Wash your hair. Don’t worry about all those articles online about the best haircare products of 2019 and whatnot, get in, wash it like you usually do, get out. Leave it to air dry, it’s less work for you.

Brush your teeth. Even if you brushed them this morning and are probably going to brush it tonight, do it anyway. Especially if it’s exam time, all that tea or coffee you’re most likely downing (props to you if you only study with water) probably makes them feel kind of gross.

I know most of these lists tell you to run a bath, but let’s face it, for those of you who even have a bath in the first place, the thought of filling that tub and sitting there in complete silence for a couple hours seems like a trek. And ironically exhausting. So instead, just brush your hair, take a nap (set a nice soothing alarm) and once you’ve gotten out of bed, wash your face or at least splash cold water on your face.

CLEAN clean clean clean CLEAN. Easier said than done, but at least start by clearing one messy component of your area; it could be your floor, your desk or your bed. You don’t need to clean and re-organise your entire room marie condo-style for you to actually have a reason to take the time to clean in the first place. A little goes a long way, and you don’t ALWAYS need to do the hard yards ya know.

I would say read a book, but sometimes your brain is melting or buzzing so it can’t really focus on anything lengthy. So instead, find someone reciting a poem online, and just listen to it. I recommend Jeremy Irons and his voicing of tons of T.S Eliot poetry, or Allen Ginsberg reciting his own poetry (Howl is a classic).

If you’re one of those people who drowns their sorrows by listening to music, don’t listen to music!! Don’t reinforce your pain!! So to that I say, listen to a podcast. If the classic podcast genre of true crime is a little too stressful and you’ve already cried twice today, listen to interviews with actors, screenwriters and directors. It can be really refreshing to listen to people you already enjoy the content of talk about their work. I recommend Awards Chatter and Happy Sad Confused.

Stop staring at screens! Just physically sit outside for a bit, you don’t need to go for a jog or do a general workout, just…sit. People-watch, try and memorise the exact scene in front of you, from the mis-en-scene to all the colours and sounds and the way the sunlight feels on your eyelashes. Write it down if you want to, you could even denote a single notebook to your little outdoor descriptions. Or just write on a napkin. To each their own.

Have you eaten today? And I mean something hearty, something that isn’t primarily made out of air and salt. Something that falls under the umbrella of snack does not count; meal is more like it. If not, eat. Preparing food might feel exhausting, but so’s going a relatively long amount of time without something nutritionally substantial.

save this for your next academic year and finals, and it’ll save your grades and time.

1. whenever you read a paragraph with new content, close the book/look away and ask yourself: “what have i just learned?” explaining the concept to yourself right away and asking follow-up questions will change the way you retain new material forever.

2. at first, it’ll be daunting, and it’ll be pretty hard to actually bring yourself to do this. trust me, it’ll be worth it - as this is scientifically proven one of the most effective study techniques.

3. to try this out, set yourself a timer for how long you estimate learning a concept might take. now take away 20% from that estimate. you won’t be able to reach this goal with basic highlighting and re-reading techniques - but with active recall, you will.

4. once you’ve understood the concept, use spaced repetition systems like anki flashcards to force yourself to retrieve this information in a set period of time. this way, your brain will always be reminded of this concept before it could possibly forget it.

5. teach it to others as much as you can. as with the old wisdom “see one, do one, teach one”, one of the only guarantees you’ve really gotten something is when you can effectively teach it.

hope these are helpful for you!!

MY 3 STEPS IN STUDYING

Understanding the Topic This is the most important part. You have to understand what you’re reading and the concept behind your topic. If you don’t understand what the topic is about, how are you supposed to ace your test? With that being said, read over everything and if you don’t understand something, go over it again until you do. What I like doing is using a dictionary or thesaurus to help me understand words I’m not too sure about. This definitely helps me a lot and it also increases your vocabulary.

Making Notes This step connects with the previous one, as it allows you to show what you’ve just read and understood. It can also assist in further understanding, and help you out with preparing for essays etc. This is where I basically summarise the important points and have definitions of the key terms. Summarising is extremely useful because you’re writing it in your own words and it helps you with the structure of your sentences for your essays. You can also make sub headings and have a few dot points if it makes it easier for you to memorise. Flashcards are good too!!  Remember, highlighters, sticky notes and tabs are your best friends!! Don’t neglect them!

Revise Revise, revise, revise!! By now, you should understand pretty much everything, and all you need to do is memorise! Read over your notes and do practice questions! Don’t slack off after writing your notes by reading over them just once after you write them! Read over it a few times a day whenever you can. On the way to school, on your way home, while ads are playing on your tv or if you’re bored! Never sit down complaining about how bored you are but not wanting to do work, because trust me, I’ve been through this countless times and it ain’t helpful!! If you want, you can also ask a friend or family member to quiz you using your flashcards you made!

We all know that concentration ebbs and flows throughout the course of the day (whether we’re at school, work, or even just at home), and we find ourselves a slave to it’s fickle manner. That’s why I’ve provided some methods and resources for boosting your concentration in general, regardless of the environment!

How to Pinpoint Your Concentration Lows and Highs:

Keep a Journal/Log/Timetable: In order to figure out exactly what is draining or boosting your concentration in everyday life, you need to first step back and analyze what’s going on! When you feel like your concentration is running thin, make sure you write it down! Write down the time, what you’re doing, if you ate/drank anything previously, how you feel, how long you slept the night before, the weather, where you are, and just anything that may have affected your concentration. Do this when you feel your concentration is increasing as well. Try to keep this up for about a week or two, and see if you can pinpoint any patterns in your routine that are affecting your concentration for both the better and the worse. 

Methods to Help Concentration:

Go for a Walk: Wherever you are, you should be able to get out and get some fresh air every once and a while. If you’re at home studying, and you feel your concentration starts to decrease, go ahead and go for a walk. If you’re at school, go ahead and see if you can afford to miss a few minutes of the class or lecture and take a trip to the bathroom or outside. On your breaks at work, make sure you get out of your workplace and/or outside. By changing up your environment, you’re giving yourself a breather so that you come back in feeling refreshed. By only taking breaks outside of your study spot, school, workplace, etc. you can associate hard work and focus with your study spot, school, workplace, etc. since you know coming back from a break means it’s time to get to business. 

Jot Down Everything: If you feel like your concentration is breaking during a lecture or a meeting at work, make sure you take notes! By forcing yourself to interact with what’s going on, you can pay attention and retain information better. Your lack of concentration could be from the fact that you’re not really an auditory learner, so by taking notes, it can snap you back to focusing on what’s happening. Not to mention you’ll look engaged and come across as responsible to your boss or professor!

Reward Yourself: This method is one of my favorites because I looove rewards! If you promise yourself a reward after you get a task done, then you’re more likely to have initiative to actually complete the task and in a timely manner. Reward yourself with a treat, a few minutes on social media, or even spoil yourself with a small gift! 

Make it a Game: This method kind of adds on to the reward method. Say you really want a new book, or some stationery, or maybe you want to go out for some ice cream. Now take those items and give them a point value. For example, the book is 200 points, the stationery is 150 points, and the ice cream trip is 100 points. Now for every certain amount of time you stay focused and work on your tasks, you can earn points toward one of the prizes! Let’s say for every minute that you stay focused and productive, you get a point! When you complete a task, not only do you get the points from the time but also some extra points for its completion! 

Set a Timer: If you really have trouble focusing in general, you should set timers to remind you to stay on task and snap you out of lala land! When the timer goes off, ask yourself if you’re actually doing what needs to be done, and if you are, great! You should reward yourself if you are, or even make every successful focus session worth some points if you want to use the game method above! After every week, add some minutes to your alarms. Pretty soon you’ll notice that concentration will start to come naturally and you won’t have to keep reminding yourself to get on task! 

Block Out Social Media: This one is a given, but depending on where you work, sometimes answering emails, messages, and phone calls is a must. If your job allows it, set certain times throughout your shift to check these things. Don’t immediately check them as they come, as this will break your concentration and distract you. Try every hour or few hours to respond to any work-related emails or messages. Phone calls should be taken as they come, since most workplaces require it. For students, blocking out these things for longer periods of time is easier, in most cases.

Declutter: If your desk or area has begun to become a distraction, clean it. Don’t become obsessed with organizing every little thing and dusting each little corner, but make sure things are tidy. Before you begin working you can declutter, and every so often you can take a break when your concentration is running low. Use this moment to straighten things up so that you can gain your focus back!

Communicate: If your work environment or class is interrupting your concentration and fixing it is out of your control, talk to your manager or professor. They may be able to work with you in order to help the situation. It’s a lot easier with managers, but it’s worth a shot to try to talk to your professor about it. Some things could be completely out of everyone’s control, but some things could also be changeable, you never know! 

Eat Breakfast: Eating a breakfast rich in high-fiber whole grains, dairy, and fruit can really boost your concentration and energy for the rest of the day!! There are a few breakfast recipes down below to look at! 

Music: Listening to certain types of music can also help you concentrate!  

3 Hours of Classical  

City Wanderer (More classical)  

Erik Satie (One of my all time faves)

Rainy Mood (My personal favorite)

1 Hour Concentration Music

3 Hours Meditation Music (This one really helps me write tbh)

Study Sounds (Amazing masterpost by @acdemic )

Anime Soundtracks (Another amazing masterpost by @dangostudy )

Coffitivity  (Ambient noise)

Try listening to music you know by heart! It tends to fade into the background since you’re so familiar with it!    

Foods: Believe it or not, the things we eat can affect our concentration along with a ton of other things! 

Caffeine (In small quantities throughout the day)

Dark Chocolate

Nuts

Blueberries

Spinach

Green Tea (Tea always helps me focus, especially green tea!)

Water (Feeling sluggish and losing focus? Drink a glass of ice water!! Hydration has a lot to do with how well you perform!)

Beets (Believe it or not!)

Bananas

Eggs (Make sure to include the yolk!)

Omega 3 (Fish and some seeds have this!)

Sugar (Small quantities of sugary things can boost your focus and energy!)

Recipes: Here’s a few recipes incorporating some of these ingredients!

Beets (Lots and lots of recipes with beets)     

Roasted Beets ‘n’ Sweets (Looks really yummy!)    

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese (Salads are A+++)   

Savory Roasted Root Vegetables (Contains beets of course!)

Blueberries (Yummy yummy blueberry recipes!)

Blueberry Snow (I really want to try thisss)       

Blueberry Spread (Def gonna make lots of this!) 

Blueberry Custard (Custards are A+++)  

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Smoothie (Yummmmm)

Bananas (Yay banana recipes!)

Banana Smoothies (Yummy yummy smoothies)

Healthy Banana Cookies (Who doesn’t love healthy???)

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread ( Ohhh yesss)

Spinach (Recipes with spinach!!)

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast (Holy sHIT yum)

Strawberry Spinach Salad (Yaaas salaad)

Eggs (Egg recipesss)

Breakfast Eggs (Recipes for breakfast!)

Fish (Fishy recipes!!)     

Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy is really helpful since you can associate certain smells with certain things, even concentration! Incense, candles, and oil blends are really nice in general, and I always make sure I light something before I buckle down to work!

5 Essential Oil Blends that Promote Focus & Concentration (This is a really nice page that tells you what aromatherapy is and suggests some blends!)

Another Page of Information and Blends 

Birch Hill Happenings Shop (Here you can buy some oils!)

The Body Shop (Here’s another shop!)

The Vitamin Shoppe (Another shop with some information on aromatherapy as well!)

Floracopeia (Another really pretty shop!!)

Well that’s everything, I hope that I helped! I’ll try to keep this updated with new things that I come across!

Sources: // X // X // X // X //

If you have any questions, concerns, requests, or anything at all, feel free to message me! xoxo

03.06.19 - monday

during exams i used to get really stressed out about not having enough time to study between, so i designed myself a lil study planner that maps out my week

it has a section for events, a checklist, and a time tracker so i can tell myself to stop freaking out :)

edit- due to popular request, here’s the link:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wEiA8ttDysOxAIjMwzKqvUWkC-sTMKNW/view?usp=sharing