gaelstudies-blog

[gaelstudies-blog]

so metropolitan museum of art has a register of books they’ve published that are out of print and that you can download for free! they’re mostly books on art, archeology, architecture, fashion and history and i just think that’s super useful and interesting so i wanted to share! you can find all of the books available here!

[gaelstudies-blog]

|Wednesday, 9.4.19|

Only week two and my torts book is already so colorful 🌈

[gaelstudies-blog]

How to Handle Having TOO MUCH To Do

So let’s say you’re in the same boat I am (this is a running theme, have you noticed?) and you’ve just got, like, SO MUCH STUFF that HAS to get done YESTERDAY or you will DIE (or fail/get fired/mope). Everything needs to be done yesterday, you’re sick, and for whatever reason you are focusing on the least important stuff first. What to do!

Take a deep breath, because this is a boot camp in prioritization.

Make a 3 by 4 grid. Make it pretty big. The line above your top row goes like this: Due YESTERDAY - due TOMORROW - due LATER. Along the side, write: Takes 5 min - Takes 30 min - Takes hours - Takes DAYS.

Divide ALL your tasks into one of these squares, based on how much work you still have to do. A thank you note for a present you received two weeks ago? That takes 5 minutes and was due YESTERDAY. Put it in that square. A five page paper that’s due tomorrow? That takes an hour/hours, place it appropriately. Tomorrow’s speech you just need to rehearse? Half an hour, due TOMORROW. Do the same for ALL of your tasks

Your priority goes like this:

5 minutes due YESTERDAY

5 minutes due TOMORROW

Half-hour due YESTERDAY

Half-hour due TOMORROW

Hours due YESTERDAY

Hours due TOMORROW

5 minutes due LATER

Half-hour due LATER

Hours due LATER

DAYS due YESTERDAY

DAYS due TOMORROW

DAYS due LATER

At this point you just go down the list in each section. If something feels especially urgent, for whatever reason - a certain professor is hounding you, you’re especially worried about that speech, whatever - you can bump that up to the top of the entire list. However, going through the list like this is what I find most efficient.

Some people do like to save the 5 minute tasks for kind of a break between longer-running tasks. If that’s what you want to try, go for it! You’re the one studying here.

So that’s how to prioritize. Now, how to actually do shit? That’s where the 20/10 method comes in. It’s simple: do stuff like a stuff-doing FIEND for 20 minutes, then take a ten minute break and do whatever you want. Repeat ad infinitum. It’s how I’ve gotten through my to do list, concussed and everything.

You’ve got this. Get a drink and start - we can do our stuff together!

[gaelstudies-blog]

9.21.19. 100 Days of Productivity 3&4/100

Yesterday’s shift at work and my early morning psych appointment left me exhausted, so I took a break from school work for the evening. I did clean my apartment and go for a brief walk, on top of sorting out my meds and making some money, so all in all, I’d call it a productive day.

I woke up feeling well rested and motivated this morning, so I got right to my readings for Civil Wars and Conflict Resolution (probably my favorite class). I had some help from my favorite study-buddy, Winston, who missed play time yesterday due to my feeling like crap.

[gaelstudies-blog]

Hello everyone! This is my first official post on Tumblr ever so I guess I should introduce myself :) 

My name is Alison and I’m going to be graduating high school and finally entering the university world that I’ve been preparing for. Obviously my dream is to become a vet so I will be going down that path and I’ll be posting about my successes and failures as well as just everyday life too! 

[gaelstudies-blog]

click for better quality

hello! classes were suspended yesterday because of a transport strike but heigh ho here we are now! happy october first! 🍂🎃 still crazy to me that i’m gonna turn 17 in a few weeks, wowza i’m old 🥴

[gaelstudies-blog]

𝟏𝟗:𝟏𝟏 | 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

i’ve started to make these little sticky note to do lists on my macbook and it’s working really well as they are always there ( and ik my screen is kinda dusty lol )

[gaelstudies-blog]

[08/17/19]

1.01

all the goods i have purchased in tokyo during the two days i was there LMAO

currently listening to:

lover - taylor swift (I LOVE IT SO MUCH i wish i could feel the things she talks about aaaaah)

[gaelstudies-blog]

#orkoda

[gaelstudies-blog]

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 

[gaelstudies-blog]

I’m sorry if I seem so inactive or rushed lately; I’ve just had three exams over the course of three days on top of a pile of unfinished Leadership things. Life is great right now just a little busier than I want it to be😁

[gaelstudies-blog]

19.09.19

Only one week left to study for chemical reaction engineering and I already panic :))

[gaelstudies-blog]

674 | Preparing for my trial practice final with a nice heaping bowl of donut holes. This case file was about 130 pages and I actually had FUN reading through it. But it was only after annotating it extremely extensively that I realized I shouldn’t have written in it at all because now I can’t submit any of these documents into evidence and now have to find clean copies somewhere 😅

Currently Listening - Pretty Penny, Grizfolk

[gaelstudies-blog]

lazy study tips

1. use quizlet. quizlet is amazing because you can access your flashcards on your phone!! this way you can easily flip through them while waiting in line, watching tv, etc.

2. use the pomodoro technique. if you’re lazy like i am, sitting down for 6+ hours a day to study can be daunting. giving yourself multiple breaks throughout a study session will help to keep you going!

3. watch youtube videos. watching videos or listening to podcasts on the topic you’re studying could be a huge time saver and is a lot more interesting than flipping through a textbook. and you can easily do this in bed!! (i would not advise to do this instead of using a textbook all together just in case information is left out of the video)

4. try to build a steady study routine. block out a chunk of time in the middle of the day every day for studying. this way, you know that when the time is up, you have the rest of the day to relax!

5. get sleep. i’ve found that i’m at my laziest when i haven’t been sleeping much. avoid being sluggish throughout the day and get some rest! this will cut back on nap/rest time and increase productivity during the day.

6. consider the consequences of not studying. which will benefit you more in the long run- getting your work done now, or watching another episode?

7. reward yourself. give yourself a little treat (a piece of candy, etc.) after completing a set amount of work. this will keep you motivated to keep studying!

8. just start. the hardest part of studying is starting- force yourself to sit down and open up your notes.

as always, thanks for reading! x

[gaelstudies-blog]

09.22.2019

“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling luck. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the Earth’s treasures and the grinding down of the marginal. To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” 

-Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark

[gaelstudies-blog]

I’m so behind on all my uni readings because of my bachelor paper. When will I ever find the time to read all those books aaaah ☕️

[gaelstudies-blog]

The main reason why I dont post pics of my study space is because of the nonexistent lighting but my lovely neighbor on the other side of the street opened their window reflecting the sunlight in the right angle and look at that! Natural lightning! So here is my pinwall and my August spread :)