Saturday Study Tips

Saturday Study Tips

1.) Sleep in!  I often make the mistake of thinking I need to pop up at the crack of dawn to get things done on Saturday, when in reality I need to recharge my batteries from grinding all week.  Be good to yourself, and you’ll be more productive in the long run.

2.) Set a time to start studying and stick to it.  If you set your alarm to sleep in until 10:30, give yourself a couple of hours to wake up, get dressed, eat, and drink coffee.  Whenever your set study time rolls around, be ready to rock and roll!

3.) Pack all of the essentials.  The #1 killer of a good study session is not having everything that you need–and I don’t just mean academic materials!  Here’s a little list of what I like to pack:

— Coffee — Water bottle — Enough healthy food to last me the length of time I plan to study (this is hugely important!) — Earbuds — A sweatshirt or jacket (another important one!) — Phone charger + laptop charger — Gum or mints — Ponytail holder + bobby pins — Phone, laptop, textbooks, notebooks, pens, highlighters — Agenda

4.) Choose a study location that is best suited for you.  Everyone is different–for me, I sometimes have a hard time focusing in the library because it’s too quiet/can feel isolating!  For casual studying, I love places like Barnes & Noble or Starbucks because the buzz and bustle is energizing but also white noise I can tune out in the background.  When I need to get serious, the library/a study room is the better option.

5.) Find a good playlist to help you get in the zone.  I personally cannot listen to anything with lyrics, because I find myself focusing more on the words of the song and less on what I’m studying!  There are great playlists on Youtube that are designed to facilitate studying and focus; search for ‘alpha wave studying music.’  I also enjoy listening to seasonal instrumental Pandora stations, like bluegrass in the fall and classical Christmas in the winter.

6.) Turn. Off. Your. Internet.  Sign. Out. Of. All. Apps.  This is the hardest part of studying for me and a terrible habit I am striving to kick.  The impulse to check Facebook or Instagram or Tumblr is almost a reflex for most of us, so I find that turning off my internet on my laptop and signing out of my apps on my phone helps tremendously.  Set small goals for yourself that will exercise and strengthen your self-control like a muscle.  For example, “I will complete two reading assignments and then have 5-10 minutes to check social media before starting my next assignment.”  It sounds pathetic, but compulsively checking social media is a learned behavior that you have to force yourself to unlearn in order to be truly productive.  There’s an app for MacBooks called “SelfControl” that allows you to block certain websites for a set amount of time.  I strongly recommend it!

7.) Set realistic goals and take breaks.  The clock is your friend, not your enemy!  I work best in about 50-minute increments before I need a tiny 5-10 minute break.  During a regular study session, I usually can’t work for more than 3 hours before needing a larger break.  Exercising is always my go-to.  Get outside, breathe some fresh air, and let your body move.  It also helps to set a cap on your studying; I often pick a time I want to be totally finished for the day and focus my energy toward meeting that goal.

8.) Remember that constant studying is not healthy and perfect/imperfect grades do not define you.  You are more than your perceived academic abilities.  Working hard to achieve success is important but not everything.  There is a beautiful world out there beyond your desk.  Don’t be afraid to take time off to explore it :)

Kimi-studies: Ten techniques. This describes me, especially when it comes to tax — practice testing works so well for me. 

This is a matter very close to my heart. I have bipolar I disorder and ADHD as a result of bipolar. There aren’t many big posts about studying with mental illnesses so I figured I would compile a huge list of tips and posts! I’m going to be making a video about this very soon. I hope for all of you struggling that this can help or at least remind you that mental health is more important than school sometimes. Take care of yourself in any way you can. lets get started…

Studying with Mental Illness

Take things slowly. Don’t be afraid to take a week doing one assignment. Making sure that you can focus on assignments can be draining so breaking them down day by day can truly help you. Make a task list with each portion of an assignment mapped out so that you can see exactly what you need to do. I know that i get overwhelmed very easily and seeing smaller things is less daunting then having a list full of HUGE things like research papers and midterms. Seeing it as “write paragraph one” or “review unit one vocab” makes everything less scary. 

Nothing has to be pretty. Notes don’t, papers don’t have to be perfect, study guides don’t need to be colorful and cute. What really matters is getting things done. My mom always tells me “even an F is better than a zero” which is so true. Turning things in late is not shameful because you are still turning it in. You still did it and that is something to be proud of. 

Study somewhere other than your room or your house. Make sure there are people there. Surrounding yourself with others will allow you to feel less isolated and sometimes more motivated to do things. You can’t take naps when you’re at a Panera or Starbucks either. People can be motivating, they can remind you that you are not alone, they can hold you accountable for what you have to do. Get out of your bed where you can sit and stare at the wall and go to a coffee shop or the library where other people are doing work. This always helps me get on track. 

Study in short bursts. Don’t wear yourself out with work. Find out when your concentration peaks and go with that. I usually work the best around 2pm so I have to make sure that I have eaten and showered before then so that I can capture that time to focus on my studies. 

Don’t beat yourself up. Studying just takes a lot more effort other days when depression hits you the worst. There might be days when you can barely get yourself out of bed but know that you do have the ability to succeed and that depression just has to suck sometimes. 

Get yourself out of bed. Shower. Change your clothes. Read a single page. Look at only one thing you have to do so you aren’t overwhelmed. That is something to be proud of and know that I am proud of what you did!

Study in a routine style. Let yourself have a routine that you can fall into. Try pomodoros or study games, Create a routine that you can stick to

If you don’t feel like doing anything… work for 5 minutes. You may feel more motivated or up, or you will at least be able to say that you have done something. 

HYDRATE. I’m really awful at drinking a lot of water, but it helps so much with both anxiety and depression. Water keeps you moving and awake. SO drink that H2O guys

Helpful Links

Staying Sane on Campus

Tips to stay mentally and emotionally healthy while you study

How to school when mentally Ill

Depression

Studying with Depression

Depression study tips

Studying through Depression

6 Tips To Get Motivated When You’re Feeling Depressed

Five Ways To Deal With Depression During Exams

Anxiety

Anxiety in Grad school

Dealing with Stress and Anxiety

Studying with Anxiety

Get Ready for School If You Suffer From Anxiety

Living & Studying with Anxiety

ADHD

How to succeed with ADHD

10 Study tips for ADHD students

I couldn’t find any resources about OCD, BPD, PTSD, or bipolar for that fact so keep on the lookout for any additions to this post if I find anything more! If all else fails, just google things. That always helps me. Message me personally if you have any questions about my struggles or need some specific advice! I love you all so much and I am so proud of you!! xx Haley

URL: http://lifeh4cks.com/ways-study-flowchart/

Ways to Study Flowchart

i get a LOT of questions about time management and getting better grades so i decided to put a boat load of advice and links in one place :]

time management methods

start a bullet journal ( +mine / +insp )

the 5 day study plan - it works!

schedule blocks of study time

use excel to schedule study

how to schedule study

the sticky note method

an app that organizes time for u

15 ways to beat procrastination

balancing multiple AP classes

decision making and time management

use the pomodoro technique

the task box prioritizing method

how to cram a lot of information in

get organized!!!!!

make and use a syllabible

great organization advice

organize ur study space

more tips on study spaces

basic organization tips

cute infographic

printable planner sheets

simple 2 pocket folder method

study methods!!!

watch youtube crashcourses

best study tips ever tbh

tips on memorizing effectively

add color for visual interest

make cause and effect diagrams

making good flashcards

create summary foldables

margin note taking

the 2 notebook method

for when ur not motivated

reading long textbook passages

studying for a test ooh

basic note taking

+note taking tips

note taking in microsoft word

bs study guide

how to plan out an essay

more essay planning

annotating literature for english

how to make concept maps

really interesting way of studying

shit load of study methods

web resources!!!!

search engine that plants trees!

to do list web program

bedtime calculator [avoid grogginess]

the dictionaries u need omg

how to pull an all nighter

advice on how to properly use google

final grade calculator

>100 places to download literature

cute af school supply list

alternatives to overpriced textbooks

rly this is better than google

best writing checker ever its my fave

free academic journals for research

AP cramming packets

every website to make a bibliography

online used book store

mind map making software from tufts

khanacademy aka bless this site

stop procrastinating websites

free powerpoint

awesome synonym finder

apps u need to download!!!

google chrome app i love it

taking digital notes

like 14 useful school apps

attn: all writers get this

super cute time manager

>9 different studying apps

post it note app

study + give water to needy!!

relaxation n meditation help

sat help!!!!!

all kinds of essential vocab [2k+]

big collection of links

v solid page with lots of references

rly good advice imo

how to do well on the sat

general big exam advices

stress reliefs!!!!

rly good study snacks

badass instrumental playlist!

finish ur essay songs!

+all my fave study playlists!

treat urself on a low budget

read some rad articles

teach urself computer science

take the 10 day study challenge

rip some crap online

good things to do in study breaks

+100 more things in study breaks

if u tired and uninspired

avoid student burnout

watch a ton of broadway musicals

nice things for urself

anxiety relieving background sound

+masterposts!!!

back to school advice

productive summers

note taking methods

starting a study blog

time managements

succeed @ school

ap world history

study instagram

web resources

ap psychology

bullet journals

school advice

happy things

ace ur exams

study sounds

stress reliefs

annotations

essay writin

study 101

printables

sat help

+more

i hope some of this was helpful ~ i also have a youtube channel and instagram account with a whole bunch of study resources!!!!  ~ xoxo sareena

Handwritten with the iPad Pro and my trusty apple pencil 📚✨