You're just as sane as i am.

Am i right?

[stillstudies]

shitty advice of a college student. (part two)

(read part one here.)

sit where you’ll pay attention. sometimes this doesn’t necessarily mean sitting in the very front; personally, I like to sit more in the middle. it gives me a good view of my professor and at the same time makes me feel a lot less self-conscious.

not sure about shit? talk to your professor. email your professor. clarify things and show that you’re a student who cares about more than just showing up.

get to class on time!!!

when you email professors always say THANK YOU for their time and help! remember that they’re not required to put in extra time to help you; but the good ones just do. make these people love you!!! a good relationship could turn your B+ into an A- at the end of the semester.

reaching out to both your classmates and your professor when you’re absent is your responsibility.

please eat. and drink water. everyday. I mean it.

being a good student means that you will have shitty days. a lot of them. sometimes things go wrong, or you have more work than you can handle, or you end up getting a C on a quiz you thought you studied your ass off for. that’s okay. life happens. shit happens. let yourself feel shitty sometimes.

once again: let yourself feel shitty sometimes.

unless you want to die, don’t cram for your exams!! plan ahead. study a little bit every day so that the information is retained and you don’t have to study as much the night before. the process works. planning ahead will actually make you work less. trust me.

know that mistakes happen and life goes on. sometimes there’s just nothing you can do to change something. acknowledge that you’ve done everything you could, it was worth trying, and move on. mistakes happen so we can learn from them. 

be realistic with your daily to-do list. if you spent all night studying your ass off for that mid-term and you know that you won’t have the mental energy to get a whole list of things done the next day, then they can wait! pace yourself and get done as much as you are capable of doing in one sitting.

you don’t have to look gorg going to class but if putting together daily looks and getting ur face beat gives you that motivation to go to school than you go girl!!!!

it does not matter if another student your age seems like they have it all together; because chances are, they don’t. no one does. we are all struggling to get shit done. we all have our own journeys. it is not a competition. no path is more valuable than another.

stress doesn’t mean you’re entitled to being an asshole. the people in your life probably know that you have a lot on your plate. they’re trying to live their lives as hard as you are. don’t be a dick about it.

[cafeinated-blog]

how to stick your plans

by a horrible procrastinator

scheduling:

keep things realistic. you may think you can read 200 pages of jane eyre in one night, and honestly, you could…but you won’t unless that essay that’s 30% of your grade is due, you know, tomorrow.

you know your habits better than anyone. try to work around what you know you’re going to do. can you read about 25 pages without getting totally bored/sidetracked? well, make yourself do that. it’s only 25 pages, right?

try to accomplish one thing every day. don’t ever let your day slip away from you without doing anything. even if that “one accomplishment” is making a stupid text post on tumblr or revising your notes or washing your sheets…just be productive!

this is especially important for those of you with mental illness! having a “zero day” can really plummet your mood or set you in an unproductive rut.

if you really feel like you need a day to just chill out, napping can count as your accomplishment

don’t push studying off! you’ve probably heard this one a million times, but seriously. don’t. you’re not going to retain 10 weeks worth of information with one study session…okay, maybe you can, but do you really want to?

the best, low-effort way of remembering information is to, at first, review it often. right after you learn the material, review it a couple times during the week. maybe re-write your notes that weekend. then, the next week, visit one or two times, just glazing over parts you don’t really remember well. then, maybe once every two weeks, etc…by the time you get to finals, you’ll be familiar with all the information! trust me, it works.

organize your to-do’s. personally, i make a huge to-do list for the entire week. then, i delegate different ‘levels’ of urgency to it (see below.) you can do this however you want, but i do it this way to help me visualize how lazy i can be and not pay for it…

i tend to organize it by these ‘categories’ / ‘urgent levels’

is there a quiz on the material due soon

how likely is there to be a pop quiz

what’s my grade in the class like / how badly do i need that ‘a’

does the homework/assignment need to be turned in

etc

actually doing it:

studyspo helps. okay, i know this is kind of obvious considering i’m a studyblr, but… you see that notebook you just bought? isn’t it fucking adorable? don’t you want to make some sweet, sweet note-love to it? you know you do.

don’t spend too much time setting up your work space or browsing tumblr. seriously. you know when you’re overstepping.

have some nice playlists. preferably with music you already know! if you don’t know the song already, chances are it’s just going to become a distraction.

8tracks is a great site for this! you can make your own mixes or take a listen to one of the many, many study / chill playlists available. again, take a listen to the track on your way to class or whatever before actually trying to study with it on.

instrumentals + classical + video game music are the standard

get organized. messy = stressy. seriously. organize your desk, organize your notes. even if it’s not really your style, at least try to keep things ‘in your personal order.’ try to pretend you have your shit together. you will be so much more productive & confident if you feel in control of your situation.

if you’re a perfectionist, you may want to disregard this. really. you don’t want to put ‘tidiness’ above productivity.

taking pictures of your awesome, super-nice work space is awesome motivation. give that illusion of productivity. become tumblr famous.

if you can afford it, matching stationary and cute shit like that is super awesome feeling. it makes studying aesthetically satisfying.

take care of yourself. brush your teeth, put on that nice-smelling lotion, drink water. eating healthy foods, getting some exercise, all that good shit people tell you to do…it really is important. it’s kind of hard to focus or remain motivated if you’re miserably bloated & haven’t showered in 3 days.

especially for my neurod or mentally ill followers!

i fucked up: 

repeat after me: IT’S OKAY. IT’S OKAY. we all fuck up. you’re allowed to fuck up. sometimes assignments don’t get done, sometimes we don’t do as well on tests as we’d like. it’s okay. you’re okay.

recovery. alright, so, now that we’ve accepted that we’re human beans who sometimes grow upside-down…

cuddle in a blanket, and write down what you think you did wrong. did you not study enough? do you need to go to your professors office hours? write down your ideas.

let your failure motivate you! you hit your lowest point, alright? now you can focus on doing better, even if it’s just a few points difference.

you can do some things wrong. you don’t need to get an A every single time. did you understand 50% of the material? well, that’s halfway there!

you’re not going to be perfect at everything. we all have growing pains.

well, that’s all i have to say. keep growing towards the sun, kids.

[effortanderudition-blog]

“try to pretend you have your shit together. you will be so much more productive & confident if you feel in control of your situation.”

[polcry]

B U R N O U T  1 0 1 // what it is and how the fuck to fix it 

So, you’ve been really stressed/anxious/exhausted and all of a sudden you’re feeling unmotivated/apathetic/frustrated? Congratulations, it’s looks like you’ve burned yourself out!

What is burnout?

Normally, burnout occurs after an extended period of excess. The breaking point is different for everyone; some may cave after a week of finals, for others it may take months or even years. Symptoms of burnout include, but are not limited to:

- Apathy/disinterest

- Short attention span, difficulty concentrating, switching between tasks frequently 

- Frustration with others, your work, or yourself

- Depression, low mood, anxiety 

Shit, that’s me! How do I solve it?

- Start small, and ease yourself back into the swing of things 

Make note of the stuff you absolutely unavoidably have to to do with immediate urgency. Order in terms of immediacy as well as workload. So give credit for tasks both urgent and time consuming. If it doesn’t need to be done (either partially or completely) right this very minute, don’t worry about it. 

Break big tasks down into little tasks and tackle them one at a time. Reward yourself upon completion, but keep it reasonable. One episode of Parks and Rec is okay; a whole series is not. 

- Reestablish a routine

As insanely fantastic as it is, laying in bed all day is not going to get you anywhere. Set a routine, and stick to it; wake up at a consistent time and actually get out of bed, accomplish a few things each day (but they don’t have to be academic - laundry, taking a walk or vacuuming your bedroom) and stay out of bed except for when you’re sleeping. 

Naps are ok too though, but keep them short and don’t start after 3pm because you won’t be able to get to sleep at a human hour that night. 

- Take care of yourself

Give priority to maintaining healthy and normal sleep, eating, and self-care habits. You’re going to be useless if you’re exhausted, hungry, and grimy. 

Try to identify why you’re burnt out. Yes, you had two weeks of back-to-back exams. But is there anything you could have done differently? Could you have started studying earlier, made revision materials as you went, reduced or delegated other commitments? While this isn’t necessarily cure for burnout, it’s crucial to preventing another episode further on down the line. And after all, they say prevention is the best medicine. 

- Ask for help!!

Counsellors (academic and therapeutic) are there for your use. Take advantage of them, especially if they’re provided free of charge by your institution! They’ve got a lot of experience, and could impart some seriously useful wisdom about managing workloads, maintaining your sanity and resources if you really are struggling.

Supportive family; not everyone is lucky enough to have one, but if you do, make sure they know you’re under duress and see if they can help in anyway - letting you get off chores or offering to help with your place if you’ve moved out, providing sustenance, or just offering an ear for you to moan and rant and talk it out. 

Make sure there’s nothing underlying that’s causing your anxiety/depression/low mood, and if you suspect there is talk to your doctor!

[thoughtscholar]

● seize time opportunities. If I have 15 minutes until your next class, I sit down and do homework in the hallway. If I have a long commute, I’ll do flashcards. This works because you most likely won’t have anything else to do anyways, so it’s easier to get your work done.

● start something. When I get a lab report assignment, the first thing I do is pull up the directions and at least start the cover page and pull up some research links. It takes 5 minutes but it gets the ball rolling and makes it more likely that you’ll finish what you started.

● auto-mode. When I procrastinating, it’s usually because I’m too busy thinking about what I’m going to do. Instead, I like to pretend I’m in “auto-mode” and just get started as fast as I can. auto-mode means shutting out distracting thoughts or pleas to watch one more funny cat video and forcing your hands to open your textbook. Works every time.

● personally, creating time schedules don’t work for me because if I fall out of time, the whole schedule falls apart and I usually give up. Instead I use time games. I’ll tell myself something like “work as hard as you can until 11:00 sharp and if you finish, you can have a break”. This is great for developing self discipline because it’s in the moment so you can be more realistic and flexible.

● i don’t like writing down earlier due dates in my planner because it’s confusing so instead, it’s good to have some sort of mental rule. for example, my mental rule is to finish everything at least two days before the due date. following through with that will keep you on track.

● do a little bit every day. If you have a big project, chip at it within a week rather than stressing out 2 days before it’s due. the same goes for studying for an exam. if you review lecture notes and attend office hours after class + work on flashcards throughout the week, then do a final review at the end, you’ll be well prepared and won’t need to cram. It’s a good habit and you won’t get stressed. Two birds with one stone.

● use mornings too. I’m not really an early bird, but using mornings to get some work / chores done is great because it gives you a productive start to the day, which makes you feel proud of yourself for knocking out half of your tasks in the a.m. 

a. Lay out your lecture notes / worksheets on the table the night before and open your work tabs on your computer so they’ll be the first thing you see when you turn on your computer.

b. Put your computer far away from your work space and go to sleep.

c. When you wake up, the first thing that you’ll see is your ‘paper’ work, so get it done first. then start on your ‘screen’ work (you’ll be less likely to get distracted if you do your ‘paper’ work first). when you open your laptop the first thing you’ll see are the work tabs you opened the night before. Your job is to go on auto-mode and get started.

Good luck with self-discipline. You’ll do great. - hana from thoughtscholar

[motiya]

1. Set goals and objectives: decide what you want, what type of qualities you admire, what type of goals you wish to achieve.

2. Assess strengths and weaknesses: examine yourself, what you are good at, what you need to improve on. For example if you have lots of ideas and plan, but you’re also a little shy you know that’s what you should work on

3. Take out toxicity: things, or people, that constantly hurt you or make you feel less than should be taken out of the equation for growth. This is easier said than done, but at least minimize the things contaminating your path to progress.

4. Create an action plan: a way to slowly change your behaviours and habits, this is hard because you should be realistic too. Again if you’re shy this could mean putting yourself out there more.

5. Implement plan: this is when you put into play what you were planning. This step is hard to because it requires work, and this is the part where you need to be sure of your goals that you made earlier. You’re putting in all this effort so be sure it’s for a good reason.

6. Analyze the effectiveness of the plan: after a while of consistently implementing the plan analyze the impact of it. Do you feel happier? More fulfilled? Do you think it’s going well? If it’s not it’s probably because you’re expecting too much, and need to pace yourself. If that’s the case break your plan down into phases so it’s manageable and doesn’t overwhelm you.

7. Forgive yourself (and others): along the line you may have made mistakes, or others may have done small things to upset you. While it’s important to recognize when you’ve been wronged it’s also important to address it in a healthy way. Talk out issues and work for forgiveness. This allows you to be rid of negativity and focus on yourself and your path.

8. Develop discipline and routine: this is something that happens after constantly repeating things that work for you. Repeating good behaviour and habits so much so that they become a part of you. This isn’t based off the “treat yourself” self-care rhetoric, rather it’s hard work you’ve put into changing your ways of thinking and dealing with failures. Instead of regression after failure, your work ethic and mindset should be to find another solution, and to not beat yourself up.

9. Maintain or cultivate relationships: having positive warm people in your life will make any hardship easier and having them support you will be motivation.

10. Always be learning: learn from people around you, learn from the trees, learn from the relationships that didn’t work out. This will help you understand others and to improve your own life. Don’t become static. If anything becoming the best version of yourself is impossible, it’s unattainable because you are constantly changing and life is not static either. You need to be the most adaptable and kind version of yourself.

[yhbgk-blog]

How to Study Like a Harvard Student

Taken from Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, daughter of the Tiger Mother

Preliminary Steps 1. Choose classes that interest you. That way studying doesn’t feel like slave labor. If you don’t want to learn, then I can’t help you. 2. Make some friends. See steps 12, 13, 23, 24. General Principles 3. Study less, but study better. 4. Avoid Autopilot Brain at all costs. 5. Vague is bad. Vague is a waste of your time. 6. Write it down. 7. Suck it up, buckle down, get it done. Plan of Attack Phase I: Class 8. Show up. Everything will make a lot more sense that way, and you will save yourself a lot of time in the long run. 9. Take notes by hand. I don’t know the science behind it, but doing anything by hand is a way of carving it into your memory. Also, if you get bored you will doodle, which is still a thousand times better than ending up on stumbleupon or something. Phase II: Study Time 10. Get out of the library. The sheer fact of being in a library doesn’t fill you with knowledge. Eight hours of Facebooking in the library is still eight hours of Facebooking. Also, people who bring food and blankets to the library and just stay there during finals week start to smell weird. Go home and bathe. You can quiz yourself while you wash your hair. 11. Do a little every day, but don’t let it be your whole day. “This afternoon, I will read a chapter of something and do half a problem set. Then, I will watch an episode of South Park and go to the gym” ALWAYS BEATS “Starting right now, I am going to read as much as I possibly can…oh wow, now it’s midnight, I’m on page five, and my room reeks of ramen and dysfunction.” 12. Give yourself incentive. There’s nothing worse than a gaping abyss of study time. If you know you’re going out in six hours, you’re more likely to get something done. 13. Allow friends to confiscate your phone when they catch you playing Angry Birds. Oh and if you think you need a break, you probably don’t. Phase III: Assignments 14. Stop highlighting. Underlining is supposed to keep you focused, but it’s actually a one-way ticket to Autopilot Brain. You zone out, look down, and suddenly you have five pages of neon green that you don’t remember reading. Write notes in the margins instead. 15. Do all your own work. You get nothing out of copying a problem set. It’s also shady. 16. Read as much as you can. No way around it. Stop trying to cheat with Sparknotes. 17. Be a smart reader, not a robot (lol). Ask yourself: What is the author trying to prove? What is the logical progression of the argument? You can usually answer these questions by reading the introduction and conclusion of every chapter. Then, pick any two examples/anecdotes and commit them to memory (write them down). They will help you reconstruct the author’s argument later on. 18. Don’t read everything, but understand everything that you read. Better to have a deep understanding of a limited amount of material, than to have a vague understanding of an entire course. Once again: Vague is bad. Vague is a waste of your time. 19. Bullet points. For essays, summarizing, everything. Phase IV: Reading Period (Review Week) 20. Once again: do not move into the library. Eat, sleep, and bathe. 21. If you don’t understand it, it will definitely be on the exam. Solution: textbooks; the internet. 22. Do all the practice problems. This one is totally tiger mom. 23. People are often contemptuous of rote learning. Newsflash: even at great intellectual bastions like Harvard, you will be required to memorize formulas, names and dates. To memorize effectively: stop reading your list over and over again. It doesn’t work. Say it out loud, write it down. Remember how you made friends? Have them quiz you, then return the favor. 24. Again with the friends: ask them to listen while you explain a difficult concept to them. This forces you to articulate your understanding. Remember, vague is bad. 25. Go for the big picture. Try to figure out where a specific concept fits into the course as a whole. This will help you tap into Big Themes – every class has Big Themes – which will streamline what you need to know. You can learn a million facts, but until you understand how they fit together, you’re missing the point. Phase V: Exam Day 26. Crush exam. Get A.

[educatier]

Masterpost 4 out of 50: The Motivation  Self-Discipline Masterpost

 It’s better to work blindly then not work at all.

[empresspinto]

hey guys, hope your skin is clear and you get a text from someone you like real soon.

also that your lunch tastes good, you find twenty dollars on the ground, and that thing coming up that you were dreading turns out not so bad

[loren-vance]

Passing this good karma

[pocketsofroses]

I reblogged this 3 days ago and my skin got clear and I got a message from a guy who refers to me as queen yesterday. Good karma vibes all around.

[blueastro-deactivated20170311]

ARE U FUCKING KIDDING ME I REBLOGGED THIS YESTERDAY AND MY SKIN IS CLEAR AS F NOW

[choualaclem]

4 other inktober entries… before I gave up. ^^’

[cortexstudy]

Soo since school is beginning again for many of us, I thought I would compile a masterpost of every self care method possible to ease your way back into things! 

Stress and Anxiety Reduction

Declutter your space- Clear out all trash, make your bed, and make your desktop space clear. This will make for a cleaner head. 

Put yourself in a happy place- Do yoga, take a power nap, whatever you need to put yourself in the most positive head space possible 

Put your health first- To state the obvious, drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, and keep up with your personal hygiene. But this also counts for mental health. Put yourself first, your hobbies, your passions, and anything you do to keep yourself sane. Buy yourself nice treats as a reward after completing tough tasks, or reward yourself with anything you like doing. 

Stress Reduction masterpost 

Puppy cam 

Kitten Cam 

Bunny Cam 

Silk Art

Guided Relaxation 

Creative Activities 

Planning 

Make a bullet journal- A bullet journal can really help you plan out your days/weeks/months to a T and help you stay organized. A lot of stress can be caused by a frantic and unknown schedule, and planning can ease a lot of that.

Take a moment out of your day to sit down and schedule everything out- Take time out of your day to write down what your day has in store. What times are you free? What times are you working, studying, eating, ect…? Make a list of everything your doing then translate that into a bullet journal, planner, or anything else you use to plan.  

How to bullet journal 

Printables 

Planning your time

Creating a schedule 

How to schedule your time 

The Pomodoro Method 

Pomodoro Timer 

Apps (x)(x)(x)

Sounds

Brain.fm (specifically engineered sounds for sleep, focus. ect…)

Sing me to sleep

Soundrown

Sound of waves 

Masterpost of study playlists

Coffeeshop noises

Rainymood

Mental Health 

What to do when you’re having an anxiety attack 

How to study when mentally ill 

Suicide Hotline

Mental Health Resources 

What to do on a bad day

Things to do when feeling gross

Coping Skills

Panic and Anxiety Masterpost

A self care guide

Self care checklist 

Emergency compliment 

Studying with Depression 

-Sieanna xo

[acdemic]

it’s your worst nightmare: you have tons of work to do and yet, you can’t seem to get it done. you’re tired and you’re sick of working so hard. don’t let a burnout stop you! here are some tips for avoiding and getting over a burnout. you can do this! (:

** first things first.. what is a burnout? **

burnout |ˈbərnˌout| noun

physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress: high levels of professionalism that may result in burnout | you’ll suffer a burnout.

burnouts happen to everyone now and then and the most important thing for you to know is that it’s okay!! *gasp* yes, it’s actually okay to feel like you need to stop once in a while. you’re only human. basically, it’s when you just can’t seem to focus on your work anymore or you really really need a break.

however, note that there’s a difference between procrastination and burnouts. procrastination is when you keep doing other stuff instead of your work. burnouts are when you keep doing your work and never do other stuff. (i suppose burnouts can lead to procrastination, but there is a difference!)

** preventing them **

NUMBER ONE TIP FOR PREVENTING BURN OUTS is to not overwork yourself!! this is so important!! you should not be pulling all nighters every other day to study!! you should not be cancelling doctors appointments or meetings with friends to study! go out there and have some fun, care about your health, do your thing! even if you don’t have anything else to do, instead of just doing more work, find something else that’s fun and requires little effort. in fact, do that fun stuff while you study! make studying and work not a task or chore, but something you enjoy and doesn’t stress you out.

fun games to play during study breaks

drift : you’re a cat and you’re jumping over balloons. super simple to learn and really fun to play!!

tea : by the same person who created drift, there are two mice and you’re collecting sugar cubes for tea! so cute ohmygoodnesss

2048 : i’m sure you know what this is but use your keys to slide the tiles around and try to get the 2048 tile!

tetris : classic game of tetris. i like this one because it keeps your brain moving fast, but you’re still taking a (much-needed) break, which is great!

flower reaction : you’re a flower and when you click, your flower (and the flowers around your flower) grow bigger, and your goal is to time your first flower so that you’ll have the largest chain reaction. watching the flowers get bigger is really calming for me!

flow : interesting little game where you’re basically a mouth and a body, and you eat other teeny organisms.

if you play some cute little games every now and then while you study, your grade will be fine. don’t worry <3

another thing you can do instead of playing a game is to go to a relaxing website or look at motivational quotes. my absolute favorite is the 90 second relaxation exercise because it’s so quick but it definitely helps!! it’s super calming and *be sure to turn your sound on because the music is lovely*

more stuff to help you relax + get motivated during breaks

the quiet place : go to the quiet place if you need to take a step back and just relax for a little bit.

easewave : pretty background and a motivational quote every day! you can also go to the navigation and click “browse quotes” if you want to see more. you can also get it as a chrome extension in case you don’t want to go to the website.

tonematrix : click on the squares to make different sounds! plus you can make really cute patterns and such.

webchemy : basically makes symmetrical art, it’s really neat if you just need to frantically click at the screen and make something that looks cool!

relax.li : pick an option and look at a video + listen to some nice audio to relax! my favorite is the cat (;

sometimes instead of staying at your computer screen, maybe it’s better to step away for a little bit. go for a quick run, or walk, or even just a stretch. go outside (unless it’s raining. you still can, of course, but bring an umbrella, silly!) and take a breath of fresh air!

stuff to do outside!

99 free things to do outside : exactly what it sounds like. 99 things you can do outside of your house for free.

101 things to do outside : also includes a cute little coloring page, though this is probably more for little kids there’s definitely still stuff you can do!

go for a walk with your friends/family and have a big discussion on something you can all talk about!

take a camera and just snap photos of things you find beautiful. it could be a mother and her child, some flowers, the sky, someone crying… i don’t know, whatever floats your boat~

bring a journal and just sit under a tree and write for a little bit. a diary entry, a song, a story you’ve been working on (that rhymes omg), it doesn’t matter!! but.. do not write your essay under that tree, okay? write something else!

relive your childhood and play tag. seriously just play something you used to play and haven’t played in a while because you will feel wonderfully nostalgic + exercise is great and makes you happy!

window shopping can be really fun if you need to get your mind off things. or just go to a shop and try half the store on and don’t get anything. y’know 0:-)

go to an arts store or something and buy things for diys or your bullet journal (washi tape yessss) or some art project you want to start and spend some time working on artsy fartsy stuff!!

lie in the grass with a book and read. or sleep.

11 fun things to do on a rainy day : if it’s raining, that doesn’t always mean “hit the books”. here’s stuff you can do (not outside, i guess) when it’s rainy.

if you really have to study for something and you don’t have time to spare but you’re worried about a burn out, there are still some things you can do to help!

set a schedule : make a solid, never-changing-regardless-of-circumstance, study schedule. leave plenty of room for breaks. studying non-stop WON’T help you, but if you have a set schedule that you’re used to and you know works for you, use it.

study in new places : this may not work for everyone but sometimes the best way to prevent a burn out is to make sure you feel like you’re not always doing the same thing! switch it up with study spaces – study outside, go to the library, stay at your desk, etc. – but try to make sure you’re not getting distracted!

break it down : break everything down into smaller tasks that are easier to accomplish! instead of “finish final project”, make it “finish outline” “finish design” “type it up” etc. so that you don’t feel too daunted. also, if you’re like me and you feel a great sense of accomplishment + motivation when you check things off a to-do list, making more manageable tasks will be like many bursts of motivation!

experiment : like with the new study spaces, maybe try new techniques! have you never ever used flashcards before? try those out (especially for vocab!) studying for history and you think you should make a timeline, even if you’ve never made one before? go for it!

talk to other people : it might help to teach what you’re learning to someone else. it’ll help you remember it better and that way, you actually understand the material. i would recommend “teaching” to someone who has already learnt everything so that if you make a mistake they can correct you!

make it right for you : lots of great studyblrs post gorgeous pictures of their studying. but that’s not how everyone needs to study, and we know that! if you don’t study well by taking pretty notes, and instead you like hearing recordings of your lectures, that’s great too! get yourself in your own study zone, not anyone else’s.

** bonus – some other posts that talk about studying tips and self care that you should take a peek at!! **

6 things people don’t always tell you about studying : great if you need help getting over procrastination

all the self care : some nice self care stuff like what to do on a bad day or beating stress and anxiety!

10 rules of good and bad studying : this is so immensely helpful!!

how to get motivated / stop procrastinating : short but sweet

motivation : best post for motivation i’ve found!! like honestly if you are unmotivated click here and i assure you waves of motivation will pour over you!

** getting over a burnout **

first of all, stop comparing yourself to other people. this might not help you, but for me, when i get burned out it’s because i’m trying hard to prove everyone wrong and my competitiveness is just messing everything up. focus on yourself instead of other people. so what if they got a better grade than you on that test, what matters is that you got a better grade than what you got last time!! it’s so stereotypical but you really just need to ignore what everyone else is doing and just go for it.

if you’re having a huge burnout i would suggest to sleep a lot. go to sleep thinking about things you’re grateful for, things that make you happy, things that relax you, etc. and take lots of nice, long, hot showers. wear comfy clothes. drink lots of tea/coffee/hot chocolate/your preference. just get yourself in a more comfortable zone, you feel?

sometimes you might be burned out for one subject but not the other. your mindset should not be “oh, i can’t do this anymore, guess i’ll devote my energy and soul to that subject instead!” learn from your mistakes! you can still study that other subject but remember to balance your time out. maybe by studying your other subject you’ll regain motivation to study the original one, and that’s great! but if you’re just burning out more and more, take. a. break.

talk to someone about it!! other people may have experienced the same and have super valuable + great advice for you, especially if they know you well. i’m a person on the internet who you’ve probably never met, i don’t know what works best for you! if you talk to people who are close to you about it, maybe they can spark an idea in your head.

woohoo, that’s it for now ^^ this is my second masterpost (ohmygoodness that sounds so cool hearing it now) and i really hope it helps you!! also, i’d like to thank you for all the nice comments and support i got on my first masterpost ♥ i honestly never expected you guys to like the idea so much! thanks again and have a looovely day (also coming up : more on online schools, study playlists!)

♥ hannah

[languageoclock]

NOUNS der Advent - Advent der Adventskalender - advent calendar das Apfelmus - apple sauce das Band (Bänder) - ribbon das Christkind
 - Christ child die Cranberrysoße - cranberry sauce die Dekoration (Dekorationen) - decoration der/das Kamin (Kamine) - fireplace der/das Knallbonbon (Knallbonbons) - cracker der Eierlikör - eggnog das Eis - ice/ice cream der Engel - angel die Ente (Enten) - duck die Gans (Gänse) - goose das Gebäck - baked goods das Geschenk (Geschenke) - present/gift das Geschenkpapier (Geschenkpapiere) - wrapping paper/gift paper die Glocke (Glocken) - bell das Glöckchen - little bell der Glühwein - mulled wine der Handschuh (Handschuhe) - glove der Heilige Abend - Christmas Eve die heiße Schokolade - hot chocolate die Kastanie (Kastanien) - chestnut der Keks (Kekse) - cookie/biscuit die Kerze (Kerzen) - candle die Kirche (Kirchen) - church der Kranz (Kränze) - wreath das Lametta - tinsel der Lebkuchen - gingerbread das Lebkuchenherz (Lebkuchenherzen) - gingerbread heart das Lebkuchenhäuschen - gingerbread house das Lebkuchenmännchen - gingerbread man die Lichterkette (Lichterketten) - string of fairy lights die Mandel (Mandeln) - almond
 das/der Marzipan - marzipan der Mince Pie (Mince Pies) - mince pie der Mistelzweig (Mistelzweige) - piece of mistletoe die Mütze (Mützen) - beanie der Nordpol - North Pole die Nuss (Nüsse) - nut der Nussknacker - nutcracker die Pfeffernuss (Pfeffernüsse) - small round gingerbread biscuit das Plätzchen - cookie/biscuit das Popcorn - popcorn das Rentier (Rentiere) - reindeer der Schinken - ham der Schlitten - sled/sledge/sleigh der Schlittschuh (Schlittschuhe) - ice skate der Schmuck - decoration [uncountable] der Schnee - snow der Schneeball (Schneebälle) - snowball die Schneeflocke (Schneeflocken) - snowflake der Schneemann (Schneemänner) - snowman die Schokolade (Schokolade) - chocolate der Schornstein (Schornsteine) - chimney das Schweinefleisch - pork das Spielzeug (Spielzeuge) - toy die Stechpalme (Stechpalme) - holly der Stern (Sterne) - star der Stiefel - boot der Stollen - bread made with dried fruit and dusted with powdered sugar die Süßigkeit (Süßigkeiten) - candy/sweet/lolly der Tannenbaum (Tannenbäume) - fir tree/Christmas tree
 der Tannenzapfen - pine cone der Truthahn (Truthähne) - turkey der Weihnachtsbaum (Weihnachtsbäume) - Christmas tree die Weihnachtskarte (Weihnachtskarten) - Christmas card der Weihnachtskuchen - Christmas cake die Weihnachtskugel (Weihnachtskugeln) - Christmas bauble das Weihnachtslied - Christmas carol der Weihnachtsmann (Weihnachtsmänner) - Santa/Father Christmas der Weihnachtsmarkt (Weihnachtsmärkte) - Christmas market der Weihnachtspudding - Christmas pudding die Weihnachtssocke (Weihnachtssocken) - Christmas sock der Weihnachtsstern (Weihnachtssterne) - poinsettia der Weihnachtsstrumpf (Weihnachtsstrümpfe) - Christmas stocking die Weihnachtszeit - Christmas time die Winterbeere (Winterbeeren) - holly berry
 der Wunsch (Wünsche) - wish
 der Wunschzettel - wish list der Zimt - cinnamon der Zimtstern (Zimtsterne) - star shaped cinnamon biscuit with white icing die Zuckerstange (Zuckerstangen) - candy cane
 VERBS auspacken - to open/to unwrap backen - to bake basteln - to make/to do arts and crafts braten - to roast dekorieren - to decorate einen Brief an den Weihnachtsmann schreiben - to write a letter to Santa einen Schneemann bauen - to make a snowman einpacken - to wrap up eislaufen - to ice skate etwas an jemanden verschenken - to give something to someone etwas mit der Post senden - to send something in the mail etwas zu Weihnachten bekommen - to get something for Christmas feiern - to celebrate jemandem etwas schenken - to give something to someone 
Kerzen anzünden - to light candles schmücken - to decorate/to adorn schneien - to snow 
sich (+dat) etwas zu Weihnachten wünschen - to wish for something for Christmas
 verpacken - to wrap up Zeit mit seiner Familie verbringen - to spend time with one’s family zusammenkommen - to meet/to get together

ADJECTIVES bezaubernd - enchanting geröstet - roasted glitzernd - twinkling/sparkling glänzend - shining golden - gold/golden magisch - magical mit Schokolade gefüllt - chocolate filled silbern - silver vorweihnachtlich - pre-Christmas weihnachtlich - Christmassy winterlich - wintery zauberhaft - enchanting/delightful

[matiasrod11]

[studybusy]

List of French Movies for you French Learners !

Okay so one of my tumblr friend asked me what french movie she could watch, so I wanted to make a list for her, there might be some missing, feel free to add some you like ! :) Here we go:

(French Name/American name)

Funny Comedies :

Intouchables / The Intouchables

L’Arnacoeur / Heartbreaker

Les Infidèles / Les Infidèles

Astérix et Obélix: mission Cléopâtre / Asterix and Obelix: MIssion Cleopatra

Le Prénom / What’s in a name?

Les Visiteurs / Les Visiteurs

Les Gendarmes à St. Tropez / The Troops of St.Tropez (and all the following movies)

Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au bon dieu? / Serial (Bad) Weddings

OSS 117: Le Caire, Nid D’espions / OSS 117: Cairo, Nest Of Spies

OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus / OSS 117: Lost in Rio

RRRrrrr!!! / RRRrrr!!!!

La Cité De La Peur / La Cité De La Peur

Didier / Didier

Le Dîner de Cons /  The Diner Game

Un Indien dans la ville / An Indian in the City

Les Gamins / Les Gamins

Lol (Laughing Out Loud) / Lol (Laughing Out Loud) (the original french version not the crappy remake with Miley Cyrus)

Hors de Prix / Priceless

Populaire /Populaire

Bienvenue chez les ch’tis / Welcome to the Sticks

Less Funny Comedies, Romantic Comedies and Tragedies :

La famille Bélier / The Béliers Family 

Le Premier Jour du Reste de Ta Vie / The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

La Vie d’Adèle / Blue is the Warmest Colour

La Môme / La Vie En Rose

Persepolis / Persepolis

La Pianiste / The Piano Teacher

Paris / Paris (2008 Film)

The Artist / The Artist

Le Péril Jeune / Le Péril Jeune

L’Auberge Espagnol / The Spanish Apartment

Les Poupées Russes / The Russian Dolls

 Chinese Puzzles / Casses-Têtes Chinois (those last three are following)

Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain / Amélie

Les Petits Mouchoirs / Les Petits Mouchoirs 

La Rafle / La Rafle

Les Choristes / The Chorus

L’Emprise 

Action Movies, Thriller and Horror Movies :

La French / The Connection

Wasabi / Wasabi

Taxi / Taxi (Taxi 1,2, 3 and 4)

Banlieu 13 / District 13

La Horde / The Horde

Möbius / Möbius

Mesrine Part 1 and 2 / Mesrine Part 1 and 2

À bouts portant / Point Blank

Les Lyonnais / Les Lyonnais

L’immortel /22 Bullets

JCVD / JCVD

Les Ripoux / My New Partner 

And of course all of Luc Besson’s who are not in french but are from a french director

That’s all that comes to my mind, again, feel free to add french movies that you love and spread the knowledge ;)

[wonderful-language-sounds]

Tips to Read & Listen in Russian

Since these two are ~passive~ skills, I wanted to give some tips to make them a bit easier. This list is not exhaustive, but rather some things that will help.

Reading

These tips are more about getting accustomed to reading in Russian, rather than learning from scratch. I sound like a broken record, but practice is really the only way to improve. When reading, try reading the whole thing to the end even if you do not know the vocab. Then go back and read again trying to figure out the meaning of the words and then translate. It will help you with your reading speed as you are not stopping as often to translate.

1. Read Short Articles

Lingualy is a great way to read in Russian as a beginner. It presents you with short articles based on your level and if you do not know a word it translates it for you. You can then save the words to your list and learn them as you go. It has articles by theme so it is nice if you want to read about fashion or technology instead of literature. Readlang is another thing you can use, but the Russian selection is limited. Another way to practice can be found here for various activities.

2. Play Games 

I found this cool app that shows you a word in Russian and then you have to click on the translation quickly like a bubble game. It forces you to read and think quickly so it is great for training yourself to read in Russian. Link: [Android] [Amazon App]

Influent Video Game: This is a computer video game meant to be like immersion where you click on an object and it gives you the word in Russian and translation. You can then play different ways in the game to learn the vocabulary and memorize it. This is great for vocabulary for home and comes in many languages if you want it for something other than Russian. The next sale is in the summer, so if you can wait to do it. Link: [Steam]

Set your video games to Russian subtitles. This is more for intermediate learners as the vocabulary is usually more complex and you have to be used to quickly reading. It also gives you some immersion without having to commit fully.

Listening

Since listening is a passive skill, it is something that can only be obtained through frequent exposure. However, listening to material that is clearly above your level is not exactly helpful as you do not know the words and would be wasting time. That said, it is unreasonable for you to quickly learn 3000+ words at the beginner level to be able to understand things like films or tv shows. 

1. Learn the spelling rules

If you are writing a dictation or anything in Russian, you need to know the spelling rules. By learning them early on, you know when you should and shouldn’t use certain letters next to each other, making it easier to figure out if it really was a и or a ы that you heard. The rules are as follows:

Spelling Rule 1: Ы - И: Never write the letter “Ы” after the letters ‘Г, К, Х, Ж, Ч, Ш, Щ’ instead use “И”

Spelling Rule 2: unstressed O - E: Never write an unstressed “O” after the letters ‘Ж, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ц’ instead use “E”

Spelling Rule 3: Я - А:  Never write the letter “Я” after the letters 'Г, К, Х, Ж, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ц’ instead use “А”

Spelling Rule 4: Ю - У: Never write the letter “Ю” after the letters 'Г, К, Х, Ж, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ц’ instead use “У”

For more information, go here,  here or here for a video by Gabriel Wyner.

2. Distinguish Similar Sounds

This is perhaps the hardest thing to do because it can vary by speaker, but by listening to them in minimal pairs, you can make it easier. My favorite way of distinguishing sounds is by listening to скороговорки, tongue twisters! Links: site, youtube.

ы vs и: Videos: [1] [2] [3] Try to make your own minimal pairs. Words such as бить and быть are easy to input into forvo.com and hear them pronounced by native speakers.

unstressed о vs а : This is something that has to be learned by practice. Words such as она and окола are common so you know how to write them when you hear them pronounced as “ana and okala” However, I know of no tricks to learn stress other than to read a lot of books with stress indicated in them. 

ш vs щ : This is not as hard as the above and you just need some practice. Article, videos [1] [2] [3]. Again, look for words on forvo.

ь : Videos [1] [2] [3] [4] A common rule is that the infinitive form of a verb ends with a soft sign. A list of common nouns that end with a soft sign can be found here.

Other similar sounds: I find it best to go on youtube and check the two letter sounds compared or just find a few tongue twisters with those sounds and find some audio with them.

More Practice: Here, vowels in Russian here

3. Know how prepositions sound and when to use them

Prepositions in spoken Russian sound as if they are part of the word they are in front of. For example, “с ума” sounds like “сума”.  Some common prepositions that work like this are в/во, о/об, к, у, с, до.  Remember to write them out as their own word, not as part of another if it is a preposition. (This does not apply to verbs as they have their own system.)

4.  Take note of constructions and words that are pronounced differently than what they look like

Since many of these words are common, it is a bit easy to take note of. For example, его is pronounced like “yevo” not “yego” Here are some common words like this:

его/ого: The г is pronounced as a “v”.  This is quite a common feature usually seen in genitive adjectival endings, or in words like сегодня.

что: This is pronounced like “shto”

пожалуйста : The уй is not pronounced. 

жч,сч, and зч : In these clusters, the resulting sound is like a long “sh”. Common words are  счастье (shast’ye) , мужчина, заказчик.

жж and зж: In these clusters, the resulting sound is a longer “zh” than ж. Common words are жжёт, езжу, дрожжи,  поезжай.

Vowel Reduction: This post by @properrussian explains it well

5. Practice Listening with Youtube

My favorite way to learn from videos is from music and channels dedicated to help you with Russian. While I wish there was something like Yabla Player, FluentU, or even LyricsTraining for Russian, I can work with just YouTube. While cartoons may help you, I also find that many have squeaky voices that make it hard to understand.

Music: Most popular songs have lyrics with translation on lyricstranslate. You can then listen to songs you like over and over until it becomes easier to understand the words.  You can also go here .

Russianpod101 has some listening comprehension videos on youtube that are great for practice. The beginner playlist is here.

Easy Russian: Since both the Russian and English transcription is there, this is great for listening. Re-watch the clips over and over to get a feel for pronunciation, vocabulary, and listening comprehension.

My list of youtube channels is here.

6. Dictation Exercises

While some dictation exercises are derived from textbooks, some professors will read an article or something else that is not part of your curriculum. Therefore, there will be words that you will not have studied but will have to figure out how to write. Dictation only becomes easier the more you do it. When I had them, it helped to look over what I got wrong and study from my mistakes. Some exercises I found are: Audio Dictation , UCLA (audio is at the top for the dictations), Cool exercises . I find that these immensely help improve your listening comprehension as you are trying really hard to understand vs when you watch a show with subtitles.

13. Podcasts

Podcasts are great because many come with scripts and the quality is usually high. You can listen to them whenever you want to. It is my go-to thing to do. You can also use them for dictation exercises if they have a script.

Russian Pod 101

Russian Made Easy

A Spoonful of Russian

Ochen Po-Russki (Intermediate)

A Taste of Russian (Intermediate)

Proper Russian (Intermediate)

[languageoclock]

information bokmål vs nynorsk encyclopædia britannica - norwegian language omniglot - norwegian orthography wikipedia - norwegian dialects wikipedia - norwegian language wikipedia - norwegian phonology phrases 101languages (bokmål) omniglot (bokmål and nynorsk) polymath (bokmål) transparent language (bokmål) wikitravel phrasebook (bokmål and nynorsk) apps/websites duolingo (bokmål) learn norwegian naturally (bokmål) learn norwegian online (bokmål) memrise (bokmål and nynorsk) norwegianabc (bokmål) now - norwegian on the web (bokmål) pardonmynorwegian (bokmål) polymath (bokmål) sett i gang (bokmål)

grammar/verbs now shortgrammar.pdf (bokmål) grammar checker (bokmål) språkrådet praktisk grammatikk (bokmål) ucl scandinavian wiki (bokmål) verbix (bokmål) verbix (nynorsk) dictionaries bab.la (bokmål) bokmålsordboka / nynorskordboka dict.cc (bokmål and german) lexin (bokmål and nynorsk) nordeniskolen nordisk miniordbok + audio (bokmål, nynorsk, danish, swedish, finnish, greenlandic, sami, faroese and icelandic) pons (bokmål and german) encyclopedias korrekturavdelingen.no (bokmål) store norske leksikon (bokmål) wikipedia (bokmål) wikipedia (nynorsk) blogs afroginthefjord blogglisten easynorwegian lingvisme transparent language news aftenposten dagbladet dagen dagens næringsliv klartale vg

youtube learn norwegian naturally michelle alexandra norwegianabc norwegianclass101 norwegian teacher - karin thirduncle1

[languagetrash]

German resources

For anon! (I’m going to leave out the most obvious ones like Memrise and Duolingo. Feel free to add ones that I’ve missed.)

YouTube:

Deutsch Für Euch Easy German Get Germanized Slow German (also a podcast)

Online Proficiency Tests:

Deutsch Lernen Transparent Heidelberg

General Websites:

lyricstraining DeutscheWelle Buzzfeed Deutschland German resources Tumblr tag My German tag (gotta get that self-promo) Goethe Institut deutsch.info deutschdrang Internet Polyglot 1000 Most Common German Words deutsch-perfekt yourdailygerman

Websites specifically for A1-A2

learn-german-online A1 Goethe Institut A1-A2 longua.org A1 longua.org A2 A1 Vocab list deutschakademie A2

Websites specifically for B1-B2

B1 vocab list B2 vocab list longua.org B1 longua.org B2 german-course-vienna B1 german-course-vienna B2

Websites specifically for C1-C2

longua.org C1 deutschakademie C1 schubert-verlag C1 and here schubert-verlag C2 and here Quizlet C1-C2 vocab flash cards

German News/TV

ZDF ORF TLC Deutschland Das Erste ProSieben

German Music

Disney songs Rap Rock My German playlist

Online German Dictionaries

Linguee dict.cc reverso Duden Austrian dictionary Austrian German Glossary Bavarian dictionary Colognian dictionary Swabian - English

Finding people to talk to:

@polyspeak‘s German community list italki