#faye5

[holtstevens-blog]

@fayyebaker

Holt decided he was gonna try and cheer up his best friend. He didn’t know what was wrong with her and he knew she wouldn’t tell him until she wanted to. He’d gone into town on his day off and picked up some fixings for a home cooked meal. He walked the food over to her Villa and knocked a couple times. He frowned after a few minutes when he realized she wasn’t there. He had the key ‘cause he had the key to every room, cabin, and villa but he hated to violate her privacy like that. He tried the doorknob and was relieved it was unlocked. He stepped inside and made sure to slip off his boots not wanting to track mud everywhere. He set down his bags and took off his jacket. He picked up his bags and walked into the kitchen.

It took about half an hour, but he was almost done with two steaks, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots with peas, and then a chocolate lava cake in the oven for dessert. He had to steal some stuff from the kitchen for the dessert but it was worth it. He heard the door open and grinned with excitement. “It’s me,” he called out so she wasn’t alarmed, “Holt.”

[cancerbiophd]

Hey, I wonder how do you study? And how do you take notes? Like I want to study books are not in my college but I don't know how to start. Thanks

Hi there! Well, I’ll try my best to help you :) My studying style is very catered towards biology, so lots of visual and hands-on learning is involved. If you’re thinking of studying another subject, my experience may not be applicable. 

Firstly, how I take notes. My notes from class in college and grad school actually come as Powerpoint slides from the professor, so I print them out before class and write alllll over them during the lecture:

I use a lot of arrows and abbreviations (but only abbreviations I absolutely understand). I use pencil, and don’t really mess with colored pens or highlighters. I’d rather use that energy to really pay attention to the professor.

And if powerpoints aren’t available, I just take my notes the old fashioned way on a notebook. With pencil. Nothing fancy: 

I take notes in outline fashion, and definitely do not write down word-for-word what the professor/whiteboard says (or my hand will hate me). I use a lot of arrows and abbreviations, as well as examples (sometimes my own because then I truly get it).

Rewrite the notes in your own style. Having the powerpoint notes were fantastic, but it was so easy to get lazy and not do any active learning. Therefore, I like to rewrite my notes when I’m studying. But not as word-for-word text! Nooo, I’m way too lazy to do that. I draw diagrams and flowcharts. Take a look here:

See that slide on the left? Look at all that text! And that teeny tiny figure! No way am I gonna memorize that word for word. So I “rewrote” the notes as diagrams on the right. Now I can actually visualize what’s happening, and it’s so much easier to remember! 

Repetition. That’s basically the key to learning anything, right? Practice makes perfect! So now that I have that diagram, I’m going to work very hard to understand it, and then see if I can draw it from memory. So I’ll usually grab a whiteboard or scrap piece of paper and try to recreate it without looking at my notes. I won’t get it on the first try, or the second, but the more I practice, the more the wires in my brain will strengthen, and soon I’ll remember this diagram like my own home address. 

Teach others what you just learned. I find that’s the best way to truly understand something, and remember it. If you can help someone else learn something, then you have to know it perfectly. So get a study buddy, sit down your sibling, start a blog, make comics of the concepts, or just set up some stuffed animals and pretend you’re a professor teaching a class. 

Utilize all the resources available. Nowadays, we’re not just limited to learning things from textbooks. My favorite way to learn a new concept is through YouTube videos. Even today I was reading up on some new lab method, decided I wasn’t processing the text very well, and just Googled a video illustrating the concept, and then I understood it perfectly! Other resources include online forums dedicated to the subject (for scientists, ResearchGate is our savior), other experts (could be a professor, or a friend who’s taken the class already), documentaries, podcasts, nonfiction books (that are not textbooks), etc. 

Limit your distractions. My brain can only handle so many things at once, so if I want to dedicate it to studying, I have to close out of Tumblr, walk away from the TV, turn my phone to silent, and just get rid of anything that’s not conducive to a healthy studying environment. I do like to listen to instrumental music or some sort of background noise though. Sometimes it helps me concentrate. See what works best for you. 

Be disciplined. I plan out my week in terms of when I’m going to study, and for how long, and then I stick to that schedule! Sometimes it’s not about feeling motivated or inspired to do something; sometimes you just gotta do it. And creating a schedule helps you with that. But do remember to take breaks! This includes a mini 30-second break every 30 minutes to rest your eyes, and then a longer break every hour to rest your brain and body. 

Apply it and stay curious. For me, this means taking the information I learned in class or in textbooks and applying it to my research in the lab. How does learning x concept help me solve y problem? Go out into the world and make up your own example problems. How can you use this information you just learned? See how it all fits together.  Stay curious. Overthink everything. Ask questions. Get answers. Then keep asking more questions. 

Well, that’s all I have! My brain’s been picked (at least for today). I hope that’s helped a bit. Remember: do what works for you. My learning style may not help you at all, but it’s good to know what other options are out there. 

Let me know if you have any further questions :) My inbox is always open!