Don't stop until you're proud.

Masterpost 4 out of 50: The Motivation  Self-Discipline Masterpost

For more fitness motivation: in-pursuit-of-fitness

Hello! I know that there are a lot of people wondering how to live like a study blogger, so here are some tips to being your best, most productive you!

waking up

You should start your day no later than 6am, if you choose to sleep at all. It is essential that you get a head start on your day, and prepare a healthy and filling breakfast. Two blueberries and a cup of green tea are my favorite.

getting to work

For me, the first step to studying is to paint a watercolor schedule for your day – this way you can quickly know what you should be doing without having to read a pesky to-do list. Then, set a time for five hours and do not take a break until it is done. Don’t forget to eat lunch, though! A whole avocado eaten like an apple is perfect to eat while you work. 

real life

Okay, so if you haven’t figured it out yet, please don’t do any of those things. They seem ridiculous, but sometime’s that’s how study tips feel. They feel like impossible standards that everyone else can live up to but you, and they leave out room for sleep or eating leftover pizza for breakfast or doing things that are essential to your well being outside of school. So here are a few real-life tips for life as a student:

Get sleep, as much as you can.

Be healthy when you can, but if you want pizza, get pizza.

Give yourself plenty of breaks when studying – don’t get burnt out!

Make sure you do something fun at least once a day

And something social at least once a week

Meals should be study free zones

As should late nights – binge on tv! take a bubble bath!

And don’t forget your family, either

Make time for you and the things you enjoy

It’s fine to push yourself, but not to the point that you’re miserable.

Remember that there is so much more to life than school. Work hard to achieve your goals, but becoming a well-rounded person is just as important as your grades. 

One Secret to Improving Your Memory for Studying

Memorization is an inevitable step in learning. Many assessment modes in school and college involve memorization, like exams, tests, presentations, speeches etc.

A lot students seem to find it difficult to remember a huge amount of information. Memorization, then, makes the whole learning process frustrating and annoying.

But that shouldn’t be the case! Learning can be just as fun even with the…

Masterpost 3 out of 50: Finals Guide 

I’m sorry right now I’m too mentally tired to think of a description //

1. Multiple Subject Notebooks

I highly recommend multi-subject notebooks for a lot of reasons. If you are someone who has a hard time staying organized or are a bit forgetful, take care of yourself and just keep everything for the quarter in one notebook. This can also help if you don’t have a lot of storage space in your living area or backpack. It can help leave room for your textbooks and laptop. If you’re the kind of person that likes to preserve your notes for later, you’ll also be able to easily organize by quarter.

2. You’ll Probably Use Less Space Than You Think

There is only one notebook that I’ve completely filled and that was an Algebra notebook that I bought from Daiso. The rest of my notebooks have a lot of pages in the back that were unused. My solution to this has been to buy smaller notebooks to decrease that waste and keep organization, or just use multiple subject notebooks. However, this has also made me less afraid of taking up a lot of space when I feel the need to and turning to the next page for organizational purposes.

3. Take Notes On Syllabus Day

In most of my notebooks, I have a page from the first day of class and I have usually used those to answer a question about the teacher that I had later in the quarter. If I don’t have that, I have a marked up copy of the syllabus, which answers the questions. 

4. Date Your Notes

This has been really helpful to note only me, but my peers. Before I have started taking notes every day, I make sure I have the date written down. This has helped me figure out what has been covered on what days. It has allowed me to give notes to peers if they happened to miss class.

5. Mark Sections

This can be done by test section, chapter, or whatever else makes sense for your individual classes. I’ve typically marked sections with flags, that way I can easily turn to the new section if need be. If you happen to be using a multiple subject notebook, definitely color code these.

6. Headlines Will Save Your Life

We’ve all seen the beautiful note taking posts with nice headlines. They work. You don’t have to put as much effort into them, but just make them bigger and noticeable for your future-self to be able to reference. You’ll be happy you did. 

7. Consider Transcribing Digital Notes

In the last year, I’ve taken all of my notes digitally. When I have had time, I’ve transcribed those to a notebook and organized them as a way of studying them. This makes them looks nice and familiarizes me with the information. 

8. Perfect Notes Don’t Exist

The most important thing I want to say is your notes are perfect just the way they are if they are organized in the way that works for you, you can reference back to them for the information you need, and you can read them. They don’t have to be beautiful or cute. They just need to work for you. I’ve struggled when I’ve tried to make pretty notes while in class. Make a system that works easily for you and follow it. If making pretty notes is what will help you, then by all means go ahead and organize them, but consider waiting until you are back at your desk. 

 This literally saved my ass a few minutes ago. Yes, you can recover those files that you accidentally closed and thought you couldnt get back. 

Right after that happens, open Microsoft Word again and click File - Info - Manage Versions - Recover Unsaved Documents.

Here you have a list of Spanish expressions with their literal translation, the example and the explanation. Some of them are quite funny. I’m from Spain, so I’ve listed expressions we use in informal situations here. If you know more expressions, feel free to add them (and there are, I just didn’t want to add a lot)!

tener/haber ____ para parar un tren (to have, there’s ____ to stop a train). meaning: to have a lot of the same thing, it doesn’t have to be an object. example: tengo hambre para parar un tren (i’m so hungry that it could stop a train) - hay agua para parar un tren (there’s water to stop a train)

¡_____ muerto, abono pa’ mi huerto! (dead _____, fertiliser for my vegetable patch!). Used to talk about how the fact that a type of person is dead is actually positive. example: ¡fascista muerto, abono pa’ mi huerto! (dead fascist, fertiliser for my vegetable patch!)

ser de la acera de enfrente/ser de la otra acera (to be from the other pavement. english: to play for the other team). Used to say that someone is not straight. example: amiga 1: sergio es guapísimo amigo 2: pues es de la acera de enfrente (friend 1: sergio is really handsome friend 2: he’s actually from the other pavement)

estar a dos velas (to be at two candles). Two meanings: you don’t have money (broke, basically) or you haven’t had sex in a while. example 1: se quedó sin trabajo y ahora está a dos velas (he lost his job and now he’s broke/at two candles). example 2: Andrea rompió con su novia y ahora está a dos velas (Andrea broke up with her girlfriend and now she’s at two candles)

ser la leche (to be the milk). Used to say that something/someone is really cool. example: ¡ese libro es la leche! (that book is the milk!)

estar hecho un Cristo (to have been made a Christ). Used when someone has been beaten or something has been destroyed, leaving them in a poor condition. example: ¿has visto a Andrés? está hecho un Cristo (have you seen Andrés? he’s been made a Christ). You can also say ir hecho un Ecce Homo (to go around like an Ecce Homo), especially when someone’s clothes are a disaster.

hacerse el sueco (to do the Swedish). I’ve talked about this one before. Used when someone ignores something they have to do. Basically you pretend that you don’t understand what you’re being told, ignoring the message. example: no te hagas el sueco y paga tu parte de la cena (don’t do the Swedish and pay your part of the dinner)

donde dije Digo digo Diego (where i said “I say” i say “Diego”). This is playing with really similar words. Basically, used when someone says something that they had said they wouldn’t do. example: el político dijo que no prohibiría el aborto, pero, ya sabes, donde dije Digo digo Diego (the politician said that he wouldn’t ban abortion but, you know, where I said “I say” I say “Diego”)

apaga y vámonos (switch it off and let’s go). 2 uses: Used when something is over and you have to leave or used when someone says something really stupid. example 1: apaga y vámonos, la fiesta se ha acabado (switch it off and let’s go, the party is over). example 2: persona 1: yo creo que la tauromaquia no debería prohibirse. persona 2 a persona 3: apaga y vámonos (person 1: i think that bullfighting shouldn’t be banned. person 2 to person 3: switch it off and let’s go)

con la iglesia nos hemos topado (we’ve bumped into the church). Used when you have an idea that is not accepted in a conservative environment. Also used when you want to do something but a higher power doesn’t let you do it. example 1: siempre hemos apoyado ideas progresistas, pero nuestros padres no. con la iglesia nos hemos topado (we’ve always supported liberal ideas, but our parents don’t. we’ve bumped into the church) example 2: querían salir antes de clase, pero el profesor no les dejó. con la iglesia se han topado (they wanted to get out of school earlier, but the teacher didn’t let them. they’ve bumped into the church).

hablando del Papa de Roma (talking about the Pope of Rome). Used when you’re talking about someone and that person appears. example: amigo 1 a amigo 2: ¿has visto a Julia? julia: *entra* amigo 1: hablando del Papa de Roma… (friend 1 to friend 2: have you seen Julia? julia: *comes in* friend 1: talking about the Pope of Rome…

estar en la luna de Valencia (to be on Valencia’s moon). Used when someone is daydreaming. example: ¡Juan, estás en la luna de Valencia! Baja y atiende. (Juan, you’re in Valencia’s moon! Get down and pay attention)

hace un frío de los cojones (to be cold like bollocks). Used when it’s very cold. example: fuimos al centro y hacía un frío de cojones: we went to the centre and it was cold like bollocks (cold as fuck, basically). I’ll do a post about expressions with bollocks because there’re SO MANY.

Dios los cría y ellos se juntan (God breeds them and they join). Used to talk about a group of people with similar characteristics that end up meeting each other and having a really strong friendship. example: los idiotas son así, Dios les cría y ellos se juntan (Idiots are like that, God breeds them and they join)

¡Jesús! (Jesus!). The Spanish “Bless you!”. Used when someone snorts. You can also use “¡Salud!”.

quien se fue a Sevilla perdió su silla (the one who went to Seville lost his chair). Used when you sit on a chair previously used by someone else. example: 1: ¡eh, yo estaba sentado ahí! 2: quien se fue a Sevilla perdió su silla (1: hey, i was sitting there! 2: the one who went to Seville lost his chair)

ponerse las botas (to put the boots on). Used when you eat/drink a lot. example: nos estamos poniendo las botas a vino (we’re putting the boots on wine).

tener un morro que te lo pisas (to have such a huge lip that you step on it). Used when someone is really lucky. example: a alba le han subido el suelo, tiene un morro que se lo pisa (alba has had her wage increased, she has such a huge lip that she steps on it).

a palo seco (in a dry stick). Used when you someone eats something without a sauce or dressing. example: se comió la carne a palo seco (he ate the meat in a dry stick).

Spaced repetition. Study short, but often. It is more productive to have regular study sessions with short sleeping breaks in between. 

Find your own style. Find the study style that suits you the best. Some people like to study alone, some snack during class, etc. 

Sleep! This one’s pretty obvious. Lack of sleep decreases your concentration. 

Focus! This one’s pretty obvious too. Keep all distractions away to increase productivity. 

The Pomodoro Technique. Set your timer to 25 minutes where you focus on your studies, take a short break, and repeat the process. [I personally like to use the app ‘Tide’, but there are other apps you can download] 

Do the hard material first. Most people have the strongest willpower in the morning [not me], and when you do the hardest material first, you’ll feel more motivated to get more work done. 

Exercise, meditate, and converse. Regular physical exercise, meditation, and group conversations are proven to grow your brain. 

Go places. You can create deeper memories of a subject if you learn in a richer environment that offers more visual clues. 

Take fun seriously. Find a fun way to study, it’ll make it more enjoyable for you. Positive emotions are important for increasing your potential. 

Space your studies. Repeat the material in spaced intervals. This means reviewing whatever you’ve learnt every few days. 

30% Read, 70% Recite. You can use this when you have to memorise a poem in 1 hour. Spend 20 minutes reading, and 40 minutes reciting, this should lead to the best results. 

After you’ve finished studying, quickly test yourself. Immediate recall in the form of a test or a short summary can increase retention up to 30%. 

Don’t force it. Unfortunately, you can’t force yourself to be motivated to do work. 

Why do I feel like I’ve typed this out before…

Like or reblog if this helped, and comment what other videos you’d like me to type out :-) 

Need motivation?

To get an education. 

To earn a degree. There are barely any jobs that offer positions to people without a degree, or are on the path of obtaining one.

To prove people wrong. That science teacher that said you’ll never make it in the medical field? Make him eat his words. 

To prove yourself wrong. Every student has doubts on whether or not they can be good enough in the classroom. Prove yourself wrong, and always be better than you were yesterday. 

This is a privilege. Regardless of how much you believe that you HAVE to do this, to some extend you don’t. Realize that you have the privilege of an education even being an option for you.

Take advantage of what you’re capable of. Don’t waste a perfectly intelligent mind. 

More money. That degree can do wonderful things to your bank account in the future. 

It’s interesting. Studying can get pretty boring, but there are always those topics that spark your curiosity and motivate you to learn more.

It’s attractive. Not everyone cares for someone who is academically gifted, but a partner who is eager to learn makes me eager to take my pants off.

It’s useful. That random fact that you read in a random textbook can stick with you and really end up helping you out one day.

It’s fun to know useless shit sometimes.

To make your parents proud. This is one of the main reasons I study. My parents have always been aware of my capabilities and have pushed me to be academically better every year. They know I have big dreams, and I just want to achieve them so they can know that their child made it.

To make myself proud. This goes along with number four. Knowing that you accomplished something, however small or big the thing may be, is a huge self-esteem booster.

To be independent. There’s nothing quite like knowing that you don’t need someone else’s job, degree, intelligence, or presence to make you successful.

To pursue your passion. 

To gain knowledge. Whether its in your field, or a completely different one, being knowledgeable is just downright fun.

People will look up to you. Your siblings, your best friends, and your classmates may see you consistently studying, and it could motivate them to do the same. 

To make a name for yourself. “Oh yeah, (insert name here), I know them. Aren’t they like really successful now?”

To become your own role model.

To be able to pay off your student loans.

Because the long nights and excessive coffee will all be worth it. Even if it doesn’t seem like it now. 

To exercise your brain. Your brain is just like a muscle, and like the body it needs to be exercised. 

To improve your hippocampus. Your hippocamus is responsible for memory, and if you study your memorization will become significantly better.

To not waste time doing useless stuff. 

Because stationary is amazing. I could spend a whole paycheck on just pens.

Because notes are actually all so pretty. 

To be productive. I used to spend a lot of time on social media, and although I still do, the amount of time I spend studying and getting stuff done has definitely increased.

So classes will be easier. 

So tests will be easier.

To impress your professors. Get those letters of recommendation! 

So the anxiety of getting a bad grade is sufficiently decreased. I constantly worry about my grades, but studying has helped me not worry so much.

Because coffee exists. 

There is no other atmosphere quite like the inside of a library. 

So you won’t have to retake a class. Failing a prerequisite for your major really sucks, so maybe try not failing the first time around. This also saves you a lot of money because you won’t have to pay for the class again. 

Finals week won’t suck as bad. You’ll be used to studying so when finals week comes around it wont nearly be as stressful as for those students who are now opening a textbook. 

You won’t go to as many college parties. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for socializing and having fun, but a lot can go wrong at a college party very quickly. And there’s no better way to prevent that, than just not going to the party cause you’re reading your economics textbook. 

You’ll get used to FOMO. Fear of Missing Out. Every teenagers nightmare. Eventually, you’ll get used to the feeling. 

You’ll be getting the most out of your college experience. You’re paying for these classes. Might as well try your best to pass. 

You’ll get used to not getting enough sleep. So, if you decide to go to grad school you’ll have that department covered. 

There’s really good study music out there. 

I guarantee there will be at least 5 places on campus, or around you that are perfect for studying, and you’ll want to go there everyday. 

You’ll become a pro at writing essays, or lab reports.

You’ll learn fairly quickly that study groups rarely work. 

You’ll make a lot of friends that are just as passionate about studying as you are. And you will cherish them. 

Beauty and Brains. Don’t you want to fit that description? 

Thousands of students before you have done it, so you can too. 

You can run a studyblr. Aren’t they the cutest? 

You get really good at time management. 

Sleep becomes 5x more satisfactory after a night of studying.