The Soul is studying

I’ve collected study tips from myself and others who struggle with studying. Here’s a masterlist of strategies people use to help :) For those curious, #3 is my personal favourite and is probably the main reason I didn’t flunk all of my classes this year. Feel free to add your own!

Sleep, eat, exercise. The basics. Treating my body right helps me keep a routine and makes me less prone to impulsivity. This makes it a little easier for me to do the things I need to do and fight back my executive dysfunction.

Play idle games while working. Anonymous says “I get bored very, very quickly and need constant stimulation, so every time I have to wait for something, I will immediately divert my attention. Having an idle game running helps me not to lose too much focus, so I get more work done as a result.”

Use a tutor. Since I can’t follow self-imposed deadlines, I create external deadlines by booking tutoring appointments. This forces me to make sure I have at least a basic understand of the material before the session so I know what to go over. Most schools have free peer tutors available, so take advantage (if your school doesn’t, try a study group)! This is a great way to create deadlines you can follow, and it always helps to study with someone who can answer your questions and keep you on task.

Play music. @luminarily says “Sometimes I sit in silence and I get bored of it or I get a song stuck in my head or something. But I have forcibly linked music playlist and actually doing something I need to do so that when I put on music I am automatically forced to do the work I was supposed to do. So it makes the work and the listening more enjoyable both and it’s easier to stay on task… I use unpaid youtube on my phone so I can’t leave the tab or else I can’t listen to music anymore so I can’t go on my phone. And also youtube mobile lets you set watch time timers, so when my music stops I take a break and don’t burn out!”.

Play ambient noise. Similar to #4. I am not stimulated enough when taking notes, reading textbooks, etc., but listening to music can be too much and makes me stressed. I like to play ambient noise (my personal nerdy fave is Slytherin dormitory ambience on Youtube lol). It’s enough to stimulate my brain, but not overpowering to where I get distracted or stressed.

Block out time to do work. @tidal-rose​ says “I find it easy to do stuff by saying ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’ But I don’t mean the procrastinate-y ‘I’ll do it tomorrow,’ I mean plan to do it tomorrow. Set aside a block of time when you are going to do nothing but the task. …I just realized this sounds like such a neurotypical answer oh gosh. It really does work to hack my executive disfunction”

Have a plan. If I don’t have a straightforward + actionable plan for right when I wake up, I will just do literally nothing all day. I have to know what I’m going to be doing when I wake up, like “shower, be at the library by 10am, and do practise problems there”. If I only have a vague plan like “study chemistry tomorrow” it’s a lot harder for me to do anything.

Start small. It often feels impossible to do even the bare minimum. When I can’t even get myself to write a single sentence of my paper, I try to do even less than that. Literally just open up a Word document. Even just opening up a blank page is a fantastic start, and starting is the hardest part.

as requested! the usual disclaimer applies–this advice is suitable for the US job market, and i’m writing from a literary studies position. i recommend attending job talks in your field and taking notes on presentation, not just content. 

if you’re invited for a campus visit, you’ll receive very clear instructions about the job talk. the department will give you a timeframe for the talk and the Q&A that follows, let you know if they’d like to hear about your teaching as part of that (40 mins on research, 10/15 on teaching is common), and may even tell you what to expect as far as your audience’s knowledge of the subject. 

there are 3 main goals for your talk:

explain your identity as a scholar. what drives your work? what are your investments in it? what big questions are you interested in answering, even beyond your current project? the department is hiring you, not your dissertation.

explain why your work matters. to your field, to your discipline, to the humanities more broadly, to the world beyond the academy. what conversation are you contributing to? why is your contribution important?

demonstrate not just what you do, but how you do it. this means talking about your work and walking your audience through your methodology.

Most species are still delighted. But we are the Bybleotekar, the recorders of the spaceways, and we have begun to wonder. Our merry companions are… not different, but too much the same. They understand so readily, accept so quickly - most new species have trouble adjusting to dealing with aliens, to the realities of space travel, to the sheer bigness of the universe. But the humans are so adaptable, so ready for it all, they might be remembering something they’ve forgotten, not learning something new. 

Some of us, the Izaslanik of the Bybleotekar, the gatherers of information for the record keepers, began encouraging humans to join us, that we might study them more closely. They like the work - they are a curious species, delighting in new knowledge, and they make able assistants. My human companion is named Mira, a young female. She is a good companion, who sings sweetly and laughs often. 

When Mira struck the first blow against what I thought I knew of the universe, against illusions soon to shatter that I had thought were truth, we were attending the coronation of a lesser Netar of the Kktil, recording the customs and ceremonies and unofficially enjoying the colourful celebrations. Mira was watching the dancing, her mouth widened in a ‘smile’. “It’s so pretty,” she said, her hairless face sheened with sweat under the hot sun. “I love the turquoise jewellery.” She pointed to the bright blue stones that bedecked the dancers. “I should buy some. Our homeworld doesn’t have any turquoise, you know. Only a few pieces we brought with us when we came.” 

It takes me a little while to understand what she said. It is only later, during the feasting, that I turn to her again. “You said your homeworld doesn’t have turquoise. Only… what you brought with you. Do you mean turquoise you have bought offworld, since you joined the spaceways?” 

Most species are still delighted. But we are the Bybleotekar, the recorders of the spaceways, and we have begun to wonder. Our merry companions are… not different, but too much the same. They understand so readily, accept so quickly - most new species have trouble adjusting to dealing with aliens, to the realities of space travel, to the sheer bigness of the universe. But the humans are so adaptable, so ready for it all, they might be remembering something they’ve forgotten, not learning something new. 

Some of us, the Izaslanik of the Bybleotekar, the gatherers of information for the record keepers, began encouraging humans to join us, that we might study them more closely. They like the work - they are a curious species, delighting in new knowledge, and they make able assistants. My human companion is named Mira, a young female. She is a good companion, who sings sweetly and laughs often. 

When Mira struck the first blow against what I thought I knew of the universe, against illusions soon to shatter that I had thought were truth, we were attending the coronation of a lesser Netar of the Kktil, recording the customs and ceremonies and unofficially enjoying the colourful celebrations. Mira was watching the dancing, her mouth widened in a ‘smile’. “It’s so pretty,” she said, her hairless face sheened with sweat under the hot sun. “I love the turquoise jewellery.” She pointed to the bright blue stones that bedecked the dancers. “I should buy some. Our homeworld doesn’t have any turquoise, you know. Only a few pieces we brought with us when we came.” 

It takes me a little while to understand what she said. It is only later, during the feasting, that I turn to her again. “You said your homeworld doesn’t have turquoise. Only… what you brought with you. Do you mean turquoise you have bought offworld, since you joined the spaceways?” 

Kumbalangi Nights (2019) dir. Madhu C. Narayanan

I really, really do

ok so now think of one native american cartoon character you know of or a sports team relating to native americans whether it’s their actual name or their team logo, or a town you live in or near with a “native” name bet a lot of these things came to you right away i bet you didn’t even have to think 

This new ad campaign from Penguin appeals to those of us who think beat-up, torn, taped, scribbled-upon books are more appealing than pristine ones. I wondered if the books photographed here were found as is, or lovingly distressed by the art director, then I saw the small print in the lower right of each ad, which suggests they were found that way.

Each time we get more I feel the same sort of awe and joy, with the exact same intensity. The exact same overwhelming disbelief that change is actually happening. In my lifetime.