Wannabe organized

Disclaimer: This is what I have done for my intro level content-based classes that include multiple choice exams. This obviously is not going to be as effective for some math/science classes. (Also, I’m sure there are others who use this method, so I’m not claiming to have made it up or something).

Step 1: You’re basically going to be writing your own practice exam. If your professor provides a study guide, this will be no challenge at all. If not, just use your lecture notes. You need to take the information and phrase it the way it would appear on a multiple choice exam.

Example:

If the study guide says:

Blue flowers grow in Canada, but red flowers grow in Mexico.

You’d writer along the lines of:

In what regions do blue and red flowers grow?

Repeat this for all the information in your study guide or your own notes.

Step 2: Make yourself an answer key. Don’t answer the questions as you write them. Write all the questions, and then go back and answer them one by one. This is basically an extra study session wrapped up in the creation of the practice exam! It also keeps you from memorizing things just because of the order of the questions.

Step 3: Test yourself. I usually test myself for the first time 24-48 hours after I make the practice exam. See how many of the questions you can answer correctly. When you check the answers, mark the incorrect ones for review. Pretty self-explanatory.

Step 4: Look over the chapters pertaining to the information you consistently miss. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’re getting all of them right.

If you can recall the information when prompted with an open-ended question like, “What is the geographic difference between red and blue flowers?”. Then you’ll be able to recall it twice as easily when given multiple answer choices. This has worked like a charm when studying for intro psych, biology, political science, etc.

It can be a little bit time consuming, but it’s worth it. I usually start 4-5 days before the test day, sometimes earlier for more difficult classes. It’s made class material much more manageable, and I’m always pleased with my exam results when I use this method. I used it for all of my finals this semester.

I hope I’ve explained this well enough, but if anyone has questions just message me!

BLACK TEA   [ more oxidized than other types, which is what makes black tea taste stronger ]

Temperature: Black teas won’t brew if the temperature is below 90°C (194°F). Black tea varieties brew best near the boiling point.

Brew time: 4 minutes. Leave the tea bag / leaves in longer for a stronger flavour.

GREEN TEA   [ often dubbed the ‘healthiest tea’ when really there is no clinical evidence of health benefits (doesn’t mean there aren’t any) ]

Temperature: 80-85°C (176 to 185°F). The hotter the tea, the more bitter it will taste.

Brew time: can vary. Usually, 30 seconds - 3 minutes will do just fine, but you can brew longer for a stronger taste.

OOLONG TEA   [ most similar to black tea; requires similar manual production and it comes from the same plant - camellia sinensis ]

Temperature: 82 to 96°C (185 to 205°F). if the water is too hot, you will scorch the tea leave, which can result in a bitter, unpleasant taste.

Brew time: 5-7 minutes. you can actually reuse the leaves without the flavour weakening too much (unlike other varieties, such as green tea) 

YELLOW TEA   [ the rarest variety due to complex manual production + low demand ]

Temperature: 75-80°C (167-176°F).

Brew time: 3-4 minutes. Leave a lid over the tea cup while brewing

WHITE TEA   [ a delicate lad; white tea is not rolled or oxidized, which gives it a ‘lighter’ taste ]

Temperature: 82 to 96°C (185 to 205°F). Same as oolong !! if the water is too hot, you will scorch the tea leave, which can result in a bitter, unpleasant taste.

Brew time: 3-4 minutes. Like any other variety, you can brew as long as you want depending on personal taste. 

HERBAL TEA   [ often not considered a real tea because it doesn’t come from an actual ‘tea plant’ ]

Temperature: nice and hot. Brew at the boiling point for best results.

Brew time: about 6 minutes. But since there are so many varieties of herbal tea, it’s hard to give an exact time. Really, just brew to taste (but 6 minutes is a good minimum time for most varieties)

BREWING TIPS

The larger and more delicate the tea leaves are, the lower you want the temperature to be. This goes for all tea varieties (varie-teas, if you will)

Pour the water over the tea bag / leaves. Don’t dunk the tea bag (it actually can change the flavour - see the next bullet point)

Pouring height: the height you pour the water from can actually change the flavor (wild right) !! it aerates the tea and creates more oxidation. The higher the pour, the more aeration. Plus it’s more fun to pour from really high.

If you brew a pot full, it’s best to warm the pot before hand to prevent sudden cooling of the tea. If you’re just drinking one cup, this is probably unnecessary (but i mean, it’s your tea. do what you want).

This is my routine for learning brand new Kanji using flash cards, of course everyone is different but this works for me, so I thought I’d share! 

1. Eh, I’ll have time later. *deliberately watches cat videos.*

STOP Cramming

cramming is good for the short term, such as just before a test (i’m talking like an hour before), but shouldn’t be used as an effective study method. you only learn the information in the exact way you read it, so any practical application on your test won’t be easy to answer. you also will struggle with answering the same questions you studied for, but asked differently.

Spacing Effect

the spacing effect is essentially the opposite of cramming. instead of doing a 4 hour study session, break it up into groups of 30 minutes. do 30 minutes, take a nice long break, go back for 30, and repeat. that break in between gives your brain time to encode and store the information. this can be done in either one day, or over the course of a few days before the test.

Mnemonic devices are your best friend when dealing with lists of information

any sort of rhyming scheme, letter association, acronyms, etc. is proven to help you. any american can say ROY G. BIV and know exactly what they’re talking about, another example is HOMES for the great lakes. another major example is “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”/PEMDAS for the order of operations. this helps with lists, i use it all the time in biology for stuff like the Levels of Classification or Characteristics of Living things. for AP Euro i remember “Descartes with a D” because he “Doubts and wrote Discorse on Method”.

Hierarchy Organizing for Midterms and Finals

by breaking information down into a hierarchy, you can figure out how to study all your chapters at once. these are often called “graphic organizers” and it takes the whole topic, then breaks it into subsections, then subsections of those subsections. here’s an example i found for my Memory unit

the whole unit is memory, the subtopics are sensory memory, short term, then long term. then comes the subdivisions of long term memory and so on. this is wonderful for study planning in regards to large information tests.

Hi so recently I took a break because my anxiety and depression had a spike?!? I don’t know how to explain it. I’ve made a post about it to show why exactly I had to take some time away. Anyway I thought I’d give a few ideas and tips for studying when you have a mental illness. A lot of them can be used by anyone but are very important

Take regular study breaks rather than do it all in one go. I tend to only be able to focus on tasks for a certain amount of time before I have to change so it’s good to do 20 mins then change the task

Look at maslows heirarchy of needs

You need to fulfill the bottom four before you can even begin to study. I think this is helpful for people with mental illness because often it’s easy to forgot and disregard these needs so it gives us a chance to focus not them.

Talk to your school and teachers. My teachers would be fine if I had to leave their class due to anxiety so they let. E go if I need to. My teachers tend to also ask me how I’m doing very often which is small but to me is important. It can also help with elongating due dates.

Do more on good days and less on the bad ones. I’m more motivated and energised on good days as is everyone else so I can do extra work whilst on bad days you may do less or none at all. Utilise the good days so you don’t feel so bad for not doing much on bad days.

Celebrate the little things. Read for 5 mins? Celebrate! Study for 10? Celebrate! Actually get up and do something on a bad day? Celebrate! Encourage yourself with rewards or even just a pat on the back.

Minset. I’ve said this so many times but just tell yourself you can. Saying it may even teach you to believe it because saying you can may make you even slightly better.

Sleep well. Referring back to the heirarchy but it makes a difference.

Take time for yourself. Don’t continuously study cause it’ll just make you feel a lot worse. Sometimes you might have to force yourself to read over stuff but only in extreme circumstances and never to the point where you feel a lot worse.

Understand it’s ok to feel this way. I often feel terrible and can’t do anything but I understand that it’s not my fault and if I try then I can get better. You’re amazing and you can do it.

Anyway I’m hoping these make sense ahah I’m not sure if they do or not but wanted to share some key tips that I’ve been thinking about recently. I’ve had to take the week to just think some stuff through and haven’t been able to do everything as well as I’d hope but it’s important. To all my followers or people reading this who are struggling just know I’m proud of you!

I just saw a post asking for advice about how women traveling overseas alone can avoid harassment and so I just spent an hour looking this up to answer the post. I thought I would share it with you all in case anyone was considering it. I have traveled by myself in the past (though not recently), so I’ve picked some of the more practical ones. I’ve included some links at the end of the post where you can find more tips. Of course, I’m not saying you have to do all of these steps, and it really depends on where you are traveling to, but take and use what may be helpful to you. Perhaps share with friends you know might be making such a trip in the future. 

Here are some doable, practical advice that you might be able to use to avoid unwanted advances and harassment:

Wear a fake wedding ring. You should also carry a photo of your husband (or an imaginary one), which you can show to persistent suitors. Being seen as married can lower your profile and maybe stave off some uninvited advances.

Wear dark glasses/sunglasses to avoid eye contact. In some cultures, meeting a man’s gaze may suggest that you want his company. This can also help so they don’t know that you have caught on to their suspicious movements so you can have the element of surprise if you need to act.

Act like you know where you are going and walk with confidence. Don’t look at maps or your phone in public if you are lost. Go into a coffee shop and figure it out there.

When you get in a cab or in a potentially sketchy place, take out your phone and pretend to call someone to tell them “I’m almost there. I’ll be there by XXX” so the driver thinks you are meeting someone at your destination. You should also give your current location loudly so they think people will come find you if you don’t show up as expected.

If you are getting a lot of unwanted advances, and if possible where you are, carry a small, but noticeable knife hanging off your belt (maybe a small hunting knife). The person who shared this said it quickly decreased the number of unwanted advances she got off the streets. (Be aware you will likely not be be to take this with you on carry-ons in the plane. Check it in your luggage or purchase at your destination. Also, this is mostly recommended as a deterrent. As this is a weapon, do not carry it around unless you are comfortable with it.)

Other helpful advice:

Carry a rubber doorstop to wedge from the inside of your room at night.

Bring a portable door or window alarm.

Carry a safety whistle (good for calling a cab too).

Don’t tell people you’re traveling alone if you can help it. Pretend you have a husband or friend who knows where you are and is waiting for you to come back at a certain time.

Track your route in the cab through google maps.

If you’re listening to music, don’t wear both headphones so you can be aware of your surroundings.

Along with standard travel medications (antibiotics, antidiarrheal, etc.), consider bringing emergency contraception. Where you are traveling to might not have the most accessible healthcare, and this is an unfortunate reality.

Always err on the side of safety. Don’t worry that you might be seen as paranoid or even rude to leave anywhere if you feel like something is off. Be safe!

Here are the links with more tips:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/elisadoucette/2013/02/07/sarai-sierra-emphasizes-that-women-need-to-keep-traveling/#65ae469a1f04

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicaprobus/46-incredibly-useful-safety-tips-for-women-traveling-alone?utm_term=.jm1AeyYEO#.hfDo372zq

Always have the name and number of your hotel/hostel on you. No guarantee they can help you but they might be a good source of help if you’re having communication issues with locals.

If you’re hiring locals for something (cab rides, tour guides, etc or renting something from them) that requires a nonstandard negotiated payment, make sure you get it in writing or even record a video of the agreement so they can’t change the price at the end of the experience.

Eight Ways to Remember Anything by Alex Lickerman M.D.

I used to be a varsity swimmer, and I was damn good, but I was forced into it by my parents and completely lost my love for it and therein my drive. But in high school I was swimming against such talented swimmers like Olympic Swimmer Missy Franklin. I’ve met her, and the main difference between her and me was that I was strong but had no passion, but she was strong BECAUSE she had passion. 

And I could have been good, really good, maybe even Olympic good. I even have the predisposition for it, been swimming since I was 2 years old, have a mom who was almost an olympic swimmer. Missy didn’t have either of those things, she just wanted it, loved it, had been doing it for a long time, and decided she was going to kick ass at it.

Right, that’s great and all, but I completely missed my opportunity to be an olympic swimmer, yeah? and can never achieve those dreams I had as a kid? No, not even though. There was this whole thought that female athletes peak when they’re 17 years old and lose their skills quickly after that, and male athletes peak around 19. But then Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres shows up. She was an olympic swimmer when she was 17, 21 and 25. Pretty normal age for retirement. She had a few kids. She kicked butt at being a mom. 

And then at 33 years old she decides she’s bored or something gets back in shape and kicks so much ass at the trials that she lands herself on the Olympic Team ONCE AGAIN. And then 8 years later, she decides, heck I’m 41 now, no one has ever made the olympic swim team as old as I am, I want to get in shape yet again and teach these children how sports work.

And she still has the record for oldest US Olympic Swimmer, not even any men have beat out that record.

So basically what I’m saying is you could be an olympic swimmer, you really could be. And there are obviously a lot of things stopping you and trying to get in your way: your brain, society, too much chocolate cake for example. But if you really dedicate yourself to it and love it with all of your heart you could, you really could.

And lets say olympic swimming isn’t your jam? That’s cool too. There isn’t a single skill in this world that you can’t learn if you absolutely love it and want to. Any skill you want is going to take time. There are countless famous people who started learning a skill after 20, 30, 40, or even 50. Not a single person has even been president under age 35 (most likely because you’re not allowed to be, but there’s a reason for that). Whatever you want to do you’re probably going to be bad at first, and I’m talking really shitty.

Van Gogh got started in his 20′s and was thought to have no artistic talent at first and was forced to sit in the back of classrooms where the worst artists in the class sat. So yeah you’ll probably be bad, like really bad and everyone including you will think you’re bad. If you stick with it though, if you’re willing to work for years and years, if you keep loving it after all the pain it’s given you, 

then you might just paint Starry Night.