Studyika - Tumblr Posts
This looks so pleasing! I haven't read it yet, but thank you to OP! Very much needed.
this is a breakdown of how i go about doing research for my essays! do keep in mind i am an arts student, so i don’t know how well this method carries over into other disciplines. check out my other guides to writing essays here and here!
This is a concept I'm not very well versed in, hm, sucks for my work.
Thank you OP!
Energy Management
A human-based organization method
click on images for better resolution; images also available here (link to google drive)
Other posts that may be of interest:
Getting stuff done: How to deal with a lack of motivation
Flexible time-blocking: A more breathable way to get things done
The ABCDE Method
An Overview of Note-Taking Styles
Note-taking is one of the most essential skills a student should master. It allows you to record and review information to be used in the future. But what’s the best way to do so? Here’s an overview of note-taking styles that can help you maximize your learning!
Saving this into my brain for the upcoming school year.
Thank you OP!
okay, so here in california precautionary measures against COVID-19 have become increasingly intense. most schools have closed and are preparing to make the transition to “distance learning” aka online classes. this is a big change for many of us – but don’t panic!
welcome to surviving online classes 101!
–
✐ self discipline
this is more of a warning than a tip. working from home means you will have to exercise a lot more self discipline. it can be a little bit boring or lonely at times. you cannot count on motivation from others (professors, classmates, friends, etc.), so you will have to learn some self discipline.
✐ create your own classroom
a good way to make the transition is to try and mimic the classroom setting as closely as possible. something that might be helpful is to set up a space designated for work. try to avoid the temptation to work in your bed or on the couch. that trains your brain to be alert in those places and makes it harder to relax/fall asleep. at least during online lectures, try and eliminate distractions that wouldn’t be present in a regular classroom (like tv or netflix playing in the background, or having your phone out)
✐ dress for success!
dress in the way that makes you feel most productive. if you’re one of those people who usually rolls into class wearing sweats and still kills it, good for you! if you’re one of those people who needs to put on a full face of makeup to feel alive and ready for the day, do that! even at home!! i personally never wear makeup but if i try to be productive in pjs… disaster. i’ve also found that cute workout gear makes me feel badass while still being comfy.
✐ create a schedule
now more than ever you need to figure out how to manage your time. you can use a planner, bujo, google calendar, the forest app, whatever. just make sure you keep track of things like
due dates and TIMES
exam dates
lecture times
hours spent studying
meals (pls eat 3 if possible)
water intake
sleep schedule
✐ pack your bag like you usually would
i know this probably sounds so dumb, but when you’re done working clean up after yourself. pack everything up like you would at school, to sort of signal to your brain that academic time is over for now. and then unpack and set up when you’re ready to get to work again. this is just another way to trick your brain into that school mindset while you’re stuck at home.
✐ don’t overwork yourself
break up your studying into chunks. being cooped up all day can make us feel like we’re wasting time, but be sure to schedule breaks and reward yourself after a solid study session. i’m a big fan of the pomodoro method, and it can be customized really easily to allow for more or less study/rest time.
✐ maintain a healthy sleep schedule
now is the time to develop that healthy sleep schedule we all dream about. staring at a computer all day is exhausting and hard on the eyes and brain, so make sure to give them enough rest and time to recover each night. also, consider investing in glasses that block blue light, even if you don’t usually use glasses. this will keep our eyes young lol.
✐ communicate with your teachers and classmates
most of us are making this transition to online learning together. any time you have questions, email your professor. reach out to your classmates at the beginning and exchange emails/phone numbers/social media so you can build a support system. if something goes wrong, screenshot it immediately and reach out to your professor. technology isn’t perfect, and mistakes can happen, just communicate them.
✐ turn things in early
this is my biggest tip. when you are relying on online submissions for assignments and digital lectures, you always want to allow extra time to fix any errors you might encounter. your professor will also be much more willing to help you fix a problem two days before a deadline rather than two minutes before a deadline. eliminate that uncertainty by playing it safe with online submissions.
–
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!! YOU GOT THIS!! WE GOT THIS!!
A Stash of Tiny Study Tips
STAYING MOTIVATED
Create realistic goals: get ___ grade on next ____
Manageable let down; get back on track
Keep track of grades: focused, know where stand, no surprises
Start small
Low risk confidence builders
Take time to relax/give self rewards
Days off, breaks, rewards
All work & no play =/= living
Little organization goes a long way
Reward achievements!
Keep balance with exercise, clubs, friends
2h/d: friends and exercise
Remember that hard work pays off
Isn’t a breeze to try to get a 4.0 GPA; but it’s possible
You’re smart enough and can achieve it
90% there with these tips, 10% is just pure hard work
Only chill on weekends
Monday-Friday: school mode
Have time for some fun
If work as hard as should during week, will need weekends to blow off steam
Be self-motivated
Grades can matter, not everything, but follow through on what needs to be done
Not most important part of college but underperform? You will regret it
GPA cutoffs exist and matter to employers
College is full of distractions and opportunities
Nobody will hold hand and the work will suck but all the prouder of yourself to be
Suck it up, buckle down, get it done
If think need break, probably don’t
Turn off the little voice
Realize not alone in questioning ability
Avoid people who tend to burst bubbles no matter what
Physical triggers to stop
Incentive to get something done when know have something else during the day
Don’t have a gaping abyss of study time
Work has to get done, in the end
Books, examiners, and especially your future self isn’t going to care about your excuses for not doing the work
Take the first step
It will almost be fictional how hard you thought the task was going to be
Just keep going because you simply can’t afford NOT to do anything today, nonzero days
Leeway, don’t give your perfectionism control over your life
MUNDANE HABITS
Sleep! Think and function, mind & body
CAN sleep if keep up with coursework instead of procrastinating
Will miss out on some fun stuff
Need to stay awake in class
Figure out what need for full speed
Stay relaxed
Stay physically healthy
Diet and exercise
1 hour exercise during week
Weekends off
Traditional breakfast not necessary if value extra sleep
Systematic habits: neat, prepared
Master material
Look for real world applications
Learning is a process: be patient, don’t expect to master off the bat
Designate study area and study times
Do trial runs
Practice tests
Ask a TA to listen to your oral performance
Study groups
Don’t copy other people’s psets and solutions
BEFORE SEMESTER
Spiral bound notebook, can color code with folders/etc if need be
Lecture notes: front to back
Reading notes: back to front (if fall behind on)
Seminar notes: mixed in with lecture notes, different pen color/labeled
Outline format
Bullet points for everything
Same NB for one set of class notes, separate notebooks for all classes
5-subject notebook
Midterm and exam material in it
Mesh sources, study guide
All study material from week/month in one place
Pick the right major
Indulge in favorite hobby feeling
Pick professors & classes wisely
Take a small class
Pick classes that interest you so studying doesn’t feel torturous
Want to learn
GRADES SPECIFIC
Prioritize class by how can affect GPA
More credits: more weight
Work enough to get an A in your easy classes: take something good at
Don’t settle, don’t slack off, don’t put in minimal effort to get that B/C. Just put in a tiny bit more effort to ensure A
Will have harder classes and need to counteract
Take electives can ace
Anything but an A in an elective is kinda mean and an unnecessary hit for your GPA
FIRST DAY/WEEK/HALF OF CLASSES
Get to know teaching style: focus most on, lecture/notes
Pick and follow a specific note taking format
Outline
Date each entry
Capture everything on board
Decide productivity system
Google Cal
Todoist
Agenda: remind meetings, class schedule, important dates/midterms/quizzes/tests, no homework
Always wanted to be prepared
Rarely last minute
Have plan, stay focused
Homework notebook
Good redundancy
Study syllabus
Know it thoroughly
Plot all due dates after class
Penalize if fail to abide by
Study the hardest for the first exam
Seems counterintuitive
Hardest/most important test
Pay attention to content and formatLess pressure: just need ___ on final to keep my A
Easy to start high and keep high
Go into crunch mode at the beginning
End softly
Get plenty of sleep, exercise, and good food in the finals days before the exam
DURING SEMESTER: PEOPLE
Get to know professors: go to office hours, care about grades/course/them
Easier ask for help, rec letter
Get to know interests and what they think is important
Figure out their research interests, 60% of their job is research
Learning is dynamic
Discussion helps
Get feedback early when not sure what doing
Take comments constructively
Consistent class participation: ask questions, give answers, comment when appropriate
Understand material
Find a study buddy in each class: don’t have to study with
Somebody can compare notes with, safety net
Pick somebody who attends, participates, and take notes regularly
Make some friends
Participate as fully as can in group activities
Be involved
Learn – not be taught
Be punctual
Good impression, on human professors
DON’T BE LATE
Skipping class =/= option: It’s “cool” to get attendance award
Make all the classes: it’s hard to feel confident when missing key pieces
Get full scope of class, everything will make a lot more sense and save a lot of time in long run
Mandatory class: higher graduating cumulative GPA
Go to class when no one else does/want to show up, reward
Get to know professor, what’s on test, notice, r/s build, material not in reading
Unless optional and super confusing professor
Sit in one of the first rows
Don’t fall asleep
Fake interest if you have to
Tutors
DURING SEMESTER: THINGS TO DO
Take notes! Provided is bare minimum, accessed by students who aren’t attending lecture
Based on lecture and what read –> test; it’ll be worth it
Write it down
By hand
Bored? Doodle instead of going online
Read all assigned–even if need to skim
Seems cumbersome and maybe impossible
Figure out what’s important
Look at the logical progression of the argument/what’s important/what trying to prove
Understand everything that you do read–even if don’t read everything
PIck 2 examples from text per topic
Complete course material on time
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL DAY BEFORE IT IS DUE
Begin as soon as possible
Sometimes it’s just straight up impossible
Have it look attractive
Library doesn’t just mean = study
Social media in the library is still social media
Confusion is terrible
Read other textbooks, review course material @ another uni/by another professor, google the shit out of it
Review
Do not wait, do throughout semester
Exam prep
Ask for model papers, look at style & structure, thesis, how cite
Get old tests
Look at type of questions (detail level and structure)
Can solve old exams cold
If give out paper exams in class: probs won’t repeat questions, focus more on concepts but still learn the questions
Have class notes and psets down cold
Do all the practice problems
Read through notes a few times; rewrite into a revision notebook
Highlight major topics and subtopics
Different highlighter for vocab terms
Overall picture, go from concept to detail
Look at overall context and how specific idea fit into whole course
Ideas, don’t memorize all your notes
Better understand = more able to use and manipulate info and remember it. Understand = manipulation.
Charts, diagrams, graphs
Lists
Practice drawing labeled structures
Flash cards for memorization
Every school requires some degree of grunt memorization
Say it aloud, write it down
Get friends to quiz you
Self-test: severely challenge self, have a running collection of exam questions
Explain difficult concepts to your friends; force yourself to articulate the concept
Never pull an all-nighter
Do not spend every hour studying up to the exam
Eat, shower, sleep
Don’t wait until night before exam to study
Prep takes time even if reviewed throughout semester
Ask about format–don’t ask the professor to change it for you
Law of College: it will be on the exam if you don’t understand it
Ask professor, internet, textbooks
Night before exam
Jot what want to remember/have fresh
Read through in morning/before exam
Physical prep
Sleep, have test materials
Day of exam
Don’t cram every single spare minute
Go to bathroom before exam
Never miss an exam/lie to get more time
You won’t be any more ready 2-3 days after when supposed to have taken it
Slay exam. Get A.
WEEKLY
Friday morning: go through each syllabus, write down in HW notebook
All hw during weekend; study/reading assignments during week
Save everything
Divide big tasks into small pieces to help propel self
Standard study schedule: block off lectures, labs, regular commitments
Note the weeks that have assignments and tests that will require extra studying
Don’t oscillate too heavily every day with study times (i.e. don’t study 2-3 hours for weeks and then 10-12 hour days right before an exam)
Eat and sleep to make more extended work periods liveable and enjoyable
DAILY
Set an amount of time would like to study every day
Try to study most days
Avoid vague/zoned out studying –> waste of time
Do a little bit daily but don’t let studying be your whole day
Review notes: 30mins/day, each class from that day
Look at important ideas/vocab
Prioritize new vocab because language is most fundamental and important tool in any subject
Circle abbreviations and make yourself a key somewhere so you don’t forget what the hell that abbreviations meant
Check spelling
Rewrite/reorganize notes if necessary
Format of ideas is just as important as the concepts themselves, esp. when it comes time for exam review
This helps you retain the material so you’ll be ahead next time you walk into class
Chance to ID any knowledge gaps that you can ask about for next class
Keep up with reading
Skim text before lecture or at least main topic sentences
Jot down anything don’t understand; if lecture doesn’t clarify, ask the professor
After lecture: skim again, outline chapter, make vocab flashcards
Highlight similar class and lecture notes
will definitely be tested on
Review and make study questions
Study
Disconnect from anything irrelevant to study material: help focus and your GPA
Don’t limit studying to the night
Study whenever, wherever between classes
Variety helps focus and motivation
Especially if tired at night and can’t transition between subjects
Try to study for a specific subject right before/after the class
𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓊𝓃𝒾 🍑
In this post, I list 7 of my all-time favorite apps / chrome extensions that I use daily. I hope I can help out some fellow uni students who are struggling. This might help make studying less painful and a tiny tiny bit more enjoyable.
love, edith 🌾
ig.: @fivestarstudy_
I'll read this again since kinda did in a rush. Some tips I've already applied but some are new and so creative too!
Thank you OP!
This kinda helps with the anxiousness whenever I work with essay, maybe every essay proj I'll come back here.
here’s a quick guide on how i proofread and edit my essays as an humanities undergrad! i tend to spend more time on research and editing and much less time on writing and my first drafts are often horrendous, so editing is really important for me :^)
i’ve also created guides on essay preparation, the 5-paragraph essay, how to research, and how to write essays. you can find all my other masterposts here.
transcript below:
Keep reading
Oooh, gotta use that active recall! Thank you OP!
my masterpost | my studygram | ask me anything
[click images for high quality]
[transcript under the cut]
Other advice posts that may be of interest:
How To Study When You Really Don’t Want To
Active Revision Techniques
The OSCAR Revision Model
Study Hacks to Improve Memorisation
Keep reading
Definitely needed this! Thank you OP!!
my masterpost | my studygram | ask me anything
[click images for high quality]
[transcript under the cut]
Other advice posts that may be of interest:
How To Study When You Really Don’t Want To
Active Revision Techniques
How To Do Uni Readings
How to Revise BIG Subjects
Common Study Mistakes
Keep reading
a hundred days of trying to be productive, will she finish? let’s see
1/100 days of productivity
I’m nervous about this, but honestly I’m not surprised at that. I mainly studied using a script writing manual written by a notable icon in my country’s film industry. It felt very inspiring but there’s still the pesky voice of insecurity. I am glad I got the book though; since the writer also inserted some comforting insights.
Also read Wicked towards a nap. The book then proceeded to be lodged under me very uncomfortably.
song of the day: jealous by Labrinth
my mood throughout that study session: (i tried to write, can u guess the outcome)
2/100 days of productivity
Kinda bland, I gotta say.
I did some work for my mom, so I was busy with that the whole day. I splurged on some desk items and cat toys, and I got them on a kinda good deal. (will not be disclosing to family though, it's my earned money anyway) I only did some quick studying with those free online textbooks from OpenStax.
2 over 100 Days of Productivity
07.27.2021 Tuesday
As I'm mking this post, my head is slowly killing me. I'll keep this short and sweet like a jackfruit.
My studying sesh only included some reading annotating my biology book. I had some stuff to do to prepare for my upcoming school year; setting up emails and scheduling for orientations and completing required docs so I prioritized that. Afterwards, deeper into rainy nights, I watched Howl's Moving Castle.
I'm rooting for you. You'll make it.
3 over 100 Days of Productivity (late post)
07.28.2021 Wednesday
It's prep day for this upcoming school year. I only did some light math exercises early one but delegated my time to find resources for my senior high. There's some docs that contain the learning levels and qualifications (specified for lessons and quarters/sems) that you can access online in my country. I'm thinking of using that as a goal/check list? Or something to refer to as I navigate.
Day 4 over 100 Days of Productivity
07.29.2021 Thursday
Slow day today. Only did some leisure reading since every part of me felt on low energy. I pushed myself to do my workout but I can't say the same for academic stuff. I'll try to make up for it.
5 over 100 Days of Productivity
07.30.2021 Friday
Dude, I finally got some work done. And I was able to do some cardio! I jump roped up to 750 (supposed to be 1k but i DoNT wanto). I got around to reading and studying my Biology lessons, just trying to get into the mood before class officially starts.
6 over 100 Days of Productivity
07.31.2021 Saturday
I finally finished those bio notes, this page is the most okay one of them all so I chose to showcase that. Let's laugh at the fact that it was the first one, so the consecutive ones afterwards suffered from low level of study energy. Although I wasn't able to finish it, enjoyed the first 5 pages of that paper. Yes, I am very ashamed that I did not finish it.
7 over 100 Days of Productivity
08.01.2021 Sunday
I've been pushing my self to take time and do some math lessons from Khan Academy. Gotta admit, my scores weren't so good but at least now I'm getting better.
8 over 100 Days of Productivity
08.02.2021 Monday
I spent some time skimming and trying to get a grasp of the textbooks I have. The front one isn't for school, but it's very personal to me. I missed having textbooks so much because for 5 years my school/s didn't have one.
19.09.2021
I'm trying my best with my subjects and juggling to keep up with healthy practices, especially with mental health. It's definitely tiring and a lot of tugging at limbs and will; and the results won't always be what you wish them to be, but at the end of the day I feel thankful for the continuous effort I see my self do. I was never like that, the type to keep on advancing bravely even at the face of adversity; and I'm proudly joyous. Some people may not deem my marks good or high, or myself as intelligent or hardworking enough, but at the end of the day my heart is at peace. That's enough.
1.31.2022 1/100 days of productivity
(I've restarted. Don't talk to me.)
Ah, studyblr! Nice to feel the mostivation breath through me to post! My second semester recently started but I feel the nervousity creep on me about how hard it's going to be. I did some reading and studying for our first lessons, it kind of eased the nerves: I'm dping something about my problem so I shouldn't be too anxious. That kind of thing.
Anyways, for today I thought I'd share some honestky life changing habits (welp, for me at least) :
-CLAYGO: Clean as you go. I tell myself this: that slight click of my laptop as it closes reminds me to put all the plugs and cables to their basket, the pens to the holder, and the notebooks to their places. The little things you pass up now pile on later, and the little things you do now free you sooner.
-Three deep breaths whenever I'm overwhelmed. If I can breathe, I can do this, and if I fail badly then I can learn. If I do good then I'll keep those in inventory for when I doubt myself. But on hard days, I still think I'm the most accessible proof of anything I aim to be.
