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An Overview of Note-Taking Styles

Flexible Time Blocking: A More Breathable Way to Get Things Done

I’ve met a lot of people who struggle with sticking to a schedule - myself included - so here’s one way you can get things done without restricting your spontaneity.

Linked: The ABCDE Method: Accomplish Tasks More Efficiently

𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓊𝓃𝒾 🍑 

In this post, I list 7 of my all-time favorite apps / chrome extensions that I use daily.  I hope I can help out some fellow uni students who are struggling.  This might help make studying less painful and a tiny tiny bit more enjoyable. 

love, edith 🌾

0 9 / 1 4 / 1 9

Hallo guys!!! It's been a rough week. between school and work I've had no time to do any homework, so I ended up having to stay awake super late to get that done 😣 And I know for a lot of people staying up til 2 or 4 is quite normal but for me, I neeeed at least 6 hours of sleep every night or I can't function 😬 add a load of double shot lattes to my sleep deprivation and you have a picture of an actual zombie walking around campus 😂

I've decided to get as much HW done on the weekend as possible so I don't have to pull any allnighter stunts like this again, so that's what I'm doing rn! Above are some notes for my computer organization class that I'm studying for a test next Tuesday 😃 other than that I've got some calculus 2 and linear algebra homework, and a couple of computer networking online activities to do.

Hey guys, so I’m nearing the end of my senior year, and it’s been great so far! I accomplished my academic tasks efficiently and didn’t burn myself out, and I think the main contributor to my success as a student is my organization system. This system has been refined throughout my high school years, but I think now I’ve finally found the most effective methods.

Please remember that this isn’t the only organization system you can adopt; this is just the one that works the best for me, and I hope that by sharing it with you, you’ll gain a new perspective on how to stay organized as a high school student.

The first thing I wanna talk about is my notebook system, which I briefly mentioned in my Guide to Note-Taking.

My notebook system comprises three types of notebooks: the Everything Notebook, the subject notebook, and the revision notebook.

The Everything Notebook

The first stage is in-class notes. I only bring one notebook to school every day. I call it my Everything Notebook, and this is where I write down all of the notes I take in class. This way, I don’t have to lug around six notebooks where I’m only going to use a few pages in each of them that day.

Subject Notebooks

At the end of the day, I would revise my notes and compare them to the syllabus so I know where we are in the learning process. I would then transfer my class notes from my Everything Notebook to my different subject notebooks. This is stage two. I also start to jazz up my notes because I use the notes in my subject notebooks to study for tests.

In addition to my class notes, I include material from my teachers’ notes that they might not have elaborated on, as well as points in the syllabus (I’m currently taking A2) that were only glazed over briefly, or not at all, in some cases. (Note: this does not mean they completely skip a chapter or topic; it’s more like they missed a few bullet points that should be in my notes but aren’t. An example would be if we’re learning about phenol reactions and the teacher forgot to mention the use of FeCl3 as a test for phenol.)

Revision Notebooks

Stage three comes a little later, when exam week is just around the corner. Essentially, I rewrite and improve my notes from my five different subject notebooks into a single revision notebook or binder. (Recently, I’ve opted for a revision notebook because they’re lighter and easier to carry around.)

Because my teachers don’t always teach in the order of the syllabus, the first thing I do is organize my notes according to the syllabus. I would then fill in any other missing gaps in the material that hadn’t been filled in stage two.

When compiling material for my revision notebook, I use as many sources as possible: my own notes, my teachers’ notes, youtube videos, online sites, and my favorite, the mark scheme! I add in some answers from past papers (explanations only, so no calculations) mainly to secure marks. It’s safer to memorize definitions straight from the mark scheme than from the textbook or from handouts. I also do this to ease my memorization, especially for topics that require lengthy explanations. It’s a lot easier to remember the 6 points I need to explain the principles of NMRI than to remember everything in the four-page handout my teacher gave me.

Folders and binders are essential to organizing your papers. Some people keep a single accordion folder for all their papers, but for me it’s just too heavy to carry around all the time. The same goes for subject folders that are brought to school every day.

Instead, my binder/folder system comprises my Everything Folder and my subject binders.

The Everything Folder

The folder I carry with me to school every day is this A4 folder I got from Tokyu Hands. It has 5 pockets, one for each day of the week, so all the papers I receive on Monday will go behind the first divider, and so on.

Some people also keep blank papers in their folders; I don’t because my school has its own lined paper and graphing pads that I keep under my desk that I use if a teacher asks us to do an assignment on those papers. If I do work at home, I prefer to just use a plain A4 paper or a legal pad.

Subject Binders

At the end of the week, I’ll sort my papers into my subject binders. Sometimes I’ll keep some papers in the folder if I think I’ll be needing it the next week. This usually only applies to worksheets because all my teachers’ notes are available on Google Classroom, so I can access them even if I don’t physically have them.

Each of these binders have sections inside them:

Physics: 1 for handouts, notes, and tests, 1 for Paper 4 (Theory), 1 for Paper 5 (Practical Planning). I included extra tabs to mark the different topics in the handouts section.

Chemistry: same as Physics.

Economics: 1 for Paper 3 (MCQ), 1 for Paper 4 (Case Study and Essay). A lot of my Economics material is online, though.

English: 1 for Paper 3 (Text and Discourse analysis), and 2 for Paper 4 (Language Topics, which includes 1 for Child Language Acquisition, 1 for World Englishes). Past papers, handouts, and notes all go under their respective topics.

Mathematics: I just keep everything together because I never revise math and just constantly do past papers.

This makes it easier for me to revise each subject because I can just take one binder with me instead of a messy folder with everything just shoved in there.

I keep a magazine file for each of my A-Level subjects (English and Mathematics are combined). All my textbooks, revision guides, and subject notebooks are kept here, so if I need to revise one subject, that’s the magazine file I’ll take out.

These magazine files prevent any small things (like my book of flashcards) from being shoved to the back of my bookshelf, or materials from different subjects from getting mixed up.

In my senior year, I mostly plan using this app called Edo Agenda. It syncs across all my devices for free and has all the features I need: a to do list to organize tasks, monthly and weekly calendars to organize events, a journal to organize notes and memos.

I used to bullet journal regularly, but it takes too much time during weekdays, so now I just bullet journal for the therapeutic effects it gives me, and I use an app for organizing tasks and events. Sometimes at the end of each week, I’ll transfer my tasks to my bullet journal and then decorate the page, but again, this is just for its therapy.

Organizing your school supplies is just as important as organizing your papers and notes. With a more organized backpack and pencil case, you won’t waste time looking for your things at the bottom of an abyss.

Pencil Case

I don’t find it necessary to bring so much stationery to school unless I plan on making notes at school (usually during revision week).

Backpack

Because we’re already in the revision term, I don’t really carry a lot of things in my everyday backpack, just the following:

Pencil case

Everything Notebook

Everything Folder

Revision notebook

Kindle

Phone

Wallet

Earphones

Calculator

Speaker

Drinking bottle

A pouch with things like a hairbrush, pads, and lip balm

Compilation of February and June to July spreads (2018)

18.3.18 // studygram: alimastudies

25.12.15 // Merry Christmas! Spending today reviewing chemistry, loving the topic equilibrium.

hi!!! i love apps, they’re so helpful, that’s why i’ve made this post with all of the apps that i use and the ones that i’ve seen on here!! 📱💻💞

Apps for focusing

Self-control (OSX) Free

Cold Turkey (Windows) Free

Self Control for Study. (Android/iOS) Free

Forest (Android/ iOS) 0.99$ on iOS

FocusNow (Android/iOS) Free

aTimeLogger (iOS/ Android) 2,99$ on iOS

Todoist (Android/iOS) Free

Lumosity (Android/OS) Free

Chrome extensions

Stay Focused

Block site

Website Blocker

Productivity owl

Strict Workflow

TimeDoser

Prioritab

Overtask

Productivity apps

30/30 (iOS) Free

Flat Tomato (iOS) Free

Post-it Plus (iOS) Free

MalMath (Android) Free

Office Lens (iOS /Android) Free

Notetodo (Android) Free

Trello (Android/iOS) Free

Pushbullet (Android/iOS) Free

Tasks: Astrid To-Do List Clone (Android) Free

Organization apps

Do it (tomorrow). (Android/ iOS) Free

My Study Life. (Android/ iOS and Windows/OSX with chrome) Free

Wunderlist. (Android/iOS, and Windows/OSX) Free

Google Drive.  (Android/ iOS and Windows/OSX) Free

Dropbox. (Android/ iOS and Windows/OSX) Free

TimeTune (Android) Free

Pocket (Android/iOS) Free

Sunrise Calendar (Android/iOS, OSX) Free

AirDroid (Android) Free

Chrome extentions

Momentum

Cofftivity

Be Limitless

Tab for a Cause

Lanes

Language learning apps

Duolingo (Android/iOS) Free

Mosalingua (Android/iOS) Free

Busuu. (Android/iOS) Free

Memrise (Android/iOS) Free

HelloTalk (Android/iOS) Free

Babbel (Android/iOS) Free

Websites

Bliubliu

Linguti

Lang-8

Note taking apps

Goodnotes (iOS) 7,99$

MyScript Smart Note (iOS/Android) Free

Microsoft Office (Windows/OSX) Free if your college offers it!!

Open Office (Windows/OSX) Free

Evernote (iOS/Android) Free

OneNote (Windows/OSX)

Blank Slate

Really long list of vocab done with Quizlet (Android/iOS) Free

Scrivner (Windos/OSX) 45$

TitanPad

Relax/Anxiety apps

Stop, Breathe & Think Android/iOS) Free

Self-Help for Anxiety Management (SAM) (Android/iOS) Free

Headspace (Android/iOS) Free

Pacifica (Android/iOS) Free

Calm (Android/iOS) Free

Pixel Thoughts

Misc apps

Flux (OSX and Windows) Free

Noizio (OSX/iOS) Free

Sleep apps

Maths Alarm Clock (Android/iOS) Free

Sleep If U Can (Android/iOS) Free/1,99 $

Sleep Better (Android/iOS) Free

To Bed (iOS) Free

Sleepyti.me

Chrome extentions

Cool Clock

Polar Clock

Black Menu for Google

Hola Better Internet

Websites

PDFescape

Small PDF

Google Keep

Coursera

EdX

10 websites that will stop you from procrastinating

Find out about careers and professions!!!

FREE AP AND SAT PREPARATION BOOKS

Other apps masterposts:

apps to help you survive school by @sturdystudy

10 helpful apps by @studyocracy

another app masterpost by @studygene

app masterpost by @studydude

apps for a better life by @areistotle

apps for the student budget by @ecampustours​

dress up your tech by @coffeeplanner

get the most of your ipad: student edition by @haes-and-studying

fave studyblr apps for android by @linguisticallyunsound

best study apps for iphone by @apprecommendations

study habit apps by @mylittlestudyblr

software and studyblr apps by @bleedforyourtypewriter

my fave chrome extensions by @living-the-ib-life

helpful apps by @studypeaks

best free organizational apps

apps for studying by @needforcaffeine

fave study apps by @blissfulstudies

apps for studying and more by @jesstudies​

apps i couldn’t live without by @ktstudy

April spread and so far I’m kind of enjoying my internship even though sometimes there were days where we didn’t have anything to do since we tend to finish all our task real quick lol. Another reason why I’m enjoying is it’s really near in our house I wouldn’t be wasting time to travel back and forth. Currently listening to Exo-CBX Blooming Day.

another tv show entry on my journal! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ //

How to deal with procrastination

One of the biggest problems for students is procrastination! It takes different forms for everyone but ultimately it stops us all at some point. Since there are several reasons for procrastinating, I’ve put together the five main types and a few ideas on how to deal with it. 

You’ve got poor work/productivity habits. You leave things until the last minute since you “work better under pressure”. You probably think you’ll do something after you’ve finished something else, and then never do. You get distracted whenever you’re trying to study and will sit waiting to feel motivated but it never comes. For this I’d suggest:

create a productivity inspiring workspace - find somewhere that you can set up a study space, whether it is an actual office or just a desk. Organise everything that you will need. I have a selection of pens and my few notebooks on the top so I can easily access them. Remove anything that might cause you to be distracted and doesn’t need to be in your immediate reach. If you’re got space, put up some motivational pictures. This could be my motivational printables, some quotes or your own pictures. Plants are also proven to boost productivity, so might be worth putting a small one nearby!

create an action list rather than to-dos - write down a few manageable tasks that you need to do and be specific on the steps you should take. Writing the actions they require will help you see what you should be doing to complete something, instead of just the overall task. If you’re able to break it down, you can take actionable steps rather than mentally having to think of each point.

focus on 20-30 minute periods - generally, we lose focus after a while so taking regular breaks can help give you chance to relax and refocus. Apps like Forest allow you to set a timer and will give you off your phone at the same time. Obviously, if you’re being productive, don’t suddenly cut that off because it is “time for a break”. Here are some other free alternatives.

remove distractions as best you can - I’m always distracted by social media so I will use Forest on my phone or time-lapse myself so I can’t use my phone. With my MacBook, I have two accounts. One for university and one for everything else. I am not logged into any social media on my uni account so I can’t just check it for a minute then end up wasting 20 minutes :’-)

find an accountability partner - pick someone who you can rely on to check on you regularly and see how your tasks are coming along. You can send them your to-do list and then every few hours you can update them with your progress. You won’t want to let them down. Alternatively, you can study with a friend! Tumblr/Instagram is basically my partner!

use the two-minute rule - if something takes less than two minutes, do it. Don’t make an excuse, just do it. Tasks that are longer you can either delegate or defer. Here is a simple visualisation of what I mean.

record your progress - doing a simple “don’t break the chain” in your planner is a great way to see how productive you’re being and therefore get you more motivated to keep it up! The ‘100 days of productivity’ challenge might be worth doing!

You’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Everything seems to be mounting up and nothing seems doable. You don’t know where or how to start. For this I’d suggest:

ask for help - if you’re feeling like this, it is likely you need some help in some form or another. See if a family member, friend, classmate or teacher (or Google) can help or give you a starting point. Emailing your teacher is a great option if you’re a little nervous about speaking to them in person. Plus you won’t forget what they told you because you’ll have a response.

remind yourself that getting started is the first step - you don’t need to finish a task in a matter of minutes. Start doing something small. Maybe organise what you need, highlight the important bits of your assessment, or draft an essay plan. The secret to getting ahead is getting started!

divide and conquer - figure out what is the overall task that you need to do and split it into manageable parts. For instance, with an essay, the aim is to write it! Divide it into planning out what you want to write, any references you need, summarising a final draft and then writing each paragraph. By dividing bigger tasks into actionable parts you can reduce the obstacles and get through each part in a more timely manner.

reward yourself - create a system to celebrate completing a selection of tasks. By rewarding your progress you’ll build an incentive to work and reinforce productivity (great for your self-discipline!).

learn to forgive yourself - if you have an off day, that is okay! When the stress of your education is getting too much, it is necessary to have time out.  Remember to come back to it later and try again.

don’t over schedule - if you’re feeling pressure from the amount of work and then the added pressure of trying to stick to a time limit, you’re just going to go crazy. Set yourself flexible times to get something done instead of being heavily structured. Give yourself time for a break and the ability to change tasks.

stick with one task - it can be so tempting to multitask but try not to. Try to keep the focus on the what you’re doing until it is done. If you struggle with that, you could write down anything useful that you randomly think about for another task, use a break-time to think about that other task or alternate between subjects/tasks every few hours.

You’re a perfectionist. You either don’t want to start something out of fear you won’t get it right or you can get stuck on the small details. There is a pressure to achieve the unachievable. For this I’d suggest:

focus on getting started, instead of finishing - it is easy to get overwhelmed thinking about what something is supposed to be like finished if you’re a perfectionist. Take things one step at a time. It’s also useful to remember the sooner you start, the more time you’ll have to perfect it at the end!

make drafts - if you’re overwhelmed, take half an hour to map out your plan of attack. Drafts can take many forms: summaries, scaffolds/outlines, essay plans, post-it notes, etc. I find it much easier to get on with work if I have a bit of a plan.

remember that your perfectionist tendencies aren’t actually improving your work or productivity but hindering you - you’re continually setting yourself unrealistic objects and (like me) probably feel let down by yourself if you don’t reach them. Be realistic and focus on getting it done!

accept mistakes - you’ve written something wrong, don’t panic! Cross it out with a single line and move on. Things happen and you have to accept it. You can’t rip up the page every time you do something wrong, even if it is so tempting.

put things in perspective - is what you’re beating yourself up about right now going to mean anything in a week, a month, a year? Be honest if it isn’t, is it really worth putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.

praise yourself through the process - try not to criticise yourself but recognise your progress.

don’t compare yourself - this is very hard not to do but remember we are all different. Just because “you’re not as good” or don’t understand something as easily as others, it doesn’t mean you’re any less! Everyone was a beginner once and we all learn at different paces. Work to your strengths!

You want to do something else. You find whatever you’re doing boring. You want it to be over with but don’t want to get started. The ultimate catch 22, right? For this I’d suggest:

remember that putting it off isn’t going to make it go away - if you leave it too long you’ll end up getting more stressed about it. Best to get it over with.

make a plan from the get-go - once you know something is coming up (e.g. a test, an assessment, etc) make notes on it! That could be questions, annotations, potential topics, citations, etc. By making the effort to spend time reading through, you’ll save your future self some stress. Especially if it’s a topic you have forgotten. That way your notes act as a reminder so you can get started.

set a finish time with a reward - tell yourself that if you finish something by a certain time and then you can do something else. Use your self-discipline to not go back on this. Set a realistic time and try to get it complete before. If you can think that you’re doing something fun once it is completed, you’ll be more motivated to get it done.

make a structure - for note-taking, it can be overwhelming looking at a textbook and thinking what you’re going to write out. Make a note-taking layout/colour code that works for you and that subject. Mine is here - it just gives me an idea of how I’d lay everything instead of going in with no action plan.

try to make it fun - this could be using YouTube to learn or starting a study group. Use different methods for memorising information such as flashcards, mindmaps or study guides (like question/answer).

make the effort to refocus - if you’re finding something boring and you’re unfocused, walk away for 5 minutes, get a drink and come back. If you’re really struggling, change topics for a while. Find a point where you can finish and start doing something else that is productive.

listen to some music - generally, music without lyrics are best for focusing. Spotify has a great playlist for studying called ‘focus’. However, I find my regular music good for getting me a little more motivated and awake. I also like writing essays to music because I weirdly sort of type in the same rhythm. Funny study hack I’ve found that works for me haha!

write your thoughts down - Another thing I’ve been trying is externalising my thoughts. If I get distracted by something or have a “gosh, I need to remember that” moment, I will write it down. By getting it out my brain and onto a bit of paper, I no longer have to think about it and can continue. 

You have no motivation. Often we feel that motivation is the only thing you need to get on with something, but this isn’t totally true. You need a mix of motivation and discipline. As the saying goes: “motivation may get you started, but discipline keeps you going”. To build your motivation, I’d suggest:

have a mass organise - usually when I’m feeling unmotivated, I’ll clear out my desk and sort out my computer. This involves throwing out stationery that doesn’t work or scrap paper. I usually make piles of spare stationery and will re-organise my desk drawers. For my computer, I will pull out all my files to my desktop then start working through them. I’ll delete duplicates, rename files properly, and put them in the right place.

find some new stationery - weirdly buying stationery is one of those things that instantly makes you want to be productive. Head to the shops and spend a little something on a new pen, highlighter or notebook!

film yourself - studying generally doesn’t give us any instant gratification which can make it feel like a drag. By filming yourself working you can get a little video at the end which shows your progress. I love watching time-lapses of myself because you see all the work you did super quickly. It also means I’m not touching my phone!

set yourself some goals - write down a few things you want to achieve, in the short or long term. Put it somewhere that you’ll be reminded about it! By externalising your goals, you’re more likely to make the effort to achieve it.

check/make a studygram and studyblr - this is one of most motivating this I’ve done. Having social media dedicated to studying has helped not only improve my work ethic but my whole attitude towards education. Getting involved in the community is a great motivator. Here is a post on how to set up a studyblr.

I hope this post gives you just a few ideas on how to tackle procrastination! If you’ve got any tips you’d like to share, please message me! x

Since we’re starting a new year, here’s an updated step-by-step guide on sleeping and waking up early so you can achieve all the resolutions you’ve just set! Hope everyone is having a happy new year! ^_^

THE NIGHT BEFORE

Turn off your devices an hour before sleep. The blue light from your computer and mobile can really disrupt the natural melatonin levels that control your sleep cycle. End the day with some sort of reading, whether that be for leisure or some summary notes at the end of the day.

Swap the tea and coffee for warm milk with honey. If you must, herbal tisanes like chamomile ‘tea’ are soothing. Lavendar essential oils (used as a room fragrance) are also very calming. 

Write down a list of what you want to achieve by waking up early. Having a plan motivates you and stops you from crawling back to the warmth of your bed. When the morning you isn’t able to think clearly, let the motivated you make the decisions!

Pick out the clothes you want to wear for tomorrow, and make sure they match the weather! Like with the tasks you want to achieve, it’s not a good idea to let the morning you fumble with clothes and what matches well. Have a jacket or hoodie on hand to keep you from getting back in bed!

Keep your bed reserved for sleeping. Put your smartphone on the other side of the room so that you aren’t tempted to go and check up on your messages on social media. This will reduce the chance that you start a conversation with some night owl friend that ends up continuing past midnight.

Make sure your room is pitch black. This is so that light doesn’t end up disrupting your sleep cycle and so that you condition your body into thinking that it’s time for sleep. Try to sleep without a night light. 

Clear your mind. Whether you achieve this by meditating or otherwise, don’t think about anything, lest you stay up tossing and turning. This includes both exciting events tomorrow and sad events from today. Staying up late makes your mind more prone to negative thoughts and anxiety that may be exaggerated. Take anything your mind tells you at night with a grain of salt!

Get either 7.5 or 9 hours of sleep. This is because the brain has sleep cycles that are approximately 90 minutes long, so sleeping past will immediately pull you into the next sleep phase. When you wake up in the middle of deep sleep, you end up feeling groggy and tired throughout the whole next morning.

Roll your eyes up a fraction. Not sure if this will work for you, but I find doing this, just so that your eyes naturally rest as if they’re looking up a little (don’t look up too much) helps me to get to sleep. Possibly related to Bell’s phenomenon, but give it a go! 

IN THE MORNING

Reset your sleep cycle by waking at the same time each day. We all have those nights where we absolutely need to finish something by tomorrow but try to keep it constant when you wake. So if you miss the point where you would’ve slept 7.5 hours, go for 6, since you still have a complete sleeping period, and usually that extra hour or so is enough to get the work finished. So don’t think about sleeping in for afternoon classes, because you’ll just feel worse for wear the next time you have morning classes.

Go cold turkey. Willpower is like a muscle, the more you exercise it the stronger it gets. I have tried the gradual method of waking up at 7:30, 7:15, 7:00, etc. but I found the best way is to just so straight to your target wake up time. As long as you sleep early, there shouldn’t be a problem. The first day you feel tired in the middle of the day, but it’s easier than adjusting to a slightly different sleep cycle each day.

Wake up with a full blast of natural light. If your bed is next to a window like mine, then pull up the blinds to let as much natural light in as possible to stop the production of melatonin. This seriously works. I have slept at 2:30am and woken up at 6am refreshed without an alarm. 

Set an alarm that you know will wake you up. Whether it be an uplifting song you like or a super annoying alarm bell, choose something that you can associate with waking up in the morning. 

Wake up the first time your alarm rings. People who are reliant on their snooze button can diminish the positive effect of a good night’s rest because they are constantly drifting back to sleep only to be abruptly woken up a few minutes later. This causes a shortened, disrupted sleep cycle right before a person starts their day. 

Jump out of bed immediately. Don’t lie in bed thinking; you’ll just drift off again.

Have a glass of cold water, but don’t just down a whole bottle in one go, because your kidneys are remarkably good at preventing our electrolyte balance from being thrown out of homeostasis, so downing a heap of water will just make them overwork to reduce the water levels. Best to keep that glass of water next to you as you work and drink a few sips at a time while you are working. If you drink an excess of water, you have diluted the careful balance of electrolytes. Your kidneys will rapidly dump that water to ensure these electrolyte concentrations are not diluted.

Put on your clothes quickly! This one comes from personal experience. Doing it quickly is like a burst of energy to get you going for exercise.

Finish what you were going to do. Remember that list we wrote last night? Do it now and feel great about doing at least one thing extra this morning.

Don’t have a cup of coffee (yet)! On waking, our bodies stop the production of melatonin and start the production of cortisol to get you going. Cortisol isn’t just for stress, it also starts gluconeogenesis to increase your blood glucose levels (which is important for your brain function) and increases your metabolism. Drinking coffee will disrupt this natural waking hormone, and it also reduces blood flow to the frontal cortex which is responsible for higher order thinking and cognition (source). What this means is that although there is more sugar available, oxygen supply decreases. If you do drink coffee, it’s recommended to drink it around 9:00 or so, after the natural cortisol kicks in. 

Have an apple instead. It’s been shown to keep you awake better than coffee!

Exercise. There’s no need for me to explain that this is the best way to feel energized and refreshed for the rest of the day and to get your heart pumping! The morning air is dewy and hasn’t yet been tampered by the smell of car fumes and other pollution, so breath in :) Play some music with beats that will get you moving. 

Enjoy the benefits of a job well done. Give yourself a pat on the back, because it’s tiring to get up at 6am or earlier! You’ve got your study space all to yourself, enjoy it with a cup of orange juice, and some peace and quiet. Get to work/uni/school nice and early, ready to learn something new and feel proud that you aren’t one of those groggy students with their heads glued to the table!

Latest MasterPosts: Awesome Things to Look Forward To At College/Uni + Minimalist Studyblr Challenge + Bujo Ideas Masterpost

Helloo! Happy holidays as well :-) Here are a few links that might help:

how to improve your handwriting

balancing study and work

whats in my bag

my favourite stationery

back to school basic supplies

how I stay motivated

tips on maintaining motivation

how to start a studyblr

how to take effective class or lecture notes

how to take notes from a textbook

how to memorise information effectively

my note-taking method

my notebook system

how to write faster

how I organise my binders

good habits to implement

how to study (my method)

how to get ahead in school

dealing with stress

productivity and time management applications

how to remove distractions

Here are some printables that might help you get organised:

2018 monthly planner printables

2018 student printables (2018 overview + calendar, daily + weekly + monthly planner, 30 habit tracker, class overview and timed worklog)

weekly study schedule

note-taking printables (dotted, grid, lined, cornell method)

exam revision printable pack (revision checklist, formulas + definitions sheet, essay + project planner, weekly schedule)

studying printable pack

ultimate student organiser pack

study and revision pack

2018 student planner

2018 weekly planner

grade and assessment planner pack

essay guide and planner pack

student finance planner

Song of the year?

Album of the year?

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Movie of the year?

TV show of the year?

Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

Favorite actor of the year?

Game of the year?

Best month for you this year?

Something that made you cry this year?

Something you want to do again next year?

Talk about a new friend you made this year

How was your birthday this year?

Favorite book you read this year?

What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

Post a picture from the beginning of the year

Post a picture from the end of the year

A memorable meal this year?

What’re you excited about for next year?

What’s something you learned this year?

What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

Favorite place you visited this year?

If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

wow this post has been a long time coming. after many months, finally here is part 2! this is dedicated to saving paper, since us as students need to use so much paper, so here are some things we can take note of to try to help where we can!

use both sides of the paper!

and if u don’t, USE AS SCRAP PAPER !!

i like to keep a folder of scrap paper around

scrap paper = paper that still have at least half a page without anything on it

u can use this to do rough workings, jot down ideas, sketches, rough drafts, lists, brainstorming, etc.

shred used paper to use as packaging

to cushion stuff when u put them into boxes

recycle!

esp newspapers, textbooks, etc. where it’s just a huge chunk of paper

have a paper recycling bin in ur room! that way, u only have to clear the bin when it’s full, which means u go down to the recycling bin once a month or every few months for me! barely takes time out of ur day

sell / donate!

if u have magazines, books, textbooks, workbooks, all lying around, don’t just burn them or throw them all away

u can make some quick $$ if u sell these to ur juniors or put it up online!

or u can donate them to the salvation army or the local drive near u or to the old age centre!

if ur printing for ur eyes only

print at least 2 pages on one! (set the print settings on 2 pages per sheet!)

reduce the font size, line spacing, and margin sizes to reduce pages printed

use the print range feature

do u rly need to print all pages? 

only select pages to u absolutely need

when printing powerpoint slides

print handouts instead of slides (6 slides per page!)

u can find this on the print settings page!

USE THINNER PAPER!!

when buying paper, keep a look out for the gms or g/m2 (grams per square meter)

thinner paper does not change the performance and can save u some $$

most printers work well with 70 and 80 gsm

just for reference, 70gsm uses and costs 15% more than 60gsm while 100gsm uses and costs 20% more than 80gsm

buy recycled paper and notebooks

a ton of paper made from recycled paper saves 4,100 kilowatt hours of energy, 7000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air emissions, and 3 cubic yards of landfill space

recycled notebooks from staples, barnes and noble

who said u needed to compromise on design? ciak, ecojot, calepino

e-books

be it on ibooks or kindle

ur saving so much more money as opposed to buying the paperback too!

if u rly rly enjoy a book, u may allow urself to buy the paperback, but most times we only read one book once 

ONLINE NEWS / MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS !!

these daily or monthly subscriptions can rly add up

subscribing online saves money AND space, and makes reading a lot easier and more convenient

donate to tree planting organisations and charities!

(all of these have been checked for at least 3 stars on charity navigator)

trees for the future (international), earth day canopy project (international), national forest foundation, forest trends

happy holidays everybody! hope this has been helpful, and i hope u will adopt some of these for 2018, remember we all share this earth, and we all have a v important part to play in taking care of our planet. 

- you are a studyblr

- you are super friendly

- you love when people message you

- you want to support everyone in the community