medicatedisolation-studyblog

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if you email me past 10pm, yes I’m probably awake and will read it, but also please know that I’m not going to do so without angrily saying “who tf is emailing me right now” first

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found in my philosophy notes from earlier this week

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update got an A- on the paper 👍

trying to write my paper in the glow of my computer screen at 1 am, energy drink coursing through my veins, headache going strong, eyes weighed down by bags and drooping like... maybe i don't want to be an academic anymore

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WHOOPS this was not meant for my study blog im so sorry y’all

Not to be incredibly vulgar and nasty or anything, but I’d like to close my eyes and rest my head in somebody’s lap while they run their fingers through my hair

[medicatedisolation-studyblog]

Not to be incredibly vulgar and nasty or anything, but I’d like to close my eyes and rest my head in somebody’s lap while they run their fingers through my hair

[medicatedisolation-studyblog]

trying to write my paper in the glow of my computer screen at 1 am, energy drink coursing through my veins, headache going strong, eyes weighed down by bags and drooping like... maybe i don't want to be an academic anymore

[medicatedisolation-studyblog]

I have come up with a better metaphor than “you can’t pour from an empty cup” for burnout. You can’t boil an empty kettle. Pouring from an empty cup just gets you nowhere. Trying to boil an empty kettle can ruin the kettle, the stove, and burn down your house if you keep trying it.

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how to start reading again

from someone who was a voracious reader until high school and is now getting back into it in her twenties.

start with an old favourite. even though it felt a little silly, i re-read the harry potter series one christmas and it wiped away my worry that i wasn't capable of reading anymore. they are long books, but i was still able to get completely immersed and to read just as fast as i had years and years ago.

don't be afraid of "easier" books. before high school i was reading the french existentialists, but when getting back into reading, i picked up lucinda riley and sally rooney. not my favourite authors by far, but easier to read while not being totally terrible. i needed to remind myself that only choosing classics would not make me a better or smarter person. if a book requires a slower pace of reading to be understood, it's easier to just drop it, which is exactly what i wanted to avoid at first.

go for essays and short stories. no need to explain this one: the shorter the whole, the less daunting it is. i definitely avoided all books over 350 pages at first and stuck to essay collections until i suddenly devoured donna tartt's goldfinch.

remember it's okay not to finish. i was one of those people who finished every book they started, but not anymore! if i pick up a book at the library and after a few chapters realise i'd rather not read it, i just return it. (another good reason to use your local library! no money spent on books you might end up disliking.)

analyse — or don't. some people enjoy reading more when they take notes or really stop to think about the contents. for me, at first, it was more important to build the habit of reading, and the thought of analysing what i read felt daunting. once i let go of that expectation, i realised i naturally analyse and process what i read anyway.

read when you would usually use your phone. just as i did when i was a child, i try to read when eating, in the bathroom, on public transport, right before sleeping. i even read when i walk, because that's normally a time i stare at my screen anyway. those few pages you read when you brush your teeth and wait for a friend very quickly stack up.

finish the chapter. if you have time, try to finish the part you're reading before closing the book. usually i find i actually don't want to stop reading once i get to the end of a chapter — and if i do, it feels like a good place to pick up again later.

try different languages. i was quickly approaching a reading slump towards the end of my exchange year, until i realised i had only had access to books in english and that, despite my fluency, i was tired of the language. so as soon as i got back home i started picking up books in my native tongue, which made reading feel much easier and more fun again! after some nine months, i'm starting to read in english again without it feeling like a huge task.

forget what's popular. i thought social media would be a fun way to find interesting books to read, but i quickly grew frustrated after hating every single book i picked up on some influencer's recommendation. it's certainly more time-consuming to find new books on your own, but this way i don't despise every novel i pick up.

remember it isn't about quantity. the online book community's endless posts about reading 150 books each year or 6 books in a single day easily make us feel like we're slow, bad readers, but here's the thing: it does not matter at all how many books you read or what your reading pace is. we all lead different lives, just be proud of yourself for reading at all!

stop stressing about it. we all know why reading is important, and since the pandemic reading has become an even more popular hobby than it was before (which is wonderful!). however, there's no need to force yourself to be "a reader". pick up a book every now and then and keep reading if you enjoy it, but not reading regularly doesn't make you any less of a good person. i find the pressure to become "a person who reads" or to rediscover my inner bookworm only distances me from the very act of reading.

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24.06.2024—knee deep in planner chaos. moving back into the hobonichi cousin avec for the rest of the year (hopefully. the urge to planner hop is real)

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It’s summer again

which means here I am again trying to read The Count of Monte Cristo while sitting outside in the woods

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@diligent-pancake thank you.

I have been this student. Trust me you don’t want to be this student. Eventually it catches up to you and then you’ve wrecked your mental health, physical health, and your academic performance. It is not sustainable.

the academic overachiever starter pack

has slept twenty minutes in three days

probably has an ed but refuses to admit it

a total slut for coffee. coffee is their god

inexplicably extremely pretty

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Took me until about halfway through college before I realized “study” means “play with the material in a variety of ways until you understand it” and not just “read the assigned chapters and do the homework” and I think that probably should have been discussed at some point prior to that.

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Faraway views (right lens of my binoculars)

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20.1.2024—slowly getting there, bit by bit

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the last time i updated my notion was like, early 2023! and since i started uni, i haven't really been able to use it as everything IS A MESS. ive only got the time now to set it up again for a new year :) hopefully i get into notion again, let me know what u guys think (₌♥ᆽ♥₌)

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I might need to change my reading goal for the year… heh