it may be hand-in homework and easy reading to get a better understanding of the topic. I have always gotten better than average grades (80-85%) in a school where getting top grades in all subjects is basically impossible and I won’t deny that I am just naturally good at school and some just aren’t. I am not naive.

Motivation - how to get/find it I am the least motivated person (okay maybe exaggerating but still). My motivation is very linked to my own minimal effort. I do my homework because I view it as an obligation both to myself but also my teachers. However, I work best under stress and deadlines so I tend to do things last minute. But I don’t half-ass things (often ). I try and do my best and if it is urgent and just needs to get done I will put less effort into it. It is all about balance. The most horrible thing about myself is that even though I need to work to get into my dream college it is not a motivator for me. My motivation is mostly short-term (like due dates, stress) and I wish this was a motivation. And it is on a higher level but in my everyday life, it sadly isn’t.  So find what motivates you and use it. Some like longterm goals and others it is as simple as one mark on one test. If you really can’t find motivation either just view as an obligation and something you have to do even if you don’t have to.Or the hard question, should you even be doing this if you have no motivation?

Paying attention in class Paying attention in class often allows me to not do the assigned reading (be aware I am in high school not college or uni!!!!) as most of the things are covered in class. But paying attention in class can be very difficult for some students. And I am definitely not excused. Sometimes my mental energy is just too low or I am not presented with material that is new or challenging enough for my brain to want to pay attention. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I hate when teachers go through things I already understand because I feel like I am wasting time. So I am trying to take notes again to write down stuff I missed the first time. For my physics is the big problem here. We go through the same topic many times and it bores me.But try to keep paying attention. Rewrite your notes on the topic or ask questions. Do something to keep engaged.  If you tend to talk a lot during class - this used to be me, try and sit next to someone you don’t talk to much outside the school and the chances of talking about something unrelated to the lessons drops. If you don’t get even more bored by it, try and sit alone or next to someone you don’t talk to at all. I moved away from all my fellow student in my sophomore math class and it really helped. And it made my teacher realize I wasn’t actually the one talking all the time and it showed a willingness to fix the problem. This is actually my next point. 

Homework and good impressions Doing homework is a good way to learn, get good grades, and make your teachers like you and think of you as a good student. Getting good grades at the beginning of a semester and leaving a good impression can keep your grades up even if you start to slack later on when your motivation drops. Ask you teachers small questions after class to show you are engaged in the subject and class. If you get grades based on class participation and in-school work like me this helps boost your grades. I obviously don’t ask questions after every class but it is important to do sometimes. 

Procrastination - how to battle it I am a very big procrastinator and I have yet to rid myself of it and I never will. It is not going to happen. I am a procrastinator for many reasons. I have long days about 11-12 hours from when I leave my house to when I come back. I am very tired when I get home and often fall into the trap of going immediatly to my bed to relax. But I try to sit at my desk instead. Even if I am just scrolling through social media I am at my desk, and trust me it is a lot easier to start doing homework from your desk than getting out of your bed. I like to use the do not disturb function on my phone from when I am studying and need my phone but I don’t need notifications from social media. I will check them when I get a break not immediately as they pop up on my screen. I will not lie and despite knowing this I still go to my bed 7/10 times. 

Get things done - how to plan your day I have just started planning my days for my exam studying and it works very well. Write down time intervals and what you want to do in that amount of time. I use either a small piece of paper but I am currently trying out @emmastudies free daily planner printable and I am enjoying it very much - little tip: put it in a smooth sheet protector so you can use dry-erase markers on it. It makes it a lot easier to change your day if something comes up and it saves paper as it is reusable.  I will admit I don’t always stick to it (like now I am writing this post instead of studying) but it gives a clear overview and helps me stick to doing work. I do 30-45 minutes work and 15 minute breaks with a longer break for lunch and between lunch and dinner. 

Music and Netflix - when to do what I listen to music while I study rather than watching tv as moving pictures tend to take your attention. I listen to anything really but sometimes I will find a playlist I don’t know as it helps me concentrate rather that sing along to my favourite songs. Right now I am listening to The Pretty Reckless (one of my favourite bands of all time) but I haven’t listened to it in a while which was something I wanted to and it doesn’t distract me - win-win. I watch Netflix sometimes when I study. If what I am doing is easy or I am rewriting notes. Not if I am doing hard problems or something like that. I also recommend watching something you have watched before. I watch B99 or friends mostly or even teen wolf as I have watched all those shows more than 4 times each. They work as background noise to cancel out the distracting sounds around me. 

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✎ don’t get in the habit of skipping class for no reason. really. it might seem harmless (especially if attendance isn’t required) but it will most likely end up affecting you negatively. just go to class.

✎ try to be as organized as possible. organization can’t harm you and there are so many potential benefits to keeping your school and personal life in order.

✎ don’t be afraid to enjoy yourself. honestly, what’s the point if school is only ever miserable. there are so many ways to enjoy your experience at college, so take a break from your studies every once in a while. otherwise, you might find yourself hating school.

✎ that being said, don’t spend too much time socializing and partying. or, at least, don’t choose it over your school work altogether. you don’t want the social aspect of college to overpower the academic aspect. after all, you are most likely paying a lot of money to study there, and ignoring your studies will only harm you. find a balance.

✎ even if your classes don’t start until 2 in the afternoon, wake up at a reasonable time. it might be difficult if you’re used to sleeping in very late, but the morning is the perfect time to get some things done, and sleeping in until 10 minutes before your class does waste a lot of time. plus, you’ll probably do better in class if you didn’t just wake up.

✎ naps are good though! as long as you don’t nap during the whole day, napping is very beneficial.

✎ don’t get too involved in drama with other people. if your friend group becomes draining and exhausting because of drama, recognize that it might be better for you to take a step back.

✎ don’t get caught up in the idea of having the perfect “college experience.” do what you want to do, not what everyone else does or what you believe you’re supposed to do. there are different types of college experiences, and you don’t have to, for example, join a sorority/fraternity, go to parties, get drunk/high, etc. just because you think you’re supposed to as a college student.

✎ try to participate in class. i failed at this miserably because of my fear of talking to people lol, but it is best to be more involved in class discussions if you can. this is especially important when participation is part of your grade.

✎ if you have a roommate, don’t expect to be best friends with them. you can, but it’s not always best. in my experience, it tends to work best if you’re friendly with them, but you also have different groups of people you hang out with. this is based on preference though. 

✎ get off of campus sometimes! depending on where you live, there may be a bunch of things you can do in your town with friends. you don’t want to always feel stuck at your school. that being said, there are probably a lot of things to do on campus too. 

✎ if you have a source of income, try to be reasonable with your spending. you should definitely save some money for emergencies. and the money you do spend should be spent reasonably. this isn’t to say you should never spend money on things that you enjoy, but you definitely should have some sort of budget, or you might find yourself wasting all of your money on 2am trips to denny’s (if you’re me, that is). 

✎ sometimes you may need to be alone. don’t feel bad telling your friends ‘no’ every once in a while. you may find it easiest to work alone, or you might just wanna relax without the pressure of being with other people. that’s okay! find a place on campus where you can be away from everyone sometimes.

The evolution of my bullet journal in seven pictures. I just filmed a new video, it’s a bullet journal flip through detailing all my tips, set-ups, and decorations. if you want to see it click the link.