Do Well Guys!! Let’s Get That 5 😎

‘eat the frog' method

Hi all, it’s werelivingarts. I just stumbled across this method called ‘eat the frog’, which means you get the most difficult or important task out of your way first. I actually have been using this method for a long time, hope this post gives you a new way of managing your time and productivity! 😜

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” – Mark Twain 

do ya future self a favor and work hard now

Hi everyone!! I am using the Elisi platform and it honestly makes me want to throw my physical journal/planner away! It is super useful and easy to use but very effective! Try it out :)

Digital Bullet Journal App

Hey guys! Whilst replying to my last message, I came across an application called Elisi - it is a free digital bullet journal app for iPhone/iPad, Andriod and Mac :D

I’ve just downloaded it to see what it can do and it has:

weekly calendars (unfortunately, no monthly or daily specific)

colour-coded lists (with % completion)

habit trackers (each week and tracks your record/streak)

notes - these you can have per week, but if you bookmark them they’ll stay for any week you go too!

check off your tasks or check off and leave a reaction (sad, neutral, happy)

Here is a screenshot of me testing it out so you can have a quick see!

Just thought I’d share it since it’s free and looks quite useful! :-)

i love flora

essays for days (i love this app 🌲)

how to get motivated when you just want to sit on your bed and eat popcorn (aka me yesterday)

I’m going to be splitting this post into 3 categories

1) general motivation “tips”

2) how to be motivated for school stuff

3) motivation for other tasks

———————————————————————

1) General motivation tips

• if you can do it In 5 minutes or less do it NOW

If won’t take long to do get it done then go back do doing what you were doing, “losing” 5 minutes of electronic time is better than never finishing what you need to do. Ex: I can clean off my desk in less than 5 minutes so I’ll do it now instead of waiting

• the hardest part is getting up

I know if you don’t have any motivation getting out of bed is the hardest thing and you’ll need some help with that so if you get on your phone as soon as you wake up put it somewhere where you have to get up to get it then don’t go back to your bed until you finish one thing you didn’t do yesterday

• I know it’s hard to find motivation but as soon as you do one small task you’ll want to do a bigger task then before you know it your to do list will be all marked off

2) motivation for school

Doing school stuff after school isn’t the most fun thing since you’ve been there most of the day and you just want to relax when you get home

• study/homework as soon as you get home or right before bed.

If you want to get homework out of the way do it as soon as you get home then you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want, if you need some time to have a break right after school do what you need to do then save a few hours before you go to bed and do homework then (bonus: if you’re doing homework before bed and not using your phone you are increasing your ability to sleep)

• no distractions

I know this all too well and get distracted super easily especially when I’m trying to do school work, to solve this I turn my phone all the way off and put it in a different room, this helps because I can’t just reach over and get distracted by notifications or endless scrolling. Whatever you get distracted by remove it

• keep everything you need on your desk

If you know you need a ruler for your homework get one before you start and put it on your desk so you don’t have to get up and get it, keep a water bottle and a small snack on your desk so you don’t have to get up and get distracted getting it, if you know you need Lip balm, hand sanitizer, gum, ect. Keep that at your desk too.

• find the best study method for you

If you’re struggling with one study method try a different one, find a method that works for you so you want to study

• summarize notes into short “essays”

If you missed a day of notes get them from a friend and summarize the main points into small paragraphs so when you need to study but don’t want to you can read the paragraphs (a little something is better than nothing)

3) motivation for other things

• find inspiration

I do this a lot and I think it really helps. When I’m going to clean my room and I’m not in the mood I’ll give myself a few minutes to get on Pinterest and go through my future bedroom board to get motivated then I’ll clean

• start small

Do something small first then work your way up to bigger things

• 2 minute tasks

If you have no motivation force yourself to do something for 2 minutes, if you still don’t want to do it after 2 minutes get up and do something else but once you start for those 2 minutes you are more likely to keep going

— I’m probably not the best person to get motivation tips from but I hoped these helped even just a little, this is my first time doing something like this so feedback would be greatly appreciated <3

SCHOOL CHEAT SHEET!!

soothe yourself | self care

stationery  

printables

helpful sites

music for studying | more music

note taking methods  | another one

studying methods

english | physics | chemistry | biology | maths | languages 

how to learn a language

ultimate guide for writing | writing resources | writing helps | tips for writers

how to write a kickass essay | write a great essay | stuff you need to write essays | essay tips | essay checklist | grade your essay

how do I study for…

bullet journals | a guide to bullet journals

the testing effect

everything you need to succeed in school

time management

organisation

how to annotate | another one

guide to aesthetically pleasing notes | improve your handwriting

create a study guide

resources | helpful websites | there’s an app for that

get more out of google 

productivity resources | 14 apps to become productive | how to stay productive

lazy night owl school survival guide

apps for a better life | useful websites for students

masterpost of studying tips

social media citation guide

college masterpost | another one | starting college on the right foot | packing for college | how to survive in college

how to ace that college interview

food to stay motivated | motivation guide

how to stay awake in class

balancing a healthy lifestyle

studying on your period

huge masterpost for the semester

a very long list to help you survive school

not enough time to finish an assignment?

100 delicious cheap recipes 

53 posts for students

high school cheat sheet

other cheat sheets

I really really wish I was a cat, I’m not built for this capatalist society but I am built for sleeping 19 hours a day and knocking things over

concept playlists

the breeze is biting and brutal as you swiftly move across campus to your greek literature class but all your mind can focus on is the blood beneath your blackened coat and the way your surroundings suddenly sound painstakingly deliberate

from where you lie the shadows her gestures make are distorted yet you can’t help but smile once the familiar sounds of bicycles clattering against the driveway come across your ears

the shimmering light reflects off of their cheeks as you throw your head back with slight laughter at how, frankly embarrassing, both your dancing is but you can’t find it in yourself to care 

you’re stood on the border of town with one hand on your backpack and the other laced with theirs as the two of your stare out at the sunrise, a sunrise that looms over the town you’ve decided to turn your back on

the love of your life whisks you into the arms for a slow dance which, despite the overall cheesiness, makes your cheeks sore with how much you’re smiling as they lead you through the kitchen and out towards the flower garden

you’re a dumb british teenager, the world is unfair, and all you want to do is sit by the pier and smoke until your lips turn numb and the band dies down

it’s new years eve in ‘87 and you’ve escaped the chaos downstairs in place of laying on the roof with them, some stolen cassettes, and a knack for spotting constellations

the italian sun caresses your skin and it burns but the grass is soft and their head is resting upon your shoulder so you don’t mind too much

me, at 2 am: there’s no better time than the present. let’s immediately start learning 3 different languages, write a screenplay and several poems, finish all of my assignments, read 12 new books,

Super helpful!

College Note-Taking System

Having cohesive and effective notes is one of the key skills I think one should have, especially in an academic setting. When you’re receiving a ton of information each day, you want to be able to keep track of that and remember what you’ve learned. I’m constantly trying out ways to make my note-taking more effective and tailored to my needs. Here’s what my note-taking system looks like so far.

Quick note: click on the images for better quality!

Class Notes

Taking notes in class is an invaluable way to keep track of the new knowledge you’ve gained. However, depending on the mode in which the lecture material is conveyed, I take my notes differently. Here’s a summary of how I take my notes for each type of lecture, as well as some examples from the classes I’m taking now.

Slides (e.g. Macroeconomics)

Macroeconomics is a class in which you should be able to intuitively understand a lot of concepts but also remember a lot of things. Because of this, I’ve tailored my note-taking method and habits to achieve that goal.

I write my notes by hand because handwriting is more effective in committing things to memory.

As for what I actually do - and this is what I’ve done for other classes in which the professor/lecturer uses slides:

Read/skim over the slide.

Read each bullet point as the professor goes through them.

Copy it down if it’s straightforward or write it down in a structure and diction that I understand better (not necessarily in my own words - sometimes it’s just restructuring, e.g. splitting things up or joining different bullet points together).

Take note of any other important details the professor says about any particular point unless I think it’s intuitive or common sense.

Here’s an example from a Macroeconomics lecture.

Oral Presentation (e.g. Anthropology)

During classes in which the professor just speaks and doesn’t use much visual material, I listen before I write instead of attempting to write down every single detail mentioned.

Also, I type up my notes instead of handwriting them since the exams are all open-book so I don’t really have to commit things to memory.

Here’s what I do:

Listen for a cue that tells you what this particular part of the lecture will be about (and write it as a heading).

Write down main ideas and their supporting facts/details. If the facts/details come before the main ideas, then I’d usually draw an arrow.

Write down ideas and details from readings in their own section/subsection.

Sometimes, my professor also shows short clips in class, in which case I’d write down the message that I think the clip was meant to convey, as well as things that the professor points out that I didn’t think of on my own.

I’d also look up concepts/ideas/people/events (in real time) that are important to my understanding of the lecture material.

Here’s an example of a Google Docs document from an Anthropology lecture.

Demonstrations and Sample Problems (e.g. Computer Science)

Classes in which the lecture is mainly going through demos and problems are kind of tricky, because you want to know and understand what the professor is doing, but you also don’t want to be writing down every single step that’s being executed. Here’s what I’ve found to be the most effective so far:

If there are any, I import the slides/handout onto OneNote and annotate directly on the slide. If not, I just write down things like definitions, important concepts, and syntax-related things.

I focus on understanding what the professor’s doing with the demo or problem.

I then summarize the steps they took and

Write down comments and points they brought up, e.g. common errors, desirable habits/practices.

Also, these kinds of classes are usually classes in which you’d learn better when you actually do problems yourself, so I definitely learn more when I do assignments and labs than when I’m in class.

Here’s an example from a Web Programming lecture.

Here’s one from an Object Oriented Programming and Data Structures class. I often draw things to help me visualize the general points.

Rewritten Notes

My rewritten notes have definitely changed a lot since high school. Since most of my classes don’t require a lot of memorization, I organize my notes in such a way that they’d be easy to index or find information from. Here are some of the ways I do that:

Establishing a Visual Hierarchy

Having a well-defined hierarchy helps me flow through my notes really well as i read them. It helps me organize information like a mind map without actually making a mind map - I know the big topics and their subtopics and sub-subtopics and details … basically it’s easier to see how these ideas fit together.

But why don’t I just make mind-maps? See, the thing is, a lot of my notes require sequential or linear thinking, e.g. in macroeconomics it might be the sequence of events following a change in the economy, or in computer science it might be a general algorithm for solving a certain type of problem, or it might be proving or deriving a certain equation. These sorts of things just generally don’t work well with mind maps. Instead, establishing a visual hierarchy in my notes helps me organize different ideas while retaining the linear nature of the information.

Here’s what the hierarchy looks like.

Here is an example from my Web Programming class, which is a purely project-based class, so no prelims or exams. As you can see, I draw rectangles around important terminology so that I can easily find them while I’m working on a project. I also include examples from in-class activities as well as notes on syntax so I have an idea of how to implement certain things. These examples and notes are further grouped by terminology/concept.

Structuring Them for Easier Flow

My syllabi for my college courses are nowhere near as detailed as the syllabi for my high school courses - those of you who take/have taken Cambridge exams would know. In college, my syllabi are only lists of topics and not what you’re expected to know for each topic. Because of this, I have to find a way to arrange information so that I can achieve the most comprehensive and cohesive understanding of that topic, i.e. so that the flow of my notes is similar to the flow of my thinking.

For example, in my economics notebook, I like to have the details first (e.g. the separate markets: the goods market, the assets market, and the labor market) and then the big picture later (IS-LM-FE). Some people prefer the other way around - seeing the big picture and then going into the details - which I can understand and have done myself for certain topics.

Making Use of Proximity and Spacing

I very much dislike notes without good use of spacing and grouping things together. Keeping related ideas in visual proximity helps your brain (or at least mine) organize this information. It’s also a lot easier to find things and visualize your notes when they’re not just a huge chunk of text.

One thing I should probably mention is that I don’t use colored pens anymore because it just takes a lot of time to switch pens and think of a color palette. I also don’t have much use for it. In the past, I used color to help me memorize and group things in different categories, but now, I’ve found that there aren’t a whole lot of categories I need to keep track of, and when I do, I can do so with just one pen but changing the style of the text.

And that’s what my note-taking system currently looks like. It’s working well so far, but I still think there are other things I could try out that might be a better fit.

So yeah, hope this was helpful, and as always, feel free to drop an ask if you have any questions, or even if you have any suggestions or would like to share your note-taking system. Have an awesome week!