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types of study breaks for every situation

if you realize you’ve been studying for hours: grab a snack to refuel your body and watch a sitcom to refuel your brain. then back to the books.

if you’re feeling stressed out: take some deep breaths, text your friends, maybe stare at a wall for a few minutes. gather yourself.

if you can’t seem to focus: get moving and get outside. take out the garbage, check your mail box, maybe walk your dog. just get moving and get fresh air. it’ll help bring you back.

if there’s something else going on in your life and you can’t get it off your mind: write down what’s going through your head, sort of like a diary entry. it’ll help you work things out.

if you’re just mentally and physically exhausted: set a timer for 25-30 minutes and take a nap. any longer and you’ll hit REM and you’ll wake up feeling just as tired. once you wake up, get some caffeine in you.

if the material is boring as hell: find another way to study. see if there’s a crash course video online about it or draw out what you’re trying to learn in diagrams and pictures to make it fun.

if people around you won’t shut up: listen to some music. soundtrack and classical music is always good because they won’t absorb you as much as music with lyrics. white noise (like ocean waves, rain sounds, etc.) also works.

if you only half understand a concept: call/message a friend who’s not in the class and try to teach the material to them. this will help you mentally work through the material and will help you remember it as well.

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Constantly losing focus while you study be frustrating. We will go through some of the top study tips that can allow you to focus and study effectively.

Remind yourself why One of the key things that help us maintain focus no matter what, is by getting really interested in whatever we are doing. So find a way to make your topic interesting, relatable and practical in your life.

Remind yourself that you want to study to expand your worldly knowledge, to graduate, get into a field that you can flourish in, and provide some value to the world with your awesomeness. Also try thinking in metaphors and whatifs. It’s your mind, no one else has access to it, so think of wondrous things to make yourself want to devote the next few hours of your life to the task at hand.

Before studying

Plan out what you want to accomplish and give yourself a time limit. For example, I will read 10 pages from my psych textbook in 30 minutes, or I will spend 1 hour researching the key words for my report.

Get enough sleep. Ideally around 7-9 hours. If you sleep earlier, you may need less sleep, but please never do less than 6. Constant sleep deprivation is deteriorating for the brain and body.

Eat foods that help you focus. Which include blueberries, green tea, avocados, spinach, kale, salmon, nuts and seeds. I often have a spinach, banana & kale smoothie with matcha green tea powder, but you can combine some of the ingredients in a quick sandwich if you like.

Your brain mainly works on sugar, but you need to temper it with a protein or something with low GI, to reduce any blood-sugar problems which can lead to sudden tiredness. A quick way to find a a balance is to opt for a fruit or healthy smoothie.

Be aware that if you study right after having a heavy meal the blood circulating around your brain reduces and goes to help with digestion, so you may feel less alert. Smaller meals can help.

Take supplements that help you focus: fish oil, omega 3, Ginko Biloba, vitamin B12, Co-Enzyme Q10, and iron.

Identify whatever distracts you and find a way to minimise it. So perhaps you can go to a non-distracting environment, if that is an issue. I prefer libraries or coffeeshops.

Surround yourself with motivated people. If you can befriend the top few students in your class, or at least be on nicer terms with them, hopefully their studiousness will rub off on you.

Have all the stationary and materials you need at hand.

Set up a reward system, but avoid food as a reward as it can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Instead try a relaxing activity, or hobby. Pretty much any incentive you can think of that will help you cross the finish line.

While studying

Prime - Spend 2 minutes skimming or figuring out what you will be going through.

Drinking game - Keep a bottle of water or two next to you. Drink a cup or a half cup worth every time you get distracted for more than 5 seconds.

Put distractions in their place - Write down any distracting thoughts in a small notebook. But remember it’s not supposed to act as your pretty bullet journal, but you can make another spread for if it you like. I made a small notebook the other day to write down quick thoughts that I would otherwise dwell on. It helps me direct my thoughts appropriately to what I’m studying, and still have those important ideas to refer to later.

Motivate yourself - Write out exactly why you want to be a [insert awesome career position] in detail with examples. Keep that page or post-it on hand and look at it when you feel yourself losing focus. It can give you a motivational boost and can inspire you to keep going. Sometimes I like to visualise specific scenarios of how I could help people once my finish my studies.

Take strategic breaks - Remove yourself from your study space and think of something else for a few minutes. You can get a snack, walk around, do a quick workout, look outside, and notice nature. Practice being present in the moment. Listen to of the world around you and get out of your head.

If you feel you can not sustain your concentration on a task for too long, you may switch between two different yet equally important tasks. But try to do a big task for at least 20 minutes, you never know, by then you might like it. Some studies show, it takes 20 minutes to really get into concentrating on something.

Reduce as many distractions as you can, including turning off notifications and wifi, putting you phone on do not disturb or airplane mode, and try blocking apps.

Track how you use your time. I like the apps ‘Now and Then’ and ‘Moment’ for iOS. So you can see how much you have accomplished or slacked off.

Write draft first. Edit and prettify later.

If you’re in the final stage, focus on the fact that you have made it this far and that you’re almost done.

Try to make it fun somehow, perhaps with strategies you used when you were a kid.

Use as many senses as you can.

Record your voice and say whatever you are reading or writing in different accents.

Draw quick doodles next to whoever you are doing to help you remember it better.

As long it’s not your first draft, feel free to use colourful pens, highlights and tape to keep you engaged.

After studying

Revise whatever you have accomplished just before your break, by quickly skimming through your most recent notes or readings.

Consequent revision schedule. The best way to remember what you have worked on is to revise it in specific intervals, after you have studying it. So after five minutes, in that evening before bed, the next day, at the end of the week and then in three weeks.

Reward yourself, as long as you feel like you ended up accomplishing something you couldn’t before.

You can try out each step for two days each to see which strategies work best for you.

I hope these tips can help you, and feel free message me if you would like more details for one of the points :)

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How to start again ✨

delete apps and social media that lowers your mood 

wear a new scent, throw away things you don’t need, delete contacts of people who make you feel unworthy, unfollow social media that makes you feel bad in any way

make a new playlist that makes you feel confident and happy 

in a journal, write down why you want to change, the traits of the person you truly want to be, the places you want to go and people that make you feel inspired

write down the things that stop you and bad habits you have, and replace those with new mindsets and habits 

before you sleep, make a detailed, achievable routine for the next day, that includes everything you want to do, including activities that genuinely make you happy

try new hobbies, like baking/cooking, playing a musical instrument, making art, learning a new skill, a sport, or a new language. you can easily get free resources online 

think about the ideal version of yourself. you can be like that, if you try your best and work hard. 

do not overwork yourself or set overly lofty daily goals and forget to do things like drink water. make your sleep and health your number one priority.

spend less time on your phone scrolling through social media. have a method of focusing on other things, like Pomodoro method or using the Forest app. 

if you can’t concentrate, commit yourself to doing it for 5 minutes. once you get into the flow it’s much easier to concentrate.

be patient and kind with yourself. it’s hard to change overnight. you’re the only one who can help change you, so be a friend to yourself.

once you start something, promise yourself you will finish it. 

have new weekly routines, like going to a cafe every Wednesday afternoon or indulging in your favourite tv show every Friday night.

do not deny yourself of good things; there needs to be a balance. similarly, do not be too generous and overdo it too much. 

dedicate a day to clean your room and organize your things if you feel stressed out. 

it may feel scary to change, as you may feel like it’s not the real you. but you’re still you, just the best version of yourself.

have a relaxing morning routine to look forward to, like making a nice breakfast, having a skin care routine, stretches, journalling, or thinking about nothing for a few minutes

have a mental image that makes you excited to do something. visualize yourself completing the goal and concentrate on it every morning.

however, learn not to rely on motivation because your brain will often turn off motivation, especially when you first begin something. have a routine, a specific time to do something, and do it. 

notice the places and people that drain your energy, and try to avoid them. find people who make you feel energized and places that calm you.

think about an enjoyable part of something. for example, when studying you can look forward to learning new things and when exercising, listening to calming music or using nice stationery. it’s actually more fun than you think. 

even though it’s hard, don’t compare yourself. you’re on your own path, and it doesn’t matter if people are better than you, because there will always be someone better than everyone. don’t be afraid to suck. so draw badly, write bad poems, run slowly, make embarrassing mistakes and fail everything. you can’t be good at something unless you’re terrible at something first. and doing anything badly is so much better than doing nothing.

don’t tell anyone about your new beginning, just start and let the results speak for themselves.

you can change and be your ideal self. but it will be hard to do that if you don’t believe in yourself. so make sure you challenge negative thoughts telling you can’t do something. tell yourself firmly that you can do it and then prove your negative thoughts wrong.

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how to study when you REALLY don’t want to

we’ve all been there. You have a paper due in the morning, it’s 10 pm, and you’re sitting at your desk, feeling dead. Or maybe it’s 3 pm, and you’re just SO overwhelmed with an endless to do list and so many pages to read or annotate or take notes on that you just think,

screw it. I just won’t do anything. 

Listen, I get it. I understand. I LOVE learning, but I often find myself bogged down by homework, that incessant, painful reminder that you’re being forced to learn.  Nobody likes that.

So below are some of my tips for studying, especially when you really, really don’t feel like doing it.

What’s your absolute dream school? Columbia? That’s amazing. Harvard? Incredible. Florida State? Awesome. Wherever you want to be in two years- whether it be college, grad school, teaching, etc. Picture yourself learning in your dream learning environment, doing what you love the most. Maybe for you, that daydream means picturing yourself in a New York City coffee shop, working on Literature homework from Barnard College. Or maybe it means cramming biology in a crowded, raucous library at UMass. Whatever makes you get excited about learning- take the fuel you feel from those daydreams and use it to fan the flames of your love for learning. 

Treat every single class like it’s your absolute favorite class ever. Listen. I don’t care if you have the shittiest teacher on planet earth. I don’t care if you couldn’t give less of a fuck about quantum physics or functions or whatever. You have the privilege and the opportunity to learn anything and everything, and we could all do good to stop taking that for granted. Treat AP Calculus like it’s your favorite subject EVER, even when- especially when it feels like pulling teeth. But how? You might be asking. The secret is that it’s really, really not that hard. There are so many ways to motivate yourself to do that subject you’ve been putting off for days, and you know it!! Use studyblr to find inspiration for That Subject™, make a study group, trap yourself in your dorm/library/coffee shop until you just finish one problem set, just START. Chances are when you see other people being productive and getting shit done in that subject (cough studyblr cough) you’ll want to do it too. 

Eat, sleep, and live. Listen to me: you HAVE to stop killing yourself to do more school. Your to-do list ISN’T GOING TO JUST GO AWAY. There’s always going to be things you have to do and things you could be stressed about. But stress, school, and homework are not excuses to abandon self-care, friendships and having a social life. Go out with your friends! Go to the movies! Go to that football game! Get the important stuff done and stop worrying about your endless list! Having somewhere to go will motivate you to get done faster, and you’re going to feel a lot better after going out and having fun than sitting at home alone procrastinating. Chances are, you’ll be more energized to get some work done too. 

Pay attention to what your body’s telling you. Switch out midnight iced lattes for smoothies and fruit. Eat lots of food that makes you feel good, healthy and fulfilled. Stop snacking on the same 4 chips every time you study and start learning how to fuel your body and your brain. If you know you can’t eat a full breakfast before school, find things you can eat, and I mean MORE THAN JUST COFFEE STRAIGHT FROM THE POT. Track what you eat for an entire week, and I mean EVERYTHING. Track your water intake, coffee intake, and soda intake. On top of food tracking, also track your mood, productivity, and overall feeling of wellbeing. At the end of the week, see what’s up! Look for patterns, dehydration, food inconsistencies, gross stuff you eat a lot, things you want to change, all of it. And then actually MAKE THE CHANGES.

I know I’m going to sound like your mom friend here, but that’s kind of what I am, so: drink👏🏻more👏🏻water👏🏻!!!!!!! I cannot STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!!!!!! FUEL YOUR BODY!!! YOU WILL FEEL BETTER!!!

in conclusion…

- picture yourself learning in your dream learning environment

- picture the payoff, you doing what you want to do - nursing or teaching or building fancy ass AI robotos or whatever it is

- do NOT take your education for granted!!!! learning is such an opportunity and not everyone gets it

- treat yourself like a normal human being.  take care of yourself.  shower.  eat.

- pay attention to your body.  pay attention to what you need.  pay attention to what you WANT

- drink your water, listen to some jazz, and just start somewhere.

- small progress is still progress 

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Step 1,2 3…. But, the best self defense is awareness.

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i wrote half an essay in 20mins today when it’s not even due for another 4 weeks, reblog this to have a productivity lightning bolt strike you like it did me today

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Motivation

Stop studying because there’s a deadline. Stop studying to impress other people. Studying is a waste of time unless you are studying because you want to study. Study because you are capable of excellence, and it would be a shame to waste that potential. Study so that you can achieve your dreams. Study so that, when you look back many years from now, you’ll still be proud of how you worked. 

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Study Techniques:

SQ3R Reading

The Pomodoro technique

Online Pomodoro timer

Feynman Technique

100 Things to do in your study break

Develop active learning strategies

Cramming (last minute option)

Study Methods, Tips, and Resources:

How to make flashcards (electronic and paper)

What to write on flashcards

Uses for flashcards

Creating and using mindmaps

Studying using textbooks

The benefits of textbooks

How to annotate

Tools for referencing

Tips for visual learners

How to read journal articles critically (by marielstudies​)

Top 5 Study Tips to Achieve your Study Goals

How to pull an all nighter

How to pull an all nighter (2)

Studying vocabulary

Study guides

How to create a study guide (by studyspoinspo)

Using whiteboards

Assignment Calculator

Learning how to learn (by strive-for-da-best)

Get good grades (Youtube)

Memory:

Learn how to memorise and find the memory techniques that work best for you.

Here’s an interesting article about long term memory.

6 research tested ways to improve your memory.

Here’s an ask about how to memorise material.

An ask about forgetting material within a few hours.

Some memory tips (by astackoftextbooks)

Learn instead of memorising

Thinking and memorising

Time Management:

How to prioritise tasks

Apps for scheduling

Creating a revision timetable

A post about making a timetable (by grxeek).

How to keep your revision focused

An online study planner.

Motivation/Procrastination:

Reasons to study

Blocking apps/extensions for phones and computers.

Reasons to study now

10 tips for getting started on an academic task

How to deal with family distracting you from study

How to stop procrastinating (Youtube)

10 Tips for managing procrastination

Questions to ask yourself for motivation

How to improve your concentration

Quick concentration tips

Get Motivated (Wikihow)

Choosing the appropriate study environment

Short and sharp motivation

Stress Relief:

Stress relief techniques and ideas

The 10 Best Yoga Poses for Stress Relief

Relaxing Yoga Poses for Beginners

20 Easy Steps to Stress Relief

Relaxation Techniques

23 Science Backed Ways to Reduce Stress

25 Destressing Techniques

Deep Breathing Exercises

Three Guided Relaxation Videos

Vent Anonymously Online

A sleep calculator here which will calculate when you should go to sleep/wake up (depending on what you’re working out) based on sleep cycles. This will make sure that you wake up refreshed and ready to work.

Problems with sleep

Failure anxiety

Do nothing for 2 minutes

Calm (meditation site)

Health:

There’s also some information here about studying with mental illness from MIND.

There’s a really great post here about depression in university (by landofstories)

There’s a similar post here about studying with depression (by bloggerforstudentprogress)

Studying with ADHD

Studying maths with dyscalculia

Managing test anxiety

Self help: test anxiety

Emergency Compliment (for when you’re feeling down)

Studying with dyslexia

Revision and exams for people with dyslexia

Study skills for dyslexic students

How I coped with OCD at university

Study skills and OCD

Study skills and OCD PDF

Music:

Nature sounds in calmsound

Sounds of rain

Beethoven

Coffee shop sounds

More coffee shop sounds

Mix sounds (soundrown)

Sounds of the ocean

Whitenoise

Study mixes on 8tracks

Music to boost concentration

For the exam:

Exam preparation

Exam life hacks (by studyblob)

The best ways to prepare for exams

Exam tips

The day before an exam

Tips on Taking Multiple-Choice Tests

How to write a great essay (by englishlit-chic)

Psychology Essay Exams (gives an example and how to answer)

Looking after yourself after exams

Oral tests and exams

Writing and presenting a good speech

Links, Games, etc.:

Live panda camera (for destressing; you wouldn’t believe the amount of time I spend watching this camera).

Live animals

Try to find the ten gnomes

Origami

Create your own nebula

Easy magic tricks

DIY Home Spa (BY @recoverykitty)

Brownie in a cup

Cookie in a cup

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Sunday February 24, 2019

Hello world of Tumblr!  So yesterday was a complete waste of time study-wise, but was a much needed break after the week I had. I ended up buying a nintendo switch (I’m keeping it in my basement / with my sister until after my exam, or else I’ll be tempted to play it too much!!) Anyways, so I played that for a bit before I realized I needed to put it as far away from me as possible.. my friend came over to hang out and catch up, she claims I fell off the face of the Earth because of how I never see her because I’m studying so much...

 Anyways enough about what I did when I wasn’t studying yesterday... right now it is about 6pm on Sunday night and I’ve come across a really great post that says that in order to complete your impossible to do list we have to stop planning and just do it. Turn your body into automode and just start what you have to do and don’t stop till you’re done! Don’t go on social media, avoid everything until you’re done. So I’m going to try that tonight... probably not the best start with making this tumblr post, but I find these posts always motivate me to get my stuff done. 

So here goes; 

Tonight I will finish studying the budgeting chapter! 

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● Seize time opportunities. If I have 15 minutes until your next class, I sit down and do homework in the hallway. If I have a long commute, I’ll do flashcards. This works because you most likely won’t have anything else to do anyways, so it’s easier to get your work done.

● Start something. When I get a lab report assignment, the first thing I do is pull up the directions and at least start the cover page and pull up some research links. It takes 5 minutes but it gets the ball rolling and makes it more likely that you’ll finish what you started.

● Auto-mode. When I procrastinating, it’s usually because I’m too busy thinking about what I’m going to do. Instead, I like to pretend I’m in “auto-mode” and just get started as fast as I can. auto-mode means shutting out distracting thoughts or pleas to watch one more funny cat video and forcing your hands to open your textbook. Works every time.

● Personally, creating time schedules don’t work for me because if I fall out of time, the whole schedule falls apart and I usually give up. Instead I use time games. I’ll tell myself something like “work as hard as you can until 11:00 sharp and if you finish, you can have a break”. This is great for developing self discipline because it’s in the moment so you can be more realistic and flexible.

● I don’t like writing down earlier due dates in my planner because it’s confusing so instead, it’s good to have some sort of mental rule. for example, my mental rule is to finish everything at least two days before the due date. following through with that will keep you on track.

● Do a little bit every day. If you have a big project, chip at it within a week rather than stressing out 2 days before it’s due. the same goes for studying for an exam. if you review lecture notes and attend office hours after class + work on flashcards throughout the week, then do a final review at the end, you’ll be well prepared and won’t need to cram. It’s a good habit and you won’t get stressed. Two birds with one stone.

● Use mornings too. I’m not really an early bird, but using mornings to get some work / chores done is great because it gives you a productive start to the day, which makes you feel proud of yourself for knocking out half of your tasks in the a.m. 

a. Lay out your lecture notes / worksheets on the table the night before and open your work tabs on your computer so they’ll be the first thing you see when you turn on your computer.

b. Put your computer far away from your work space and go to sleep.

c. When you wake up, the first thing that you’ll see is your ‘paper’ work, so get it done first. then start on your ‘screen’ work (you’ll be less likely to get distracted if you do your ‘paper’ work first). when you open your laptop the first thing you’ll see are the work tabs you opened the night before. Your job is to go on auto-mode and get started.

Good luck with self-discipline. You’ll do great. -thoughtscholar

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The Full Potential Challenge

Ever wonder what your life would be like if you lived up to your full potential? Would your body be healthier? Your skin clearer? Bank account bigger? I think about these things all the time, and, judging my a previous post, you guys do to. Below is a chart designed to help all of us live up to our full potential. I’ve broken it down into time frames to help keep you from getting overwhelmed. Write the chart down and hang it someplace where you can see it all the time. I will be starting this challenge tomorrow, 9/8. I’ll check in with you guys every Sunday to track my progress. I have specific goals in mind for myself, and you guys should make some too! I really want to know how you guys are doing. Tag your progress posts with #sbfpc so I can track it and take a look. Let’s get to it!

EVERY MORNING

Stretch. First thing. Really give your body enough time to wake up. Touch your toes. Roll out your shoulders. Do not hit snooze!

Do your full skincare routine. I have mine detailed here, but do whatever works for you and your complexion. Be gentle and consistent. 

Brush your teeth and floss. I used to be a big floss-skipper too, but you’d be amazed at how dig of a difference it makes. Rinse with a whitening mouthwash. I use one by Crest, and I notice a major difference in my teeth’s overall whiteness in just a few days.

Give yourself enough time to get ready. Whether you’re a wash-and-go kind of girl, or someone who spends an hour doing a full contouring routine before class (and either one is fine!), make sure you aren’t rushing. If you need to wake up a few minutes earlier than normal, so be it. Rushing sets an awful, stressed-out tone for the rest of the day. Allow yourself to be relaxed before taking on the day.

Eat something. I’m not going to say eat a big breakfast, because some people (myself included) just can’t eat in the morning. But you should eat, or at least bring a little something with you to work or school. If you can’t eat a full breakfast, grab a fruit! You won’t be as hungry come lunch time, making you less likely to gorge yourself.

Shower. You can do this at night, in the morning, whatever. Again, this is something you should allow some time for. I don’t wash my hair every day, but I do condition it every day (from the ears down). Scrub yourself with a delicious-smelling body wash. If you shave, make yourself as smooth as a dolphin, dude. If you don’t, then don’t and don’t ever ever ever let anyone make you feel bad or weird about it. When you get out of the shower, wrap yourself in a fluffy towel and totally slather your sexy self with lotion. Top to bottom. Do it as soon as you can post-shower so it can really sink in. 

Put leave-in condition throughout your damp hair and comb it through.

Put on an outfit that makes you feel good! So important!

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Take a look at your daily to-do list. Knock out the most pressing stuff first. Take pride when you cross things off your list.

Make your bed! Oh my god, make your bed. Do it. Do it. Do it. 

EVERY AFTERNOON 

Follow the “touch it once” approach. This is a truly life-changing thing. When a task is in front of you, no matter how big or small, just do it right then and there. How many times have you gotten a work email or homework assignment and thought, “Eh, I’ll do it later”? And then later never comes? Once something pops up, do it once. Squash it and be done. Cross things off your list and feel like a badass.

Try to go for a walk at lunch. Even one little lap around the block or campus will reenergize you like nobody’s business. 

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Be present. This is so hard for me too, but you have to make a major effort to be present in whatever you’re doing. Be engaged and plugged-in and just exist in the moment. Give 100 percent.

Be friendly to friends and strangers. A smile goes a long way.

Eat something. Eat what you packed for lunch (see below) and take a break from working while you do it. You need “you time”!

EVERY EVENING

Take your makeup off as soon as you’re in for the night. Wash your face with your full routine and let your skin have a break. 

Workout. You can also do this in the morning. Whatever works for you. Make a great playlist and go hard af. Get your cardio in. Get your strength training in. Earn every freaking sweat bead forming on your forehead. Earn your shower!

Knock out your homework. Life is infinitely better you don’t have anything hanging over your head. Half the time, the energy and emotion you spent dreading/putting off your work is ten times worse than the work itself.

Make a list of what needs to be done tomorrow. It’ll set you up for success the next day, and you won’t forget anything!

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Lay out your clothes for tomorrow. This will save you SO MUCH TIME in the morning omg I can’t even tell you how important this is.

Eat something great. And once you’ve decided to be done eating for the night, be done. Brush your teeth so you can’t eat again.

After brushing, do a whitening treatment. Whether it’s classic baking soda, a Crest white strip, or a laser. Do something. And floss! Retainers in too, ladies 0:)

Relax! Take a few hours to do what YOU want to do. Scroll through Tumblr, binge on some Netflix, FaceTime gossip with your friends, anything. Do whatever makes you happiest. 

Shut the electronics off an hour before you want to go to bed. Put your phone on sleep mode. If you stare at the screen, it will keep you awake and alert and you won’t be able to fall asleep. A good night’s sleep is crucial for weightless and general happiness lol

Do a quick sweep of your room and see if there’s anything you can put away real quick. A clean space is a happy space.

Crawl into your bed (aren’t you happy you took the time to make it?!) and read a book by lamplight for a while. When you start to feel sleepy, go to sleep. Don’t push it. You kicked ass today and you deserve rest. 

EVERY WEEKEND

Do something with your friends. It just has to be one thing. Even if you’re just hanging out at the coffee shop, spending time with your squad will make you a better, happier person.

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Do something just for you. Set your laptop up in the bathroom and watch a Netflix marathon while you take a bubble bath. Buy an old school bottle of Mr. Bubbles ($3 at Target!) and really just soak. Relax. Light a candle.

Do something creative. You can read a book, write, blog, draw, code, anything. It just has to be something that speaks to your passion.

Track your progress. Just do this once a week so it doesn’t become all-consuming. And remember that non-scale victories are just as important as shedding pounds.

Take the time to be grateful. Tell your friend how much you admire her taste in music. Mention to your mom how much you love her cooking and how happy you are that she takes care of you. Thank your teaching after an especially interesting lecture. When you do something awesome, take a moment to admire yourself. Be grateful for even the little things.

Anything I missed? Reblog + add yours! Don’t forget to tag your progress!

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Saturday February 23rd

I haven’t made any posts for the past couple days because I have been incredibly busy with work and finishing my assignments that were due last night! Finished them with 2 hours to spare and after just passed out and got some much needed rest. Every week I tell myself I have to stay on top of the assignments and not leave them till the last minute but it is hard to do this with working full-time and completing the readings and fully understanding the material in order to do the assignment... It’s also really scary because some topics I haven’t even looked at because they didn’t pertain to the weeks assignments but I still have to know them for the exam so in reality I’m probably super behind. Right now it is 10am on Saturday so I am going to use this time to create a study schedule to document my understanding of each topic. Usually I spend Saturday as a fun break day, but not this week! No breaks for me... With only 31 days till the exam now is the final stretch. Only thing getting me through this is knowing that after my exam I will be off till the end of July! 

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Wednesday February 20th, 2019

Left work early because of a snowstorm. Thankfully now I have more time to study. 

Last nights study session was awful. I got tired way too quickly and just could not focus. Tonight will be different. My goal is to finish all my weekly readings tonight so that tomorrow I can start my assignments that are due Friday night. **Correction, there is no way I will be able to finish my readings tonight because they are way too damn long. I will finish the reading on cost of capital and NPV, and quickly skim through the assignments to see what topics they focus on and study those.  These assignments take up way too much time! Unless if you remember every single thing from university it is impossible to complete them in an hour! I spend way too much time looking up pointless stuff for the assignments I barely have any time to go over the competency map and study what I actually need to know for the exam. Let’s see what I can accomplish tonight. 

I feel like my problem is that I am used to getting 7.5 hours of sleep every night. I am used to going to bed at 10:30, 11pm latest. So if I study past that my body automatically shuts down and its impossible for me to study late. I just have to get motivated to stay up late and not look at the time. 

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Preparation for Core 2

Tuesday February 19th, 2019

There are 35 more days till my exam... I am enrolled in the module with CPA and I feel like with the weekly assignments I barely have any time to actually study the material... Plus on top of work (it’s busy season), I feel like I have barely anytime to study which is scary! I saw a similar blog created for CPA exams so I thought I’d try to make my own. This is just a place for me to vent and express my feelings about what I’m going through.  Anyways, my biggest struggle is finding the time to study and often I find I get way too overwhelmed with everything I have to do, I spend way too much time planning out what I have to do and when I have to do it. I rarely ever stick to these goals because I tell myself, “ I am tired, I need to get rest for work tomorrow, I can finish this tomorrow night. “ WRONG.  This is the wrong attitude to have. I have to create deadlines for myself and I cannot sleep until I meet my deadline. It is now about 6:50pm. I usually like to sleep around 10:30. Let’s see if I can do this. I’m going to go down and make some tea to keep me awake and tackle my to do list.  Tonight I will study: - Cost of capital - Time value of money

**Update**

It is now 10pm. I decided I am going to do one more pomodoro session and go to bed. I didn’t finish the readings, probably only half way done... But I desperately need sleep. Looking back at tonight I definitely wasted about an hour doing things like checking my phone and other random things because I got done one section and decided to take a break that turned into a super long break. No. I will stop doing that. It’s good to use the pomodoro technique, work for 25 minutes, break for 5. and it is timed and it will beep once you’ve maxed out your break. Going to start it now and hopefully get one more section done before bed. I really need sleep. Today at work I was not functioning at all... the problems of a CPA student. 

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How to Increase your Motivation to Study

1. Reward yourself for studying and working on assignments. However, you need to do this after you’ve done everything you planned to do!

2. Study with others (But make sure you work and don’t just socialise.

3. Keep your long-term goals in sight. They’ll slip through your fingers if you don’t do the work.

4. Cut out distractions. If you’re surrounded by things that you’d rather do than work, you’ll probably abandon your boring studying.

5. Develop an interest in the subjects you’re studying. That way, the work won’t be such a drag.

6. regular breaks. These should be at logical points in your work. That makes it easier to resume your studying, and to remember what you were working on before.

7. Work somewhere bright, warm and comfortable.

8. Set reasonable study goals for each session.

9. Start early in the day at weekends, and early in the evenings on week days. The longer you put it off your studying, the harder and more onerous it seems.

10. Just do it. It’s surprisingly rewarding to do something that’s tough!

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How to study effectively

Set yourself achievable goals. Never try to fool yourself into thinking you will read 10 chapters every day, run at least 5 miles, clean the whole house and manage 1 huge assignment in 1 hour. This won’t work, you know that and you’re just fooling yourself. Be realistic. Read 1 chapter, but actually read it, not highlight every word there. Read it again, make a summary of it, close the book, explain the material to somebody else or just write it down in bullet points. Do a 20 minute work out. Clean your table. Write 500 words of that 2k essay (or write 100 words, or 50, hovewer much you can actually write)\

Take breaks frequently, but not longer than 20 minutes. I am a big fan of pomodoro technique when studying because it gives me a sense of a timeline that doesn’t allow to check on my phone, on my email- anything. Once you decide to ‘i’ll rest for a bit’ that bit turns out to be 5 hours on tumblr and bam - you’re not sleeping at night because your deadline is due.  Set a timer for yourself. 25 minutes of reading, 5 minutes break. After 3 cicles make a big 15 minutes break. After another 3 cicles take half an hour. Set yourself the exact amount of time  you will work, and the exact amount of time you will rest. 

Turn off your Tumblr/Twitter/Youtube. No explanation necessary

Understand what you’re reading. I can’t stress enough about this one, because in my 4 years of studying in med school i realized just how many people try to memorize exactly what is written instead of understanding the concept. Listen, your memory will fail you. You’re not a perfect database that can reach for any data file that you need any time. People forget  things, this is how our brains operate.  Logic will never fail you. This is so important to understand to all of you in medicine, that if you understand the basic you can always draw conclusions from that. For example, it is no problem for me to answer the question like ‘Clinical manifestation of pneumonia’ because i understand the pathogenesis, and just draw logical conclusion. This is what clinical thinking is based upon, basically

Don’t do things just because everybody do them. Make notes for yourself, not for a pretty tumblr post. I used to spend a lot of time and money on those but they were less effective than messier quicker not very photo ready notes that i made, but those were actually more helpful. Notes are here to help you, not to make an appearance of studying. A lot of my classmates spend hours taking notes but once they come to class it’s like they just mechanically copied the textbook without actually realizing what they wrote. Which is why my point of understanding what you study is important in note taking, notes are just a quick summary you can go back to, some details you might have troubles remembering, they are helping you revise not read from when you are asked a question. 

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