hi there! to celebrate the new school year (i start this feb!) i decided to compile a masterpost of study tips + lifestyle tips that i’ve seen on tumblr over the past few months, that i thought were super helpful! hopefully these will help you guys too (:
so this entire past month has been extremely, extremely stressful for me because i had so many exams and i only realised how hideously unprepared i was for them on the day before the exam, which was really really awful. so in the middle of september i created a studyblr to keep myself motivated + get some helpful tips from the studyblr community on how to go abt studying for tests. the results proved to be super helpful and ive resolved to keep running this blog for as long as i can, because it really helps me stay motivated and i’ve already learned so many things from the community, despite the fact that i’ve only been here for around a month.
but anyways, i decided to create this masterpost in order to help others stay motivated + keep studying not only well but also properly i.e. not necessarily studying for exams but life in general, if that makes sense.
i think that includes most of the best resources i could find!!! feel free to message me in case 1) any of the links are broken, 2) u want me to add on to something, 3) u have a suggestion for a masterpost [i would love that so go ahead and ask if u do] or if u just wanna talk! also, feel free to reblog and add ur own comments/resources. hope this helped!!
hello!! ok first of all thank you for reading this. now, i’m the type of person to be constantly stressed about something in my life. there’s like a minimum level of stress i have to be under at all times (it’s so unhealthy tbh) and usually a month before exams this worsens by ten times. i remember once i threw up before my english exam because there was so much pressure from myself and people around me to come first :’)
these are some things i do to reduce the stress i’m under during exams and the prepping period!! they aren’t really things i do in specific to reduce stress (like listening to nature sounds), but rather things i do during revision to feel less stressed about exams :) i hope these tips help you in some way!
during preparations
start preparing at least two weeks before the exams. i’m in high school, and this is the time frame the school gives us to prepare as they handout the exam notifications two weeks before. if you’re in university, or have advanced notice of exam times and what will be tested, then start to prepare then or plan to start preparing and then sTICK TO YOUR PLAN!!! please do this; if you leave it to the last minute your stress levels will be through the roof.
i used to start revising a week before exams because i thought i had “enough time” (guess what i didn’t askjjfskddsk) and always always became even more stressed.
at the start of the school year we also receive an overview of our assessment task dates and exam periods, so write it down in a planner or calendar beforehand!!!
doing this will (hopefully) prevent you from stressing over how little time you have for revision.
stop procrastinating. procrastination will lead to you stressing and even feeling guilty about not spending your time wisely!!! it’s something you can avoid so avoid it!!!!!!
actually study. this sounds so obvious but many of us tend to multitask (or try to) when we’re preparing for exams!! for some it may work, but it could lead to you getting 1) nothing done and 2) more stressed because you didn’t achieve much.
when you study, just study. turn off the television if you’re the type of person that likes to watch shows when you study because it’s just more likely to distract you from the content in front of you.
find a method that works for you. some people prefer studying while listening to music, while others can’t concentrate if there is too much noise. everyone’s studying habits are different, so find a method that suits you asap so you can become more efficient!! you’ll feel less stressed than if you were trying to study with a method that didn’t suit you.
take breaks. studying for long periods of time can lead to you burning out (which is a no no) and feeling overwhelmed by the amount of content. it might have an adverse effect as you are likely to retain less. use the pomodoro method, or find a time schedule that fits you.
relax, and reward yourself. don’t let your life become all about preparing for exams. it’s possible to have a social life and enjoy yourself when revising! it’s all about time management. here’s a nICE AF masterpost on time management!!!
also, give yourself rewards for accomplishing revision objectives. finished writing your history notes? that’s great go catch up on the latest season of suits! rewards give you a nice break from all that revision and help to reduce your stress levels!!!
a week before exams
get good sleep. make sure you’re getting sufficient amounts of sleep as you begin to revise more so that you’re not completely sleep deprived on the first day of your exams. enough sleep also helps to improve your memory so it’ll assist with your studies also!
make summaries of your notes. condense your notes (if possible) into smaller chunks e.g. flashcards, mind maps so that they are easier to digest. you should be pretty familiar with the content by this point so only put down the most important information! this may make it feel like you have less content to memorise/learn and not overwhelm you (too much).
quiz yourself. by this point, it’s important to figure out what it is that you know and what you don’t know well enough so you can work on those areas before the actual exams!! what i do is, as i write notes, i also write down separately questions about the content and possible extended response questions. this way, you have your notes and then questions on the content that you can do to test your understanding :)
right before exams!!!
ok, breathe. you’ve almost made it!!! all of your hard work is about to be put to use. it’s very easy to stress out right before an exam bUT THIS IS BAD FOR YOU omg. when you stress right before an exam, you’re more likely to forget important facts or details that you need to know. instead, take deep breaths, and collect your thoughts. (try to) be confident in yourself, knowing that you put in the effort weeks before, and even if your results aren’t as WOW!!! be happy knowing that you tried your hardest, and there are always chances to improve.
optional: stop looking at your notes!!! not sure if this applies to anyone else, but when i look at my notes when i’m outside the examination hall i begin to freak out because omf exams. it’s really easy to become overwhelmed at this point and begin stressing about getting bad marks, so if looking at your notes makes you panic then don’t do it. it’s better to go through the content in your head, and stay calm.
during the exam!!!
during exams, it can be easy to become caught up in one section and neglect the others. for 1 hour exams at my school, using history as an example, there is a multiple choice section, short answers section, and an extended response (essay). the exam suggests that we spend 10 minutes on multiple choice, 30 on short answers and 20 on the essay, but from my personal experience 20 minutes wasn’t enough to write a succinct and sustained essay. so i took less time for the first two sections so i would have more time for the essay, which made up a third of the marks.
figure out what sections you’ll need more time for, and try to account for that in the beginning of the exam. if there is an essay which you haven’t seen the question for then go to that first.
read the essay question and then think about it briefly before moving onto another section. this way the question stays in the back of your mind, and you can think about your essay structure and content while you do other parts of the test. if there is space given for a plan, then use it.
if you’re stuck on a question for more than 2 minutes move on!! fold a corner of the exam paper (if this is allowed) and come back to it later.
my #1 piece of college advice for you youngsters would be to always keep a phone charger, snacks, and an umbrella in your backpack at all times
Also for the love of God don’t skip class.
Buy a reusable water bottle / container. Especially if you walk around a lot.
Buy a watch because you can’t always look at your phone believe it or not.
Bonus if it has alarms (preferably quieter ones) so you can keep track of your time.
ALWAYS. KEEP. YOUR CHANGE. Especially silver coins! Adds up fast.
Talk to the people sitting next to you in class. Exchange phone numbers or something. Keep friendly. If you ever miss class, let them know and ask if they can share their notes. Always have at least 2 people in case 1 isn’t there.
Make sure you have at least one pair of sturdy walking shoes. Believe me, walking to class sucks sooooo much more with blisters and sore feet
MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR PROFESSORS. Seriously, they can help you get where you want to go in life by giving you good references and making your life easier.
Use every resource you have available. First week of classes: learn the library, find computer labs (especially the ones that aren’t on the first floor of any given building- the easiest to find labs are always the busiest and noisiest), familiarize yourself with tutoring/ help centers, learn where campus security is located and how to contact them, and if you don’t know your adviser, schedule an appointment to meet them within the first two weeks of the semester. Knowing all of this information/ people takes off so much stress and limits unpleasant surprises when you need them the least.
Hello everyone! This is my first official guide, and I’m very excited to post part 1 of this series! (I devoted a lot of love to this post please help me spread this to a student in need!) I may also make another study post guide as I compile and discover more effective study methods ^^ This is very motivationally dense but I intended for it to be that way and I hope someone out there finds it helpful!
used to be a student who excelled and got away with poor work ethic, but are now academically and emotionally suffering from said work ethic
have absolutely no idea how to organize or discipline yourself
are all of the above
Though I am no professional, I speak from both personal experience and from the voices of similar students. You are not alone in the the quest for self improvement, nor are you a helpless case.
The first thing you must realize:
Everything that is within your power is something that you must try to control. Everything from how you wake up to the way you sleep is an external factor that must be regulated, because if you find it difficult to grapple with inattentiveness or disorganization, then you have to at least keep every other variable in check.
Just trying is not enough. Blindly working hard is not enough. To eradicate years of poor work ethic means that you must implement deliberate and careful practice into almost every aspect of your life. It’s an intimidating thought, but the reward of it is so great, I promise you! It is so possible, you just have to want it enough.
Not too long ago, I was struggling with the most daunting task of starting to confront my issues. I was the poster child of inattentive AD/HD, struggling with other illnesses and a severe lack of understanding about my purpose in my life. I was a demoralized, depressed individual with no hold on any aspect of my life. Through discovering art and creating my studyblr, I’ve really begun to throw myself into a pendulum of constant work and self improvement! I have off days, obviously, but the fact that not every day is an off day is already miraculous to me!
And, by no means am I completely perfect now. I’m not even close! But perfection is not the goal, it is continued hard work and perseverance that will get you places.
I won’t ever have a cumulative high school 4.0 GPA. My stress is still monumental even when it deosn’t need to be. I’m still as anxious as ever, and some parts of my life are still horrendously disorganized (I’m getting there, and that concept is diminishing rapidly!) However, I can physically see the improvement every single day, and that is a feeling that just cannot be beat.
The little things count, guys; I don’t lose my headphone twice a day anymore! I don’t forget weekly homework assignments nearly as often as before. I’ve finally begun the process of eliminating every single terrible habit I accumulated, and I’m here, telling you that I am by far not the only one.
That being said, Here are some study tips specific for the students who lose things twice a day and sometimes forgets to bring their binders to school *guilty.* Shoutout to you guys, we’re not alone. We are every bit as capable and intelligent as anyone else. We are stronger than we realize, but the primary thing obstructing our success is a fundamental trait we sorely lack–
Discipline.
Especially for the kids with AD/HD, the lack of attention regulation makes it nearly impossible to develop these skills as a kid, but I promise that you can. It’s not really your fault; it only becomes your fault when you recognize the issue later and don’t deliberatelywork toward improving it.
We must learn how to work hard, because nobody is behind us to cushion our falls anymore. We must grind everyday to reform ourselves. No matter who you are, somethingwill work for you. You just have to want it enough to search for it.
READ THIS ARTICLE BEFORE PROCEEDING. MARK IT, READ IT, LIVE BY IT, LOVE IT.
I talk about this more in part two with calendars and apps, but trust me when I say that if you’re a mess, you have to write or type everything down.
Start a bullet journal, grab an old notebook, do anything, but make sure you write down any valuable semblance of information that ever crosses your mind, or else you will forget. I am a genuine advocate for believing in yourself but believe mewhen I say that you cannot believe you will remember everything, because you will not. You are a human and you forget things.
If you’re interested in starting a bullet journal, here are some posts to refer to :
Remember that a bullet journal does not have to be prompt-heavy or laden with aesthetic typography in order for it to be effective. It can be as straightforward as you need it to be so please do not get caught up in the frills of social media if it does not suit you! Use it as everything and anything you need it to be.
If the item requires a remote, STICK THE REMOTE ONTO THE WALL SO YOU DON’T LOSE THE REMOTE.
If you don’t wish to buy an item finder, that’s fine!
Whether or not you buy an electronic aid, you must get into the habit of putting things back EXACTLY where you want them to be. Not one meter away, not somewhere in its general vicinity, but exactly where it needs to be.
I force myself to put my earphones back into my backpack the minute I get home, because I used to have to spend ten minutes to find them,
every.
single.
day.
Practice this and don’t cheat! If you’re tired, too bad–get up and place things back where they belong. You can no longer swim in a litany of excuses. Don’t cheat yourself, or else the only person who is at fault is you.
ESTABLISH A ROUTINE
This is vital. Sleep and wake at about the same time everyday, unless exceptions force you to do otherwise. (Procrastination is not a viable excuse.)
Do not make it a habit to start homework in the late morning. Do not think that since it’s 2am, you have 4 hours to finish your homework before class starts. This kind of passive thinking will virtually destroy every other hope at reverting your work ethic and discipline. Remember, you have no right to complain about being tired if you’re the one perpetuating this poor lifestyle! Not only is this making you feel lethargic and unmotivated during the day, but it will sustain that lifelong habit of procrastination.
Try to use sleepyti.meto determine an optimal time to wake up based on the time you go to sleep (natural circadian cycles.) You must force yourself to adopt a healthy sleep cycle if you want to feel physically and mentally better!
Pick out your clothing the night before. Force yourself (key word being force) to print all of the papers you need and put all of your supplies into your backpack before you go to sleep.
Wash your face, drink a lot of water, and make it a habit!
GET A WATCH AND CLOCK.
Purchase a watch that you like, and keep it for as long as it still ticks. Using your phone for the time will often shift from “What time do I need to turn this in?” to “Why hasn’t DiCaprio won an Oscar yet?!!” Don’t be that person. Buy a watch and wear it. put a tiny clock on your table or one on your wall!
COLOR CODE EVERYTHING!
OH MY GOODNESS When I started doing this, my focus sharpened ten fold, I swear to you. I color code every school subject and item on my calendar because if I do not, I get distracted. Determine a color for everything (Red for psych, pink for math, blue for history, etc…) Use that color in your planners and bullet journals and color code your textbook covers if you need to! The less you have to think about menial correspondence, the more mental capacity you have to focus on more important issues (like being on time to class and actually studying.) For example, if I see a book with a pink sticker and pink text in my bullet journal, I then immediately know it’s for English.
Meditation will not only promote self control and serenity, but it will strengthen your mental health. At first, it will seem nearly impossible to sit through the given time periods, but force yourself to keep doing it for a while, even if you don’t think it’s for you.
If meditation doesn’t work, then congratulations, anyway! You’ve still achieved the practice of disciplining yourself and forcing yourself to sit through something you don’t like (this will be imperative for classes that you don’t like, projects you hate, or boring part time jobs.)
If meditation really doesn’t help, however, even after a month or two of CONSISTENT trial, then turn to exercise.
Exercise never fails. If you’re lazy, fix it. If you’re un-athletic, walk a little bit, do the seven minute exercise, pace around the house 10 times, walk briskly for 30 minutes a day, try some stretching. Go to the gym or track, or walk two miles around your neighborhood. It is scientifically proven that exercise will promote chemical balance in your brain.
Ever since I quit swim team in freshman year, I’ve been trying to work out consistently. However, I too, am just like you and I’ve failed to make it a habit. For every week I don’t exercise, I feel more and more tired. This is especially helpful if you’re a hyperactive kid; it will make you more mellow!
HEALTHIER DIET
I am certain that many of us are not living on a very healthy diet right now. if we’re in high school, we’re lazy, and if we’re in college, we’re probably poor. But we have to make both mental and physical health a priority, since they’re so closely interlinked.
Example: the Ketogenic diet was designed to aid patients with epilepsy but future studies it effective for other illnesses, AD/HD included. Results show that it works for most patients and poses no short or long term effects.
Disclaimer: I AM IN NO WAY TELLING YOU TO IMPLEMENT THIS DIET. THIS IS MERELY INFORMING EVERYBODY THAT SOME FORM OF DIET CHANGE IS CLINICALLY HELPFUL.
I’m thinking of going in depth about foods that promote focus and energy in a separate guide. I’ll update you guys when I do that!
STUDY WITH FRIEND
You may have noticed that “friend” is singular. Study groups genuinely do not help everyone, especially if you are extremely disorganized and/or have AD/HD. The reason you’re disorganized is because you’re scatterbrained, and if you’re scatterbrained then groups of people will likely distract you. Study with a friend but find a friend/classmate who will motivate you to work hard and refuse to be distracted by side conversation, but is kind enough to help propel you toward understanding and finishing your work.
WHERE AND HOW DO YOU STUDY?
Do you feel cramped in your room? Try moving to the living room, or a cafe. What kind of lighting do you prefer? In what clothes do you feel most comfortable studying? These are all external factors that, unsurprisingly, matter a lot when it comes to studying.
Personally, I have to change into baggy clothes the minute I get home because I feel restricted in my day clothes. My room makes me feel claustrophobic so I try to finish the bulk of my work after school in the classroom. Comfort (or lack thereof) and environment matters so much when you’re trying to study.
PRO TIP: Remember to get up every once in a while, stretch and walk so that you don’t feel fatigued while studying.
Use the pomodoro method, or something similar for study sessions. This is so useful for a lot of disorganized kids and students with AD/HD. Try it out! During the short breaks, make sure you don’t check your phone or look at anything distracting. Again, practice discipline and force yourself to look away. Do some stretches, drink some water, and walk a couple laps around the house!
FINISH EVERYTHING.
You probably don’t have a habit of finishing things. Fix it. Get in the habit of finishing everything you do. Start with a morning routine, try to finish a workout, three bottles of water, etc etc…
Think of bad habits as a broken leg; even if time and care helps it to heal, you still have a weak leg that you need to put through physical training. You NEED to put in the maximum effort and fight your natural urges to give up halfway through. Just because your leg has improved doesn’t mean you can walk again.
Example: Do you have a lenient teacher who doesn’t check that you’ve completed homework?
Don’t cheat yourself; finish it anyway! If you think you got lucky getting a teacher who doesn’t care, think again. Your careless habits will only then be further perpetuated by you, and that shows that you don’t truly want to get better no matter what type of issue you have.
If you fail to always do this, that’s ok! It’s a learning process. I am still trying to perfect this. If you succeeded Monday through Thursday and mess up on Friday, redeem yourself on Monday. You’re not going to run out of chances anytime soon! Be proactive in your self improvement, don’t wait for someone to give it to you.
Force yourself to work honestly. Every lazy, dishonest move you make is a step back for routine success. I know that the minute I excuse myself from completing an assignment, I’ll do it again and again and again. However, keep in mind that if you’ve failed to do something right, you are not automatically a failure. You simply have to keep rolling the dice to move forward!
NOTEBOOKS/SUPPLIES
For the disorganized student, TRY NOT TO USE loose leaf paper. You’re probably going to lose it. Instead,
You can buy two notebooks, one for homework and one for notes
keep one notebook for both
KEEP AN INDEX FOR YOUR NOTES AND HOMEWORK NO MATTER HOW YOU ORGANIZE THEM. Create an actual index, use sticky flags or post its, anything you need!
If you must turn them in for points, buy folders to store them when you get them back.
DO NOT LET YOURSELF SLIDE ON THIS ONE. Make sure you do not lose anything.
If you work better with ringed notebooks, buy those. If you like bound notebooks, that’s fine, too! Find out what works the best for you.
Additionally,
Buy a hole puncher for home, and optionally, a portable hole puncher. Make sure you don’t give yourself any excuses to shove everything into the left pocket of your binder until it tears (*cries*). Most teachers have hole punchers in their room! Take advantage of that.
Keep old (but relevant) work in category specific folders, and refer back to them if you need to review, but whatever you do, do NOT hoard everything in your binder.
About once a month, look through these folders and throw out anything you do not need.
Color code everything if you wish!
MUSIC
Usually, music you cannot sing along to is ideal. However, this is not a steadfast rule.
Example: I don’t listen to Halsey on a daily basis, but her music is perfect for my study sessions (that and Troye Sivan but I listen to Troye Sivan all of the time).
For me, the lazy alt pop beats of both artists are very effective study songs, but your tastes may vary.
Sit down and read it aloud, as though you’re trying to teach it to a kid. Talk to yourself, ask yourself questions and answer them as though you’re both student and teacher; strike up conversation with yourself. Have dual personalities. Play devil’s advocate and ask stupid questions until you get to the root of the issue.
You’re not weird or crazy for doing this! It’s a proven, popular method of proofreading code in the programming world, known as rubber duck debugging.
CAN’T REMEMBER THINGS?
Assign weird mental images, acronyms, or pictures to everything you need to remember.
Example: For historical figures, I used to create stories for them noting their accomplishments in almost slang-like. humorous language, and that would help me to remember what they did on the test. It works, I swear by it!
Remember, you’re impulsive and you hate boring things. Stop trying to study like everyone else.
MAKE PLANS AND BE A REAL PERSON.
This sounds “counterintuitive,” but a lot of my tips that sound counterintuitive work the best. Please do not think that being a recluse and trying to study all day is going to work.
Establish a routine, and do the routine like clockwork. Don’t sleep in late unless you’ve pulled all nighters for finals and you need sleep.
Even on weekends?
Especially on weekends. You must adhere to a schedule constantly! This doesn’t mean you have to study 24/7, but you need to solidify a daily routine. You can certainly wake up later on weekends, but you must wake up around the same time on a consistent basis anyway.
The weekends were a black hole for me. I’d wake up, stay in bed for hours and lounge until 5, and then tell myself “I still have time to do homework” before bed. NO. DON’T DO THIS. YOU WILL FAIL EVERY SINGLE TIME.
If you have plans at 6pm, then you now have a deadline. Be tough on yourself to continue your daily routine, even if nobody is watching. Wake up at 9 or 10, brush your teeth, eat some breakfast, do homework until whenever, and then be human for a couple hours. If you don’t finish, you’re screwed, simple as that. Don’t give yourself excuses. Stop trying to baby yourself and extend your own deadlines, because you’re only making matters worse, my friends!
If you don’t go out with friends often, I recommend either pacing or going outside anyway for a short period of time. Try doing this during sunrise/sunset; the serenity and fresh air during these times will provide clarity for your mind and de-stress you!
HAVING STRUCTURE IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL. If you don’t do anything in this series, DO THIS.
Because you need structure, joining extracurriculars or clubs is also very helpful. Deadlines, outings, and responsibilities will train you immediately to adopt a stricter sense of discipline, especially when you’re afraid of letting other people down. I wasn’t kidding when I said that successful students who have AD/HD or were horribly disorganized in the past are often some of the most structured individuals you’ll ever meet.
Trying to improve your lifestyle now will help you ten fold in the future. You will feel stronger mentally, physically, and emotionally by adhering to structure. It will be worth it!
Don’t get me wrong. This is extremely difficult, and it goes against everything we’ve inadvertently trained our brains to do. If we could have easily done it, we would have been perfect students this entire time. However, it’s nowhere near impossible, and with great effort and deliberate training (Reference the article I asked everyone to read) youwillbecome great. This is not wishful thinking, this is a fact. You must rewire your perception of what “working toward a goal” actually means before you can start to truly make some progress.
The feeling of self improvement and success is paramount to anything else, especially when you start seeing significant results. You’ll become happier with yourself, and you’ll start to see that your true potential was only muddled by poor work ethic and confusion, not by a lack of ability, because you arecapable.
These are merely suggestions based on my own suggestions and based on other students with nearly identical stories. Thesehavebeen proven in the past to help tremendously to those who genuinely try to implement and adhere to them.
I love you guys! Until next time, my loves <3
LOOK OUT FOR PART TWO (more tips, apps and technology) to be updated soon if this post is received well!
It’s around that time of year when kids start getting letters of being waitlisted, rejection and deferment. Just wanted to say hang in there– not everyone’s collegiate path is a strict linear progression. Taking gap years, transferring, going to your ‘B’or ‘C’ school, etc– they’re all completely valid ways to self-discovery and getting to where you want to be. From my own experience, things have a way of working out in the weirdest ways. Just keep your head up & mind open and don’t give up.
okay friends here’s a quick Guide to Doing the Finals w/Mental Illness (feel free to add)
first of all, before finals, as much as you can: get cozy with teachers. go to office hours. have 3 questions written down that might actually help you, ask them. if you have anxiety about this stuff, rehearse beforehand, and keep the door open (it will feel less confrontational).
assume you will go into Bad Mode at some point. when you can, beforehand, start early. if it’s 2 sentences, a thought on what your thesis could be, whatever - get it started. it’s much easier from a start than from a blank page.
in assumption of Bad Mode, have your basic needs taken care of. if you know getting food is going to be difficult, stock up on snacks so that you force yourself to eat during the day. i don’t care if they’re oreos. you need to eat. if you can mix in some healthy stuff - nuts, carrots, apples, etc - go for it. but eat. buy dry shampoo for the days you can’t shower, or use corn starch. set out the clothes you will wear for the week.
if you can skip caffeine, do so. most of us won’t but… it does help anxiety.
find out if you study better with friends or alone. most “study groups” are a waste of time if people aren’t focused, and focusing on people and school is almost impossible with The Mental Illness, which wants you to not do work.
bribe yourself if you have to. “if i pass with [this average] i can buy all the things already in my amazon cart.” don’t go shopping, though. you’ll find yourself looking at strange shit for a dollar and it’s 4 in the morning and the essay isn’t written.
figure out what learning style you are and study using that. remember that if you doodle, you’re probably a kinesthetic learner - learn by doing. visual learners? flashcards. auditory? tape the lectures. kinesthetic? write it down, buddy.
make lists. they reduce anxiety and help you see that what feels overwhelming is only like 3 things.
figure out where you focus best. libraries or your room?
protip: use the school’s computer. you know, the big embarrassing ones everyone can see? having your screen visible to others will help you stay on track - particularly because the people waiting to use the computers will be v annoyed with you if you’re not busy.
fire your inner critic. you’re on full Survive mode, pal. you don’t have to make everything perfect to your standards. i find myself pointlessly obsessing about colorcoding and pretty writing. no time for that anymore. it’s there, it’s legible? it’s good enough.
five page literary/research essay gotcha down? get your evidence all of it. write it in the document. then put your own words about it. a good method is “i’m gonna give you evidence. [evidence]. this is an analysis of the evidence”. then put a sentence before your first to transition into it. then put one after your last to transition out of it. suddenly you have a lot of words with what feels like very little work.
wait to write introductions until the essay is done
white noise - good for study, stim, and also sleep
when you need to, just fess up. admit you have a problem. tell your teachers, talk to them about it, try to set up something to help you make up missing work. I want to say 95% of the time… teachers will do their best to pass you. they just want to see you try.
if you have trouble focusing on 1 thing at a time - do multiple homeworks at once. if you go on tumblr not even bc you care about this rotten website but because you just need something else, this will probably help you. two sentences on essay 1, three math problems, three words on essay 2? before you know it, it adds up.
i hear a lot of “quit social media!” but tbh if you reward yourself with like… human interaction… dont quit it. i’m like “okay i want to message him back but i need to finish X amount of work and then i can”.
small rewards are the bomb.com
honestly dress for success. if you’re in full No mode, it can be easy to wear the same thing 8 times in a row. if you pick out an outfit you love, and spend the time getting ready in the morning - it does help. and if you need to be in pj’s to attend the final? at least you’re there tbh.
grades are not a reflection of how much you learned, how hard you tried, or anything like that. they are frequently subjective. remind yourself that you are not defined by someone’s subjective amount.
tell a buddy about what you’re dealing with. have someone who knows. who listens to you.
sleep helps you learn way better than cramming tbh
For work reasons, I regularly have to stand up in front of a bunch of people I have never met before, and talk to them. Usually it’s about fifteen people, but at conference time my seminars have upwards of seventy-five people or more in the audience.
For years, public speaking was not my favorite thing; I dreaded it more than anything else in the world. But I love it now, and I’ve been told I’m good at it, so I’m gonna share some tips.
Freak out. Go ahead. Give yourself permission to panic about having to stand up in front of a bunch of people and give a speech. Go. Panic, scream, cry, complain to the world. Just get it out of your system - really get it all out in one go. You can have anywhere from ten minutes to three hours, depending on how close this due date is. But however long you take, know that when you’re done freaking out, that’s it - it’s work time now.
Make an outline. Write down the main points you want to cover. Dates, theories, equations, all of the Big Stuff. Write them all down in the beginning, so you won’t forget them later.
Once the Big Stuff is written down, start filling in details: what’s important about this date, explain this theory, what’s the application for this equation. If it seems relevant, give examples (but limit it to one or two easy examples per item; overfilling with examples can lead to your audience forgetting what you were talking about)
If you are making a PowerPoint - start transferring that outline into your slides. Don’t worry about design, format, animations, none of that right now. It shouldn’t be pretty at the beginning, all you need is your information on the slides. Make sure your slides are simple and not stuffed with information. Font size should be at least 28 for every bit of text - if you need to shrink it down to fit your information on, move it to the next slide or user fewer words.
Write your speech in bullet points. Resist the urge to write it out word-for-word. If you write it out word-for-word and practice from that and nothing else, one of two things is probably going to happen: you will recite the speech as you have written and it will come across as a recitation rather than a presentation, or you will forget a word somewhere in the middle and stumble over yourself. Writing your speech in bullet points lets you fill in the transitions as you’re practicing; your flow will be more even and natural when you’re speaking, and you won’t get caught up in what the next word is supposed to be.
Practice. Practice, practice, practice.Do not, under any circumstances, wing it. If you wing it, you will feel unprepared, so you will come across as unprepared, and you will probably forget important details or be surprised when a particular slide shows up. Practice until you are tired of your topic, practice until you want to murder your topic and bury it out in the back.
There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a sentence and realizing you have no more air left. When you’re practicing, make note of where you should breathe.
Practice with an audience that can interact with you (your dog is a loving and supportive friend, but your dog can’t tell that you’re talking too fast). You need to give your speech to someone who will give you honest feedback - it can be an audience of one. Make it clear to them how you want their help: do you want them to critique your content, your presentation skills, or both.
Preparation is equally as important as practicing. Check your PowerPoint - are all your animations working correctly? Is everything spelled right? Do you have legible notecards written in a way that will help you? Do you have an outfit planned (you want to look nice, but you also want to be comfortable)?
Three days before, stop tweaking it. Stop making major changes. Go ahead and change the wording, but do not add any new content (and do not remove content unless it really is garbage). Up until now you’ve been practicing with a certain set of content, and throwing new content in at the last minute can unsettle your pacing and structure - it’s information you haven’t had nearly as much time as practice.
One day before, leave it alone completely.It’s locked. Done. It’ll be what it’ll be. 24 hours before your speech is not the time to making any kind of adjustments to it. You’ve practiced what you have, you know you can rock what you have, so you’re going to give what you have.
If steps 9 and 10 have both failed for any number of reasons (which is fine! happens to me all the time), then this is the rule you need to pay attention to. For the love of everything you find holy, do not make changes to your speech right before you give it. This has the same effect as winging it, and all the practice you’ve done will be for nothing.
Get a good night’s sleep. Be hydrated. Eat breakfast (but not a super big special breakfast that might upset your stomach; eat your normal breakfast, even if that’s toaster pastries and a can of soda). Dress in layers, so you can remove or add a layer as necessary and not be freezing or sweating up there.
Go first, if you have the option. Seriously. Volunteer to go first. You’ll get it out of the way, and you’ll be done. More importantly, you won’t be watching everyone else’s presentations/speeches while worrying about your own - that’s a super easy way to psych yourself out. So go first, or at least go early.
Other tips!
Watch stand-up comedy. What stand-up comedy teaches you is timing, pacing, and audience interaction. Stand-up comics stand in front of people and talk to them for a living - they just happen to be funny when they do it. Study them for timing and pacing: where do they pause, for how long, how do they transition two wildly different topics together, etc. Stand-up comics are great at handling unpredictable audiences.
PowerPoint animations: never use slide transitions, and the only animation you should ever use is “appear.” The “appear” animation controls what’s on the slide at any given time and is helpful for both you and the audience (though don’t make stuff disappear once it’s already on the slide). You won’t rush over yourself trying to move on to the next topic, because the next topic isn’t visible yet.
Also on PowerPoint: know where your slides end. Create a little circle or square in the bottom corner that’s just a shade or two darker than the background color, and have it be the last thing to appear on the slide. Your audience won’t notice it, but it’ll be an indicator for you that the slide’s over and you’re moving on.
If it’s speech with a time limit, have a buddy keep time by holding up a piece of paper with how much time you have remaining. Since you’ve practiced, you should know about how long your speech is, but you may speed up or slow down in front of people and you need to know about that. Be clear with them up front about what they need to tell you: you don’t want to be suddenly blindsided with 2:00 LEFT, but neither do you want to be warned every five minutes.
Have a buddy give you signals. I talk super fast in front of people, so I always have someone in the back of the room to give me the “slow down” hand signal. You may also get really quiet, and you need someone to tell you to speak up. If at all possible, you want to adjust your speed or volume before someone in the audience points it out to you, which can interrupt your rhythm and train of thought.
If you talk with your hands, talk with your hands. If you want to stand still, stand still. If you like jokes, tell jokes. If you need Star Trek references, make them. Let yourself be yourself. You’re already in an uncomfortable situation, and trying to silence something fundamental about who you are is going to make it so much worse. Be yourself in front of a crowd - you will be a lot more interesting, and a lot more fun (and have a lot more fun), than everyone else who’s trying to be as flat as possible.
If you have any questions or want some extra advice or anything, I’m happy to help!
-Not my photo- I have found this infographic on the internet and I think it is fantastic! If you would like to get a study buddy I would recommend using this. I know that I will definitely show this to some of my friends.
don’t use spark notes/schmoop/other reference sites until AFTER you have read your book and formed your own opinions, because it makes your essays a lot more interesting, which your teacher will appreciate, if everyone is doing the same essay on something! (However, don’t do this if you don’t have time, rely on those sites when you are racing a deadline or juggling tons of stuff ofc)
do the in-class reading beforehand! this sounds so silly, but doing the reading beforehand can help so much if there is an in-class discussion on it after
highlighters (or other writing utensils in various colors) are your best friend when there is an in-class essay! while obviously in general they are great, if you have a few different colors you can quickly mark up the text to find recurring elements and structure essays around that!
look up the social-cultural-historical context of a book! this is super great for reading nonfiction, but also great for most fiction because it allows you to understand the lens the author was writing through and their motive for doing so, which gives you great fodder for discussion if you need to discuss purpose
Whether you’re giving a speech or a presentation with images, here are some tips and useful links:
Important general tip:
If you are feeling yourself panic, stop for a moment and take a breath then continue. No one is judging you and everyone is supporting you! :)
Giving a speech:
1. Do NOT just stare at your ‘script’! 2. Stand up straight, speak clearly and confidently, and smile 3. Use prompt cards, not a printed version of your entire speech
1. If you have a powerpoint (or similar) do not have a ton of writing! Having one or two key words or just an image is a lot better as it ensures the audience (and you!) are not just reading off the slide 2. Know the content inside out - be an expert! (no necessarily memorise but make sure you really know your stuff - this will help with confidence too) 3.
ILOVE THIS FONT!!!! okay i’m shutting up now also this is another masterpost requested by you guys but especially for every-humanities-subject-ever <3 this is how to make your notes look better:
hope all this helps you make prettier notes!! if it does + if you want to, please take a photo of them and tag me in them [my tag is #areistotle] + i will reblog them for sure!! have a great day <333
First master-post. Thank you all so much for following me! Message me if any links are broken or if you want me to add more stuff. All the people I mentioned, thank you all for making those posts. They seriously help me so much. :D
Lots of apps and tips that help me a lot.
A. Get rest + take breaks. In order to be able to concentrate, you need to be properly rested. Let’s be realistic though, no one is gonna sleep at 9 with their finals round the corner. It’s obvious but it won’t help when you’re mind is wandering off and you’re tired. So take a power nap when you’re tired.
Even if you’re not tired, even if it’s 3:00 A.M, don’t think “What’s the point of sleeping now?” Just go to sleep, and trust me. It willhelp.
Take breaks too! Find out the ratio that works for you best (example: 45 minutes of studies + a 10 minute break). Don’t study on long stretches. Breaks help refresh your mind. Preferably don’t use your phone either. Take a walk, eat a fruit or something. Try rewarding yourself.
B. Environment. It’s sometimes too loud or too quiet and you can’t help it. Try listening to some nice classical music or instrumental music to help you concentrate. This is not for everyone but if you’re like me and need music to study, here are some awesome playlists:
C: Focus. Refrain from using social media. If you’re like me, then you would understand when I say that it’s like a black hole. Use an app to block websites like facebook, tumblr etc. when you need your electronic devices for studying.
Or just switch to airplane mode! I do this all the time. You won’t be distracted by texts, WiFi etc. You can even do this on your pc/ laptop.
D. Plan + Get organised. ik, that’s what everyone says but it’s solid advice. Spending a couple of minutes planning the day and it can save a lotof time.
Or Make a Bullet Journal: A nice way to stimulate your creativity. I feel that when you actually write stuff down, it gives them a tangible, solid form. So I find bullet journals perfect.
Doesn’t have to be fancy
All you artsy peeps can take advantage and have fun
Take action immediately. This is the habit that sets highly productive people apart.
Striving for perfection can be a help or a hindrance, depending on the stakes, so save the nit-picky attitude for when they’re especially high. Like your job application.
Do the task that you’re more likely to procrastinate on first . And that way you’ll know that it was the worst thing you had to do for the day.
E. Find Out what technique is most effective for you. Find out what works for you. If you’re a visual leaner, make mind maps etc. If you’re an auditory learner, try listening to Youtube videos, talk to yourself.
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).
This coming Saturday is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death! Not sure what Shakespeare play you should see or read to commemorate the occasion? No worries! I’ve put together a little flowchart to help you make up your mind.
