I'm Creating My Own Dictionary! My Hope Is To Add A New Word To It Every Day. I Also Plan On Highlighting

I'm creating my own dictionary! My hope is to add a new word to it every day. I also plan on highlighting all of the phrases to make them easier to find. Overall, it was a productive day!

I got the obligatory studyblr clock- I feel the productivity surging through my veins :)

I’m sure we all know how tricky time management and productivity can be, and also how crucial it is to be good at it, to succeed. So, I’d like to share a strategy of effectively managing all of those tasks you have at hand! 

Introducing Dwight Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States. He lived a super productive life, and during his presidency he implemented many transformational programs including NASA and the Atomic Energy act. Before then, he was a 5 star general in the US army, serving as the supreme commander, he was also the president of Columbia University… I could go on. 

My point is, he did all of this while still having time for personal interests and hobbies like painting and golfing. He was amazing at time management, and his most famous method of handling tasks, is called the Eisenhower Matrix. 

It’s a method of prioritising and sorting out your to-dos based on urgency and importance.  

It is super helpful is making us question what is important and actually necessary to do. I think that we often fill up our time with tasks that do not help us in reaching our core goals, and this method helps us narrow down our todos, saving us from wasting time, energy, and resources.

The 2nd and 3rd quadrant (not urgent important, urgent-not important) is what really minimises our productivity, if not properly managed and scheduled

I personally think its a fairly good way of understanding all that you have to do, what you should do first, and how you can deal with the rest. You don’t have to necessarily plan everything out this way, but its a good mindset to adopt when managing your workload. 

I’m so so awful at being concise (I’m so sorry for the long post!!) But I help this has helped you guys. Hopefully I’m going to post a printable of the matrix in the near future, so keep an eye out for that :)

What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important. -Dwight Eisenhower

a few days ago, @existentialcrisix101 asked me where i get all my stationery from—alot of it is from little stores i visited during my trip to asia, but here are some places you can get cute stationery online~!! hope this helps you…! —tia ➹⋆ [more masterposts / all]

popular stationery:

zebra mildliners

stabilo 88 fineliners

staedtler triplus fineliners / pastel

staedtler textsurfer highlighters

pilot juice gel pen

pilot frixion highlighters / pastel

moleskine journals

passion planners

muji pens + stationery

ticonderoga pencils

sharpie markers

other stationery masterposts [1 / 2 / 3 / +]

washi tape:

wishywashy

cutetape

loollipop

scrapbook / bullet journal:

studiocalico

simon says stamp

dear lizzy

a cherry on top

bluemoon scrapbooking

stationery / supplies:

amazon / staples

busyb

papersource

mochithings

muji

jetpens

paperchase

cottonon

coolpencilcase

yozocraft

caroline gardener

piccadilly lane

dailylike

russellandhazel

paperpresentation

poppin

artbox

liz and pip

typo

kikki.K

fallindesign

aliexpress

riflepaperco

modcloth

seejanework

bando

+etsy tag

Hi lovelies! Today I decided to make a small post on a few note taking tips I’ve used whilst in my final year of high school. It’s always useful to hear what other people have tried and what’s worked for them, so hopefully this will be of use you too. 

Always add a title and dates to your notes - Knowing when you learnt a particular topic can be handy for when exams are coming up and you need to study or when you need to organise your notes. Dates can also give you an indication of when you should be revising the material to ensure your remember it. Have a look at this post, it outlines the curve of forgetting and can help you determine when you should start studying.

Read the textbook prior to your class - This helps give you an outline of the material so you can summarise and shorten your notes. You also have the opportunity to clarify anything you might not have understood from just reading.

Use the layout of the textbook or syllabus to organise your notes - I found copying the headings and subheadings really helped simplify my notes and helped to ensure I was learning each section. If this is not for you, use the titles given by your teachers as mentioned before!

Include different ways to show the information - Use mindmaps, bullet points, graphs, flow chats and symbols to help visualise the content. This also helps break up large blocks of text which can be boring to read.

Remember to (try to) write legibly - It sucks having to spend ages trying to figure out something you wrote so find a writing style that is comfortable for long periods of writing. Some tips on improving your handwriting can be found here. If you want to change your writing, check out this post for some examples!

Have a small colour coding system - An extensive colour coding system is tricky to use in fast-paced classes where the teacher is quick to move on. Using a mixture of black, blue and red pens can help differentiate parts of your notes without having to change your pen constantly. My colour coding system can be found here.

Make note of what your teacher is saying - They’re knowledgable in your subjects so be sure to pay attention to what is being said and not just what is on the board or powerpoint. You can use small post-it notes for this kind of thing!

Add your own personal touch - Draw doodles, acronyms, ribbons and abbreviations in your notes. You can check out this and this as inspiration. Also this masterpost has some links to help illustrate your notes.

Avoid distractions - Whilst in class it’s obviously best to be focused. Try sitting where you can see and hear well, put away your phone and only use your laptop if necessary. Chatting to friends can also make you miss important information so if you don’t help but talk, sit away from them.

Don’t be shy - If you don’t understand something, raise your hand and ask! You’ll be able to add to your notes and understand more deeply if you thoroughly know what you’re learning. If you struggle to speak up during class, ask your teacher after the lesson has finished or send them an email!

After class - Use a binder or folder to organise your notes in order after you’ve finished. Remember to review your notes after class, highlight them and add any extra information you have. Also compare your notes with friends or a study group! 

I hope these few simple tips can help you out. If you have any questions or suggestions for future posts, feel free to send me a message. Thank you for reading. Love, Emma x

something to remember! [font credit]