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Saturday April 21, 2018

Currently using my iPad Pro for studying for finals. Here are some study notes for calculus. Also it’s been a year since I started my studyblr.✨

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my latest biochemistry notes 🍑[24-04-18] 

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also re: teens sitting around with their tablets and smartphones

like, if a kid can access the internet (with some privacy still) while also sitting in the same room as their parents, honestly that’s better and more social than what I did as a teenager, which was hole up in my room at my desktop computer that I couldn’t move anywhere else in the house

mostly what I see from the teens in my family is they will sit and scroll through their phone, but if something interesting starts happening, or a new person enters the room, or they see something cool they want to share, they look up and interact again, because they’re sitting right there with everyone else.

that is waaaay more social than 2002 me, hunched over my desktop for hours and only seeing my mom in passing when I went to microwave a burrito at 1am. way, way more social.

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exam prep pt. 1

Start early. it may seem like it is waaayy to early to start. but here’s the thing: it is never too late to start studying for an exam, so start early and start now

Make a revision guide. List all the crucial things you absolutely have to revise for. If your teacher gives you a guide, ditch it. You know more than anyone what you need to work on.

Focus on what you don’t know. I know its more comfortable doing things you already know, it gives you a nice ego boost, but the other things won’t learn themselves. i repeat: focus on what you DON’T know.

Which means study by priority. Study what you need the most help on. Do not go in order. You will run out of time to study things you actually need help on. So please don’t.

Mindmaps. These are good for subjects like history and the sciences. It is much easier to see all your notes on one page. So do yourself a favor and convert your notes into mindmaps.

Flashcards. After mindmaps comes flashcards. How I study is by first taking notes, then making a mindmap, and then putting the information into flashcards (I might make a post ;)). They don’t always work for essay based subjects so beware. But remember: flashcards only work if you frequently review them.

Past papers. These are your friends. Seriously. If you do past papers, they will help a LOT. This gives you an idea of how the real exam will be. They will mostly come in the same format, so it will help you be familiar with the layout of the papers.

Specifications. Don’t just get all your info from study guides. Most of the time they leave out some information. See what exam board you’re doing and find the spec. Try to use that as a checklist.

Ask for help. Your teachers are there to help. If you’re struggling, ask for help. See if there are extra classes. Check if your teacher can tutor you if they have time (my teacher did). Seriously. Ask. Its for your benefit.

Avoid burnout. Don’t just focus on one topic/subject. Switch it up to avoid burnout and remember to take breaks. You can’t put all the information in your brain in one go. Take care of yourself.

You can do this. I believe in you, you can do anything if you put your mind to it. just remember to breathe and take care of your health. It’s more important than anything. Trust me, you can do this :) 

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“I like to listen. I have learnt a lot from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”

— Ernest Hemingway (via minuty)

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april // listen on spotify

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physics lecture notes! 📖

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Sometimes you don’t start your day until 2pm. Sometimes you have to put on a pair of jeans and a nice shirt instead of sweatpants in order to feel good about yourself. Sometimes it’s really fucking hard to get up and take a shower or brush your teeth. Sometimes it’s really fucking hard to take care of yourself and it’s okay. That is okay. Simple things aren’t always easy and simple things being hard doesn’t make you weak, you are doing the best you can and some days there are things you just can’t do and that’s okay. You are healing. You are trying. Do what you need to do to feel good.

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2018 is about little victories. we’re not putting pressure on ourselves to become everything we’ve always wanted to be because nobody can do that in a year. instead we’re focusing on making forward strides and we’re celebrating every single win no matter how small.

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Please read if you’re a student

You are NOT PROCRASTINATING, if - you’re sick - you have headache - you feel pain - you’re exhausted - you feel anxious - you have had big changes in your life that make you feel tired/restless/anxious/sad - you have to skip a class/take rest because of reasons I mentioned above. It’s not procrastinating. You’re not lazy. Everyone needs to have rest and take care of themselves when they’re sick. IT IS NOT OKAY TO WORK IN PAIN. Don’t burn out. It’s not worth it. Do not feel guilty. After some rest and relaxing you will study even more effectively. If you feel pain, - take a medicine if it works for you - put all of your books away - take warm shower - eat at least 1 healthy thing and 1 treat/feel-good-food, drink water - go to bed, sleep or read a book/listen to music that is not related to your school (if you have headache/migraine I suggest you to switch off the lights and just sleep) - just take your time - it’ll be all okay.

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a realistic study mood

you get home at 4, you planned to do your homework the moment you got home, you lay in your bed, you open your phone and begin to scroll, your phone alerts you you’re on low battery, you look at the clock, it’s now 7, you panic, you start your homework. you keep getting distracted it’s now 12, you plan to not do the same the next day.

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What to do when you’ve been working really hard and not seeing any progress

If you’re like me, you might have gone through a phase where you’ve put in your ALL. You’ve been working hard and consistently and…nothing has improved. At all. You read all these amazing stories on studyblr of people working hard, making sacrifices and getting amazing results and, well, the latter hasn’t happened. Your results are still terrible, you’re stressed, exhausted and feel like you’re not actually capable of doing anything well. I’ve been there myself and I know exactly how terrible that feels and how soul-crushing it can be. Which is why I’m here to help.

These are just tips that have worked for me. If you’re really suffering like this and may have anxiety or depression, I would highly suggest seeing a mental health professional because that was tip number zero. But here are the rest of the tips!

1) Work less. This may sound counterintuitive, but if you’re spending your weekends working, and you’re working late every day, and you feel like you have no time to see your friends or do anything fun - NO WONDER YOUR GRADES ARE SHIT. You’re tired, stressed and unhappy so of course you’re not actually getting all that much done. Set strict working hours. For me, that was from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. with a full hour at lunch to go outside, sit in the sun and talk to my friends. No work on weekends. I don’t care if your classmates are pulling all-nighters - this isn’t about them. it’s about YOU and YOUR wellbeing.

2) Get a frikken hobby that doesn’t have anything to do with what you’re studying or your work. I picked up this tip because I realised that the top performers in my class had something they LOVED doing and dedicated a lot of time to outside of their studies. It made them full, human beings whose self-esteem didn’t rest on how well they did in class. The top student in my class ran regularly and did races. Another was really involved in her church. I started a lifestyle/book blog and tried figuring out how to have an instagram #aesthetic.  This is something that you can do outside of your working hours and it really does not matter what it is - as long as you enjoy it and find it engaging. It gives your studying brain a break and exercises other parts of your body/brain. I can’t remember the exact quote but it’s good to have a hobby that keeps you creative, brings in cash or keeps you exercising if feel like it’s “going to be a waste of time!!!!! that I could spend studying!!!!!”

3) Sleep, eat, move and socialise enough. Now that you’re not spending literally ALL of your time sitting in one place studying, you’ll notice that you actually feel a bit tired and hungry because you’ve used up a lot of energy. You need to refuel and actually sustain your body. Make plans with your friends too or spend time with your family - you need those social warm fuzzies as well because biology. Instead of disappearing off to your room after a meal to study again, help out with clearing the table and speak to the people in your home that you like. If you can, go outside and sit somewhere green. Trust me - it helps.

4) Step back from the terrible, overworking-normalized culture that you’re part of. I was stuck in a horrible physics department that normalized and glorified overworking and competition and it just was NOT for me. It literally made me ill. So I stepped back, realised that I was in a toxic hell-hole that I didn’t have to be in and switched to astronomy the following year where the culture was a lot calmer and more supportive and had actual women in. Not everyone has the luxury of changing fields but if you step back and separate yourself from the culture you’re in and see how much that’s affecting you, you can bring it up in meetings and start changing the culture. Decide not to participate in overworking. Speak to your friends and peers and ask them if they’re feeling the same because they very well might be.   

5) Chill TF out. Find some kind of balance. You’ll find that when you do sit down to work, you’ll actually start to get things done and you’ll feel more confident in your work. Once you get rid of the panic (for me, that required medication but you might not need that), you’ll find that you’re actually able to concentrate a whole lot better!!! The time you spend on work will decrease, but the quality of your work will increase.

I really hope this helps. Being in an “I’m working so hard but I’m not improving at all” situation truly is frustrating and harmful and I don’t wish it upon anyone. If you have any questions, my ask is always open. This is 1000% based on personal experience but it is something I’m seeing more of on studyblr so I want to provide this alternative.

xx Munira

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26•02•2018

My spread this week is a lil messy but I’m still obsessed with these flowers. They make me think of warm weather, which is well needed since it’s supposed to snow here in Florence!

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