lktaylor94-blog

[lktaylor94-blog]

Happy Birthday Desiree!!! My Panarican, and the youngest of us all, has finally turned 21!! 🙆🏽 Sorry we're in two different places but we'll make up for that😁 These pictures are an exact mirror into her life and craziness. No #transformationtuesday since you still psycho. 😂 Luh yah Dray! #madlate #Ialreadytalkedtoherearlier #homie

[lktaylor94-blog]

There’s two types of best friends:

The first type is both of you doing your own thing. You don’t have to talk to each other daily. But when you guys do, you just pick up from where you left off and catch up. Just because you don’t talk daily doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten about each other. You can hit up each other whenever when you need or miss each other. They’re there for life.

The second type is the most sought out and best type of best friend. It’s the person you tell everything to uncensored. Everything seems natural with them. They’re your go-to person and will be there for you through the ups and downs. They’ll experience it with you, grow with you, and inspire you to be a better person. They’re there for your whole life.

[lktaylor94-blog]

It’s alright, we have all been there. We have all experienced the dreadful moments when we just really don’t want to work and would like to lie in bed instead. Here are some tips that can help you to get motivated and stay away from your bed:

Break down your tasks. Try to just force yourself to sit down with your laptop or pen and papers, and write down all the things you have to do. This can make you realise what you actually have to do, instead of just constantly telling yourself “I have tons to do help” without clearly knowing what’s your direction.

Next, focus on progress. Focus on the effort and time you spent on the tasks instead of the result first. Time and effort is something you can actually control, and remember to reward yourself for that.

Try to do easier tasks first. If you are not motivated at all, there is no point to read a huge chunk of information you probably cannot understand, or do an extremely difficult math paper that you won’t be able to do anyway. In this situation, the last thing you would want to do is to make yourself feel frustrated. Instead try to make yourself accomplished by completing little and easy tasks first. You will eventually be able to get back on track.

Find your peers to work with you. Having someone beside you to motivate you and to work together makes the whole thing less boring and tedious, and if studying and interacting with friends is actually an effective learning strategy for you, this method works even better.

Stop waiting until you have sufficient information to do something. That is never going to work. This will just going to be your excuse to delay and procrastinate. Try to start working on what you have instead, you will find completing the task so much easier later on.

Just start working. Tell yourself that you will just type one sentence, or solve one problem and you can take a rest. This way you will, at least, feel less guilty since you did work on something that day, but you may also find the motivation to continue working.

That being said, it’s definitely normal that we have days when we are just less productive, after all we are all humans and we do need breaks. Just make sure you have the right balance. Good luck and stay motivated! x

Link to my study tips series (strive-for-da-best)

[lktaylor94-blog]

😂

Is this even a question

[lktaylor94-blog]

This song and the music video are just too adorable. #littlemore #royalty #chrisbrown

[lktaylor94-blog]

#madetheswitch #androidtoiphone #notevenmad #gold #iphone6splus

[lktaylor94-blog]

This is so important!

[lktaylor94-blog]

Why do people find it so hard to understand that sometimes I like to be on my own and there is nothing wrong with me, I just enjoy my own company.

[lktaylor94-blog]

I'm pretty sure I turned 16. I look 13. And the same girls are still in my life. We didn't even know Eeyore, he just got so many points for having that suit on. #tbt #weweresocool #whyamIstandinglikethat #idec #bestfriends #thanksdesi

[lktaylor94-blog]

Google Chrome hacks^_^

this will save you so much time! (and make you look like a pro lol) (here’s the link!)

[lktaylor94-blog]

this sounds a little bizarre at first, but it’s true that there are a lot of different and effective ways to put sticky notes to use! so, in case you were wondering what to do with those little post its sitting on the corner of your desk, here is an array of possibilities!!

textbook notes

sticky notes are incredibly useful when taking notes form a textbook

super nice guide

great step by step guide

watch this awesome video!

bookmarking

actually bookmark your book

bookmark important pages in a book like the index, glossary, etc

annotating!

mark those essential pages of your own notes, the ones with the definitions and formulas you know you need to look back at a lot

summarizing

use the sticky notes to summarize info!! whether from a book, or a website, or any other resource, it helps a lot

summarize by page, or by section, or by chapter

plot summaries

reading summaries

organization

there are so many different methods for organization that could use these

of course, use them as reminders for anything and everything

color coding: papers, files, books, and more

make mini to-do lists, write down your tasks for the day!!

keep writing prompts, important formulas, or other necessary and factual information on sticky notes and put them on the wall in front of your desk

or in your notebook/binder/whatever-you-use so that you have them with you all the time!

remember this!

number your sticky notes when marking a book, it’ll keep you organized

also color code them

when taking notes use as many abbreviations and symbols as you can, there’s limited space!

they are small and they tend to get all over the place of you don’t stay organized, so make sure you know where they are

also remember to discard old sticky notes (when they’re no longer needed)

other awesome uses + info

make a flip book!

the sticky edge can be used as temporary tape (really temporary)

keep them in an everything book

print on them to keep it neat

+ printables!

use them for your art

effective uses

good reasons to use sticky notes!

manage your time

post-it plus

super cute sticky notes!!

more masterposts!!

AP chemistry

the Everything Book

studyblr-ing

welcome to high school

tiny study spaces

what’s in a pencil case

i hope this was of help to you! keep shining like the star you are and remember to be awesome today!!

-Aza

[lktaylor94-blog]

Ask an Academic: A Series on Getting Your Shit Together

Let me just say before I start: I suffer from chronic procrastination. The fact that this post took me a week to write underlines that. As a student, I can’t afford to procrastinate; if I procrastinate, I either fail or don’t get the extent of the education provided to me. In the last few years I have finally found a somewhat manageable game plan to help me maintain a decent level of productivity. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned to help me stay productive in college and in life: Realize what causes you to procrastinate Most people think procrastination to be a side effect of laziness or poor time management. In reality, procrastination is often a strategy used to counteract low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, fear of loss and failure, perfectionism, etc. I have terrible academic self-esteem being so ‘old’ and an undergrad, so I get anxious about  studying because I feel unintelligent, so I procrastinate. If you fInd the root of your procrastination you’ll have a better grasp on how to fix the problem! 

Shorten your to-do list  One of the main side effects of procrastination is overestimating the time it takes to accomplish a task. For me it always goes like this: “oh man I just watched Netflix for three hours; I don’t have time to study. I’ll wait until tomorrow when I have the whole day”. Many time management techniques require a diligent hour-by-hour planning system, which can be very overwhelming in itself, especially when your procrastination is fueled by anxiety, like mine. Research has found that the most efficient to-do list has only three items on it. Take time to focus on one task at a time without a time constraint, you’ll find you get it done quite faster than you expected.

TAKE BREAKS AND REWARD YOURSELF This is very important! It might be common sense but a lot of people don’t do this, especially when they have a bajillion things due in two days. Listen,  I live that “EVERYTHING IS EXHAUSTING ALL THE TIME” life. Frequent breaks and a rewarding system when I check things off my list really helps. The Pomodoro technique is awesome and life changing for chronic procrastinators like me. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

“Touch it once” rule I have this terrible habit of finding things that I need to do or read, and immediately saving it to Pocket or putting it in a pile to do later. The “touch it once” rule actually helps me do things at that moment instead of adding it to the seemingly never-ending list of things to do. The principle behind “touch it once” is simple: when you come across a task, touch it once, for a couple minutes. If you still don’t want to do it after two minutes, put it away for a later time that day. I find that once I start something, I am more apt to finish said thing. This system has definitely helped me gain momentum to not only start tasks, but finish them in a timely manner. Self-Regulate  Self-regulation is the ability to act in your long-term best interest, consistent with your deepest values (Violation of one’s deepest values causes guilt, shame, and anxiety). A study on procrastination in college students found that there was a significant correlation with lack of self-regulation and procrastination/depression. Practicing small steps towards self-regulation is important, so putting one foot in front of the other will truly make all the difference. Timothy Pychyl Ph.D. is a psychology professor who focuses on procrastination and says that “showing up is half the battle”. Set intention and make the motions despite how you are feeling, and you’ll get things done and get rid of your procrastination habits. Eventually. 

I am aware that these steps seem to be repetitive to some and they might not work for everyone. However, I’ve found that most productivity lists that focus on a billion different steps are very overwhelming, so a more streamlined system really helps me. I will leave you with one last piece of advice: Sacrifice and forgive yourself. We are not perfect creatures, we will slip and fall sometimes (case in point: me taking a week to write this). Procrastination is completely normal; take responsibility for your actions, brush yourself off, and keep going! You might need to sacrifice a weekend or a fun night out with friends, but if you follow these steps I PROMISE YOU you will get whatever you need to do done without it being a rushed mess at the end. You can do it! Good luck!

[lktaylor94-blog]

OMG. ME.

being told i was smart and above average from a young age was probably one of the worst things to happen to me because now i have a complex and question my entire existence when i dont excel at something right away

[lktaylor94-blog]

Wait. What?

Legit the most annoying thing just happened. This gif explains my feels.

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Feeling guilty for the fun I had.

When you've had fun but this semester upper-cutted you twice.

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A’s before baes

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Don’t tell people your plans. Show them your results.

Unknown (via fy-perspectives)

👊 unless it's Fall 2015 results...don't show them then.