Teaching an Old Cat New Tricks

Hello world, my name is Mixter! I'm a 24 year old university student currently pursuing an animal science degree after a long time spent at community college. Even after spending so many years in school I still want to improve my organization skills and my study habits, so this is my documented path on becoming a stronger student. I hope my journey will inspire others out there the same way the studyblr community has inspired me! My Personal Blog My Ask Box is always open!

[bulletnotestudies]

*click for better pic quality* My other masterposts: study sounds⎪dealing with failure 

[bulletnotestudies]

✨ how to deal with failure: a brief guide for the completely done and utterly fed up student ✨

first of all, recognise - and i don’t mean just read, internalise it - that failing is okay. you’re not dumb, you’re not unworthy of taking the class, you might’ve not even necessarily had the wrong approach; you did, however, in any case, have bad luck. and that can be changed. it absolutely can be changed and you do have the time to adjust your studying so you can make up for the misstep. it’s gon be okay buttercup <3

1. vent to a friend/sb you’re close with

i personally attacked my bestie, talked to a few other ppl, and it helped get some of the frustration out. it’s also important you learn to speak to yourself how you would to a friend - you certainly wouldn’t tell them they’re a failure and won’t come back from this, would you? what you actively tell yourself shapes your subconscious thoughts.

2. catch up on the self care you’ve neglected when studying

get a long shower to wash the exam off, eat your meals slowly, get enough sleep (!), clean your room (unburden The Chair™ - srsly, do your laundry - and vacuum, change your bedsheets perhaps?)

3. make a study plan for the retake

be sure to make it realistic and flexible so you don’t end up inducing more stress (helpful posts: 1 2 3 4 (not mine)), try to finish all the topics at least 3 days before the exam so you can spend the last days refreshing your knowledge and preparing mentally instead of cramming.

4. reflect (critically) on your studying so far

is there anything you can do to get more out of your time? quality over quantity is super important when it comes to revision; try implementing more active recall into your study sessions (some posts you can consult on this topic: 1 2 3 (not mine), what is active recall?) and spacing them out more; try to avoid cramming as it increases your stress levels and isn’t as affective with committing information to memory. also, if you asses you could use some help, reach out! ask a friend, get in touch with your professor, seek advice online… getting help = showing readiness for improvement = mature and very welcome!

5. schedule self-care time

when you’re making your study plan, remember to also think of your mental and physical health ● you can space out little acts of self care throughout the week (i.e. take a bubble bath every sunday, schedule a weekly video call with your best friend, allot time to spend with your s/o, do a quick workout every day,…) ● or have a ‘mental health day’ for a whole day each week (i.e. on saturdays, only do things you enjoy - spend the day reading/drawing/binging netflix/baking/…); i personally like to space my self care throughout the week and go for a walk with my best friend every two weeks or so. i’m not kidding, schedule your ‘me’ time into your planner. write. it. down.

6. sleep

i’ve mentioned it already but it’s so important it deserves it’s own bullet point - remember to also take good care of your brain. it is, after all, the organ working the hardest here. a whole day of studying, doing chores, talking to people, etc. has your synapses firing away like crazy, so sleeping is vital for them to recover and come back stronger the next day. give them time to cool down, process the information you’ve gathered throughout the day and store it somewhere you can access it later. seriously. an important note here: there isn’t a single amount of sleep that is optimal for everyone - some people work best on 6 hours of sleep, some can’t go on less than 9. dedicate yourself to figuring out what works best for you and learn to plan your wake up time. ● option no. 1: get into the habit of going to sleep and waking up every. day. at. the. same. time. - a good routine is even more vital in these times when time doesn’t even matter bc we literally don’t go anywhere ever. ● option no. 2: if your uni/work schedule doesn’t allow you to establish a daily routine, try using sleepyti.me to calculate when you should wake up to feel most refreshed :)

hopefully these points can serve as a base/reference for your academic rebound <3 i wrote them up after straight up skipping the grieving-this-is-unfair phase of failure and just being left with a slightly-pissed-but-definitely-fed-up-with-this-class feeling. it dawned on me that i surely can’t be the only one facing this, so i decided to share this and hopefully help you guys out as well:) keep in mind: your worth has zero correlation with your grades, you’re a bad bitch and will not stop bc life tried to knock u down - here’s a quote i like: when life knocks you down, calmly get back up and very politely say, “you hit like a bitch”. after that, u can follow these steps and flourish x

[eunoiamaybe]

my quick tips for working / studying from home

- get dressed and style your hair as if you’re going to school/work - even use the same perfume/ cologne as you normally do  (trick your mind into being motivated)

- plan things out - everything (plan out your week, day, meal, etc. you can make these as specific as you’d like. this will help you stay on top of your work as well as stay healthy, especially if you live alone.)

- make studying/ working the first thing you do each day - best if you can start in the morning (minimize the tendency to procrastinate)

- just start - don’t worry too much about perfecting or finishing anything yet (if you don’t start then there’s nothing for you to perfect or get done. and it will never get done)

- listen to old and simple (aka non-distracting) podcasts, Youtube videos, or café/ chattering white-noise, etc. simply leave them as background noise to create an illusion of being outside your room (bring the presence of people to you. my favorites lately have been slam poems from 2016, Mae Martin’s stages, and Awsten Knight’s crackhead podcasts)

- set timers, for both study sessions and breaks (so that you don’t overwork, burn out, or procrastinate. the Pomodoro technique works great here)

- take advantage of the comfort of your own home (light a candle, have crunchy snacks, play loud music, review notes out loud while pacing around, wrap yourself in a blanket burrito, study on your bed if you can focus there like me, etc. basically anything you can’t do in a classroom, office, or the library)

- if you miss your friends, call/ text/ facetime them, make a study group chat with them, etc. (that is what technology is for)

- choose recreational activities/ self-care for your breaks instead of going on social media (go on walks, make small art, play an instrument, stretch, take a nap, etc. I usually reach for my guitar, brainstorm writing ideas, or sketch very simple line art.)

- if you want to go on social media, do it during meal times - or the 15 minutes after your meals that you can’t work just yet (it also doesn’t make you feel like you’re wasting time)

- study in different rooms for a change of scenery (dining room, living room, the patio, etc. I have an armchair next to the window that I study in whenever I need some sunlight and don’t have to write anything down. however, if you need a designated place to focus on your work, you can also use these alternative spaces as designated “relax” or “creative” place for your breaks)

- use this as an opportunity to take care of yourself (get enough sleep, drink water, exercise, talk to your family, take your meds, be mindful of your mental health, etc.)

Feel free to add your tips. The current situation sure is unpleasant but it is unavoidable. All we can really do now is take care of ourselves, others, and try to make the best out of this.

Good luck to everyone and stay safe! My heart is with you all 💕

[kittenwitchandthebadvibes]

[medicineinside]

Next study tips 📖 I learned it from my course 📄

[wellexecuted]

some off the bat study tips I use

Been “not in the mood” for a good couple of weeks now. Here are some study tips I use, in the hopes that I’ll somehow kickstart my own system. 

1) Keep a whiteboard above your workspace. Often as a student you’re working on multiple things at once- there’s nothing worse than trying to get one task done when there’s another lingering in the back of your mind. Having a whiteboard means I can just look up, scrawl the task down on the board so it’s out in the world. The act of doing so means you can push it out of your mind now it’s truly Out There, and can resume the (probably equally important) task at hand. 

2) As a college/ uni student, ruthlessly prioritise your time. you know whether that crusty 9 am is worth the commute. As a city commuter student, my Wednesday morning lecture is the only class I have all day, and the recording is posted online: hardly worth the two hour commute. I use the time I’d have spent standing in rush hour, sitting in class and then heading back to the station to get a head start on my reading, go to the gym, walk my dog and watch it back in the evening at my own pace. 

3) That being said, don’t skip for the sake of skipping. Be mindful what you skip, and when you skip- it’s a useful, albeit limited, tool very easily misused. I rely on my economic history seminar to understand what the fuck is going on in the assigned readings. It isn’t pre- recorded and it takes my prof eeeeons to upload the powerpoint online: so you can bet I am there, without fail, every week, even though it often kills me to leave my warm house and get on that train. 

4) Change up your environment. Study with your boyfriend in your favourite coffee shop. Study curled up in your living room with the telly on. Study in the pub with a pint on a quiet weekday. Study on the train. Do away with the idea that you’ve got to be sitting at your desk, facing your wall, in your bedroom for the material to sink in. There is so much joy in casual academia. Make space for it without letting it consume you. 

5) Try and immerse yourself in your subject. Enjoy the content you are reading. Treat your work, where you can, as more than something to check off a list. This one is particularly for those in tertiary education: let yourself fall in love with your specialist subject. 

6) Read, and watch, around your subject. As I stressed with 4, you are paying for the privilege of immersion. 

7) Exercise regularly, particularly during stressful academic periods. If you’re anything like me, sometimes this can be your only true escape from studying. Allow yourself an active hour, “switch off” your brain and get sweaty. 

8) Find your “thing”. By “thing”, I mean the method of working that pains you the least, and allows you to engage with the material the most. For me, it’s watching content- I’m a visual and auditory learner, so the act of transcribing from videos and documentaries allows me to engage with the material sufficiently and easily without becoming overwhelmed. For instance, I’m currently preparing a short presentation on the Mughal Empire: my first point of call alongside the recommended readings was the corresponding Crash Course video. If you’re anything like me, Crash Course is most certainly your friend. 

9) Plan small. Don’t write out great swathes of work to muddle through in a day. Set yourself a few core tasks at the beginning of the day, and when these are done, set yourself some more. Working like this means you don’t become lost in huge, epic- style lists and are probably more productive. 

10) Organise your space. Nothing is more shit than sitting in a badly lit room, cramped amongst piles of paper and unsure where to start. We’re funny things- we respond intrinsically to our environments. So do yourself a favour, and take a good ten or twenty minutes to “set up”. Clean your space, put your things in your binder or organise your files on your desktop, plan your session in your diary and make yourself a cup of something before you begin. 

11) Let your phone die, or turn it off. You can have the restraint of a living saint, and still allow yourself that two minutes/ four hours scrolling. The best thing you can do is eliminate the distraction completely. 

I desperately need to take my own advice :))))

[langblrwhy]

[sketchesinstillness]

[studiesofamarinebiologist]

How to make your mornings easier

So remember how I vowed to never take an 8AM again and then I did? Well I swore to myself never again. So I have a 9AM now haha. Living an hour away from campus idk why I do this to myself but hey gotta get that edumacation somehow.

Anyways, I have a lot of experience with this early morning thing, especially with depression and icy weather and rainy weather (all 3 make you wanna sleep in so much more) so here are some tips to make your mornings smoother, less chaotic, and maybe even more enjoyable!

Give yourself at least an hour in the mornings. Trust me. The more time you have the better it is. You won't feel stressed or rushed and you'll have time to wake up before driving

M U S I C. Seriously. This like makes mornings 1000x better. Put in some earbuds or blast that shit and have fun. Dance and jump and head bang while getting ready

Make or buy coffee the day before and put it in the fridge or something. Having coffee already made speeds up the routine and it's a nice little treat

Lay out your outfit the night before or at least plan it and know where everything is. Saves so much time even if you are the kind to just grab and go. I am like that. Just grab a shirt and pants and go. But laying it out the night before makes me feel accomplished and in the morning I'm like oh!

"I'll just get gas in the morning" is the worst lie. You'll hate yourself in the morning as that morning will be the one where you are running late and it is super chaotic. Get gas on your way home

Pack your bag for the next day WHEN YOU GET HOME. Don't wait. Mornings are groggy and not the best and you are bound to forget SOMETHING. So pack as soon as you can

Use an alarm you like. "But Lauren, if I like it I won't wake up!" It doesn't have to be peaceful. It can be straight bag pipes and screamo with a hurricane in the background. But if you like it, you'll be happier when waking up

If you know it's going to be cold in the morning, leave the fans off

Two words for you: overnight oats. Cheap, easy, and delicious. "But I don't like yogurt. I am lactose intolerant. I don't like Chia seeds. But..." thousands of recipes my dudes. Thousands. I hate yogurt and am lactose intolerant and hate most fruits. So I use oats, almond milk (vanilla flavored), vanilla extract, cinnamon, coco powder with some sugar mixed in, honey, and if I'm feeling really frisky, some flax seeds. Mix that baby up and stick it in the fridge and voila! A tasty and fast breakfast! You can even eat it on the go or blend it to make a smoothie!

If there's dew or ice, turn your car on like 10 minutes before you leave

Make a routine that keeps things steady and flowing towards the door. Dress, bathroom, breakfast, go

Coffee does not make a great breakfast

Put water next to your bed and drink it first thing in the morning

Hair and makeup can be done before class

Try to get to class half an hour early or more. This gives you time to review and prepare for class

If you have time, try some excercise! A jog, pushups, yoga, etc. It's a great way to get early morning serotonin and energy as well as feel better through the day

Take care of your animals before you eat to make sure you don't forget

If you bring lunch, pack it the night before

Set an alarm for bedtime and listen to it. When your bedtime alarm rings, put the phone or book down and sleep

If you wake up before your alarm, stay up if you have less than 30 minutes before it goes off

You can try burning incense in the mornings. Orange, lemon, and basically any citrus scent is known to improve your mood and help with energy

Consider buying a second phone charger that stays in your car so you don't have to worry about that

Simplify your skin care routine or modify it for the PM

Night showers are now your new beat friend

No you won't wake up extra early to finish that assignment. Just do it now

If you like hot coffee, prep the coffee maker the night before and set it to start when your alarm goes off especially if you sleep near the kitchen. You'll smell it

If you need to help calm your anxiety over your mornings, make a check list with everything to make sure you don't miss anything

Keep your keys in the same spot

If you have a dog, walk them before leaving or feed them when you get up. They catch onto patterns fast and will wake you up if you don't want to get up

Wake up at the same time during the week. Consistency allows you to fall into the patterns and allows you to get used to it faster and easier. And on days you don't have to leave until like 10, you get extra time

[nocontextgoodplace]

[happyhemostudies]

super quick helpful study tip !

when reading over notes and trying to understand something, use the phrase "and that should make sense because ... " and then provide reasoning as to why that is the way it is !

our ochem professor has been focusing a lot on making us not memorize but rather understand why things happen to be a certain way, and this is how I've been reviewing to make sure I understand these things!

ex: the more s character in an orbital, the stronger and shorter the bond is. this should make sense because s orbitals are closer to the nucleus and more electron-dense bc they do not have nodes like a hybridized orbital does

[spikemyheart]

I went to college, hated it, failed all my classes, and dropped out. I realized I had no passion towards academics and I hated the major I’d chosen. I felt very forced to go to a four year school and get a degree, it seemed like the only option to have a future.

I know now this isn’t true. I’ve been working in a kitchen for almost two years now and I absolutely love it. I’ve realized that I can see a real future for me there. So, on impulse I applied to a local culinary school despite my awful gpa. And guess what!!! I got in!!!

Today I met with the head of the department and she showed me around. She was extremely kind and supportive of me. I loved the kitchens and every aspect of the program! I haven’t been this excited about learning in a long time!

So I just wanted to say to people who felt like I did, a four year college is not your only option. You don’t even have to go to college at all. There are trade schools and certification programs and plenty of other ways to get jobs. You shouldn’t feel trapped. And if you feel like college is not for you, don’t waste your money. Do something you’re passionate about!

And another thing, it’s okay to fail! I literally failed all but three of my classes in my first year of college and it made me feel like shit for a long time. Now, I’ve learned that failing a class doesn’t make you a failure. Maybe it’s one class or maybe it’s ten, it doesn’t matter. It does not reflect on your personal worth. It can be hard to see it at the time, but you can move past it and it’s not unfixable. Ik this went kind of long I just wanted to share some thoughts, thanks for reading!

[hastily-written-deactivated2020]

Studying with MD

So this is a post that I have been meaning to make for a long time. I have struggled with maladaptive daydreaming for what seems like my whole childhood. For me, it stems off of my depression. I wanted to make this but I was scared of what people would think about it. I feel childish when I say I daydream and make up this better life because to me that is what children do but I now know it is just a symptom of my illness. I don’t know if this is going to help too many people but I wanted this to be out an on the internet so anyone who is struggling with it can possibly find this and use it to help them. It has made school difficult and I want to try and help people

A simple explanation of what maladaptive daydreaming is: So I’m not a doctor so this will not be 100% accurate for everyone and maybe I make some mistakes but as someone who has dealt with this for a long tie I would call it this - It is a form of intense daydreaming that distracts people from their day to day lives. It for me (from my experiences of it) is a lot like disassociation.

I’m not a doctor so that is as far as I will explain since this is about how to deal with it when studying rather than explaining.

 These aren’t just my tricks but also ones gather from forums of other people who have struggled with it.

How to deal with it when you are studying:

Breaks in between studying can be designated for just daydreaming - Doing this makes you not feel bad for not being productive and having just daydreamed. You’ve done the work now you can do what you like for a certain period of time. I tend to go over my designated time but honestly, I don’t feel as bad because I did something productive during the day.

Avoid triggers during the time leading up to studying - I study in the morning because then I won’t encounter things like movies, tv shows, music and situations that may make me want to daydream and include that in a storyline. I wake up, eat, sit down and study. This means I have avoided trigger events and am less likely for an intense desire to daydream like I have when I usually encounter them.

Create to-do lists of short tasks to do throughout the day - If you push yourself to complete small tasks one at a time you’ll just focus on those tasks so much that you won’t have time to daydream. It sounds simple but it can work for people.

If you are studying and slipping into a daydream then try some kind of grounding technique. Take your mind off the urge and focus on the present moment rather than trying to focus on something else. A few minutes to focus on the world will push that desire to the back of your mind and then you can keep working. Do it whenever you feel a tiny urge so you can stay on track.

Self-discipline overall is the biggest thing and it’s so difficult. I haven’t mastered this and 9 times out of 10 my attempts don’t work but sometimes they do and that’s better than not trying and it never working. Realize when you’re about to start and stop yourself as soon as possible.

Understand why you do this - many people do it because they are bored and don’t like their current situation. I partly do it due to this exact reason and some others. I think this can help because you can learn to tell yourself that you won’t be where you want to be if you keep on spending time daydreaming. If you daydream about your dream job, you won’t get anywhere. It has helped me understand that I need to get up and work if I want to be where I so desire to be.

If anyone is dealing with the same thing and wants to talk to me then my message box is always open and I’d be more than happy to chat about this or just anything else you want to because you aren’t alone in this :) Anyway, my first post being back after quite some time and one that I’ve wanted to get the courage to make so I’m hoping this can help at least one person :D

[studieblah]

if all studyblrs that are transfer students could like/reblog this post that would be great!

hi please i have so many questions and would really like to know who else is a transfer student and would be okay with me messaging them about it!!

[katastrophickota]

hello, my name is dakota, I never post and I drink too much coffee

[lexhasadragon]

Very Fast Study Tip™

If you are a university student, especially a STEM major, ESPECIALLY AN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY STUDENT, you need a whiteboard.

White boards are great for writing things over and over. You can revise all the notes in your respective hemisphere but without active repetition it means nothing. Write your mechanism/structure/wedding vows. Erase part of it. Write it again. Erase more of it. Repeat. 

Get a big one so that you can sit on the floor/bed/table without straining your back from looking down. I have no attention span but I can white-board for hours.

[studyandstorms-deactivated20250]

I cannot stress this enough- Build a routine. Build Habits. Wake up every day and get used to being productive, one day at a time. Do this for long enough and eventually you’ll be at your goal without even realising it.