d e v o n
almost home
RMH
#extradirty
Andulka
Cosimo Galluzzi
dirt enthusiast
Sade Olutola
Origami Around
No title available
Not today Justin
h
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Mike Driver
$LAYYYTER
KIROKAZE
occasionally subtle
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
@theartofmadeline
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@studynaps
It has been one week since handing in a thesis I’ve been working on for four months (longer, really) and one week since starting a full-time job at the university. It’s… Exciting? Depressing? I’m glad it’s done, I hate that it’s over, I want to start my doctorate, I never want to look at a word processor ever again. I don’t know how to feel. I can’t wait for and am terrified of the year(s) ahead.
28th August 2018
I’m researching the representation of witchcraft and the demonic in Macbeth today and I’m having a lot of fun.
IG: warmdayswillnevercease
[22/100 days of productivity]
Went back to school shopping today! Still can’t believe I start my senior year next week, this summer went by so fast!
04.06.2017 // I did four (double) lectures worth of readings. I think my brain has stopped working now.
psa
go wash your keyboard protector in the kitchen sink rn. think this doesn’t apply to you because you don’t have one? go get one now! i think having a keyboard protector on my laptop has added years to its life!
short, sweet, & to the point back to school tips
An anon recently asked for some back to school tips, so I thought I’d give a few for both high school and college.
For high school & college:
Need new stuff? Have you checked your backpack? Is it falling apart? Make sure your most basic needs are covered.
Be certain you have the right supplies for each class, such as a folder and a notebook for each.
Of course, make sure you have pencils, pens, paperclips, tape, post-it’s, index cards, and anything else you might need.
Prepare your workspace! Clean out your desk and make sure everything has a designated space. Clear away clutter. A cluttered desk makes for a cluttered mind.
Freshen your wardrobe! If you have the extra cash, use some to buy yourself new clothes and shoes. It’ll definitely get you in the back-to-school spirit.
Did you do your work for over the summer? Please do not wait until the last week/day/night to do this. Try to enjoy the rest of your break!
Do you have a reading list for the upcoming year/semester? If so and if you have the time, get a head start on your reading before you start getting busy.
Get a planner or a bullet journal! Set it up and fill out as much as you can: important dates, big projects, etc.
When picking a seat on the first day, sit at the front of the classroom. You’ll be free from distractions, be able to hear & see better, and more likely than not your questions will be answered.
Start organized, stay organized. Keep all your handouts in separate folders or binders. Use a color coded system: match your folder/binder to your notebook for a particular class.
Get on a good sleep schedule. Gradually start going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. It takes two weeks to establish a new sleep schedule.
For college:
Make sure you have everything you need to furnish your dorm or apartment!
Stock up on some healthy study snacks.
Look at a map of your campus and learn the routes you will have to take to get to your classes. You don’t want to be late on the first day!
Get your books early to err on the side of caution. Professors are very unsympathetic to, “I didn’t do my reading because I didn’t have the book.” Figure out how much you’ll use your books and/or if you can effectively share, and sell your books back as soon as you can.
Best of luck to everyone as you get ready to head back to school!
I don’t want to speak too soon but it looks like my master’s thesis is finally taking a vague shape. I can’t sleep, I’m either starving or nauseous and it’s almost the only thing I can think about. Hopefully this means it’s working.
How to Never Fall Behind in Classes
Alternatively titled: How to Use Your Planner or How Organization and Discipline Will Get You Better Grades
This is my full guide on how to use your planner effectively and make sure that you are never missing deadlines or falling behind in classwork and homework. This is definitely more about the university level and works best with a dated planner, rather than a bullet journal. Let’s get started!
Get all of your syllabi together and write down dates. Go through one class at a time and mark down all of your major tests and assignment due dates. I recommend putting these dates into the monthly and weekly views, and perhaps coming up with a symbol or other indicator that tells you they are of utmost importance.
Make a weekly schedule of when to complete readings and do a weekly review of notes. Instead of trying to randomly decide when to do these things, assign a date for each task for each class. If you have a tutorial on Tuesday, do the assigned readings for it every Wednesday. I recommend scheduling one to two weekly tasks per day, and to leave a few days open, whether it be weekends or days when you have a lot of classes.
Make a master list of assignments. I find that sometimes, even having due dates in the calendar view isn’t enough, and they can still sneak up on you. The master list will be a good place to double check if you have any deadlines approaching easily.
In the week or so before a due date, create a checklist of smaller tasks needed to complete the assignment. Set individual due dates for each smaller task by working backwards from the due date. Smaller tasks may include finding sources, making an outline, writing a rough draft, and editing and adding references to create a final copy. Write the smaller tasks into your daily to-do list.
You can also do this with studying for tests, but the checklist would look slightly different. You could either sort by study method (first do flashcards, then do essay outlines, etc.) or sort by the topics you need to study.
Stick to the schedule you have made. Obviously, if something comes up and you need to move your to-do list around, do so! But if you aren’t doing anything and you see readings on your list of daily tasks.. do them. Having the plan set out like this makes it easier for you to remain disciplined.
Why use this method?
By creating a schedule for repeated weekly tasks like completing readings, you make sure that you can’t repeatedly push off smaller tasks until you are weeks behind. I don’t think it is very reliable to just will yourself to do readings, or to keep up with them without tracking it.
By writing down all of your due dates, you will never be shocked to find out something is due the night before. You will know and you will be prepared.
By creating smaller checklists of tasks to complete before a major test or assignment, you will never find yourself in a situation where you have an essay due in a few days and haven’t even started. You will be following a timeline and making sure you don’t have to rush.
I know this system may seem rigorous, but planning is the only way you can keep on top of your workload in university! Falling behind is a lot harder if you are organized and disciplined, and being on top of your workload will help you a lot when it comes to exam times… no cramming and all-nighters if you have been consistent all semester!
I had a meeting with my dissertation supervisor earlier this week and we’ve agreed that it’s time to start writing, which is terrifying, and I don’t feel ready, but it is also really good to see a plan for the next few months take shape.
Used book haul. 😍
Fitzbillies is easily one of my favourite coffee place in Cambridge. Honestly the cold brew is heavenly and I don’t even like iced coffee! ☕️ ☕️
Instagram: @fulltimestudies
Still life. Studying on the piano🌸🎹
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!!)
14.05.2018 love this artsy environment
Thanks so much for that advice regarding uni!! I actually want to go into Philosophy :) how do you like the department?
oh nice!!! i actually really like the philosophy department here so i hope you do too :) there’s so many fantastic and brilliant teachers in the department and i’ve loved almost all the classes i’ve taken (except for a couple of required intro classes lol)
HOW I GOT A 4.00 GPA- AND HOW YOU CAN TOO!
4.00- the golden number. Every student wants it, but how to get there? In this post, I’ll be giving you my best advice as to how I got my 4.00 GPA, and how you can get one as well. The post will be split into 4 sections- before school, during school, after school, and overall. Hope you enjoy!
BEFORE SCHOOL:
MAKE SURE YOU’RE COMING TO SCHOOL PREPARED. I can not stress this enough. Your school day begins before you even step inside a classroom. If you use a device to take notes, make sure you charge it overnight. If you use notebooks, make sure you’re bringing them all with you. Be prepared for the day that’s about to come.
EAT A GOOD BREAKFAST. Eating poorly literally diminishes your ability to think well. Have a balanced breakfast- keep yourself well fed throughout the day as well.
BE ON TIME. Starting your day late can sometimes put the whole day out of whack. Teachers can also take points away from you if you have poor attendance and punctuality, so make sure you’re always on time!
DURING SCHOOL:
ACTUALLY PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS. Make sure you take advantage of the lesson time you have. The teacher is there to teach you, so try your best to learn.
GET THE IDEA INTO YOUR HEAD THAT CLASS TIME IS WORK TIME. I know it can be tiring to always be working. But, associating class time with play time is dangerous (and a hard habit to snap out of). You will have time to rest later- now it’s time to work.
PRACTICE SMART NOTE TAKING. Don’t copy everything the teacher says- that’s not effective. Be succinct, try your best to assimilate the information before you write it down.
YOUR TEACHERS ARE RESOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE- USE THEM AS SUCH. Ask them questions. If there’s a concept you didn’t quite understand during class, try to ask them about it later. This will show you are dedicated and have the desire to learn.
ACKNOWLEDGE DISTRACTIONS, AND AVOID THEM. If your friends are distracting you during class, don’t sit near them. You’ll have time to hang out later. If your phone is distracting you, turn it off or don’t bring it with you. Know what your distractions are and make an effort to avoid them.
AFTER SCHOOL:
REVIEW WHAT YOU LEARNED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. You’re more likely to remember what you learned that day if you look at it more than once. Reinforce your new knowledge.
REST. It won’t do you good to just study your way into exhaustion. It’s not good for your mind or your body. Take care of yourself too.
STUDY REGULARLY AND EFFECTIVELY, NOT DAILY. You don’t have to study every day. I repeat- YOU DON’T HAVE TO STUDY EVERY DAY! That is not the best way to learn. 3 hours of productive studying are way better than 8 hours of ineffective studying.
GET YOUR HOMEWORK DONE WITH. I know, homework sucks for the most part. But teachers can discount points from you if you don’t hand in assignments on time, so just get it over with.
OVERALL:
GET GOOD SLEEP. Only about 15% of teenagers get enough sleep on a school night. Try your best to be in that 15%. Sleep deprivation can decrease your ability to concentrate and solve problems, so sleep well!
UNDERSTAND THAT SOME DAYS WILL SIMPLY BE BETTER THAN OTHERS. It’s ok if you’re not doing too well on one day- don’t beat yourself up because of that. Vow to come back stronger tomorrow. Stay motivated and don’t lose hope because of some bad days.
KEEP TRACK OF YOUR STUDY SESSIONS. Keeping track of my study sessions is my favourite way to organise my studying. Since I struggle with hyperfocus, I time myself while doing a certain task so that I don’t lose track of time. I strongly recommend the app Focus Keeper for this!
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESSES. You don’t have to just accept not being good at something. For example, I struggled with History for the longest time, and it was always my lowest grade. But after months of working and working, I now do well in all of my exams because I dedicated myself to it.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, REMEMBER THIS AT ALL COSTS: NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, IS UNLEARNABLE. As much as some things are harder to learn than others, this does not make it impossible. Keep in mind that you can do anything by working hard and being dedicated.
That’s it for today guys! I hope you found this post helpful!
Gonna attend McGill this fall, any advice?
cool! without knowing what program you’ll be in, i’ve got some general tips :)
check mycourses regularly in the week before class starts, because sometimes teachers will post syllabi and/or assignments before classes starts (not always, though!). this will also be helpful because if they tell you what textbooks/course packs you’ll need, you can pick them up before the crazy rush at the bookstore when term starts.
also before term begins—familiarize yourself with the campus and where your classes are! it can be really confusing and overwhelming finding your way around at first, especially the first week in september when it’s really hot and crowded on campus. also there’s so much construction getting in the way here lol.
memorize your student id number.
hot tip: on the first floor of leacock, there’s a little cash-only cafe called snax where you can get coffee, tea, snacks, etc. it’s good coffee for $1 if you bring your own thermos!
midterms come up really fast and there’s no reading week in the fall term so it’s important to start strong and not slack the first week.
explore the libraries, there’s lots of them so you’ll find a spot you like :) the main one, mclennan, is a solid choice—big so it’s much easier to find seats—and as a rule of thumb the floors get quieter the higher you go up. birks, on university st, is totally silent and is also beautiful, but you have to take your shoes off and you’re not allowed any tech or food.
if you can, don’t be afraid to switch your courses around during the add-drop period. attend the ones you’re interested in to get a feel for them, get on waitlists (these usually move super fast), do the readings to see how you like them.
advising is super helpful! i don’t know why more people don’t go, but find out who your advisors are so you can have their emails on hand if ever you have questions!
change your mycourses settings so that you get emailed when things are posted there. this has saved my life on several occasions.
okay that’s sort of a brain dump of everything i wish i’d known first year. message me if you have more questions! good luck! :)
