#spoonie studyblr

[ashs-nerd-den]

Habitica

An ADHD saviour

You gain points for finishing tasks and building habits.

You can get eggs and potions to hatch pets and earn food to grow your pets.

DOPAMINE!!!

You can enter challenges to get gems to join special challenges

You can join parties to work together on quests and have group accountability

You can log achievements and convince yourself to do the things you need to do (this is also great for spoonies, without it I would just never get out of bed with exhaustion)

[septemberstudies]

1/7/25 - Feeling productive today despite a bit of a migraine! I’ve started my internship and just finished my first presentation, re-started knitting a sweater (had to frog a bunch of it and start over lol), finished the first two chapters of boot.devs python coding course, and picked up some books I bought forever ago (for a class that got canceled rip)! Also yesterday I got back into my workout/PT routine and gave myself a gel manicure for the first time. Hope I can keep this up! I think I’m going to try to do lesson one of Bill Vicars’ ASL course today unless more work comes in or my migraine gets worse (hopefully eletriptan will save me though). Feels good to get back into the swing of things after a rough month or two! I need to figure out a better way to format these posts so I’m not just rambling, but this is it for now!

[ohthehumanities]

25 August 2023

📚 Currently reading: What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us: Who We Become After Tragedy and Trauma by Mike Mariani

🎵 Currently listening: Belle and Sebastian, "When We Were Very Young"

I just found out that my family is going to the beach next weekend for my birthday. I'm so excited to go! There are a lot of fun things to do down at the beach where we stay. There's a library very close to the beach house where we're staying; I want to see if I can sign up for a card.

To-Do

Duolingo: Spanish -> Unit 230 -> Part 4

Duolingo: Hebrew -> Unit 7 -> Part 6

Physical therapy

Finish June planner layout

Read chapter 5 of What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us

[aziz-study]

My note taking system

It's not super complicated. I have recently moved from a variety of composition notebooks to one solid, wide ringed hardback notebook that is much easier to take notes in.

But anyway first I comb through the syllabi and write down assignments in order. I check off individual items when they're done on the right and strike out the whole line in that class's color when the whole assignment is done.

As for the notes themselves, I write the class and week at the top, then a mini

checklist of everything that needs to get done. Main headings are in the class's color and subheadings are in yellow.

I keep long term ideas in the back of the notebook, like future paper or career ideas

And I work from my bed. It's comfortable, everything fits, and if I lose track of time and study until 1 in the morning, I can simply lay down instead of worrying about cleanup and walking somewhere.

[ashs-nerd-den]

Image transcript

alternatives to "i did nothing"

I rested

I chose not to make plans

I listened to my body

I prioritized my needs

I shortened my to do list

I watched the show 1 love

I was kind to myself

I took a mental health day

I allowed myself to recharge

I gave myself what I needed

[hillbillyoracle]

two more free mini zines for you. heads up - admittedly the font is pretty small on both but if you're able to read it:

bedside companion is a compilation of my best low energy/low mood/generally sick advice. goes over ideas for food, movement, and a lot more. [get it here]

fuck goals is a compilation of my best planning/task advice. I fucking hate planning, I feel bossed around by my to do list, so this is the bare bones advice that works for me. [get it here]

print it for yourself, print it for a friend or a family member. print it for a little free library or to leave somewhere around town. all 100% okay with me. just please don't sell it.

[slveepyscwrs]

studying medicine as a disabled chronically ill spoonie be like:

WILL I END UP BECOMING THE DOCTOR OR THE PATIENT!?!? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!!!!

[ashs-nerd-den]

Transcript below the cut

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

A human based organisation method

The problem with simple time management?

It makes you focus on getting the greatest number of things done in as little time as possible

What about the quality of the work?

You feel constrained to accomplish everything you have to do

What about human feelings?

What's the alternative?

Instead of trying to control ourselves to fitinto a rigid construct like time, we should utilize time in a way that works best withour own energy and attention. This means spending our energy, focusing our attention, and developing habits aroundthings that matten to us. The main goal of energy management is to increase our overall energy levels, fill upour energy reserves for when we need them, and use our energy effectively.

First Steps:

Monitor your energy levels throughout the day

Identify tasks you do during the day and how much time they take up during different energy periods

Train yourself to be aware of changes in energy levels and attention levels. eg one of my friends writes down "stopped listening" whenever she loses focus in a lecture

Types of energy to manage

Physical energy - which comes from nutrition, exercise and sleep

Emotional energy - which comes from feelings and experiences

Spiritual energy - which comes from the values we hold and the purposes we are working towards

Mental energy - which is the energy we use when we think

Optimizing Energy Levels

What can we do with the information about our energy levels?

Know which energy periods should beassigned to which type of activities, e.g.

High Energy: coming up with new ideas, having discussions with other people, learning new material, working on challenging assignments

Moderate Energy: routine work, admin worklike answering emails,reviewing previouslystudied material

Low Energy: rest, eat, sleep,leisurely activities

2. Plan according to energy levels

e.g. if you only have a certain number of high-energy hours but you won't be able to finish all your high-energy work during those hours, estimate the time it will take for you to do the lower effort high-energy tasks in the low-energy period

3. Shift around your habits to accommodate for your energy levels

e.g. if you usually feel energetic in the morning, you don't have to waitfor your day to officially start (after your first class, for example) to start getting work done.

Influencing Energy Levels

Many factors influence our energy levels, e.g. our habits, people we spend time with, ouremotions, etc. But there are ways to influence them.

Use energy periods appropriately

Use low-energy periods to recharge, to maximize the energy you'll have during moderate-energy and high-energy periods

E.g. you might be tempted to watch 2 hours of a tv séries during a low-energy period, but you might feel sluggish afterward, even if it's usually a moderate-energy period

Similarly, don't spend high-energy periods doing leisurelythings - it's just a waste. Instead, remove distractions andhelp yourself get into a flow state.

2. Form habits around your energy levels

This will reduce the amount of energy required to do your tasks. You won't be thinking about whether or not you should do them, or how you should start; you'll just start automatically.

3. Find your reason why

While self-discipline is great and reliable, having intrinsic motivation or apurpose will boost your energy and make you more willing to do the thingsyou have to do. This often ties to a larger goal you wanna pursuea

4. Don't be afraid to test things out

For example, suppose you aren't normally a morning person. You decide to get up an hour earlier and spend time in the morning working out or going for a run, and turns out that this gets rid of your afternoon sluggishness.

Need A Recharge? What kind?

Physical: take a nap, rest, or eat healthy food

Mental: try meditating, taking a walk for mind-wandering, or listening to a talk unrelated to any of your tasks

Spiritual: meditating, journaling, reflecting, listening to music, or listening to a talk could help

Emotional do anything that's enjoyable to you, e.g. pursuing a hobby, having some alone time, spending time with friends

End image transcript

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

[fantailandfern]

Study day today.

I'm still getting over a cold, so I'm studying from home today.

Today's goals:

Finish up module on kaupapa Māori approaches to research

Start next module on intergenerational trauma in education

Start editing work so far and update portfolio

[ashs-nerd-den]

Gearrscannán ar YouTube

Short films on YouTube

(Don't worry, everything has English subtitles in the videos themselves)

Fán https://youtu.be/e3xnvkMp_1Q?si=i-4pmljDbzA8bRtu

Created by the incredible @nibmoss, an absolute queen (Bánríon). It is a short sapphic story about 2 best friends who end up together and it is my favourite short story ever!!! It is also my favourite piece of Irish media in existence!!! I love it!!! It is incredible!!! BEYOND AMAZING!!!

Yu Ming is ainm dom https://youtu.be/JqYtG9BNhfM?si=jnZjP4LozqOhNxkI

This is a classic. Ive had 4 different teachers show me this over the years, and my first year Irish class studied it exam style. It was the first piece that we studied and everyone LOVED it, people were quoting it all the time. Every second conversation had someone using a line from it. It's a crows pleaser and simple to listen to even without the subtitles provided. It also has a great storyline about a man who is fed up with his life in China and learns Irish to move over here, and well (bhuel) , I won't spoil the plot twist for you

Lipservice https://youtu.be/4QP0eEhhTSo?si=1DLvo_ECRhwGI5s8

It's the day of the oral exams and everyone is terrified (bhí imní an domhain ar gach duine), people are rehearsing in the bathrooms and speaking French instead of English, the stuff that half of them come out with is absolutely gas, this one is such a bit of craic, I was in stitches. And the bit at the end is so sweet. Is breá liom an gearrscannán seo agus beidh mé mo scrúdú béil i dhá bhliain 🙈🙈🙈 (I loved this short film and I've my speaking test in 2 years🙈🙈🙈

Filleann ar feall https://youtu.be/Tay7eMxas2k?si=q3ksVJVYJ7E_xxoa

IT'S CILLIAN MURPHY AG CAINT AS GAEILGE!!! You can't beat a bit of Cillian, he's a national treasure. And this is 2000 Cillian, he's so young (this was before I was born) he's in the Gaeltacht for his holidays with a grumpy friend, on a job to sell some Putchín, and he is everyone's favourite sweetgeart, a bit of a himbo, and a respecter of old ladies. Agus deir duine sa sna tuairimí (a person in the comments said that it's like Breaking bad, but with an Irish teacher that instead of a chemistry one (I've never seen Breaking Bad, so I don't know how true that is, but I do know that this was AR FHEABHAS!!!

Rúbaí https://youtu.be/jjYx5v2BUWo?si=tFu1ektBvHNkoQFB

This is a short story about a little girl (cailín beag) who's class is about to make their 1st Holy Communion, but she doesn't believe in God (ní creideann sí i nDia). She's everyone is trying to convince her that god is real and she's just like "nope, read a bit of Darwin, he's great, I'm off to collect worms", even to the priests face and towards the end there's a bitter sweet twist which gives a LOT of background. This was a nice, easy watch, the little girls was so cute, there were a couple of laughs (cúpla gáire) and the vocab was nice and simple

Gaiste https://youtu.be/Xr-V7vg_Y2Q?si=cMMNqPLkmtugbg8t

Very simple vocab, good message, kind of like a fable, big "One of us is Lying" vibes. Nice short film overall

Fíorghael https://youtu.be/t3Kv4fZ2SOE?si=bHibiFJyRUcvZ-TZ

This ones a bit older, but it's still a good bit of craic. You need to wait a couple of minutes to get into it, but the end is brilliant (Caithfidh tú cúpla nóiméad a fanacht chun dul isteach ar, ach tá an chríoch go hiontach)

Sylvia https://youtu.be/fi_4aweOP4w?si=ZCfUAfYaD73IVn8r

There are plot twists, and then there plot backflips, this was the later. This is so weird, but I really enjoyed it at the same time

Ciúnas https://youtu.be/cGfuQ-HeTmk?si=WRPGmo-UNQ0bw9mA

There's not much dialogue, but all of it is very casual, so you still get to pick up a few words that you wouldn't find in a textbook. The storyline is quite sweet, but please be careful watching because it although it centres around her family's love for her, it is set on the way home from the hospital after she tried to end her own life

[septemberstudies]

5/10/25 -- Trying to get stuff done today, despite having had a pretty tough week! It was a gorgeous day out (after a whole lot of rain and stormy weather which really messed with me), so I decided to get some work done outside. Did my nails the other day and thought I'd show off this fun tortoiseshell design (they match my pen!!)! I'm starting to really get to work on researching for my thesis, so hopefully I'll be in a good spot once the timeline really ramps up next term, and I can have a solid base if I end up needing to get further research approval. Still debating if I should take the GRE, and if so, when I need to start studying -- would love to hear if anyone has any advice or experience on that. At the same time, it's starting to really get into the heat of finals season (our term ends in a few weeks) so I'm trying to keep working steadily and make sure I have everything set for a doable pace. Haven't been able to find an internship for the summer, but I'm trying not to worry too much. It'll be okay, I'll find something to do even if it's not what I was picturing. I did get confirmed for a TA role next term though, so I'm excited for that! Also confirmed most of my schedule for next term -- I'll be doing two neuroscience classes, my thesis work, probably a class on propaganda in film, and maybe one other media studies class (plus the TA thing of course). It'll be a lot, but I'm very excited! Since I'm still recovering from a mild-medium flare (this morning was rough tbh), so I might go to bed early tonight or at least take it easy the rest of the evening. Still, the dandelions are blooming, the sun is shining, and it's still not too hot for me to move, so I'm doing ok!

Today I need to:

>Put away my laundry

>Start drafting my two final papers (Lit and History) and my final presentation (History)

>Start on my readings for next week -- History and Neuro/Bio

🎧 Been in a podcast mood lately -- currently working through Behind the Bastards!

📖 I just finished Bunny by Mona Awad! Think I might get back to working my way through House of Leaves next.

[ashs-nerd-den]

Image ID below the cut

A screenshot of an instagram story with the text

A quick shoutout to my fellow chronically ill students: You are not alone. This journey is unbelievably challenging both physically and emotionally, but I'm so proud of you for notbeing constrained by your pain and perservering. Staying a float with your studies while managing pain, fatigue, medications doctors visits, late nights crying, flare ups and surgeries is no easy feat. And you might be struggling. a little behind on work and sad, but you're still doing it. You're giving it a shot and that's all that matters. You are a force to be reckoned with.

I know how heavy it can be on your soul, so if you ever need someone to rant to, my DMs are open. We spoonies gotta stick together.

just a quick note to all my fellow chronically ill students from my insta story this evening. Stay strong, my friends. You can do this. 💗💗💗

[ohthehumanities]

25 September 2023

Another day of learning, another day of adventures!

I started teaching religious education yesterday: At least, I would have, if any of my kids had shown up to class! I have to send an email out to the parents introducing myself. As of right now, there are only three kids in my class.

I need to prepare today for two job interviews that I have tomorrow. Both are with eating disorder treatment places near my house. I doubt I'll get a job offer due to how recently I've been in treatment, but I'm feeling a really strong pull to continue exploring a career in mental health treatment.

To-Do

Finish book two of De Doctrina Christiana

Read Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine, chapter 10

Read Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine, chapter 11

Watch Fundamental Theology lecture 6.1

Watch Fundamental Theology lecture 6.2

Review Resume

Practice interview questions

15-Day Language Challenge

Day 4: The most challenging thing about your target language

Each language has a language-specific challenge (something I find hard specific to the language) and a personal challenge (something I find hard about the language due to my learning disability).

I find Spanish a relative easy language to study. Because I've heard it my entire life, a lot of the properties come intuitively. As I advance in my studies, I notice that I have trouble with the more complicated verb tenses, as well as the conjugation of haber. Those are the language-specific challenges. My personal challenge is that I have aphasia (an inability to recall words), which hinders my ability to name objects in my original and target languages. When I can't put words to the images in my mind in Spanish or English, it presents some obvious difficulties, which are more pronounced when I speak Spanish.

My main language-specific challenge with Hebrew is the lack of Greek or Latin cognates. When I can use cognates, it makes learning vocabulary a bit quicker because I can draw comparisons more easily between languages. Without them, I'm learning entirely new terminology for languages.

~ Esther

[anthroamazed]

tips for stem majors in math and science courses (spoonie + neurodivergent friendly)

hi y’all! my nameis lila and i’m a 28 year old physics and anthropology major who’s about 2 years through college (in the US)! as we’re coming up on the start of the fall ‘23 college semester, i thought i might share some really solid hacks for fellow STEM students taking science and/or math courses that i’ve basically built my college academic career on. and! these study tips are spoonie and adhd friendly! as a matter of fact, a lot of these are tips/methods that specifically work for me as a neurodivergent spoonie (i have pretty severe adhd, as well as POTS and ME/CFS), but that i think non-disabled/non-spoonie and/or neurotypical students could also benefit from using! so with out any further ado, here are my 7 tried and true study hacks for college math and science classes…

1) discover your learning style and tailor your studying towards leveraging it.

you’ve probably heard of visual, audio, and kinesthetic learning styles, but did you now there’s actually way more learning styles than just those three? i’m personally a “social learner,” meaning i learn best through discussion and socialization with 1+ other people to interact with. this could look like teaching other classmates concepts and methods that we’ve learned or discussing ideas with classmates and/or professors until i fully understand the concepts at play and how they connect and can reflect them in performing analysis and application, etc. honestly, figuring out my learning style was hands down one of the most helpful things i’ve done in college. it has allowed me to choose professors who i will mesh better with in terms of how they teach, as well as to adapt materials and methods to my style of learning in order to master them quicker and more effectively.

2) rewrite your notes after lecture, for the love of god.

this tip actually comes from my high school IB Math HL teacher, who told me to do this when i originally left high school for college. even if you think you’ve mastered the basics of the topic covered during the lecture, rewriting those notes after lecture helps really hammer in the knowledge that you’ve already established and also helps to get the wheels turning on pieces of information you might have less of a grasp on. try tp set aside at least 30 - 40 minutes after class to just rewrite your notes and try to really digest the information.

3) body doubling is one of the most beneficial things ever to be invented even if you’re not adhd, and i WILL die on that hill, thank you very much.

“body doubling” or “having an accountabilibuddy” are interchangeable terms in the adhd community that mean you have one or more consistent study buddy/buddies who you do all the homework and/or studying with in person on a regular basis, even if you’re just working next to each other in total silence. this does a couple of things. first off, it forces homework/assignments/studying to become a concrete social obligation you need to regularly show up for, rather than a nebulous obligation based on an invisible deadline. second off, it gives you 1+ partners to work out your problems concerning course topics with. third off, it allows you to build a network of peers where you feel comfortable helping each other with course material (this is especially great because it’s likely you and your classmates have different strengths regarding course content). tbh, body doubling is the other method that i, personally, have found most useful in college and i highly recommend trying it, even if you don’t have adhd.

4) teach others/your classmates the analysis and application methods you’ve learned, even if those methods aren’t 100% solidified for you (trust me on this).

the goal of stem courses is never memorization, but rather being able to understand a topic well enough to analyze a similar situation and apply the what you’ve learned creatively. this is where teaching others comes in. in order to teach others a concept and its related analysis and application well, you have to have at least a fraction of a decent understanding of these things yourself, and, further, often time in teaching these things you also learn to grasp the concepts/aanalysis/applications even better than you did before with each new teaching session. basically: teaching others is a creative way of also teaching yourself. you get the benefits of repetition, of thinking about a concept/technique/analysis and application in a new way, and of getting to apply the concept/technique/analysis and applicatioin to a new scenario each time. plus, you’ll typically make friends quickly in the process! there’s really no downside to this tip imo ;-)

5) utilize your college’s tutoring center/program(s), even when you don’t think you need to.

usually colleges have either set up a general “tutoring center,” on campus where you can find tutors for all different kinds of topics and courses available during regular hours for walk-in sessions and/or appointments free of charge or departments will hold regular weekly (or twice weekly) free on-campus tutoring sessions for specific courses. regardless of which of these options your college has, i highly recommend attending at least one tutoring session/appointment (ideally with the same tutor if/when you eventually find one you click with) every single week, even when you don’t feel like you’re struggling with the topic(s) covered in that week’s lecture. this will help you review topics and techniques covered in lecture, deepen your understanding of them, and, if nothing else, it’s an excuse to get homework out of the way while having someone else there who can help you if/when you get stuck. attending at least one session weekly also helps you get into a habit and routine of keeping up with your assignments, so you’re not left scrambling at the last minute before they’re due.

6) if you have accommodations, request access to record lectures. if you do not have accommodations, ask your professor if you are allowed to record lectures. IF YOU RECORD LECTURES, DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW THEM!

okay, so first up for my fellow spoonies and neurodivergent peeps: when you apply for/renew your accommodations, make sure that “recordinng lectures” is on your MOA (memorandum of accommodations), because so long as it is, your professors legally cannot deny you permission to record lectures without risk of themself and the college being sued for an ADA violation. also, make friends with a classmate and ask them to record lectures and send them to you if/when you are absent (let the professor know that you’ve asked this classmate to record and send you the lecture if you are absent)

now, if you aren’t disabled, a spoonie, and/or neurodivergent, you aren’t guaranteed permission to record lectures. however. ask the professor if you can have their permission to audio record lectures (be sure to also let them know that such a recording would be for personal use only and that you don’t plan on distributing the recordings). i’ve found that many professors don’t mind you having an audio recording.

even if you aren’t an audible learner it can be really useful to have these recordings to review at a later point. oftentimes reviewing lecture recordings can be useful if you glazed over and missed a section of the lecture and/or if you can’t remember what a professor taught during a section of a lecture.

7) last but not least, on a related note, if you have accommodations, also request access to your professor’s lecture notes. if you don’t have accommodations, check if your professor posts their lecture notes for students to use.

having your professor’s notes can be extremely useful for review purposes, but they can also help you understand where your professor is going with course content and what they want to stress as important.

[knightcore-rant]

honestly I could use some help. I NEED some practical advices about scheduling and planning when you're disabled and stuck inside

I'm autistic (also I have ADHD) and I can't live without solid routines, but I also have POTS syndrome and that's why all my study/work stuff is at home. and I'm literally DYING without external deadlines, mandatory attendance to the college and other forms of pressure

usually during the holidays I build my day around trips to public places like libraries, but it's almost 98-102°F (37-39°C) outside and I just. can't walk. even with cane.

how should I plan my day without rotting in bed?? How to force my brain into routines?

TL;DR: I'm an autistic/ADHD student without burning deadlines on a summer vacation and recently I got fired from the job and POTS won't let me leave my home. no external motivation. no pivot point for a schedule. This is my demise moment

[ghostphys]

Although I'm mostly a studyblr, recently my disability has been affecting my uni life more and more, and I think I've been avoiding posting about it for fear of putting off my followers. But the truth is I want to be able to post on here about how my disability affects my life and my studies, I want to be able to share my unique experiences.

So this is just a little post for my followers to let you know that I will be posting about my disability from now on, as well as studyblr content. And idk how many more disabled users are on this side of tumblr, but please interact if you're here!