Hey Guys, So Heres Some Of The Apps On My IPhone I Use For School And Life In General Regularly. Most

Hey guys, so here’s some of the apps on my iPhone I use for school and life in general regularly. Most of these are available on both iTunes and GooglePlay, but there are a few that aren’t.

School

Merriam-Webster Dictionary [iTunes] [android]- I use this very often, almost on a daily basis for any words I encounter that I don’t know. It has all the definitions for words and their etymologies.

Google Drive [iTunes] [android]- Almost all my documents for school are on Drive, so it’s nice to have them available on my phone for quick viewing.

Google Docs [iTunes] [android]- This allows me to edit my documents stored on Google Drive.

Quizlet [iTunes] [android]- This lets you make online flashcards and view flashcard sets others have made. It’s great for portable studying.

SpanishDict [iTunes] [android]- This is the best Spanish-English/English-Spanish translator by far.

Prezi [iTunes] [android]- With this app, I can share and view my Prezi slideshows.

Planning/Focus

FocusNow [iTunes]- This is similar to the Forest app. You set the amount of time you want to study and a little tomato plant grows as the timer runs. If you exit the app, your plant dies.

Pomodoro Time [iTunes]- This app is a timer for the Pomodoro technique of working for 25 minutes and resting for 5 minutes. You can also customize the times so it doesn’t have to be 25/5.

Remind [iTunes] [android]- This is a classroom reminder app where your teacher can make a class group and if you join the group, you will get notifications your teacher sends.

8tracks [iTunes] [android]- This is an online radio where you can make and listen to playlists. There are a ton of great studying playlists people have made.

myNoise [iTunes]- This is an app for this website which has 100+ sound generators for background noise and soundscapes. This is my absolute favorite site for things to listen to whilst studying. The app only has several of the sound generators for free, but it’s still great.

Coffitivity [iTunes] [android]- This is also a sound generator, but it’s specifically for coffeeshop sounds.

Stripes [iTunes]- This is a checklist app which can be used for pretty much anything.

Life

Goodreads [iTunes] [android]- Organize the books you’ve read and the ones you want to read. You can also review books, enter giveaways, and more.

iHome+Sleep [iTunes] [android]- Track your sleep and see how much rest you’re really getting.

Sleepytime Sleep Scheduler [iTunes]- This calculates when you should go to bed or when you should wake up so that you wake during the lightest part of your sleep cycle.

Clue [iTunes] [android]- This is a period tracker with a simple, gender-neutral interface that can calculate your cycle really accurately.

Aviary [iTunes] [android]- This is a simple photo editing app. It’s one of many that I have, but it’s the one I use most often.

“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.”– Jack Canfield

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” –Mark Twain

“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“`

Focusing has been a major problem for me when I try to study. Thankfully, I have discovered several ways to help myself overcome this difficulty and my grades have improved as a result. I hope some of these tips can help some of you guys out there as much as they did for me! c: These tips are in chronological order from when I get home!

Go Workout and Exercise

I cannot stress enough on how exercise has allowed me to concentrate more.You don’t even need to get a gym membership. I simply workout in my tiny room while watching workout videos on youtube. Some great youtubers that offer free workout videos include fitnessblender, blogilates, tone it up, and Be Fit. Their workout videos are awesome and their videos range from 5 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time you have. Aside the mental benefits, you also get physical results in your body and who doesn’t want that!? Here is an article explaining how exercise helps you concentrate in a more in depth explanation. 

Eat Healthy Foods (or at least before/while you are studying)

After working out, I always put something in my body that is healthy. I suggest making smoothies that are packed with fruits and/or veggies. Here are some of my favorite, healthy smoothie recipes that taste amazing. Trust me when I say this, these smoothies will help you focus and concentrate and give you a rush of energy.

Clean Your Workspace

Before I sit down and crank out my studying, I always reorganize my workspace. This simple, 30 second step will allow you to think more clearly and your stuff wont be cluttered everywhere and look like a crime scene of papers.

Plan What You Need To Get Done

From simply buying a planner or by making a bullet journal (here’s a link on how to bullet journal), writing down what needs to get down can help you manage your time better. Prioritize what you need to get done. Write down any upcoming due dates or tests. By doing this, you can time out how long you need to preform each task. I use this planner. Investing in a planner has impacted the way I study and it is not time consuming at all. I am not sure why, but writing what needs to get done makes me feel less stressed and I highly recommend investing in a planner if time management is not your strong suit.

Turn Your Phone on Airplane Mode

I am not going to lie, I get distracted very easily, especially when I get notifications from snapchat, instagram, etc.Turning your phone on airplane mode will get rid of this problem since it disables notifications from these distracting sources.

Apps That Help With Focusing

Some apps that can help with focusing include FocusNow and FocusTimer, both free in the app store. These apps help you develop good habits while measuring your progress!

Listen to Classical Music, or Don’t Listen to Anything Else

I actually find all music to be distrustful but many people enjoy listening to classical music while studying. However, DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY OTHER MUSIC BESIDES CLASSICAL MUSIC WHILE YOU STUDY. You will get distracted and you will not be as efficient. If you don’t like listening to classical music, but don’t enjoy sitting in absolute silence when you study, go to the library! The library is (or suppose to be) a quiet place and has some background noise which I find to help me focus. I despise studying in absolute silence since I find that random thoughts of mine take over

Take Breaks

Working 3 hours straight is not a good habit you want to keep, instead take 10 minute breaks after 50 minute periods. I use this ratio and I find it to be very effective. Within those 10 minutes, reward yourself. Eat a snack, walk around your neighborhood, play with your dog, etc. I do not recommend going on your phone within those breaks since I often find myself getting sucked in and find it difficult to go back to “study mode”.

hi everyone! since the holidays are over for most of us, i thought i’d make an inspirational and motivational masterpost all about notes! upgrading your notes by changing the layout, adding doodles, banners, using sticky notes, changing your handwriting etc. motivates me personally to study! 

out with the sloppy last minute notes and in with the new!

handwriting

how to write in cursive

some fonts to try out

how to improve your handwriting

note taking systems

study methods summed up

stationery to make it all happen

sticker printables to jazz it up

notes

how to take lecture notes

how to annotate books

taking notes from a textbook - studyign

note taking system - theorganisedstudent

note taking system - emmastudies

another note taking system - academicmind

another note taking system - wonderfullifee

the 2 notebook method

note taking with highlighters and post its

pretty timelines

note taking printables

plot summary with sticky notes

20 uses of sticky notes

colour code your notes

method with columns 

the cornell note taking system

the cornell note taking system using onenote

in class notes

another in class note taking format

what are sketchnotes?

online whiteboard

flashcards

how to make flashcards

another how to make flashcards

an example

another example (with sticky notes)

and another example (biology)

8 ways to improve your flashcards

make  and test flashcards online

alternative to flashcards - studyign

print onto flashcards

mindmaps

how to mindmap (1)

how to mindmap (2)

some examples

apps

notability

banners

simple banner

more banners

it’s a banner party over here

banners (shown how to draw in gifs)

illustrate your notes

how to illustrate your notes - reviseordie

sketchnote tips (banners, lettering, doodles)

more sketchnote tips

even more sketchnote tips

how to make your notes pretty - theorganisedstudent

how to make your notes pretty - studyspoinspo

how to make your notes pretty - booksflowersandtea

what is visual note taking?

a visual alphabet

note taking printables

dot grid 

note outline printables

lined cornell method printable

grid cornell method printable

hope you all had a good rest and are ready for a new year of studying!

xoxo lou

adapted from this response

1. Write your notes in a way where you can test your retention and understanding. 

Many people write notes that do a great job summarizing their materials but their notes are not designed to promote learning, retention or diagnosis of their weaknesses. But my notes can – and so can yours. Simply put my notes can be used like flashcards because I write them in a form where I separate a “stimulus” from a “response.”  The stimulus are cues or questions (think: front side of flashcard), while the response is the answer to the cue (think: back of flashcard).  But the stimuli are to the left of a margin, while the responses are to the right. The key advantage of this is that just by putting a sheet of paper on top of your notes, you can hide the responses, while leaving the stimuli visible. You can have multiple margins and multiple levels of stimuli and response for greater information density. When you get good at this you can write notes in this form in real-time. To get some idea of what I’m talking about google for “Cornell Notetaking method”. My notetaking method is a variant of this. I usually use completely blank paper to do this because regular lined paper has too small a margin. To give you an idea of how powerful this notetaking method can be, I learned several courses just hours before the exam and still got an “A” in all of them during a difficult semester where I had too many competing priorities to spend long hours studying. Had it not been for this notetaking method I don’t think that would be possible. 2. Develop the ability to become an active reader (this is the perhaps the most important advice I have to share). 

Don’t just passively read material you are given. But pose questions, develop hypotheses and actively test them as you read through the material. I think the hypotheses are part of what another poster referred to when he advised that you should develop a “mental model” of whatever concept they are teaching you.  But a mental model can be much more than simple hypotheses. Sometimes the model resembles a story. Other times it looks more like a diagram. But what they all have in common is that the explain what is going on. Having a mental model will give you the intuition and ability to answer a wider range of questions than would be otherwise possible if you lacked such a mental model. Where do you get this model? You creatively develop one as you are reading to try to explain the facts as they are presented to you.  It’s like guessing how the plot of a movie, before it unfolds. Sometimes you have to guess the model based on scarce evidence. Sometimes it is handed to you. If your model is a good one it should at least be able to explain what you are reading. Having a model also allows you to make predictions which can then be used to identify if your model is wrong.  This allows you to be hypersensitive to disconfirming evidence that can quickly identify if your model is wrong. Oftentimes you may have two or more models that can explain the evidence, so your task will be to quickly formulate questions that can prove one model while disconfirming the others. To save yourself time, I suggest focusing on raising questions that could confirm/disprove the mostly likely model while disproving the others  (think: differential diagnoses in medicine). But once you have such a model that (i) explains the evidence and (ii) passes all the disconfirming tests you can throw at it then you have something you can interpolate and extrapolate from to answer far more than was initially explained to you. Such models also make retention easier because you only need to remember the model as opposed to the endless array of facts it explains.  But perhaps more importantly, such models give you intuition. Of course, your model could be wrong, but that is why you actively test it as you are reading, and adjust as necessary. Think of this process as the scientific method being applied by you, to try to discover the truth as best you can. Sometimes you will still be left with contradictions that even your best models cannot explain. I often found speaking to the professor after class to be a time efficient of resolving these contradictions. I discovered mental modelling as a survival mechanism to pass my studies at the University of Waterloo – where their teaching philosophy is misnomer because their teaching philosophy is to not teach as well as they could. You can see this from their grading philosophy. Although they don’t use a bell curve or other statistical grade adjustment, they make their exams so hard that the class average is usually between 68 (C+) and 72 (B-) in spite of the fact that their minimum admission grades are among the highest in Canada (you need more than A+ to get into several of their engineering programs). The only way they can achieve such low test averages from otherwise high performing students is by holding back some of what they know, and then testing what they didn’t explain well in lecture on their exams; or by not teaching to the best of their ability.   This forces students to develop the ability to teach themselves, often from materials that do not explain things well, or lack the introductory background knowledge needed to understand the material. I realized I could defend against such tactics by reverse engineering the results into theories that would produce those same results; i.e. mental model induced from scarce facts.     Then when I got to MIT I found myself in a place with the opposite teaching philosophy. Unlike Waterloo, if the whole class got an “A” the MIT professors would be happy and proud (whereas at Waterloo an “A” class average would be the cause for a professor’s reprimand). The mental modelling skills I developed at Waterloo definitely came in handy at graduate school because they enabled me to learn rapidly with scarce information. 3. Be of service to your fellow classmates.

I’ve personally observed and heard anecdotal stories that many students in highly competitive programs are reluctant to share what they know with their peers; a good example being the vast number of students in a top ranked science programs competing for the very few coveted spots in med school. I’ve seen people in such situations be afraid to share what they know because the fear it could lead to the other students “getting ahead” while leaving them behind. I would actually recommend doing the opposite: share liberally. You can’t expect help from others if you are unwilling to help others yourself. I spent hours tutoring people in subjects I was strong in. But, conversely those same people were usually happy to help me with my weaknesses when I needed it. I also found it easier to get good teammates – which is essential to getting good grades in team-based classes. I found I learned a LOT from other people. And their questions helped me to prepare for questions I may not have thought of – some of which would appear on the exams. 4. Understand how the professor grades. 

Like the real world, the academic world is not always fair. You need to understand who is grading you and what they are looking for. Oddly, if you actually answer questions as written, you won’t get full marks from some teachers. Some professors expected more than the answer. Some only accepted the answers taught in class as opposed to other factually correct answers – which coincidentally can easily happen if you rely heavily on mental models. Some expected you to not even evaluate whether the answers to their multiple choice answers were true or not; only to notice which answer choices aligned or did not align with the theories taught in class.  Some highly value participation in which case you ought to have a mental model of what they are teaching based on their assigned readings. The sooner you know who you are dealing with, the sooner you can adjust to their way of grading. Thankfully I considered the vast majority of my professors to have graded in a fair manner. 5. Get involved in research while still in undergrad.

Academics is a means to an end. To me that end was “solving problems” and “building stuff” specifically systems and organizations.  Depending on the school you apply for, your research may be just as important, if not more important, than your grades. In fact if all you have are good grades your chances of getting into a top ranked CS program with a research component (e.g. MIT, CMU) are slim to nil; though you might still be able to get into a top-ranked courseware-based Masters (such as Stanford where there is no masters thesis). I did an Artificial Intelligence research project in undergrad and posted it on the internet. Not long after it was cited in three patents from IBM, AOL and another inventor. Then 40 other people cited my work. I feel this helped me get into MIT because they saw that I could come up with theories with practical applications. It also led to internships with top research teams whose work I am still in awe of. This research also helped my graduate application. None of this would have been possible if I didn’t do research in undergrad. 6. Attend classes.

I do not understand the students who claim they did well without attending class. Many professors will only say certain things in class. Many classes only present some of the material in class. If you don’t attend class you simply won’t get that material. You also won’t be able to ask immediate follow-up questions. I also found speaking to the professor after class was an efficient way to resolve contradictions I had found with my mental model. 7. Time management is key – especially in undergrad. 

In my competitive undergrad program I once learned that a friend who achieved top 5% status actually timed how long he ate. While I do not suggest going to such extremes I offer this modest advice. I suggest spending no more than 30 minutes trying to solve a problem you can’t solve by yourself before appealing to office hours or another knowledgeable student. I also suggest you ask questions of your professor during or after class as opposed to leaving the class confused. This reduces wasted time in an environment when time is a very precious commodity. 8. Going out and having fun is conducive to good grades. 

In my early undergrad years I studied as hard as I could. And I thought this meant putting in as many studying hours as possible. But I later realized that going out and having fun refreshed the mind and increased grades. Unfortunately it took at least 2 years for me to understand this lesson. 9. Learn how to do advanced Google searches.

This is an essential skill that enables you to answer your own questions, quickly. At a minimum I suggest you learn how to use the following Google search operators  ~, -,*, AND,OR, and numeric ranges via the double dot (“..”) operator.  The “site:” operator is also often helpful. I also found adding the word “tutorial” to a Google search often yields great introductory materials. 

10. Turn weaknesses into strengths.

While studying for standardized exams I learned the importance of addressing one’s weaknesses as opposed to ignoring them.  If you make a mistake on a question, it is because of a weakness within you. If you do not address that weakness it will follow you to the exam. I learned this lesson when studying for standardized exams. I was able to legally buy 30 old exams and thought the best approach to studying for the exam was to do as many old problems as possible. But as I completed each exam I kept getting the same score  (+/- 5%) over and over. I had plateaued! But then I made a tiny tweak and my scores kept going up. Specifically, after each old exam, I would identify my weaknesses that led to each wrong answer, prioritize the weaknesses according to the degree to which they affected my score, and would address them in that order.  When I did that, my scores increased steadily all the way to the highest possible percentile (99%). I later realized that such standardized tests are designed to provide consistent scores (if the student does not study in between the subsequent exams to address their weaknesses). In fact that is one of the statistical measures used to measure the quality  of a standardized exam and it’s called “Reliability”  (Google for “psychometric reliability” to see what I’m talking about).

Hello all! If you have been sick lately (as I am as I’m writing this), but your life still requires you to do stuff, don’t worry! I decided to dedicate this entire post to tips on how to stay productive during sick days, because although we all want to work during those days, we often feel as if we can’t. However, with some simple tips I discovered you will be able to do a significant amount of work regardless of the fact that you’re sick, so please enjoy!

Take an early morning shower to feel refreshed and awake; it will help you get the day started more effectively and can help you feel less sick or nauseous

Don’t wear your pyjamas all day, instead dress up as you normally would but instead wear a sweater that will still keep you warm and comfortable

Do your routine tasks in the morning (cleaning your room etc.) and start doing assignments and work in the afternoon (you’ll likely be more awake by then)

Revise and study little chunks of your work throughout the day; do not study for one hour straight, instead divide up your tasks into smaller parts of 10-minute revision

Draw all of your curtains and let as much daylight into your room as possible for maximising brain activity

Open the window and let clean air circulate through your room (it will improve concentration and will again make you feel less nauseous)

Drink plenty of water and eat plenty of healthy snacks (fruits and vegetables) throughout the day and whilst studying; it’ll keep your concentration levels up and running and will prevent you from feeling sleepy or tired

Make your bed so it will be less tempting to re-enter during the day

Avoid sleeping in between revision but instead sleep for 3 hours in the afternoon if you really feel tired and bad

If you’re too sick and weak to write (this actually happens), type your assignments out on your laptop and rewrite them once you are feeling better

If it’s hard to resist sleeping, go study in your living room or kitchen since this will literally eliminate the feeling that you bed is nearby

Have yourself some cups of coffee if you want to feel more awake and concentrated (but beware of the post-caffeine rush & don’t drink it 2 hours before sleeping)

Eat a wide variety of nuts (this really works!)

Go to bed once you’re done; but be wise and don’t go sleeping any later than 10 ‘o clock

Don’t forget to take you medicine!

 I sincerely hope that this post will help you out! Feel better soon :)

Writing a CV:

The perfect resume for someone with no experience (by businessinsider​)

Guide to writing a CV

Common grammar mistakes to avoid on your CV

How to explain a gap in your CV

How to overcome common CV issues

What not to do on your CV

Should I include hobbies and interests in my CV?

CV layout: dos and don'ts

Free CV template

School leaver CV template

CV templates and tips

More free CV templates

Example CVs

How to tailor your CV to different industry sectors

Writing a Cover Letter:

How to write a cover letter

How to overcome common cover letter problems

Graduate cover letter template

Career break cover letter template

School leaver cover letter template

Free cover letter template

Referencing:

How to get a reference

References: workers’ rights

How to deal with employment references

How to include references on a resume

Interviews:

How to answer common interview questions

How to prepare for an interview

The interview itself

Advice to help you ace the interview

Answer curveball interview questions

101 Interview Questions You’ll Never Fear Again

Second interview questions and answers

Telephone interview questions and answers

Questions you should not be asked

What to wear to an interview: bloggers’ top tips

Group interview tips: do’s and don'ts

Interview questions for employers: What you should be asking

What not to do at interview

What job can I do?

How to decide what job to look for

How to find a new job

How to search for jobs online

Jobs in the retail industry

Jobs in the engineering industry

Jobs in the fashion industry

Jobs in the IT industry

Jobs in the motoring industry

Jobs in sport

Jobs in the education industry

Jobs in the energy industry

Careers with animals

Jobs in the media industry

Jobs in the leisure & tourism industry

Jobs in the catering industry

Jobs for history lovers

Jobs for geography lovers

Jobs for English lovers

Jobs for maths lovers

Volunteering:

7 Simple ways to make the best of volunteering

Benefits of volunteering

Benefits of mentoring

Volunteer Abroad

Resignation:

Resignation letters: What you need to know

Resignation letter templates  

How to resign

How To Resign & Hand In Your Resignation Letter

Redundancy /Job Loss:

Deal with redundancy

Things to do if you lose your job

Claim Jobseeker’s Allowance

Jobseekers allowance (UK) overview

15 tips to survive a job loss

How to Cope With Job Loss and Move On

At work:

How to start a new job

How to have a good first day

How to hold onto your job

How to handle bullying in the workplace

Commuting: how far is too far?

How to get a promotion

Summer workwear advice

Office Style Trends 2015

What You Can (and Can’t) Wear to Work

Dealing with stress at work

How to deal with a brutal boss