How I Use Google Drive For University - Pt 1: Digital Notetakingby Kkaitstudies

how i use google drive for university - pt 1: digital notetaking  by kkaitstudies

idk about you but i’ve tested a bunch of note taking methods. in my last few years of university, i was indeed lazy and rarely referred back to the professor’s slides in the course shell. i opted to read off the slides in lecture and take notes. while MS OneNote is great, i found myself enjoying Google Drive much more. so here is a quick overview of how i take notes using Google Docs. 

folders are your friends

make separate folders for each of your courses. google drive even gives you the option to change the colours of the folders. in these folders, add any relevant coursework such as the syllabi, readings, and your notes document.

use one doc for notes per course

once you receive the syllabi, take some time to take note of required readings, and assignment deadlines. i have created a free template you can save to your own google drive that you can access here. fill out:

- course code & name - prof’s name, office hours, and email - date(s) for each week of class - weekly readings (tip: if you have online readings, you can link them in the doc!) - & open the document outline (view > show document outline)

you also don’t have to use all these features. T B H, i didn’t do weekly readings. a lot. oops. BUT i did always pay attention in lecture. i simply deleted the “reading notes” header every week i didn’t bother to read.

make use of early access to lecture slides, headers, etc. 

some profs (bless their souls) post the slides sometime before the lecture. if you have the time, copy the lecture slides into your notes. and if they don’t…type real quick to get all the info as it’s happening (or go back to slides online after lecture to see what you missed out on). i separate lecture topics with headers, with the bullet points underneath (see above). if there is anything that the prof says during class that isn’t in the lecture slides, i will change the colour of the text to a different colour. any important concepts or testable material are highlighted.

…and that’s how i take notes! everyone is different. not all note-taking methods work for everyone. this is what worked for me in my last 2 years of uni. hopefully a similar structure works for some of y’all! also, let me know what you think and @ me if you end up using my template. have a great semester!

coming soon: [ part 2: grade tracker | part 3: gmail and gcal ]

How to remain productive with online classes:

A few tips from a broke neuro-divergent academic

Try and wake up early, and go to bed early too. I’m not saying get up at 5 (unless that’s you’re thing) but sleeping into noon is a productivity blackhole. I go for 8 or 8:30, generally, but that’s just what works for me.

Get dressed for the day. I’m not talking like, jeans and a business casual outfit, but a clean pair of sweatpants, fresh underwear, and a new shirt can really put you in the mood for a new morning.

Have a workspace. Whether it be the kitchen table, a desk, a spot on the floor with a lap desk, have a place that’s dedicated to your work. Have items that signify that workspace too, like your book, planner, laptop, lamp, whatever. It can help you get into the zone, being in that space.

Have a morning drink. I choose earl grey tea with honey and cream, but black coffee, herbal tea, lemon water, whatever works for you is awesome, as long as itll wake you up and start your day.

To do lists. To do lists and to do lists and more to do lists. I have three. One is a post it weekly planner deal (3.99 at a local grocery store). it’s a weekly spread already set up, and if you’re anything like me, its really hard to set up a weekly spread. Then I have an app called Ike. I have a daily to do list I write on that app, and then I have four more to-do lists of what I have to for each specific class.

Spread out your assignments. Don’t overwhelm yourself. If you’re professors are like mine, and have the due date for each module as Sunday at midnight. What I do is spread out all my assignments from Monday to Saturday, and I leave Sunday blank, so anything I didn’t do that week, I finish on Sunday. It works for me, it might work for you.

Have a folder for each class, and a notebook for each class. I hate spending money, I’m broke as hell, sono al verde as the Italians say, but a 0.99 cent folder and a 0.25 cent notebook can do wonders for motivating one to fill them up.

Study with a drink. Tea, water, coffee, whatever, but my go to is generally a warm drink. I cannot study if I’m cold, I get tired and groggy, so warm socks, a robe, and a hot drink really keep me going.

Take breaks. Make time for your hobbies, for something fun. Working without stopping absolutely destroys my motivation, and let me tell you, when I feel like that, an episode of Avatar and a snack gets me right back on the wagon.

Do self check ins. Does your back hurt? Are you sad? Stressed? Do you have to pee? Are you hungry? Never put your homework over your health. You won’t be able to get anything done well anyway if you’ve got those blocks.

Most importantly, get enough sleep. I beg of you. Sleep is so important, and it’s the game changer, at least to me. We as students have such an amazing opportunity to get more sleep than we ever have before during the year. Take advantage of that.

my masterpost | my studygram | ask me anything

[click images for high quality]

Other advice posts that may be of interest:

How To Stop Procrastinating

How To Study When You Really Don’t Want To

Unusual Study Tips

How To Do Uni Readings

Active Revision Tips

i mentioned this briefly in my recent vlog about how important it is to gain a better understanding of finances + i figured that it might be nice to share some resources for gaining financial literacy! hope this helps ✨

why financial literacy is important

resources on financial literacy from the national credit union administration

harvard’s take on financial literacy + additional links within that page

how credit cards work

tips for improving your credit score

how to check and improve your credit score

khan academy course on finance

cnn money 101

mymoney.gov from the financial literacy commission

gcf lessons (includes lessons on work / career / internet / microsoft / etc as well)

ally wallet wise

money as you grow

adult budgeting 101

tips for paying off student loans

common ways you waste money

strategies for paying off student loans

how insurance works

personal loans 101

guide to getting out of debt

how student loans work

self care tips for your absolute worst days

so i’m sure we’ve all seen a hundred self care tips masterpost but so many of them just don’t help on my absolute worst days so i thought i’d make my own one to help me and you feel better on those days where it’s all just too much

for when you have 30 seconds:

click for a kitten and for a puppy (refresh the page for a new one!)

clean your face with a wipe or a damp towel. just literally rub it on your face for like 20 seconds and you’ll feel cleaner, trust me

spray dry shampoo into your hair and rub it in to feel cleaner!

stretch once. reach your hands up in the air as far as they can go, and then let them flop back down at your sides. curl up into a tight ball and then relax out straight again. kneel down and then curl your head forward to rest it on your knees.

click to watch a tree grow (refresh the page for a new one!)

drink a glass of water

hug a teddy in bed with you

send me a ask that you are feeling bad and i will reply with love and support! copy paste this text if you don’t have the energy to write anything: “hi i am having a bad day and really need some support right now”

for when you have 5 minutes:

stand under the shower for 5 minutes. you don’t even have to use soap or anything. you could even sit down. just get undressed and put on your favourite song and dry yourself afterwards. put on new clothes if you can, but it’s also 100% good to just put the same clothes back on.

change one item of clothing you are wearing. new socks. new underwear. new tshirt. put on a jumper.

eat a bowl of cereal. don’t have milk? dry cereal is tasty too. don’t have cereal? eat a piece of toast, or a snack bar, or a piece of fruit. just something small to give your body a little energy.

make a cup of tea/hot chocolate and hold it in your hands (once it’s cooled down a bit!). holding a warm mug releases the same chemicals in your brain as a hug does, so think of it as a small warm hug :)

if you have a pet, chat to them. if they are huggable, give them a hug. if you don’t have a pet, here is a cute video of a cat meeting a hedgehog.

wash up one plate. or one bowl. or one mug. 

moisturise!! u will feel softer and also smell good

get some coloured pens/pencils/crayons/ and a colouring book and go wild. you can find things on the internet to print out if you don’t have a book!

reduce the urges:

hold an ice cube

snap an elastic band against your wrist/ankle

paint your nails

dance/sing to your favourite music 

if you have the energy to leave the house, go for a 5 minute walk. or just open a window and breathe next to it.

i like listening to welcome to night vale which is weird and wonderful and the narrator’s voice is so gentle and soothing: here is a link to episode 1 on youtube 

phone a friend!

remember that you are important and loved and deserve so much happiness and so much care and that my ask box is always open on anon for whenever you need a few sentences of love from someone who knows how it feels 💕