On my way to become a great student

Can’t pay the full amount you owe on a bill? Pay as much as you can each month. Most places just wanna know you’re making a good faith effort. You can usually even call and ask for a smaller minimum monthly payment plan until you catch up, so that maybe you won’t be getting late fees added on to your balance. It’s worth calling to see. 

Third time you’ve had to reschedule that doctor’s appointment? Oh well. Your doc probably just wants to make sure you make it in to their office at all. Keep trying.

Half-assing is always better than no-assing folks. I know lots of us are anxiety-ridden perfectionists and it feels like if we can’t do everything exactly right on the first try we just shouldn’t bother. But that’s not true. 

How to use a bullet journal, student’s edition

I’ve been using a bujo for a year now, and as a high school student, I was struggling to incorporate my bujo into my studies, aka organising my homework and stuff. Before starting a bullet journal I was using a day to day diary where I wrote down all my homework and exams. As I switched to the bujo, I was so happy to have this productivity-boosting tool, yet I couldn’t figure out how I could write down my school-related dates and assignments on my bujo, since it is not designed for long-term planning. So here are the tips I figured out through time (and a lot of studyblr scrolling hehe) on how to use a bujo as a student! Enjoy ^^

1. Have a Semester/trimester/year overview of your school/uni year

This is so far the best tip for long-term planning in your studies. With an overview of your school/uni weeks, it is very easy to jot down exam dates, deadlines, conferences and stuff. 

It’s very useful when you are given, at the beginning of your school year, the planning of exams. You can easily jot down the dates and subjects of each exam in this calendar.

You can also add vacations, public holidays and weekends. I also like to highlight the days already gone so that at the end of the school year, I’ll feel the joy of highlighting the last day of school ^^

2. Weekly spreads and assignments columns

This is essential if you want to incorporate your bullet journal with study planning. 

It consists of having one column of your page, the weekly assignments overview, dedicated to only writing homework, assignments and upcoming tests. The other part of your weekly spread consists of your usual daily logs. Here are some of my weekly spreads as an example (shoutout to @studypunked for the inspo)

As you can see in the pics, the left column is used solely for writing down my homework and tests.

I also like to add some decorations and pictures to give a bit of life to those weekly spreads.

I also added a month overview and a sleep log each week, but this is personal: you can become creative about how you want your weekly spreads to be.

I usually pre-do these weekly spreads for school weeks after a vacation so that if the teachers give an assignment due in a week or two, I already have the homework column of the due week prepared in advance. When I don’t have school (aka during vacations), I don’t make a weekly spread. I just do my dailies linearly.

3. Useful collections for school

I also like to have some pages of my bullet journal dedicated to other elements related to school:

Homework to do during the holidays:

My grade averages:

A spread dedicated to the list of things I had to do for UK uni application and school during last summer:

And so on… you can get creative and it also depends on your needs for school. 

So here it is! This setup worked really well for my senior year and I will definitely continue to use it for university. 

✨ 15-06-17 ✨

Since school is over this is the spread I made a few days ago. Trying to read as much book as I can because why not. If you guys have recommendations on books or movies, let me know!

🍂 all of the studyblr blogs have inspired me to create my own studyblr and here I am making this introduction…

about me

i. my name is agatha

ii. i’m 17 years old brazilian girl

iii. and graduating high school this year

iv. english is my second language and I want to learn french

v. i wanna go to med school

vi. my favorite subjects are biology and chemistry

vii. i’m a slythetin and estp

viii. i like coffee and highlighters (buy me one of those and you’re gonna be my best friend)

why i joined

ever since i heard of the studyblr community, i’ve become very interested in studying

it helps me stay motivated 

i’m a incoming college freshman

also, couldn’t resist the aesthetic

studyblrs that have inspired me

Ever wonder what your life would be like if you lived up to your full potential? Would your body be healthier? Your skin clearer? Bank account bigger? I think about these things all the time, and, judging my a previous post, you guys do to. Below is a chart designed to help all of us live up to our full potential. I’ve broken it down into time frames to help keep you from getting overwhelmed. Write the chart down and hang it someplace where you can see it all the time. I will be starting this challenge tomorrow, 9/8. I’ll check in with you guys every Sunday to track my progress. I have specific goals in mind for myself, and you guys should make some too! I really want to know how you guys are doing. Tag your progress posts with #sbfpc so I can track it and take a look. Let’s get to it!

EVERY MORNING

Stretch. First thing. Really give your body enough time to wake up. Touch your toes. Roll out your shoulders. Do not hit snooze!

Do your full skincare routine. I have mine detailed here, but do whatever works for you and your complexion. Be gentle and consistent. 

Brush your teeth and floss. I used to be a big floss-skipper too, but you’d be amazed at how dig of a difference it makes. Rinse with a whitening mouthwash. I use one by Crest, and I notice a major difference in my teeth’s overall whiteness in just a few days.

Give yourself enough time to get ready. Whether you’re a wash-and-go kind of girl, or someone who spends an hour doing a full contouring routine before class (and either one is fine!), make sure you aren’t rushing. If you need to wake up a few minutes earlier than normal, so be it. Rushing sets an awful, stressed-out tone for the rest of the day. Allow yourself to be relaxed before taking on the day.

Eat something. I’m not going to say eat a big breakfast, because some people (myself included) just can’t eat in the morning. But you should eat, or at least bring a little something with you to work or school. If you can’t eat a full breakfast, grab a fruit! You won’t be as hungry come lunch time, making you less likely to gorge yourself.

Shower. You can do this at night, in the morning, whatever. Again, this is something you should allow some time for. I don’t wash my hair every day, but I do condition it every day (from the ears down). Scrub yourself with a delicious-smelling body wash. If you shave, make yourself as smooth as a dolphin, dude. If you don’t, then don’t and don’t ever ever ever let anyone make you feel bad or weird about it. When you get out of the shower, wrap yourself in a fluffy towel and totally slather your sexy self with lotion. Top to bottom. Do it as soon as you can post-shower so it can really sink in. 

Put leave-in condition throughout your damp hair and comb it through.

Put on an outfit that makes you feel good! So important!

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Take a look at your daily to-do list. Knock out the most pressing stuff first. Take pride when you cross things off your list.

Make your bed! Oh my god, make your bed. Do it. Do it. Do it. 

EVERY AFTERNOON 

Follow the “touch it once” approach. This is a truly life-changing thing. When a task is in front of you, no matter how big or small, just do it right then and there. How many times have you gotten a work email or homework assignment and thought, “Eh, I’ll do it later”? And then later never comes? Once something pops up, do it once. Squash it and be done. Cross things off your list and feel like a badass.

Try to go for a walk at lunch. Even one little lap around the block or campus will reenergize you like nobody’s business. 

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Be present. This is so hard for me too, but you have to make a major effort to be present in whatever you’re doing. Be engaged and plugged-in and just exist in the moment. Give 100 percent.

Be friendly to friends and strangers. A smile goes a long way.

Eat something. Eat what you packed for lunch (see below) and take a break from working while you do it. You need “you time”!

EVERY EVENING

Take your makeup off as soon as you’re in for the night. Wash your face with your full routine and let your skin have a break. 

Workout. You can also do this in the morning. Whatever works for you. Make a great playlist and go hard af. Get your cardio in. Get your strength training in. Earn every freaking sweat bead forming on your forehead. Earn your shower!

Knock out your homework. Life is infinitely better you don’t have anything hanging over your head. Half the time, the energy and emotion you spent dreading/putting off your work is ten times worse than the work itself.

Make a list of what needs to be done tomorrow. It’ll set you up for success the next day, and you won’t forget anything!

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Lay out your clothes for tomorrow. This will save you SO MUCH TIME in the morning omg I can’t even tell you how important this is.

Eat something great. And once you’ve decided to be done eating for the night, be done. Brush your teeth so you can’t eat again.

After brushing, do a whitening treatment. Whether it’s classic baking soda, a Crest white strip, or a laser. Do something. And floss! Retainers in too, ladies 0:)

Relax! Take a few hours to do what YOU want to do. Scroll through Tumblr, binge on some Netflix, FaceTime gossip with your friends, anything. Do whatever makes you happiest. 

Shut the electronics off an hour before you want to go to bed. Put your phone on sleep mode. If you stare at the screen, it will keep you awake and alert and you won’t be able to fall asleep. A good night’s sleep is crucial for weightless and general happiness lol

Do a quick sweep of your room and see if there’s anything you can put away real quick. A clean space is a happy space.

Crawl into your bed (aren’t you happy you took the time to make it?!) and read a book by lamplight for a while. When you start to feel sleepy, go to sleep. Don’t push it. You kicked ass today and you deserve rest. 

EVERY WEEKEND

Do something with your friends. It just has to be one thing. Even if you’re just hanging out at the coffee shop, spending time with your squad will make you a better, happier person.

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Do something just for you. Set your laptop up in the bathroom and watch a Netflix marathon while you take a bubble bath. Buy an old school bottle of Mr. Bubbles ($3 at Target!) and really just soak. Relax. Light a candle.

Do something creative. You can read a book, write, blog, draw, code, anything. It just has to be something that speaks to your passion.

Track your progress. Just do this once a week so it doesn’t become all-consuming. And remember that non-scale victories are just as important as shedding pounds.

Take the time to be grateful. Tell your friend how much you admire her taste in music. Mention to your mom how much you love her cooking and how happy you are that she takes care of you. Thank your teaching after an especially interesting lecture. When you do something awesome, take a moment to admire yourself. Be grateful for even the little things.

you will surely benefit from going to the lectures, but you don’t have to be always present

when commuting, read or listen to something, don’t just stand there

put your highlighters to good use, pretty books may look nice but you need to give some purpose to their existence

let’s be honest, most of us don’t study nearly as much as we should, but doing your homework and having somewhat tidy notes is the key to passing everything

be inspired by others, but don’t follow them blindly (that actually applies to your whole life)

take opportunities

find something you love doing outside uni or you’ll go crazy

take care of yourself and others

remember where you come from, but don’t get stuck in the past

remind yourself why you’re doing it

teacher: use your head

Count the number of days left till the exam.

Count the number of topics you need to learn/revise before the exam.

Divide the number of topics by the number of days (you may reserve one or two days for the final revision). This is the amount of work you have to do per day.

Schedule your tasks every day from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. Try to calculate as realistically as possible the amount of time you would need for each task (I like using Sectograph app for that).

Reserve 1-3 extra hours at the end of every day because you’re not gonna fit everything into the timetable anyway. Believe me.

Don’t forget to schedule some time for rest as well. Once more, be realistic.

Alternate your tasks throughout the day as much as possible. Don’t study the same subject or topic longer than a few hours.

Don’t forget to leave some time for meals, showering, social media and maybe even a film or two.

Just do stuff.

ISTJs:  I think it’s great that there are so many of you, because ISTJs drive the world, get stuff done, and always seem to know what’s going on. You’re so incredibly reliable and trustworthy and we need people like that. Without your devotion and logical thinking, the world would be nowhere.

ISFJs: You guys are the glue that holds society together. I love how much you care about everyone and how much effort you put in to make sure everyone is okay. Seriously, you deserve more credit for being such great people, and you have both the drive and natural kindness to help a lot of people.

INFJs: Not only do you have other peoples’ best interests in mind, you guys dream big and have bold ideals. You may not think they’ll happen, but because you’re all so gutsy and organized (unlike me) I feel like you can and will accomplish your goals. I wish there were more of you, because you’re brilliant.

INTJs: You nerds are going to change the world. Seriously, you’re all intelligent, knowledgeable, determined and generally great at stuff, and you’re unbound by expectations. You are creators, challengers, improvers, and while you are few, you can have massive effects on the world on your own.

ISTPs: I know none of you are that dependent on the approval of others, but for what it’s worth: you are great. Your cleverness, pragmatism and bravery mean that you can accomplish awesome things that others could only dream of, and your calmness under pressure is something I strive for.

ISFPs: I feel like the world would be so much more peaceful if people adopted your mindset. It’s incredible how well you guys can see the beauty in others and the world around you. Flexible, talented people like you have so much potential, and since you’re all so kind and charming it’s great to be around you.

INFPs: You guys are most interested in deep thoughts and long-term goals and don’t care about shallow things. And that’s a wonderful way to be. I’m so glad that there are people like you: deep thinkers who don’t forget to look after others, altruists who still seek to define themselves. You fit so many great qualities into one incredible personality.