al

a medstud || trying to be a studyblr || loving art, phylology, and journalism || sherlocked

[wik-likes-studying-and-books-de]

02-05-22

a guide to retrospective revision timetables!

the study schedules and revision timetables that most people use are largely ineffective, but there's an easy solution! read my article about retrospective revision timetables to find out how you can plan your revision more effectively!

[al1299]

Just found out my faculty library collect this immersing-great-legendary book. Surely some terminologies had been distinct and unused now but the concept is, however, still accurate 💯

This was kept up in references shelf so can't be borrowed home. A sign I had to visit here more often.

As a non-native English people, to get the context comprehensively, I still have to search along dictionary on my other hand. I mean, scientific vocabularies are easy to be understood (especially the Latin-derived words) but for me some terms this book used are kinda unfamiliar and somehow ~biblical~. Ah... I must have to read much more English literature really.

*calling out police grammar out there* XD please don't hesitate to revise my caption down on the comment section

[exceli]

Learn how much sleep you really need. There are general guides based on your age group. However, every person is different, so it’s the best to access your sleep needs on your own. 2 ways to do that:

Keep sleep diary. Track your:  bed time | wake up time | total hours of sleep | feelings after waking up (exhausted, refreshed, etc) | energy levels throughout the day Alternatively, print one of these a bit more extensive diaries from: NHS | National Sleep Foundation Harvard Medical School | Anxiety Canada After tracking for 1-2 weeks try looking for patterns and determine what works the best for you.

Take a sleep vacation. This might be a little easier than the diary. Basically, for a week or two go to bed at the same time without setting an alarm, allowing your body to wake up naturally.. After a while, you will notice that you’re getting the same amount of sleep.

Decide on your permanent & consistent sleeping times. I.e., when you need to go to bed and wake up in order to get enough sleep. 

If you struggle with oversleeping, everyday try to wake up 5-10 min. earlier than the day before. Until you wake up at the time you need.

If you struggle with waking up & snooze button is your bff:

Put your alarm clock as far away from the bed as possible.

Use alarm apps that make you take a photo, solve maths problems, receive a call from a stranger: Alarmy | Wakie | I Can’t Wake Up | More…

Drink a glass of water right after you wake up.

Pour another glass of water on yourself.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  (u do what u gotta do)

Prepare cold brew coffee, leave it by your bedside, drink it right after you hit your alarm. Alternatively, buy some caffeine pills and take one  with a big glass of water  right after wake up.

Have your blinds/curtains open the night before, so that it’s bright after you wake up.

ALTERNATIVE FOR EVERYTHING IF YOU’RE RICH AF: buy one of those wearable fancy health monitors, connect it to some fancy app and SAD lamp that will wake up up feeling refreshed and alive.

If you struggle with going to sleep on time:

Limit your caffeine intake to 6 hours before your bedtime.

Try to limit your screen time at least 1h before bed.

Install blue light filters on your phone/laptop.

Do something relaxing (read, meditate, journal, drink tea, etc)

Try not to eat a lot before going to bed.

Try bed sheet sprays, like lavender.

Basically, establish a nighttime routine with all of these (skin care, reading, change into pajamas, etc), pavlov condition your brain to get sleepy when you do all of those things.

If you still can’t fall asleep, and been lying in bed for hours, get up and do something relaxing, like reading or listening to music. Lying in bed awake can create an unhealthy link between your sleeping environment and wakefulness. Instead, you want your bed to generate sleepy thoughts and feelings only.

Try to keep your sleeping schedule consistent. It is really important to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Even if it’s weekend. Or even if that means getting less than 7hrs of sleep that day. I’d say waking up at the same time everyday is the most important step, which will help you the most with fixing your sleeping schedule.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH LONG TERM HEALTH CONDITIONS, OR ARE SEVERELY UNDERWEIGHT/OBESE, PLEASE IGNORE THIS STEP AND RATHER SEEK HELP FROM A DIETITIAN AND/OR YOUR FAMILY DOCTOR.

This step really depends from person to person, but firstly I suggest you take some blood tests to see if you have any deficiencies, etc. Especially, if you struggle with cravings.

Try intermittent fasting, if you struggle with binge eating or overeating. As it will help you to learn to listen to your body better: when it’s hungry, when it’s full, etc. It’s really simple, there are many methods of intermittent fasting, but I’d suggest 16/8 for the beginners. (You can find a short guide here or google for more information)

DRINK ALL THE WATER. Again, if you’re not drinking enough water, try to level up your water game incrementally. Download some water tracking app on your phone to help you. Drinking water will make you more energetic, increase your metabolism, and decrease you appetite (among many other benefits). If you really struggle with meeting your water intake:

Reward yourself when you meet your daily/weekly goals.

Drink through the straw - idk why, but you are going to drink much more if you use a straw. Trust me.

Get a nice water bottle.

Flavour your water with fruits etc.

Check this video for more tips

Track what you eating. I would really suggest tracking your meals for around a month. Because, most of the time people have no idea that what they’re eating is unhealthy. Again, download an app like this one for that.

Make your own meals once in a while. Not only this will save you money, but it’ll help you to see what’s really going into your body. Start by doing that once/week and build it up depending how much time you have.

Eat more veggies/fruits. Go to your local market and buy some veggies/fruits, you have never tried before. I’m sure you’ll find your new favs. LEARN HOW TO COOK THEM. Experiment: boil, stir fry, ~roast~…

Eat/buy less meat. Not only it’s good for the environment, but it is good for you, too. Get a veggie burger instead of the beef one, increase the portions of your veggie sides, try meatless Mondays, etc. (Here’s some more tips)

Cut dairy. Find your new favourite milk substitute. Advice: Oat milk is amazing with the tea and oatmeal/porridge; hazelnut milk is amazing on it’s own; cashew milk goes well with cereals.

Learn more about nutrition in general. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH! It will help you to make better food choices and it will make eating healthy much easier in general, because once you understand all the chemistry behind the food and what it does to your body, you kinda don’t want to make yourself feel terrible. Here are some free resources: – Human nutrition course from Alison.com – Crash course Metabolism&Nutrition: Part 1 and Part 2 – The Health Nerd’s YouTube Playlist about nutrition – What I’ve Learnt YouTube Playlist – Free Nutrition courses on edX

Define your goals. Do you want to lose weight, do you want to get stronger, gain weight, be able to climb the stairs without losing your breath, run 5k, punch god in the face?

Remember - you’re already half-way there. Being physically fit has a lot to do with what you put into your body. So, if you fulfilled the previous step of eating healthy - you have done ½ of the work!

Make a plan. A Reasonable plan. Be honest with yourself. Alternatively, there are many already-made plans to save your time. E.g., Couch to 5k for running, Beginners 30-day exercise guide, 30 days of yoga…

Start small. Like, 5 min exercise in the morning. Or doing 10 sit ups per day. Don’t do anything overwhelming, like running 5k everyday if you haven’t run for the past 5 years.

Make sure that you kinda like what you’re doing. If you absolutely hate running - don’t do it. Hate doing sit ups in the morning? Try yoga instead.

Explore, until you find what you like. You don’t have to go to gym to get fit, especially if you hate it. Find a type of exercise that you actually like. Maybe it’s dancing or hiking, taking your dog for a walk. Sign up for several trial lessons at various sport clubs. Ditch ‘em, if you have to, until you find something that you love. Stick with that.

Do the small changes in your everyday life. Stairs>Escalator, Walk>Drive, Do some squats while brushing your teeth, switch from regular desk to standing desk, etc…  Find ways to incorporate being active into your everyday life as, unfortunately, evolution hasn’t caught up with out sedentary lives yet.

Track your effort instead of your progress. You cannot really control your progress that much (especially if your goal is to lose weight). However, you can always control your effort. So measure it instead. This will leave you more motivated as you will be able to see that you can do more and more everyday. Whereas, if you tracked your progress, you may not always get the result you hoped for, which might demotivate you and make you upset, wanting to quit.

Do the previous 3 steps and you’re 10 miles ahead as mental health depends A LOT on the physical health.

See a therapist/doctor. Depression is an illness requiring medical treatment. So, get it. Remember: there is absolutely no shame in having a mental illness as there would be no shame if you had flu, broken leg, or a headache…

Learn about it. Knowledge is power. Learning to notice unhealthy thinking patterns and dissociate yourself from them can help a lot. Here are some resources on depression: – Short TED-Ed video “What is depression?” – Long TED talk about depression – MIND Understanding Depression Booklet – “What causes depression?” by Harvard Medical School – “Understanding Depression in Young People” online course – “Understanding Depression and Anxiety” Open University course

Get extra support. Talk to your friends or family. Or maybe someone on the internet: 

7 Cups free chat services: website | android | iOS 

Subreddits: r/mentalhealth, r/depression, r/suicidewatch

Write it down. If you don’t want to talk - write down your thoughts. It can be just as helpful. It’ll help you to understand yourself better, notice errors in your thinking, etc. Buy a cheap notebook (or expensive one, up to you) and start a journal. Try being consistent by writing every morning or evening or both, but DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF if you miss some days. Read through your past entries. Analyse them. Extract the lessons.

Distract yourself from yourself. Get something to take care of, so that for a moment you can stop thinking about yourself. Try volunteering or get a plant, or a dog, a fish… Focus on them. On keeping them alive and well. 

Self-care day. Dedicate at least one day per week for self-care. Take yourself out to a museum or some fancy cafe, do some stuff you like, whatever your hobbies are, do some physical self care: bath, face mask, manicure, etc., listen to some nice music, watch a film…

Try self-help options. Sadly, therapy is not always available and your friends/family doesn’t always know what to do or say. Luckily there are TONS of resources online: – NHS Low Mood and Depression: A Self-Help Guide  – Pacifica (website | android | iOS ): offers psychologist-designed tools to address stress, anxiety, and depression based on CBT, mindfulness meditation, mood/health tracking.     – Moodpath (website | android | iOS): interactive two-week depression, burnout, and stress test that tracks your emotional and physical well-being – MIND self-care guide for depression

Manage your emotions. The biggest cause of procrastination is an inability to navigate negative emotions associated with doing a thing. You need to learn to recognize your negative feelings and realize that procrastination is primarily about “feeling good now”. Studies have shown that mindfulness can help you with that. –Getting started with Mindfulness Guide.

Figure your reasons why. Procrastinators often suffer from lack of identity, don’t know what they want to achieve, or why they want to achieve it. It’s hard to work towards a goal, when you don’t have one. Also, people who are ‘social perfectionists’ and are motivated to work because of other people’s/society’s expectations rather than their own sense of accomplishment are more likely to procrastinate.

Divide your tasks into concrete smaller goals. Sometimes things seem to be hard because they are very vague. e.g. “working on my thesis” or “studying for my class” often means doing nothing, whereas “reading 4 pages of a textbook to understand a concept I need to summarize in my thesis” is a concrete, broken down goal.

Celebrate your victories instead of mourning over your loses. So the only thing you’ve done today was write one sentence for your 20 page essay? Amazing! Buy yourself some candy for that!! I mean, you could’ve done nothing, but you didn’t - you wrote that one sentence and that’s worth celebrating. 

Redefine the success - doing something is a hundred million times better than doing nothing. Also, if something is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly. 

Do it for only 2 minutes. If there’s an important thing you’ve been putting off for a while, tell yourself that you will only spend 2 minutes on doing it. If after 2 minutes you don’t want to do it anymore, great, stop it. However, after 2min. you actually might want to do more. No pressure either way.

Track your productivity. Track how much time you’ve been productive that day. Try to increase that time by a little bit every day.

Always forgive yourself. So, it’s been a week and you’ve done nothing? Don’t sweat it. Let it go. Blaming yourself will bring you absolutely nothing. Nothing good will come out of your negativity on yourself. So stop it. Forgive yourself and start again. And again, if you need to. Never stop trying. Always pick yourself after you fall. Beating procrastination and increasing your discipline is a skill. And all skills can be build on. There is nothing in you stopping you from changing. Remember that. More resources here: – “9 Reasons You Procrastinate (and 9 Ways to Stop)” PsychologyToday –  Solving Procrastination Website – “Helping Students Who Procrastinate” lecture by Tim Pychyl

Visit your doctor, if nothing works and procrastination is severely  impacting your life. Sometimes procrastination can be a symptom of an illness, like Anxiety or ADHD. If you are chronically procrastinating for a long time and nothing seems to help, talk to your doctor and ask for a psychological/psychiatric assessment. You may be referred for therapy or given medication that will help to deal with procrastination. 

Go to google.com.

Type in: “How to do taxes *the name of the country you’re living in*”

Read the results.

Alternatively, if you like socialising, ask some adults, whom you know, about it. Trust me, older people love teaching the youth. Learn all the lessons you can from them.

Remember that just as with beating procrastination, making phone calls is a skill. And, again, skills can be learnt.

Get a new SIM card. Top it up.

Call some local business (cafe, restaurant, shop, vet, etc). Ask some random questions, write them down if you fear of forgetting them. Some examples: – What time do you open tomorrow? – Are you open this Sunday? – Do you cater for people with dairy allergies?  – My cat hasn’t eaten for the whole day, what should I do? – Alternatively, you can pretend that you dialed a wrong person and talk about whatever until they stop you, e.g.: You: “Hey!! You won’t believe what I saw today! You: *start telling a made-up story*” Them: “Uhm.. sorry I think you’ve dialed a wrong number“ You: “Oh, my bad. Thanks, bye“ You: *hang up*

If you’re really struggling, write down and follow this format, rehearse it if you need: You: Hi, is this *the name of the institution”? Them: Yes, how can I help you. You: I was wondering *insert a question from a list* Them: *answer the question* You: Thank you, what about *insert another question* Them: *doesn’t know the answer* You: That’s okay. I will look it up myself / I will call you back later.  Thank you for your help. Have a nice day!

If you get uncomfortable or mess up - just drop the call. Use fake names. No consequences whatsoever. Or say “Sorry, wrong number”, “Sorry, I gotta go”, “ I apologise, I need to hang up, I’ll call you back.”

Repeat until you build up your game and your phone-call anxiety starts to diminish. You can also start with calling your friends/family first, if you’re comfortable with that.

Bonus tips for serious calls: 

Remember it’s okay to ask a person on the other side to repeat what they said, if you couldn’t understand it. Despite it being a 21st century, phone calls still give a crappy quality sound. Everyone knows that and will understand you. Just say “Oh, sorry didn’t hear that, could you repeat again”, “the signal seems to have gotten weak, couldn’t quite catch that, please say it again”, etc. Once, I had to ask it five times, but then again, the other time I’ve been asked to repeat myself 7 times, too. No one cares. It says nothing about your language, speaking, listening, or whatever abilities. 

It’s okay to take a short break if you’re overwhelmed or if you need to look up something. Don’t stress out about having to answer someone immediately. Just say “give me a sec, I’ll look it up”, “could you please hang on for a minute”, “Oh sorry, pizza man’s at my door, I’ll be back shortly”. Lie, come up with your own reason to get away. No one cares. Just let them know that you’ll be back on the phone soon.

Don’t be afraid to ask them what they’re thinking. Phone calls can be intimidating cause you can’t see another person’s face/reactions. But if you do want/need to know them, just ask. “What you thinking?”, “How do you feel about this?”, “Sorry, you went quiet, did I say something wrong?”. 

Don’t feel pressured to answer immediately or hate the “awkward silences”. If you need to think in order to give an answer, just say so: “Give me a minute to think about this”, “I’m not sure I can answer this right now, I need time to think it over”, etc… 

Here you are in your peak mental & physical health. Go prove all those haters wrong. Follow your dreams. Do what you wanna do. And when new issues arise, remember that there are tons of resources out there to help you out. The important thing is that you actually implement those resources. Information is out there, but you still gotta do the work. And you can do the work. Remember all the times you already did it. You learnt to walk, to talk, to read, to count, to ride a bike… algebra, a second language?, using a computer, driving… etc… You overcame so many obstacles so far. You learned from them. You can do it. It’s over for everyone and everything that wants you to think otherwise.

(before reblogging, click here to check for the updated version of this post)

[vaststudies]

School, Studying, and Learning Masterpost!!!

[id: an animated black and white gif of a person tapping a pencil on a blank sheet of notebook paper. /end id]

Dividers used are by @firefly-graphics and their IDs are in the alt text! | Pt 2 | pt 3

Tips for school in general

General school tips, dealing with online class, strategies for school in general, etc

Attention and Concentration

How to pay better attention in online classes | another

Strategies to improve concentration

How to stick to your plans

Schoolwork and Tasks

Review Tips and Presentation Advice

Dealing with executive dysfunction masterpost

How to use google search like a unicorn

How to annotate a text

General Tips

For the lazy night owl (masterpost)

University tips and advice

Avoiding burnout (tips + resources)

Dealing with impostor syndrome

Good emotional skills to know for college but also for life in general

Grad school advice

Studying

Study Strategies and other study advice things

Studying general

For neurodiverse students (masterpost)

Studying with ADHD (the actual post is a joke about but check the notes - they have actual advice there)

How to study for an exam in a really short time (masterpost)

Scheduling studying + other productivity tips (masterpost)

Studying effectively

Lazy Study Tips

Study tips from a Psychology Prof

Studying with a study buddy

Study Breaks

On productive breaks

Types of study breaks

How to deal with mental fatigue

Note taking

Hybrid note taking nethod

Note taking guide

Upgrade your notes resources masterpost

Using google docs to take notes

Resources

Resources that could be useful for school and academics

Self study

Self study resources (masterpost)

Learn things for free (masterpost)

Textbooks | more textbooks

Sites to download literature masterpost

Free online courses

Technology and Apps

Asmr ambiences (masterpost)

Productivity apps and extensions (masterpost)

Wallpapers screensavers and apps

Productivity apps masterpost

Specific Subjects

Resources and Tips on specific subjects

Language Related

Languages and linguistics of africa

75 free language learning resources

American Sign Language

Mandarin learning resources

Classical language learning

Arts

Course on reading poetry

Cultural quarantine masterpost

Sewing resources

Misc

Video essays | Essays/Food for thought

Computer science and engineering masterpost

IB Psychology Study Tips

How to study for mathematics

Study tips for accounting students

Black History Library

Other Studyblr and Academic Stuff

Not much school related but I included because they could be useful

Journaling/Bujo

Journal prompts

How to fill your empty notebooks (masterpost)

Studyblr

Dividers graphics for posts

How to start a studyblr | another post

Misc

Master the art of napping

Job interview tips + masterpost

Use firefox instead of chrome

Actual frugal recipes (lots of helpful websites and links)

[suhyla]

beautiful list of duaas 🌸

[suhyla]

last hour between asr and maghrib is sa'at istijabah! meaning all your duaas will be answered at this time inshallah so take advantage :) I also recommend everyone pull out the notes app and write down a few special duaas to make for you and you loved ones inshallah - make big duaas with certainty in Allah's generosity and mercy. Allah accept 🌸

[violetsnotebook-archive]

Just curious if you dont mind me asking, what do you interpret that one post (the at some point the topic just becomes 'do you have compassion for other people'...) as meaning? I saw that and its just been bugging me as to what it means haha. Like I could see it as meaning when people refuse to accept their behavior is hurtful to others? Or when someone seems to do nothing but be hateful to the point you wonder if they have any compassion?? You dont have to answer this if you dont feel up to it!

the post reads: “at some point the topic just becomes “do you have compassion for other people” because that’s really all that’s left” 

Hi anon! Thanks for the ask!

When I first saw the post I thought about how a lot of arguments and discourse could be viewed from literally a thousand perspectives. And that’s normal and healthy because we’re all different as individuals. It gets very complicated sometimes! But personally I think the most complex issues in politics or regarding the environment for instance could easily be settled by just asking one simple question: do you care about people? And that’s it. You either do or you don’t. I personally think that’s all that matters.

For example, illegal immigration and the Dreamers. People can argue that it’s bad to set a precedent or it’s bad for the economy, etc. There are many varying reasons why it’s a hot button issue. But personally, at the end of the day I think it’s just down to whether or not we care about people. Is it okay to deport children back to countries they don’t even remember? Is it okay to break apart families? Is it okay to hold children like dogs at a pound because they’re trying to seek refuge from a violent situation? If you’re only looking at it from an economic or security perspective (or whatever other republican bs there is) you might say yes, it’s okay. But if you care about people, I think it’s simple. No, these conditions are absolutely not okay. I could go on and on but you didn’t ask for a full on dissertation lol.

Anyway, I know this all sounds so idealistic. Of course there are a lot of nuances and context we’re not always aware of and that’s where the argument arises. But that’s how I interpreted the post.

I think a lot of the stuff we humans get caught up in (politics, entertainment, etc.) are all very temporary and superficial. They’re all very “in the moment” whims or trends. We seldom remember how our actions and decisions create lifelong ripples in the lives of other people. So I think at the end of the day, we can disagree on the semantics or the tiny details, or whatever. But sometimes the only factor that’s left to consider, the most important point, is if it will have a positive effect on others--if you’re capable of compassion or not :)

[destinyrush]

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Black Lives Matter is doing something really important.”

Nigerian novelist and short story writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is sharing her thoughts on the striking difference between how Black people are seen in Nigeria and America and the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement on Channel 4 News.

Full video

#BlackLivesMatter

[kayyishwr]

Sebuah Resensi Buku; Sang Pangeran dan Janissary Terakhir

Penulis : Salim A Fillah

Jumlah Halaman : 632

Penerbit : Pro U Media

“Maktuuubb…”

Mungkin kata ini yang sangat teringat dibenak saya tentang novel ini. Hahaha, pokoknya kalau yang sudah baca novel ini, pasti juga yang paling diinget kata ini, dan yang belum baca, berarti ini sedikit spoiler dari sekian banyak kisah yang ada.

Jujur ketika Ust Salim A Fillah, sedikit membocorkan bahwa beliau akan menulis novel bertema sejarah, dan ditulis dalam beberapa caption foto di akun instagram (@salimafillah) saya tidak sabar untuk segera beli dan baca. Karena, nampaknya beliau harus ‘tanggung jawab’ heheh, berkat tulisan-tulisan bahkan buku yang beliau tulis, saya jadi ketagihan membaca dan menulis, sampai-sampai saya berani berfikiran, ‘ah, sepertinya beliau ini mentor online saya’ heheheh.. (maaf kalau terkesan kurang sopan 😊 )

Bagaimana tidak, hampir seluruh buku beliau sudah saya baca (kecuali buku pernikahan, karena saya berazzam enggak akan baca buku itu, sebelum benar-benar siap nikah), website resmi beliau juga seringkali saya kunjungi, twitter dan instagram juga sudah saya follow, bahkan pernah dengan kurang sopan (lagi) meminta foto di Masjid Jogokariyan hanya dengan mention twitter heheh (kalau diinget jadi malu), tapi alhamdulillah, bisa mengenal beliau dari SMP, ya minimal sedikit-sedikit lagi berusaha jadi baik

Novel Sang Pangeran dan Janissary Terakhir adalah novel fiksi-sejarah, maka saya rekomendasikan untuk siapapun, agama apapun, berpangkat apapun, untuk membacanya. Karena ini bukan novel tentang yang khusus ditujukkan untuk kalangan intelektual saja, bukan juga untuk orang muslim saja, juga bukan untuk kaum elite saja, tapi novel ini ditulis untuk semua orang agar bisa menikmati sejarah yang pernah ada dalam bentuk cerita. Jadi, buat kamu yang merasa ‘Open Minded’ dan belum baca novel ini dengan berbagai alesan, fix kamu belum ‘Open Minded’ wkwkw..

Novel ini konon ditulis dengan dasar riset selama 2 tahun, masyaAllah, membayangkan saja tidak bisa apalagi melakukan. Bukan bermaksud pesimis, tapi kalau dilihat dari kesibukkan beliau yang tidak hanya seorang penulis, rasa-rasanya hampir tidak mungkin ditiru oleh banyak orang. Tapi, dibalik susah payah penulis dalam mengupayakan hadirnya novel ini, ternyata (katanya) ada yang dengan ‘kurang ajar’ menghabiskannya dalam waktu hanya satu hari, walah walah, saya aja target dua hari malah jadi empat hari lebih.

Setiap penulis memiliki ciri khasnya, begitu pula Ust Salim A Fillah. Awal-awal membacanya saya berfikir, ‘wah ini, bukan kaya Ust Salim yang tak kira selama ini je’. Pasalnya agak rumit membaca cerita-cerita di awal, pertama kita harus membacanya dengan sangat teliti dan tekun, kedua harus benar-benar fokus mengikuti alur dengan baik, dan ketiga harus hafal nama-nama tokohnya yang sangat buaaanyyaaakk.

Bagian tengah pun tak kalah rumit, khususnya bagi orang luar jawa, atau orang jawa tapi yang tidak terlalu mengenal jawa. Bagaimana tidak, banyak sekali istilah-istilah jawa yang dipakai dan itu bukan bahasa sehari-hari yang kita kenal, belum lagi masalah latar belakang yang berpindah-pindah dari satu tempat ke tempat lainnya, mungkin yang saya agak ingat itu Yogyakarta, Purworejo, dan sepertinya Banyumas (daerah ngapak seperti kota saya juga ikut disebut heheheh)

Akhir yang buruk tidak banyak disukai, akhir yang baik sangat digandrungi, bagaimana dengan akhir yang menggantung? Ya, mungkin itu sedikit gambaran bagian akhir novel ini, agak sedikit menggantung. Walaupun semakin seru ketika membaca bagian-bagian akhir novel ini, dimana banyak sekali fakta terungkap tentang pengkhianatan yang terjadi, ide licik yang terlaksana dan juga beberapa tokoh yang wafat, akhir novel ini dirasa saya membuat banyak orang belum puas untuk membacanya. Tapi, justru menjadi hal yang bagus, karena denger-denger, novel ini hanya bagian satu dari trilogi cerita Pangeran Diponegoro tulisan Ust Salim A Fillah

Daaann, ketika sudah benar-benar rampung membaca buku ini, pandangan saya berubah, yang tidak percaya bahwa ini tulisan Ust Salim Fillah, menjadi percaya seutuhnya bahwa beliau memang telah berhasil menulis novel, ya gaya khas beliau sebagaimana pernah ditulis oleh penerbit Pro U Media, “alurnya cepat, meliuk-liuk dengan gesit”

Agak berbeda dengan Habiburroham El Shirazy yang menggambarkan tempat (khususnya luar negeri) dan kejadian dengan amat sangat detail di novel-novel yang telah ditulisnya, Ust Salim A Fillah masih agak kurang dalam memvisualisasikan apa yang beliau ceritakan. Ya, mungkin karena tadi, ciri khas beliau dalam menulis alur itu cepat sekaliii..

Sepertinya, ini resensi buku terpanjang yang pernah saya pernah tulis, bahkan kalau kata teman saya, ‘1000 kata itu kurang yo, buat nulis resensi Novel Sang Pangeran dan Janissary Terakhir’, dan saya rasa memang begitu. Novel ini, selain sebagaimana umumnya berisi kisah cinta dan humor yang sedikit menghibur, juga berisi hikmah-hikmah dari jawa yang mungkin banyak orang belum tau (termasuk saya). Mulai dari pilar-pilar Masjid Agung Jogja yang berjumlah sembilanpuluh sembilan, makna adanya tumbuhan sawo, ukiran buah nanas, dua pohon beringin yang ada di alun-alun, arti dari nama jalan yang ada di Yogyakarta, hingga beberapa hal yang sebenarnya dekat dengan kita, namun masih asing pengetahuan makna di baliknya.

Sebagai contoh Nasi Uduk dan Keris.

Makna Nasi Uduk dijelaskan dengan apik dalam sebuah percakapan, dimana awalnya nasi tersebut disamakan oleh nasi khas timur tengah, semacam nasi mandhi, namun yang membedakan ada pada proses pembuatan, dimana Nasi Uduk dikaru dengan santan bukan dengan minyak samin. Maka, karena santan itu, diberi nama nasi wuduk, yang berarti gurih dan pandanan katanya mirip dengan wudhu, jadilah falsafah Nasi Uduk ini sebagai perlambangan, jika seseorang bisa menjaga wudhu (kesuciannya) dalam hidup, maka akan terasa gurih.

Belum lagi lauknya, Ayam Ingkung, dimasak dalam keadaan utuh, diikat dengan welat, diposisikan menyerupai orang sujud. Maka, setelah wudhu, setelah bersuci, selayaknya manusia itu hidup untuk beribadah kepada Allah, dalam rangka mengingatNya. Bahkan, masalah sambalnya saja, MasyaAllah, namanya Sambal Gepleng. Sambal yang terbuat dari cabai, garam, bawang putih, kedelai goreng, dan ikan asin kecil, kemudian di gepleng, dipukul sampai pipih dan lumat, ini memiliki makna yang lain, gepleng juga berarti ‘sregep geleng-geleng’. Maka, jika kita makan nasi uduk lengkap dengan tau maknanya, kita akan sadar, bahwa hidup harus menjaga kesuciaan, beribadah kepada Allah, sujud 5 kali satu hari, dan terus berdzikir sepanjang waktu.

“Maktuuubb…” Lho saya jadi ikut-ikutan heheheh..

Terakhir tentang keris, benda yang sering dikeramatkan oleh sebagian masyarakat jawa karena dipercaya yang memilikinya akan punya kekuatan khusus. Padahal, keris ini merupakan senjata yang dibuat untuk sebisa mungkin tidak digunakan, maka disebut dengan sipat kendel. Sipat artinya garis, Kendel artinya tebel. Maka, maknanya adalah garis tebal yang membentengi pemiliknya agar tidak mudah untuk memperturutkan hawa nafsunya.

MasyaAllah…

Jadi, di akhir resensi ini, saya sedikit berani menyimpulkan, bahwa novel ini adalah tentang cinta, dakwah, budaya, dan sejarah. Novel ini menjadi pelepas dahaga bagi banyak orang tentang makna cinta, tentang keindahan dakwah, tentang kearifan budaya, dan pentingnya paham sejarah.  

[samsstudygram]

ways to study for exams that are actually productive

use actual note cards for vocab. yes, apps like quizlet are dandy when you’re on the go, but actually physically writing out each note card helps put the information into memory faster than typing them.

visual learner? make charts and diagrams. they don’t have to be pretty. the lines don’t have to be perfectly straight. it doesn’t have to be photogenic. but if it helps you learn, do it.

after you take notes (in class or at home/from your text book), write down possible quiz questions about the material on the next page while it’s still fresh in your mind. later on when you’re studying for the test, use these questions to gauge what specifics out of that chapter you need to work on the most.

start sooner rather than later. i know, you’ve heard this a million times from every teacher ever. but it’s legit. especially as you get into harder level classes and college courses because there is literally so much material that the tests cover that you simply can not accurately learn all of it over night. instead, start about 10 days in advance (but of coarse, the sooner the better).

studying doesn’t have to be a big giant study session that takes hours. if you start far enough in advance, study sessions can be around an hour, hell even 45 minutes is a good. if you go too long in one study session your brain will be fried and studying will be pointless because your brain won’t be processing any of it. that’s why it’s important to take breaks and not just cram for 5 hours the night before an exam.

actually study. hold yourself accountable and make your education a priority. if you have homework and studying to do, make it a priority over going partying or watching tv. there will be another party. you can dvr your show. you can’t take your test on a later day because you don’t feel ready. so be ready.

be careful with study groups. if you have a study group with all of your best friends, lets face it, you’re going to end up spending more time talking about harry styles and supernatural than actually studying. it’s better to have a study group with people who are your friends, but not best friends. and it’s better to keep it between 5-7 people so that everyone can be involved.

if the material is just super confusing and you can’t seem to understand it no matter how hard you study, it’s not you. it’s the way you were taught it. each teacher teaches a bit differently, and maybe their style of teaching just isn’t for you. if this happens, find a way that explains it the best for you. for example, if chemistry is just super confusing for you, try watching the Crash Course chemistry videos on youtube or have a friend explain it to you. this will give you a completely different perspective on the material and will help you understand it better.

at the end of the day, remember that everything will be okay. studying can be stressful, especially if it’s in a class that you struggle in. but i promise you that you are not the only one who struggles sometimes in school, it’s a part of being human. as long as you actually put in an effort and try your best, be proud of yourself. take a deep breath. and remember: you got this.

[samsstudygram]

college study tips that actually help

put your phone on silent and put it across the room

listen to classical/soundtrack music without lyrics

make index cards for important vocab

wear pajamas

make diagrams and pictures. they don’t have to look pretty, as long as you understand it

make timelines for historical events

have a light snack

drink coffee or tea to keep you going

take a break every hour or so

have one pencil/black pen and one colored pen or highlighter. anything more will just distract you. the aesthetics aren’t important, your knowledge is

don’t be afraid to email/message your teacher or a classmate if you don’t understand something. the last thing you want to do is learn the incorrect information

know that sleep and health is more important than your grade. you cannot perform as well on a test if you are tired or sick. take care of yourself

it’s not a race. it’s not about who can learn something in the quickest time, it’s about learning

take a deep breath 

prioritize your homework by how long it will take you and when it’s due

plan some you time in between studying and school

if you’re mentally exhausted, set a timer for 30 minutes and take a nap. any longer and you’ll wake up even more tired

don’t understand something? that’s perfectly fine, don’t stress over it. ask for help rather than complaining

have a goal in mind and write them down. say things like “i am getting an education so i can get the job of my dreams. the life that i want. the happiness that i deserve”

be thankful. it is a privilege that you get to go to school and get an education. 

you got this.

[samsstudygram]

types of study breaks for every situation

if you realize you’ve been studying for hours: grab a snack to refuel your body and watch a sitcom to refuel your brain. then back to the books.

if you’re feeling stressed out: take some deep breaths, text your friends, maybe stare at a wall for a few minutes. gather yourself.

if you can’t seem to focus: get moving and get outside. take out the garbage, check your mail box, maybe walk your dog. just get moving and get fresh air. it’ll help bring you back.

if there’s something else going on in your life and you can’t get it off your mind: write down what’s going through your head, sort of like a diary entry. it’ll help you work things out.

if you’re just mentally and physically exhausted: set a timer for 25-30 minutes and take a nap. any longer and you’ll hit REM and you’ll wake up feeling just as tired. once you wake up, get some caffeine in you.

if the material is boring as hell: find another way to study. see if there’s a crash course video online about it or draw out what you’re trying to learn in diagrams and pictures to make it fun.

if people around you won’t shut up: listen to some music. soundtrack and classical music is always good because they won’t absorb you as much as music with lyrics. white noise (like ocean waves, rain sounds, etc.) also works.

if you only half understand a concept: call/message a friend who’s not in the class and try to teach the material to them. this will help you mentally work through the material and will help you remember it as well.

[academiceve]

Study Resources for Psychology

I’ve been meaning to write a blog post including study resources for my fellow psychology students! If you don’t know, I studied and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology before continuing my studies in Neuroscience research, you can read more about that HERE. I felt like I needed to pay a tribute to my undergraduate years by compiling a list of useful resources that I used as a psychology student. I hope you find this useful!

TIME MANAGEMENT, PRODUCTIVITY, ORGANISATION 

I’m starting this list off with my favourite productivity and time management study resources, as I’ve written several other blog posts on the topic and have shared my favourite tools to stay organised at university. I think they deserve a mention because these are crucial skills that every student needs to learn during their bachelor’s degree! 

An old guide filled with organisation tips for university students 

Time management

How to have a productive study session 

A list of my favourite apps for university 

A guide on how to organise your digital life for university

WHAT STUDYING PSYCHOLOGY IS ACTUALLY LIKE

I’ve written blog posts about my personal experience of being a psychology major in the past, so if you’re wondering about my thoughts on this major or you would like to find more information about what studying psychology at university is actually like, I highly recommend you check out these posts:

Answering questions about studying psychology at university 

Why you should consider studying psychology

GENERAL STUDY TIPS FROM YOURS TRULY

This section includes some of the study tips I have shared in the past! I have a comprehensive guide about how I studied during my undergraduate years, in order to receive straight A’s at the end of the year and become an honours student, as well as revision and note taking tips!

The big post with all of my best study tips

Exam revision tips

My physical note taking guide

ACTUAL RESOURCES

Welcome to the most important part of this post, the actual psychology study resources that I wanted to share with you all. Some of these are random websites that you’re definitely going to use during your degree, some are additional tools to enhance learning outside of the classroom (videos and books). I’m going to divide these resources into lists, so make sure that you check out the links!

BASICS

These are the basic websites that you will hear your professors and peers talk about daily, some are great for general news of what is currently going on in the field of psychology and others are useful for students while writing papers, etc. 

APA Website (I often used this for definitions, while researching career options or for writing papers; this website should not be a surprise for you)

Psychcentral (for general psychology resources, once again great for researching career or while writing papers)

PsychologyToday (great for news, as well as an information resource for group presentations)

Psychology/Psychiatry Medical News Today (great for news and information, fun to read)

Feedly (for organising RSS feeds in one place!)

STUDY RESOURCES

Here are my most used additional resources for studying psychology. These resources are supposed to enhance your learning by making it a little bit more fun. If I didn’t understand a concept/topic and I needed extra information or was preparing for an exam and didn’t want to re-read a chapter again, I would turn to Google and YouTube. I still use YouTube videos for studying in graduate school! Additionally, some universities upload their lecture recordings on a variety of topics that students can access, all you need to do is to look for it! I would recommend looking up lectures on YouTube based on the psychology courses that you are taking. 

KhanAcademy (great for short videos explaining a topic!)

KhanAcademy YouTube Channel

CrashCourse: Psychology on YouTube (another great video resource)

Almostadoctor: Psychiatry Notes (could be useful for Abnormal psychology)

Quizlet (a wonderful resource for making flashcards and studying for exams, you can also look up your class to see if previous students have already made flashcards from your learning materials!)

FOR RESEARCH

If you need to write papers and you’re looking for resources that will help you with finding research articles, citing them correctly and making a reference list, I recommend these websites!

Google Scholar (it’s great because of free access to some articles but also if you click the citation marks, it gives you an automated APA reference for that article)

Sci Hub (we all love this woman! Although I cannot provide you with a current link, just Google it! This website is wonderful because it provides access to all research articles!)

EBSCO Host (a research article database that your university library probably has access to!)

JSTOR (another research article database, some articles are free)

Frontiers (a wonderful research journal that has free access, look at their psychology related journals!)

RefWorks (for referencing)

Zotero (for referencing)

Mendeley (the one I currently use for referencing, you can download them for your desktop)

Purdue APA formatting guide (if you need to write your papers in the APA style and format them correctly, this is the best resource for that!)

STATISTICS RESOURCES

Something that students struggle with in psychology is having to take statistics classes. I have some great resources that I used for writing lab reports and analysing data with SPSS (these resources are for SPSS only). 

Laerd Statistics (a beautiful website that explains it all!)

Discovering Statistics (if you’re a psych student then you know Andy Field and his SPSS textbook, this is his website full of useful resources for stats!)

Guide for Reporting Statistics in Psychology (my professors shared this with me, so here’s a download link from my Google Drive, I hope you find this useful!)

FUN RESOURCES

How can study resources be fun? Well, I loved my major enough to also want to read about it, as well as watch movies about it and occasionally take an additional online course during my summer breaks! Why? Because I genuinely love studying! I thought that these resources deserved a mention!

My Psychology book recommendations 

Psychology movie list (I should make my own sometime!)

edX Psychology Online Courses (you can take these for free!)

Coursera Psychology Online Courses (you can also take these for free!)

I tried to include only free resources for students to use! I hope that these links help you with studying at least a little bit! If you would like to read more from me, click HERE to see other blog posts! You can also follow my studygram HERE for some inspiration! 

[nikasholistic]

How to create a vision board that actually works

A vision board can be a great tool to help you achieve your goals. And let me tell you why. It’s all about understanding the RAS – Reticular Activating System. This is the part of your brain that determines what is important for you and what is not. Through this system, you perceive everything that surrounds you. So making a vision board is pretty much like setting tangible intentions. However, the key is to make them work for you.

First of all, you can create your vision board anywhere you want. It can be a digital vision board, I personally love to use Pinterest for that, or an actual board that you’re going to hang on the wall.  Whichever method you choose, your vision board must be easily accessible. You should look at it every single day.

Secondly, you should feel positive about your vision board. If you create your vision board from the perspective of lack, it will become the dominant vibration of your board. And you don’t want that, do you?

One good piece of advice I can give you is to start with something smaller. For instance, don’t put a picture of Tesla on your vision board if in your mind you’re like ‘ahh, that’s never going to happen’. Start with smaller goals, and once you’ve achieved them, your faith will increase. Belief starts in mind, whereas faith comes from your heart. That’s a significant difference.

Also, when you look at your vision board, be like an innocent child. Visualize these things, feel all of the feelings that having them will give you. It’s all about becoming the energy, remember.

Don’t get obsessed with your board, and don’t set any time limits. Instead, trust the Universe and the divine timing of your life. And the most important thing to understand: you can’t just sit on your couch and hope that these things will magically materialize before your very eyes. Go and make them happen! Vision boards don’t work unless you do.

So, what’s on your vision board? Tell me!

[nikasholistic]

My weird yet effective writing routine

To me, writing is quite an intuitive process. I basically just follow my gut. Nevertheless, throughout the years, I’ve been able to develop a pretty effective routine, and I’m going to share it with you now!

Writing circuits. I don’t know about you, but I’m super lazy, and I also love to procrastinate. So, instead of writing for three hours straight, I split this time into little circuits and plan them throughout the day. Let’s say I’ll write for an hour in the morning, then an hour and a half in the afternoon and so on. It’s also incredibly beneficial for your health – both mental and physical.

Have a plan.  I’m a discovery writer, and I don’t really outline that much. But as I go about my day – eg. when working out, or running, or cooking, or eating, or sitting and doing nothing because of this procrastination right – I think about what I want to accomplish. And I usually ask myself the following questions. What is the purpose of this scene? Which characters should appear in this scene? Should it be more visual or more internally-focused? What actually happens? How should I describe it? Thanks to this, I have a general plan, and I’m much more motivated to actually write instead of visualizing that scene in my head (we all know this, don’t we?).

Write. Then I write. I write whatever pops into my head. I don’t care if it’s logical. I don’t care how many times I use abruptly, saw, felt, etc. I just allow my imagination to create this story.

Notes. When I end my final little session, I usually leave some comments for myself. What’s going to happen next, what’s the next big thing I want for my characters, etc. Having these notes makes everything easier; I immediately know what I’m supposed to do.

Having fun. I don’t care about the word count, deadlines, or anything like that. I enjoy the process, and I’m always very grateful for everything I write. I actually have this cute/weird habit: Whenever I end my writing session, I say ‘thank you’. Out loud. (Yeah, awkward, huh?) Thank you for my amazing imagination which allows me to create places and people in my mind! This kind of approach always makes me happy and even more motivated for my next writing session.

[bronteandlovers]

how to survive bad school days, from morning till night

my last year of high school starts rather soon, and i’ve had more than my fair share of days when i wake up wanting to cry. there aren’t many things you can do when obligations like school force you to get over it as soon as it starts, so here are some tips to make your day better.

1. dress opposite the way you feel. even though sweats might be super tempting, dress up. wear your favorite pair of jeans, or a dress, or your cutest sneakers, even. wear bright colors at least. sweatpants and such will just make you feel even more blah and unfocused throughout the day. 

2. moisturize! this might seem like an odd idea, but moisturizing and going into school glowy and soft definitely helps me feel more comfortable and less ugh during the school day. it helps keep me in my home-y comfort zone, if that makes sense. 

3. carry something from home. this can be a book (even if you don’t read it), a tube of chapstick, a big waterbottle, etc… i have even gone as far as wrapping myself in a small blanket and walking around like that for the day. if you like this option and don’t feel comfortable wearing it, fold it up and place it in your backpack, just so you know it’s there.

4. plan out your day. even if it’s just making a mental note, tell and remind yourself of the things your going to do and when. this will get rid of any unnecessary stress and pressure. if something unexpected comes up, this will also help you manage your time a little better.

5. eat and drink happy things! pick today to pack a lunch, no matter what your usual routine is. drink plenty of water throughout this day, and eat as many fruits and veggies as you can. fill a reusable water bottle with water, fruit (like lemon or strawberries), and chia seeds! it’s perfect to sip throughout the day for a reboot or just to boost your mood. 

6. when you get home, bathe immediately! wash off the day’s dirt. drop everything as soon as you get home, and either jump in the shower or relax in a bath with your favorite soaps and scents and a book. give yourself a break before you have to get back to work.

7. don’t ignore your work. by work, i mean school work. if you’re having a bad day, don’t hesitate to take a break from talking to people or running (low-priority) errands. you don’t want to ignore schoolwork, though, because teachers aren’t the most lenient people in the world, and getting it done will take a lot off of your shoulders. pushing it away will only gain you more bad days. 

8. go to bed. get sleep! you want to be refreshed and happy for the next day, even if it’s a weekend. there’s a good chance your bad day began because you didn’t get enough sleep, or because you were ripped out of bed. reward yourself with rest after a long day. 

[bonduelle]

Apartment hacks masterpost

Kitchen

How to clean up kitchen (particularly the sink, burnt pots and small aplliances)

How to take care of kitchen stuff so that it lives longer

10 commandments of a clutter-free kitchen

Organizing kitchen mini masterpost

5 things to do in the kitchen before you go to bed

What is soapy bowl and why it’s awesome

How to organize your fridge (also here, here and here)

Thins you should know about your fridge

Adding more storage space in a tiny kitchen

Cleaning

Lots of cleaning tutorials and tips. And some more

How to clean up pantry

How to make your house look cleaner than it really is

How to wash pillows

Cleaning the bathroom

How to clean the nastiest places (and get rid of bad smells, etc.)

Floor-to-celling guide to spring cleaning

Recaulking your bathtub

Cleaning grout

How to dispose of toxic waste

Cleaning the medicine cabinet

How to make chores more fun

You mustn’t skip these chores, but you can delay these if you’re busy

Easily forgotten things that you should clean/replace

Why you need a catch-up day

Small cleaning tasks to do in under 15 minutes (also here)

Looking for a flat/moving

First apartment checklist

Where too look during an apartment hunt (and some more tips)

Negotiate these things with your landlord

What to do first in a new place

What do clean before moving out

How not to get crazy during moving flats

How to downgrade to a smaller place

Organisation, storage

10 habits for better home organisation

How to store off-season items

10 storage ideas for small spaces (more here)

Storage secret weapons

How to organise your closet

Things to do before twice-yearly closet switchout

How to store and maintain your sweaters

Decluttering

Why it feels great

How to get rid of clutter

How to declutter (not only a flat)

What needs to be thrown away from your flat

How to let go of the things you no longer need

Things you own too many of; you can throw away these too

Decuttering the bathroom

Decluterring masterpost

Decorating

Projects for every room in your home/flat

Add style to your home

DIY decorating ideas

How to use negative space

4 common decorating mistakes and how to avoid them

Questions to ask yourself before buying something new

How to choose furniture that’ll be easier to clean

Season-specific tips

Things to do before the cold season

Household hacks for winter

Preparing for Christmas

Green thumb 101

How to take care of succulents

Never kill a plant again

Living alone / Sharing a flat

How not to be lonely when living alone

12 things you can only do when home alone

What you learn by living alone

Things you learn while sharing a flat

What to pack when leaving for a dorm

How to seamlessly share a kitchen (or a flat in general)

Safety issues to discuss with flatmates

Benefits of living with strangers

And also how to turn a house into a home

[rage-against-the-dying-of-light]

Is this a call out post?

[oopsabird]

no, you dingus, it’s a reference post. also, stop putting your trash on the counter instead of in the bin.

[princesademonaco]

How to not hate studying

Making study time a relaxing experience is the ultimate hack to detach the stress/obligation factor from it and start learning in a pleasing way

Start early: when the deadline is far enough to not worry, that’s when it’s the perfect time. Timing will either add or susbtract anxiety.

Silence: white noise or classical tracks at a low volume can make a peaceful session but silence will give you a sharper focus. Try gradually transitioning into it if you need to.

The spot: this is up to you. I found i can concentrate best in a spot at home next to a window where i get plenty of natural light and i can see the backyard full of greenery.

Snacks: find what you like best and enjoy whilst studying. Remember to stay hydrated and that apples are great to boost your brain.

End your session when you finish a chapter: since i’ve been doing this it feels like a higher accomplishment and makes it clear when its over so you can relax afterwards. Also the next session will feel fresher and more organized right from the begining.

Reward: you dont have to do anything spectacular for it. Even just saying to yourself “i’m proud of you for this” is just enough.

These made the biggest difference early in my college journey. Hope it’s helpful!