probably confused 📒

jessica / college junior mobile link to tags

[itsforexposure]

Because sometimes, "go fuck yourself" isn't an option.

[mentalhealth]

[marias-studyblr]

self discipline tips

here are tips I discovered very recently:

something is better than nothing. 5 minutes of work are better than zero. Just because you missed something on your schedule doesn’t mean you can’t still work on it, even for 5 minutes. Grow and build on this.

second drafts / reviews can be done after.

Don’t think you are going to do your very best work on the first try. Take the weight of perfectionism off your shoulders.

don’t think about doing it. just do it as fast as you can.

build on your productivity, not your failures.

If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once.

if you have a set of different goals to accomplish, begin with the most important one. Wait until the rotine of working for that one settles in (you feel productive and comfortable-ish), and then begin with the next. Repeat.

this way you’ll be building your way up and not juggling everything at the same time, hoping everything works out.

be patient with yourself, you’ll get there!

set smaller deadlines for your goals

have monthly and weekly-ish deadlines

e.g. if you are doing a project, due 22nd Feb, set personal deadlines, like have Introduction written by 2nd Feb, have Methods written by 10th Feb, have project complete by 18th Feb.

take them as seriously as you possibly can, don’t miss out on yourself.

write realistic daily tasks and don’t stop until you finish them. after them you can do whatever you want

on writing realistic daily tasks, the secret is knowing you can only do so much in one day, but trusting you can accomplish everything in the course of any period of time (a week, or 2 weeks or a month, etc.) because you will combine the work from all these different days.

it’s very tempting to write down all the tasks you need to accomplish in one day to just get over with it, but the real deal is you won’t accomplish half of them. You’ll feel very unproductive then, wich leads to demotivation.

spread daily tasks in the time necessary.

have a consistent sleep schedule.

if your mind isn’t ready everything will fall apart.

have one rest day per week where you plan nothing, do whatever you want except studying. this can be harder than you expect!

(don’t forget these are effective only if you actually put them into practice! good luck babes!!)

[specialized-stem]

Personal Study Tips: Tried and Tested

I’ve always been a big fan of studyblr, and my original goal in making my own blog was basically to boost my own productivity and give back to this amazing community but just over a month has passed and I'vebeen noticed by over a thousand people and that’s just??? Mindblowing. So I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their love through making this study tips list. This is a compilation of things I learned through experience and tips that are rarely said but in my opinion really effective. Enjoy!

NOTE TAKING ROUTINE

A lot of people say it’s better to take notes of a lecture in your own words in order to, but HONESTLY this advice has screwed me over multiple times. Remember, when you’re in a lecture, unless you’ve done advanced reading or a brief topic overview, you won’t know what parts of the discussion are important or not. There have been so many times where I was paraphrasing lectures and failed to copy a key detail because I didn’t think it was important.Another issue about paraphrasing notes is that sometimes when you’re in the middle of analyzing the contents of one slide your teacher MOVES ON to the next one and you’re just– you got nothing.

So what’s the alternative? Write down everything you can, WORD FOR WORD (minus articles ofc because they’re useless) as quickly as possible( I usually type on my laptop if I can). Don’t hesitate to make shortcuts– feel free to use 1M abbrvs bc w/ it u’ll be fstr. Blank out your brain, focus solely on copying the text. When everything on the slide is written down, switch your brain to comprehension mode and pay full attention to what the teacher is saying. This method works ideally because while your brain is on blank copy mode, the teacher is usually still explaining what’s on the slide, so you don’t actually miss vital explanations. After you finish, then focus on trying to understand what you just copied, and tune in to any extra info the teacher might give, and this is super helpful especially in a new class where you don’t know how the tests are gonna be like. 

After that, I rewrite my notes. Now I know rewriting doesn’t work for everyone, especially if you don’t have lots of time. Personally, I rewrite because the slow process of writing helps me retain information, but the most important thing is that 1-2 days after making rough notes, I organize and condense the information in a way that’s easy to follow, because trying to make clean notes during a discussion is near impossible especially when you have a teacher who skips from point to point.

Either it be making a mind map, reorganizing your notes on a word file, or summarizing your scribbled mess, reviewing notes is very helpful. Not only does it reinforce what you learn in class, but it also helps you identify gaps in your knowledge so you can clarify your questions with a friend/your teacher before the exam rolls around. Also, THIS is the time you want to start paraphrasing your notes to make sure you understand the terms and definitions, and guess what? You aren’t missing any key information because you copied everything 

Experiment! I personally use a modified Cornell method with headings on the left and info on the right (no summary), but that was after 2 years of different note taking styles. Whenever you find that your notes aren’t helping you, try to reflect and find out why. Do you need more visuals, or are your diagrams confusing you? An example of a notetaking style I developed over time is separating concepts notes and practice problems in Math. I found having them together was super distracting when trying to study either one, so separation really helped.

REVIEW TIPS

While flashcards like Quizlet can be great for a review, they can be really tedious to make. If you need to review something, a simple alternative is to write all the key terms on an index card and define them in your head or out loud without referencing your notes. If your exam is heavy term-based, you can up this strategy a notch: start out with a blank index card, then slowly fill it with all the terms you remember, then later reference your notes for terms you forgot. This strategy is a variant of “active recall” and what makes it effective is that it forces your brain to remember, which passively reading your notes usually fails to achieve.

Record audios! Saying your notes out loud not only helps reinforce the information into your brain, but having recordings can help you study when you’re doing something else like commuting or cleaning your room. Personally, I have a group chat where I send audios to my friends, and as an audio-visual learner my memory did improve for the topics I recorded.

Move Around. Whenever I have to memorize a speech, I ALWAYS do it while walking. Somehow it helps the words flow better. That said, movement in between study sessions can really revitalize the brain. From 5 minute walk breaks to quick exercises, giving the body some time to move can boost your mood and concentration.

While acronyms can be really useful, they can fall short at times. I remember being in a test and just getting so frustrated because I forgot what the O in my SOAP acronym meant. In order to prevent the “oh no I only remember the letter not the word”, I decided to use a Symbol Method. I’d make a simple drawing with symbols with each line/ doodle representing an idea I had to memorize, and I found it way more effective than acronyms. It doesn’t have to be complicated drawings; you could do —> means progress oriented while // means stop bad habits. The drawings don’t need to be close to the actual concept, all it does it help make a connection for better remembering.

MOTIVATION HACKS

Whenever you feel like you’re in a motivational slump, find someplace else to study. Get out of your room and go to a library or a coffee shop or wherever is comfortable but the idea is study in a place where people are busy. I actually find I can focus more when I’m in studying my classroom than at home simply because I’ve been induced to feel that the room was built for studying, and whenever I see others studying I feel kind of compelled to be productive too. Peer pressure, I guess but in a good way??

Block out your time schedules, but don’t block out individual tasks. What do I mean? Well, how many times have we taken 4 hours on what we thought would be a 1 hour essay and then just ruin our ENTIRE daily schedule??? To fix this, I started blocking out “work time” in my daily schedule. No tasks, just “work time”, and in these timeblocks I just do whatever’s on the to do list. Now, you can optimize this system by making “low intensity” and “high intensity” work times, where you identify your most productive hour of the day and do your hardest task in that time block, but that’s up to you.

Don’t feel guilty about making yourself feel more comfortable. Turn up the AC for a long study session. Buy coffee from your favorite coffee shop, even though it’s more expensive than something homemade. Take a long hot shower, prepare a big bowl of snacks, whatever. If you feel horrible (which I think we usually do before big tests) you won’t be able to retain info and study well. Take care of yourself, have a break now and then. I always have to fight the guilt I feel when doing this, but YOUR COMFORT IS WORTH IT.

On that note, please GET ENOUGH SLEEP. I know people who have pulled all nighters studying and still failed because their mind was too dead from sleep deprivation. Most relevant for math but true for all subjects, you can’t study optimally if you’re tired, so REST. Know how long you need (I personally require 7.5 hours on average) and make it a point to sleep long enough for it. If you’re a power nap person, then go, but naps aren’t for everyone (me included) so I prefer just getting my hours in.

And that’s about it! I really hope you find this helpful, and thanks again for the support <333 much love!!

[adulttalk]

How to Make Your Own Study Guide

This is a post on how to make your own study guide if your teacher hasn’t given you one. I will break this up into subjects for when the study guide will differ.

Maths

1. Gather all of your class notes from the sections that you will be quizzed/tested on.

2. Get a blank sheet of paper and write down all of the problems (WITHOUT the answers) and the type of problem it is and the section it belongs to. So On the First line write “Math Exam 2: Sections 3.2-4.5. Then below that on the second line, write down 7/8 - 4/9 and out beside it write section 3.2: adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.

3. Work these problems and then check your answers against the answers you wrote down when they were worked in class. Try to see what mistake you made or what part of the problem you got stuck on. Realizing the mistake will remind you to not make it in the future. Work the problems until you can get the right answers on the first try. Sometimes I work my study guides three times all the way through if that’s what it takes.

Sciences

1. Gather all of your class notes from the sections that will be covered on the test. From these notes (or if your teacher already gives this to you), write down the major topics of each section. For example: Section 3.5: history of the periodic table, periodic law, periodic trends

2. On a blank sheet of paper, write the heading as “Science Exam 3: Chapters 3-5. Start by writing the chapter in the margins, and then listing the major topics that you found in step one on the line beside it.

3. Go through your notes, writing down definitions, examples, and important things to remember Ex. Periodic law: properties of elements are predictable based on their groups. Mendeleev and Meyer first grouped elements according to properties of the elements. It is crucial that you’re putting everything in your own words while still transmitting the meaning from the notes. Putting things in your own words makes it easier for you to recall the information during a test.

4. Have a section of your study guide labeled miscellaneous. In this section put things that didn’t fit in other sections or put reminders for what you have struggles with in that chapter. You can even put things in this section that you use to help you remember things from the chapter. Also put reminders to work math problems out. Ex. When finding the electron configuration of ions, electrons are removed from the previous s sublevel and then from the d sublevel as needed. Practice nomenclature, review names of polyatomic ions, practice calculating formula mass and percent composition. For the stoichiometry and other math-related parts of science, see above.

History

1. Gather class notes from the sections that will be covered on the test.

2. Make a timeline of the time covered in the sections. Ex. Civil War Era Through Reconstruction. Only include dates and a teeny summary of what happened. Ex. 1860-Lincoln elected President

3. As you’re making your timeline, on a separate sheet of paper, write the date, what happened, who was involved, and cause and effects if your class focuses on that. Ex. 1860-Abraham Lincoln was elected president, beating out John C. Breckinridge, Stephen A. Douglas, and John Bell. Lincoln’s election can be listed as one of the preliminary causes for the outbreak of the Civil War, seeing as Lincoln supported the freedom of the slaves and later wrote the Emancipation Proclamation

4. Study your timeline and big summaries at first, but as you get closer to test day, start limiting yourself to your timeline and try to lower the number of times you have to look at your summary. Eventually you should be able to look at your timeline with the date and teeny summary and describe what you have listed in your big summary from memory. If you can do this, you’ve learned your material.

English

I’m going to forewarn everyone, I tested out of all of my college English classes so I’m unsure of what the classes focus on for their tests, so I’m going to describe what I did when studying for my AP English in class tests in high school (not the actual AP Exam).

1. Gather class notes for the sections that will be covered on the test.

2. For any definitions, make a Quizlet and review until you know the definitions. On the cards, also provide yourself with an example from either a book that has been read in class or it can be one you found on Google as long as you understand it. If you’re unsure, ask your teacher for an example, but not a day before the test. It’s too late then and they teacher may even refuse.

3. If your test will be over a book, poem, play, etc. make sure you’ve done the reading, or in the least, looked at the Sparknotes over it. Write down the major characters, their roles in the reading, their personality, and their relations to other characters. Take note of the setting (this includes date AND location) of the reading. Ex. Othello-Venice and Cyprus, late 1500s. Othello-main character, tragic hero, tragic flaw is jealousy, easily manipulated by Iago to turn against his wife Desdemona, review the five sins of the moor.

I hope this helps anyone who is transitioning from high school and the world of teacher given study guides to college,the land of pain where study guides are few and very very far between! Send me an ask or a message if I’ve forgotten something, if you have tips you think I should add, or if you want me to make a study guide post for a subject not listed here.

[dukeofbookingham-deactivated202]

The Ivy League is a con pass it on

[dukeofbookingham-deactivated202]

Can you even IMAGINE how much different the landscape of higher education would look if we just redistributed the wealth and resources being hoarded by literally eight fucking schools

[broken-academia]

might just mess around and reclaim my human worth as intrinsic instead of defined by my productivity

[zunairahstudies]

أكل (’akl) Food. Egyptian Arabic Vocab.

عيش (aeesh) bread 

مـِر َبّى (mirabba) jam 

فـَصوليا َ خـَضر َة (fasoolya chadra) green bean

مـَييـَه فـَوّا َر َة (mayyah fawwaara) sparkling water 

مـَييـَه (mayyah) water 

لـَحمـَة (lahma kandooz) beef 

فـِرا َخ (firaech) chicken 

كـُفتـَة (kufta) meatball 

سوسيس (soosees) sausage 

يـَخنـَة (stew) yachna

كـَنتـَلوب (kantaloob) cantaloupe

تـَمر (tamr) dates 

لـَيمون (laymoon) lemon 

بـُرتـُقا َن (burtu’aan) orange 

خوخ (chooch) peach 

ر ُمّا َن (rummaan) pomegranate 

ز ِبيب إسو ِد (zibeeb ‘iswid) sultana 

يوستـَفـَندي (toostafandi) tangerine 

فـَرا َولـَة (farawla) strawberry

عـِنـَب (ainab) grape 

تين (teen) fig

مـَزّ َة (mazza) appetizers 

بـِسكوتـَة (biskoota) biscuit 

جا َتوه (gatooh) cake 

شيبسي (sheebsi) crisps/potato chips 

كوروا َسون (koorwasoon) croissant 

فـِطير َة (fiteera) pie

قـَطا َيـِف (’ataayif) pancake

فـِشا َر (fishaar) popcorn 

بـُنبون (bunboon) sweet/candy

توست (toost) toast

[writeswrongs]

Professors Love Answering Cold Emails from White Dudes, "Meh" on Everyone Else

From NPR’s transcript of a Morning Edition story: Group of researchers ran this interesting field experiment. They emailed more than 6,500 professors at the top 250 schools pretending to be the students. And they wrote letters saying, I really admire your work. Would you have some time to meet? The letters to the faculty were all identical, but the names of the students were all different. […] Brad Anderson. Meredith Roberts. Lamar Washington. LaToya Brown. Juanita Martinez. Deepak Patel, Sonali Desai, Chang Wong, Mei Chen. […] All they were measuring was how often professors wrote back agreeing to meet with with the students. And what they found was there were very large disparities. Women and minorities [were] systematically less likely to get responses from the professors and also less likely to get positive responses from the professors. Now remember, these are top faculty at the top schools in the United States and the letters were all impeccably written.

Two more kickers: “There’s absolutely no benefit seen when women reach out to female faculty, nor do we see benefits from black students reaching out to black faculty or Hispanic students reaching out to Hispanic faculty,” and, “In business academia, we see a 25 percentage point gap in the response rate to Caucasian males vs. women and minorities.” Word, this sounds great, we’re doing great. [NPR]

[writeswrongs]

Remember this

[tchaikovskaya]

Milkman found there were very large disparities between academic departments and between schools. Faculty at private schools were significantly more likely to discriminate against women and minorities than faculty at public schools. And faculty in fields that were very lucrative were also more likely to discriminate. So there was very little discrimination in the humanities. There was more discrimination among faculty at the natural sciences. And there was a lot of discrimination among the faculty at business schools.

*pretends to be surprised*

[academiques]

*squints suspiciously at the last paragraph I wrote* are you. coherent?

[busybby]

hey babes! writing is one of my biggest passions. i love poetry, essays, stories, lab reports, journalism, and any other writing style you can think of probably so i thought i’d just put together some resources to help myself and most importantly, you guys out.

essays

for ap lang & lit

guide to an academic paper

write a kick ass essay in an hour

writing an actual essay in an actual nutshell

write a kick ass essay w half the stress

structuring an essay

tips on writing a thesis statement

free bibliography and citation generator (2)

masterpost on writing essays

lab reports

phrase bank for discussing findings

very basic thing on science reports

writing lab reports and scientific papers (a lil more in depth than the link above)

creative writing

10 things writers don’t seem to know about the woods

when you get stuck in the middle of a scene

on including a theme/symbolism/underlying meaning

character names

unblocking writers block

masterpost of writing resources

journalism

how to write an article

writing a lead

how to write a news story

how to write an editorial (MY FAV THING THIS IS WHAT I LOVE)((i can totally make my own post all about editorials i love them))

the news manual (u know what u can find everything on here)

ok so there are so many types of articles and ways to organize them so if you really want to know about those, just ask me, yeah? 

words

tone vocab list

substitutes for ‘therefore’

substitutes for ‘but’

character personality traits

describe someone’s voice

annoying word things that a lot of people do

synonyms for words that students use a lot

100 sat words

emotions

more sites

type in the meaning and get the word

find the word that’s on the tip of your tongue

find rhymes!!

find synonyms

just this blog in general

60 awesome search engines for serious writers

writing advice

50 best sites for writers

find the right words

hemmingway editor (app that makes your writing bold and clear)

hope this is helpful!!

- annie :-)

[studyingisfortheweekend-blog]

Alternatives for 25 overused words in writing

1. Interesting- note worthy; thought-provoking; fascinating; attracting; appealing; attention-grabbing; captivating; gripping; invigorating; engrossing; engaging; electrifying.  

2. Beautiful- striking; stunning; magnificent; lovely; charming; gorgeous; radiant; dazzling.

3. Good- acceptable, wonderful, exceptional; positive; brilliant; first-rate; notable; stellar; favorable; superb; marvellous; prime.

4. Bad- awful; lousy; poor; unacceptable; crummy; dreadful; rough; inferior; substandard; atrocious; appalling; dreadful; defective.

5. Look- glance; fixate; observe; stare; gaze; peer; scan; watch; study; browse; eye; glimpse; review; inspect.

6. Nice- lovely; superior; pleasant; satisfying; delightful; likeable; agreeable; correct; adequate; swell; fair; okay; approved.

7. Very- extremely; exceedingly; exceptionally; immensely; tremendously; abundantly; particularly; remarkably.

8. Fine- satisfactory; worthy; respectable; exquisite; suitable; well; imposing; decent; admirable; praise-worthy; decent.

9. Happy- cheerful; delighted; pleased; content; amused; thrilled; elated; thrilled; ecstatic; on cloud 9. 

10. Really- genuinely; truly; honestly; actually; undoubtedly; certainly; remarkably; incredibly; downright; unquestionably; extremely.

11. Sad- miserable; gloomy; devastated; down at heard; distraught; distressed; dispirited; sorrowful; downcast; feeling blue; desolate.

12. Big- massive; huge; giant; gigantic; enormous; large; colossal; immense; bulky; tremendous; hefty; sizable; extensive; great; substantial. 

13. Shocked- taken aback; lost for words; flabbergasted; staggered; outraged; astonished; astounded; stunned; speechless; appalled.

14. Small- tiny; petite; mini; miniature; microscopic; minuscule; compact; pocket-sized; cramped; puny; undersized; limited; meager; modest; minute; pint-sized. 

15. Angry- irate; enraged; touchy; cross; resentful; indignant; infuriated; wound-up; worked-up; seething; raging; heated; bitter; bad-tempered; offended; frustrated. 

16. Know- understand; comprehend; realize; learn; perceive; recognize; grasp; sense.

17. Change- alter; transform; replace; diversify; adjust; adapt; modify; remodel; vary; evolve; transfigure; redesign; refashion; advance; transition; shift; adjustment.

18. Old- aged; ancient; matured; elderly; senior; veteran; decrepit; seasoned; venerable; past one’s prime; doddering; senile.

19. Think- ponder; reflect; conceive; imagine; contemplate; consider; determine; realize; visualize; guess/assume; conclude; envision. 

20. Funny- comical; ludicrous; amusing; droll; entertaining; absurd; hilarious; silly; whimsical; hysterical; joking; witty; facetious; slapstick; side-splitting; knee-slapping.

21. Go- move; proceed; advance; progress; travel; walk; journey; depart; exit; flee; make one’s way; clear out; get underway.

22. Give- grant; donate; hand-out; present; provide; deliver; hand over; offer; award; bestow; supply with; contribute to; send; entrust.

23. Get- acquire; obtain; receive; gain; earn; gather; collect; buy; purchase; attain; score; secure; take possession of; grab.

24. Easy- effortless; simple; clear; smooth; straightforward; uncomplicated; painless; accessible; apparent; basic; plain; child’s play; facile; elementary; cinch. 

25. Fast- agile; brisk; rapid; nimble; swift; accelerated; fleeting; high-speed; active; dashing; winged; hurried; turbo. 

[post--grad]

i was terrified of doing this in undergrad, and now that i’m asked to write them fairly often, i am fondly exasperated when my students don’t know how to ask for them. obviously there’s no single way, but here’s the way i usually do it.

(obviously ask in person if you can! but email is also fine.)

THE FIRST EMAIL

should be short & should mainly be asking whether they’re willing to write you the letter

should provide only the basics - what the professor absolutely needs to know.

the position you’re applying for

when the letter would be due

optional: if you’re afraid they won’t remember you, a quick line identifying yourself & your relation to them

i like to provide an “out,” in case they don’t want to or are unable to write the letter

SAMPLE Dear Professor X, I’m applying for a job as an English tutor at the University Student Resource Center, and was wondering if you’d be willing to write me a letter of recommendation for the position. [optional identification: I really enjoyed taking English 300 with you in Winter 2016, and I’m hoping to develop and pass on those skills to other students through this job.] The letter would be due by September 1st - I know you’re very busy, so I completely understand if you’re not able to write one.  All best, Your Name

THE SECOND EMAIL

they said yes!! amazing.

this one can provide a little more information – a link to the job posting, if there is one, or you can write a quick summary of the position, plus a sentence or two about why you’re excited/interested in the job.

also tell them where to send the letter!! 

directly to the recruiter for the job

to you, to add to your application packet

upload to an online LoR service or to an application website

99% of the time folks are fine with receiving electronic copies, but if they need to mail a hard copy, let them know up front.

SAMPLE: Dear Professor X, Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Here’s the link to the job listing; the letter should be sent as a .pdf file to the email address at the bottom of the page, anytime before 9/1. Thanks again – I’m hoping that this job will provide me with some teaching experience and the opportunity to work on my own writing. Please let me know if you need any more information! Best,  Your Name

WHEN TO SEND A FOLLOW-UP

these stress me out real bad but here’s the deal: most professors have a very shaky relationship to deadlines (especially when they have half a dozen more important ones than your piddly LoR). 

the upshot: do not be afraid to nudge them. 

often they need the nudge and are appreciative of it.

when that nudge happens is up to you and how much room you’ve given them before the deadline, and it’ll look different depending on your relationship with that professor.

GRAD SCHOOL LETTERS

i offered to send my professors essays that i had written for their classes, especially if i had taken those classes more than a year before asking them to write the letter, just so they could refamiliarize themselves with my work. you can also offer to send them your writing sample, if you haven’t already asked them to look it over for you.

honestly i’d recommend asking for these in person bc it’ll give you a chance to talk to them about their grad school experience and your own hopes & aspirations, which will help them write a more personal, fleshed-out letter.

one important note: if this letter is intended for use in grad school applications, do not stress out if it’s a little late. most programs do not care, and pretty much all of them accept late letters without a problem. your professor’s ability to meet deadlines does not reflect on you, and professors are intimately familiar with running late on LoRs. they really honestly don’t care. as long as it gets there before too long, you’ll be fine.

thank-yous are up to you! keep in mind that many departments have policies about gift-giving. i did give thank-yous to my three major letter writers, but they were handwritten cards & homemade cookies, nothing store-bought or expensive.

[phoebe-does]

reminder that yearly goals are achieved by setting monthly goals that are achieved by setting weekly goals. Achieving your major goals comes through progress and setting smaller, challenging but achievable goals that leads to getting through those major goals. This helps make those major, daunting goals less daunting, having step by step for yourself to achieve whatever you want.

[life-and-law-studies]

December 20, 2019 // Solstice Eve

[medstudentblues]

going over my notes for the next week. it's going to be a good day 😁✨

[entraindstudy-deactivated201901]

Hey! so i just created my very first studygram (shameless self promo @decafstudy follow me) and one of my irl friends saw my stories and posts and asked “How many hours does your day have? ´cause mine only has 24″ and that got me thinking abt how i take the most advantage of my days to make them feel (or look) 48 hours long! Here are a few of the things I incorporate on my daily student life to be more productive!

• IF YOUR FIRST CLASS STARTS LATE IN THE MORNING WAKE UP 2 HOURS EARLIER THAN NEEDED i know, am i crazy? ok so here´s the deal. If your first class starts, let´s say, at 11:00 A.M you might be tempted to wake up at 10:00 A.M, get dressed, and head to school. Not only does this create bad habits for when you get assigned a 7:00 A.M class (which will happen) but you lose MANY HOURS OF PRECIOUS TIME. Get your 8-9 hours of sleep and do not let yourself wake up later than needed. My class sometimes starts at 11:30 A.M so i wake up at 8:00 have a nice morning, relax, work out a bit, light up a candle and get ahead on reading and work for school! Your day will start and feel more productive!

• NEVER LEAVE CLASS WITH A DOUBT ON YOUR MIND I know this might create anxiety for people who are shy and do not like asking questions during class (i am one of those people) If you feel just too scared to ask during class APPROACH THE TEACHER AFTER CLASS ENDS. as soon as he dismisses class, approach him and ask the question. If you are not able to do so DO NOT STRESS, BUT WRITE THAT QUESTION DOWN ASAP ON A POST IT AND STICK IT YOUR NOTEBOOK. that way you will have the question at hand and you can seek tutoring later and ask, or even ask a friend BUT NEVER LET A QUESTION GO, NEVER think “i will ask it later” BECAUSE YOU WON´T and IT WILL DOOM YOU. This will save so much time when you study, because all your questions will be at hand and you will know what you have to focus on studying.

• WHENEVER YOU HAVE FREE TIME, USE IT TO WORK WHILE DOING SOMETHING FUN instead of just diving head first into watching a movie, ask yourself if there is something more productive that you could be doing rn (reading ahead, reviewing, doing extra math exercises) if the answer is yes, then put that movie on mute and work while taking a peek at the movie ever once in a while. This will not only help you with discipline and learning to keep yourself from distractions, but it will occupy your free time in something that your future self will thank you for later on.

• NEVER ASSUME THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO IT LATER again, think in terms of your FUTURE SELF how much would your future self love it if instead of studying 3 days before the exam, you studied a week before it? How much would your future self love it of instead of reading until 12:00 PM tomorrow, you divided the reading between today and tomorrow? never assume that you will have spare time ahead because chances are that you won´t and you will end up with A BUNCH of work that you didn´t do and that you can´t do at the moment. FUTURE SELF THINKING has saved my life.

• LEAVE TIME OPEN FOR MENTAL HEALTH/PHYSICAL/RECREATIVE CARE as much as i always put work first, I KEEP MY THERAPIST VISIT AND MY GYM ROUTINE STABLE no matter how much work i have. This helps me feel more balanced and like i am on top of everything, not just school, feeling good=more productivity.

• POMODORO TECHNIQUE i know many people know about this but if you don´t, this is basically a studying technique in which you work or study for 25-30 minutes straight NO DISTRACTIONS and then have a 5-6 minute break, and then repeat the process as many hours as you need. This really helps me not get burnt out when I have a heavy load of work. Watching study with me videos on yt is a good way of keeping the pomodoro system going. Some good apps that I use for POMODORO are Forest and Tide.

• HAVE AN APP CARPET ON YOUR PHONE THAT IS CALLED “PRODUCTIVITY” ie. download a BUNCH of cute as hell apps that help you get motivated and organised when you look at them. This will make you more prone to look at your phone as an INSTRUMENT rather than a DISTRACTION. (my fave apps are Taskade, Forest, Tide, Brainscape and Pocket)

• Lastly, GET MOTIVATED i know this sounds cliché, but the reason why i love keeping my day busy is because i surround myself with a romanticised idea of studying. Doing these kinds of posts, following a bunch of accounts with pretty notes, having a clean room and desk, going to the library and appreciating the color scheme or sounds around you, listening to relaxing sounds or music while working, downloading many pretty apps to keep myself on track while having a cute aesthetic… all of these things might seem small, but they make you feel cleaner, more balanced and more prone to LIKING the work you do.

Anyways i know most of you already do these cause yall are on top of your game alllll the tiiiiime girl, but if any of these helps, ill be very happy!