Token Math Nerd

Hi! I'm Sarah. I'm an 18 year old freshman in college. I'm majoring in chemistry with a pre-pharmacy track and a math minor! I enjoy parrot pictures and YA novels!

[unfuckyourhabitat]

Emergency cleaning: Unfuck your whole house in the shortest time possible

So, your landlord/parents/home inspector/favorite movie star is dropping by, and your place is a disaster. You don’t have much time to clean it up. You’re in emergency mode. Let’s get started.

Don’t panic. Panic leads to fear, fear leads to procrastination, procrastination leads to the dark side. You can do this, but you have to stay calm.

Unlike maintenance cleaning, we’re not looking to completely unfuck one space at a time. Instead, we want to decrease the overall mess in stages, spread evenly across the whole area that we’re concerned about. If you think your home is at Level 10 filth, we want to bring the whole thing down to a Level 9, and then down from there. One really clean spot in an otherwise messy home is not going to be helpful here.

Get prepared. You’ll want to shut the computer down (or turn the modem off if you need your computer to play music). Trust me. Get your music going. Gather up trash bags, your vacuum and mop, some rags or paper towel, sponges, and other cleaning supplies. Use what you have on hand. Don’t get distracted running to the store and spending an hour browsing cleaning supplies. A multi-purpose cleaning concentrate or a jug of vinegar will be just fine.

Breaks are very important. Depending on your time constraints, work in 20/10s (20 minutes working, 10-minute break) or 45/15s. But take breaks because otherwise you’re marathoning, and marathon cleaning is no one’s friend. Keep hydrated, don’t forget to eat, and check in with yourself frequently to make sure you’re physically doing OK.

Make your bed. This will be your home base if you get overwhelmed or need somewhere clear to take a break.

Start with the garbage. Going from room to room, throw out anything that is obvious trash. Once you fill a bag, take it out. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Move on to dishes. Gather the dishes from all over your house and bring them to the kitchen. If you can, start them soaking in a sink of hot, soapy water or start loading the dishwasher. After the dishes are all in one place, spend one 20/10 getting started getting them under control.

Now it’s time for your flat surfaces. Countertops, tables, dresser tops, etc. Clear them off and wipe them down. Don’t get distracted in too much sorting and organizing. We’re in crisis mode here. There will be time to get in-depth once this is all done. The same applies to cabinets and closets. Unless you have reason to believe people will be opening closed doors, leave these alone for now.

Attack the floordrobe and shoe pile. Get your clothes either put away or in the hamper. Start a load of laundry if you need to, but keep in mind that laundry and dishes have three steps: wash, dry, and put it away, goddammit!

Get random stuff up off the floors. If something is trash-worthy, throw it away now rather than just move it around a bunch of times. Otherwise, put stuff where it belongs.

Take another 20/10 or 45/15 to catch up on more dishes, if needed.

Head into the bathroom. Pour some cleaner in the toilet bowl, fill the sink with hot water and cleaner, and either spray the tub and shower with cleaner, or fill the tub up with some hot water and add cleaner and let it soak. Put everything away that’s out and shouldn’t be, clean the mirror, counters, and toilet seat. Sweep or dry mop the floor. Wipe down the sink and tub/shower, and give the toilet bowl a scrub. Mop the floor.

Sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

Vacuum everything you can, and sweep everything you can’t.

Walk outside of your house (don’t lock yourself out, please). Walk back in and see what catches your eye first. Go and deal with that.

If you’re being inspected or your landlord is coming in for repairs, spend time on whatever area they’ll be focusing on.

Give the whole place one more once-over and pay attention to anything you’ve missed so far.

It’s an old trick, but if your place is a little funky-smelling, put a pan of water on the stove on low heat and add some citrus or cinnamon or vanilla. Don’t leave it unattended or forget about it.

Take a shower, put on something clean, and eat something.

You can do this. It’s overwhelming, yes, but it is not impossible. You just need to do it. You have a list. You have directions. You have a whole bunch of Internet strangers who have been there before and who are cheering you on. You can do this, but you need to get started.

Why are you still here? GO. START. NOW.

[river-b]

the number of times in my past that I desperately wanted/needed someone to sit me down and tell me this stuff. I will never get back the hours and hours lost to headless-chicken mode, but it’s nice to know that in the last year I’ve learned so many coping mechanisms :D

[daminwayne]

somehow I got 95/20 on an assignment

I hope they never fix it and leave it this way forever

[bebe-benzenheimer]

reblog the Awesome Grade picture for awesome grades

[impolitecanadian]

guys this really works i reblogged it and then got 870% on an essay

[xxschoolnewspaperxx]

Come on… Come on…

[that-euphonium-dork-deactivated]

need this for history test tmrw

[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.

[rwintarou]

how i study for exams

this is how i study for exams. i hope this helps because this routine has worked for me. : )

1. first, i disconnect my phone from the wifi so i don’t get distracted. it’s hard concentrating on dna replication when i’m waiting for the newest riverdale episode. *ehem* love you, jug *ehem*

2. then, i reread my notes in a skimming manner so that i know how to start studying the material. i have a lot of study methods and it’s better if i’m not wasting my time reviewing info in a way that doesn’t make me recall the right points.

3. next, i pull out my journal and list out all of the subtopics i have to focus on (e.g. kinds of amino acids). you’ll find that it’s actually easier to study when you know where your attention is needed instead of improvising techniques. i’ve done that before and it muddled up my memory. yikes.

4. after that, i put on my study playlist. i recommend listening to instrumental tracks because it serves as your background music. the lyrics won’t distract you because there are none! however, if you don’t feel like listening to classical, you can always acquaint yourself with indie.

5. then, i rewrite the main points under the subtopics i’ve chosen to study. it’ll serve as a summary.

rewriting might seem like a waste of time, but trust me, you’ll recall the information a lot better if you can remember how you wrote them.

some studies suggest that people who write their notes tend to have stronger conceptualizing skills and are more successful in applying and integrating the material.

6. once i’ve summarized everything, i underline the keywords and take the first letter of those words in order to form a mnemonic code.

why mnemonics?

- they help a lot because they’re straightforward. plus, you’re more likely to remember the statements when you’ve already condensed them into one word.

mnemonics don’t always have to be words or numbers. they can be songs too. if you’re a visual learner like me, use words that are easy to remember. if you’re an audio learner, you can belt out the definition of genetic engineering to dua lipa’s new rules. works just the same.

• if mnemonics do not fit the job description, use tables or mind maps!

why tables?

- you can use them in order to compare information. this technique will allow you to recognize the similarities and differences between two or more subjects (e.g. organic and inorganic compounds).

why mind maps?

- mind maps will enable you to connect points that are hard to get across. it will clarify the connections between two or more events or units (e.g. the french revolution).

9. if i think i can recall the information at the snap of a hand, then i will try to teach it to my dog. it’s weird. trust me, i know. after my mom walked in on a study session, she never quite looked at me the same.

some studies say that teaching is a lot better than pressuring yourself to remember the material passively. this is because it enables the mind to organize the knowledge, improves your understanding, and allows you to conscientiously recall it.

10. last but not the least… *drumroll* reward yourself! honestly, this is really important. you need to have a little pleasure sometimes. treat yourself with a cup of tea. go to the movies. walk your dog, or cat. do whatever you want to do!

sure, you need to be serious, but not all the time. your mental health needs a break too. otherwise, it is you who will break. a lot of people tend to forget that the first step to success is to actually be a success, yourself. don’t abuse your body just because you think you can still handle it. we all have our limits, but it’s better if we don’t close in on them. balance your life, babes.

“if you ever think about giving up, remember why you held on for so long.” - hayley williams from paramore

[studiousmedic]

Professor: expert in their field, published many papers in high impact journals, secured hundreds of thousands of pounds of research funding, supervised many PhDs, teaching on several postgraduate courses.

Professor: *formats every presentation they give in comic sans*

[sofistudious]

How to Annotate Literature

Many times language and literature classes require students to annotate the books that are given to them, but in many cases tips and advice on how to do so is lacking. I will be sharing my personal strategy for efficient and successful annotating that will not only help your understanding of the text but also gain the love of your teachers! The tips have been divided into 5 components, each with their own explanation. Sticky Tabs are Your Best Friend

I don’t know how I would manage to annotate without my sticky tabs. They help me organize and navigate the book before the reading, remind me what to look for while i’m going through the text and help me find whatever I may need once I get to further analysis for the class. 

Create a key for your tabs, personally I use five colors each having a few specific purposes based on where I place them in the book. Most stickies are accompanied by a specific note that will remind me of what I wanted to point out, these stick out of the right margin. 

Pink- Anything to do with characters, be it development or certain traits to remember. It can also be used for when you have questions about character related aspects of the text.

Orange- Refers to setting, in plays it is also applicable for stage directions.

Yellow- Is used for literary devices and use of language (tone, diction, patterns) and syntax, if there is a particular word the author used or a structure you want to take note of, this is the color to use. 

Green- Applicable to any important plot events, notable scenes or things that you think will be significant later in the story.

Blue- Themes and context of said ideas, anything to do with time, place and space in which the text takes place. It can also relate to how your context (a student reading a book for a literature course) impacts your perception of the text.

These are the things teachers usually look out for and it is certainly useful in any kind of further task! 

The top and bottom margins can be used to divide the book in to sections, such as chapters or scenes, mark the most important pages and to also highlight text to text connections. These colors you can pick yourself! I do not recommend having more than 5 sticky tabs per page, otherwise it gets too crowded and they lose their purpose! (but you will still need to buy aaa lloootttt)

This is my key for the book I am currently annotating, Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. 

Don’t Overdo it With the Highlighter

Find one color highlighter that you like the most and use it to mark explicit words or phrases that catch your attention, you can also use them in correlation with you sticky tabs!  I prefer to use a yellow highlighter because it seems to bleed the least, and I usually use it in relation to the the yellow and blue tabs because those are the ones that relate to the most detailed and minute parts of the text. Once again you can find your own preference! But don’t overdo it, otherwise, like the tabs, the highlighter will lose its function to highlight important points. 

This is an example of how much highlighting I usually do. For non-fictional texts or parts of a book (like in the introduction you see here) I reserved highlighter for dates and names. 

Have a Conversation With the Author

This is one of the first tips that my high school teacher gave me and it’s really one of the most important ones to remember. And I know, it may sound kinda silly, but I find that it really helps me in developing my ideas and remembering exactly how I felt about a certain aspect of part of the text. 

Whether the text is fiction of non fiction, anything in between, you can always do these few things

Ask questions- As if you were going to get an answer, ask questions, write them down and write down as many as you want. Writing things down helps people remember so then it is more likely that in a class discussion you will be able to recall your queries or wonders. 

If you don’t like something, or you’re surprised by something, write it down! Use exclamation marks, use words that you would use in a regular conversation. I always write ‘WOW!!’ or ‘OMG’ when i’m especially impressed, and having such vocal- well written vocally- emotions will bring you closer to the subject of the text. 

Talk to the characters as well, if you are questioning a character’s actions ask them and provide an explanation as to why you speculate they may have acted a certain way. Not only does that further contribute to your involvement (also making things more entertaining) but it also deepens your thought!

What i’m trying to say is write down anything that comes to mind, your first response is your true response, and it is a valuable addition to your notes! And if you want to write a whole essay in between the lines… Actually, i’ll come back to that later! 

Pens, not Pencils 

I used to make notes completely in pencil but my approach changed when I realized that overtime the pencil would rub off and get illegible. I think it was because I used my book so much, but having switched to pen I realized that it helps me in quite a few other things as well. 

The good thing about pen is that you can’t erase it and let’s say you started writing down a note, scan down the page and realize what you are taking a note of is completely wrong. That’s ok! That’s actually really good! Don’t scribble out what you just wrote down, but instead continue and explain why you may have thought a certain way and what your understanding is now. That relates really closely to the previous note.  Evidently pen also appears darker on the page, then there’s no possibility of it ever disappearing. It also won’t smudge or bleed as long as it’s ballpoint! That’s a good thing when drawing arrows between lines, underlining in addition to your highlights and circling/boxing whatever you deem necessary.

Time, Effort and Commitment

It’s clear that this post took me a while to make, and it took me a while to develop this system with all of the things that I have considered. So it must be self evident that using this type of annotation won’t be quick. It might get tiring at some times, and for me it really does, but at the end I find that it always pays off! You have to stay committed to this technique, you have to put in the same amount of effort for every page, which means you need time. So here are a few final general tips I will leave you with.

Don’t procrastinate! As goes for any task, and this one more than any, don’t waste time getting to it! I advice you check how many pages you have in total and make sure that you do a certain amount per day (usually 5-10 pages a day is good!)

If you go off on massive tangents in the side bars, make sure that you don’t get too distracted by them because they will take up a lot of your time. But one now and then may be good! Be sure to mark it for later reference!

Play mind games with yourself. This one is actually pretty interesting but it personally gets me a long way. If you have 20 pages left, don’t look at it as 20 pages but instead as 4 times 5, then the amount will seem a lot more manageable! It’s a kind of self encouragement!

That can also be said by looking now and then at how far your bookmark has moved through the book and giving yourself a pat on the back for all of you hard work!

That’s all I have for now! If you have any further questions for advice or explanation please message me and I will be more than happy to help! And I hope that this helps some people out too! (I’m counting this as 21/100 days of productivity as all I did today was related to annotating.)

[rosallindfranklin-blog]

hey guys! Back by unpopular demand: me, with another printable.  I have my first physics exam of the semester on Monday, and I’m determined to do well.  So I made this little printable to get myself organized re: the millions of equations I have to understand.

For most classes, you won’t have to actually memorize formulas and equations.  But you will be expected to understand what they mean and how to use them. That’s where this formula sheet comes in.  Laying out each equation will help you see how they relate to each other and which situation to use each equation in.

Use this sheet for any class that involves a lot of formulas: physics, chemistry, math, statistics, underwater basket weaving, etc.

download here! [ 9 rows | 12 rows | 15 rows ]

General Tips for Studying for Math or Physics

Make a list of all the topics that will be on the exam.  Circle or highlight the ones that have been the most difficult for you.  Focus your time on these topics instead of spending too much time reviewing the easier topics.

Use the formula sheet printable to organize all of the equations you have to deal with.

Go over old homework, focusing on all the problems you got wrong.

If your teacher has posted review problems, work on those.  If not, find extra practice problems in your textbook or online.  The best thing you can do is practice, practice, practice.

Make a cheat sheet (not to, you know, actually cheat.  Just a sheet or mind map that organizes all the major topics and details.  Make it as pretty as you want.)

Do more practice problems.

Sleep (super duper important!!) and eat a good breakfast.  You’ve got this.

[studyign]

3/30/15 [11:02pm] an anonymous asked how i take my notes for AP world history so ill try to explain :] these are notes on colonial expansion!

this whole page covers about 30 pages [one chapter] of my textbook ~ it has focus questions at the beginning of each chapter, so i copy those down on the left side of the paper ~ i copy the subheadings of each section along the left margins ~ and on the right side of the page i paraphrase the subsection into extremely concise bullet points

i mainly use these notes to quiz myself [kind of like flashcards] and so i can see a rough outline of the chapter ~ i utilize these foldables as supplements to the lecture notes i get in class bc i can compare the two while studying to be sure i cover all important concepts ~ so far it has worked for me! [youtube video on other ways to use this method!!!]

[d0nn0-deactivated20150125]

Finish this christmas song! Dashing through the

[lorddarkfetus-deactivated201503]

supermarket hurredly, i need to find syrup. i need all the syrup i can buy. enough to fill 4 bathtubs. im going to cover myself in syrup and slide around the ground to acheive maximum velocity. get ready world im coming your way fast

[just-shower-thoughts]

Your opportunity to master something in life largely depends on how long your willing to suck at it

[scum2000]

In case you needed a reminder; all of your hard work is paying off and all of your progress has been incredible. No matter how small of steps you’re taking or how much back pedaling you’ve had to do–progress is progress and you’re doing a great job.

[carbysorangeshirt]

i don’t think anyone fully understands how iconic of a film the princess diaries truly is. everything in that film is iconic. the apartment/firehouse. the scooters as a method of transportation. “get off the grass” in 4 languages. “please don’t crush my soy nuts.” the mustang. the weird neighbor who writes poetry. the m&ms on the keyboard and the pizza. “it’s a wango?” lily’s otter backpack. the whole paolo makeover sequence. every foot pop. stop me i could go on forever the princess diaries is so iconic it’s on the same level of iconography as star wars (1977)

[dubcliq]

#WAIT UP #NOT YOU I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOU

[fuckstudy]

a preview. fuckstudy’s guide to notetaking

This guide is dedicated to those who have asked for advice regarding “notetaking methods”, how I take notes, how to organise and structure notes, how to take notes from lectures/textbooks etc. Note: due to my course, I tend to type my notes, heavily abuse heading styles on word, am overly reliant on my customised keyboard shortcuts, sticky notes and colour coding. Updated Monthly (tentatively).

[faetherial]

Aggressive goals require aggressive work ethic

The quote I’ve had on my laptop since Year 7 and honestly it’s one of the best pieces of study advice I’ve received. It’s a daily reminder that studying is not always chill, relaxing, and perfect, and sometimes it shouldn't be. Sometimes you do have to work aggressively, be tired, and stressed to achieve what you want (so long as you are not compromising your mental health). 

January 12th, 2017//Study Challenge Day 7 of 30//The Best Advice Anyone’s Ever Given You

Source

(via nkbstudies)

[respectfulmemes]

[cationsarepawsitive-blog]

"What do you mean, I'm blocking the view? I AM the view." Aka "trying to study anatomy with a parrot in your lap demanding snuggles is NOT a good way to stay productive."

[cationsarepawsitive-blog]

Study plan for the night:

Tonight I have lots of things to do, so I’m trying to make a comprehensive checklist.

Review Anatomy & Physiology lab exercises

Study General Chemistry 1 notes in preparation for tomorrow’s first General Chemistry 2 lecture

Study for New Testament quiz

Finish reading chapter 1 of Anatomy and Physiology Textbook

Answer chapter review for chapter 1

Finish making flashcards for the material covered in A&P and NT

It sounds like a lot, but I’m aiming to go to bed at 11pm tonight and I need to get a move on! If I stay motivated, I think I can finish.