thestudymonster-blog

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10 unconventional college survival tips

If you have a choice between a morning quickie & some last-minute cramming for an exam (we’re talking like 5 minutes here), only choose the cramming if you haven’t already studied. Arousal of any kind boosts recall; sex relieves stress; stress depletes recall. You do the math.

If you find yourself losing focus in lecture, hold your pencil between your teeth. Facial feedback yields a more alert state. Plus, it makes you happier.

Always carry a toothbrush & travel toothpaste in your backpack. Nothing is worse than sitting through a long lecture with morning breath, and whether you were up all night studying in the library’s 24 hour room, crashing at a friend’s place, or simply running ridiculously late, this toothbrush will be your lifesaver.

If you get periods, consider investing in a diva cup. They’re more cost-effective than pads or tampons after 2-5 cycles (great for students who can’t afford to buy supplies every month or so); they can last you an entire day if necessary; you can put them in ahead of time, which means no more panicking about washing your sheets/pants/favorite underwear/favorite chair in the library; you’ll never be late to class because of an emergency tampon change again.

Morning classes are not the devil. Mid-afternoon classes are the devil. There’s a reason why many cultures have a designated siesta at that time of day! Yes, you’ll have to go to bed a bit earlier in order to get enough sleep, but overall you’ll be far more alert if you schedule your classes early in the day. 

If you have a mountain of work to do between 9pm and 9am the next day and you know you won’t have time to sleep, begin by alternating between readings and problem sets, then move on to writing, then move on to aesthetic tasks (finishing the setup of a presentation, sketching a design for a lab, etc). Frustration is often the largest impedance to getting work done when you’re exhausted, so if you get the big frustration-inducing tasks out of the way before you really start to get sleepy you’re good to go. Writing can be frustrating for sure, but it’s more of a “dammit why doesn’t this sound right” type of frustration than a “dammit why don’t I understand this” type of frustration, and in my opinion that’s way better.

If you’re feeling adventurous, don’t bring your phone to class. At all.

If you’re going to drink, stop studying a little while beforehand. Alcohol impairs memory retention; taking shots immediately after reading 100 pages of your textbook is basically shooting yourself in the foot.

Napping as a study break is actually a great idea, especially if you’re trying to memorize things.

Do your psets alone. If you need help, go to office hours and work with a TA. Do not, under any circumstance, work with other students on your psets unless you’re explaining a concept to them and already understand it well yourself. Working with others allows things to slip by. You might nod and say “oh, that makes sense,” but when it comes down to it you have no idea whether or not you’d be able to replicate it on the test and that’s not good.

[thestudymonster-blog]

I don’t think one actress should play Aphrodite I think it should be multiple woman of different races and looks because beauty isn’t just white woman alone or black woman alone or Asian woman alone or any other race alone. everyone is beautiful and that is who Aphrodite is, she is beauty.

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THINGS TO DO WHEN STRESSED

Get dressed! It is a sign that you are ready to get things done and not lie around all day.

Go for a walk! If you feel cravings coming up, just go for a walk. It’ll give you an opportunity to clear your head and exercise a little.

Draw! Are you a creative person? Then draw, paint, doodle, do what you are good at!

Write! Devoted fanfiction writer or simply a compelled diarist? Write a story or write down your thoughts and feelings.

Read! Escapism for the win!

Pet your pet! Your pet will undoubtedly shower you with the love you need at that time. Give your beloved animal some affection and spill your guts!

Meet a friend! Don’t lock yourself up and wallow in your misery. Go outside, talk to people. Call a trusted friend. Hell, call your mother. 

Make a bullet journal! If you want to be productive, then a journal or planner does come in handy.

Send out an SOS! Like I did on Tumblr. We are a community, and as cliché as this may sound; we’re all in this together.

Go shopping! Unless shopping for clothes triggers you. Then go buy books.

Play a game! Sims is my jam, folks.

Listen to some music! Nothing like a good song to keep your mind occupied.

Watch TV or a series! Netflix and chill.

Make out! If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, go smooching! Unfortunately, I don’t have one. But hey, I’m still young.

Shower or take a bath! Get cleaned up. You’ll feel better, I promise.

Sleep! If it’s late at night, and you’re thinking of ordering some pizza or ice-cream; just go to bed already. You can have breakfast first thing in the morning.

Dance! Be your own living-room ballerina!

Sing! You can’t sing with your mouth full ;)

Give the food that you are about to consume to a homeless person! You’ll do a good deed and stop yourself from binge eating! (for anyone w an ED)

Brush your teeth! Everything you eat immediately afterwards will taste bad! (for anyone w an ED)

Learn a new language! In my case: Korean (because kdramas are amazing!)

Throw/break something! Repressed anger issues because you feel out of control? Well throw some rocks into a lake. Or a plate against the wall. I am in no way responsible if something goes amiss.

Cultural activity! Museum, opera, ballet, theatre, citytrip. Go for it!

(found this on tumblr, forgot who made it, the link that someone shared w me is invalid, so…if you made it please link me the original so I can add to it and delete this)

ADDED MY OWN 

Go to a pet shelter

Pick up an Instrument

Go to the farmer’s market

Organize your blog

Organize your room

Do your laundry

Clean the house or your room

Watch funny youtube videos

Go to Barnes & Noble

Play catch (one of the most underrated games)

Play basket ball even if you’re not good at it, just playing w a bouncing ball is fun and distracting

Play some video games

Watch a movie or go to the movie theater

Go to the arcade

Pick up your camera or phone go on a walk & take pictures

Writing whatever comes to mind, don’t think about it

Reread your favorite book

Make a list of things you want to watch, places to visit, listen to, attend

Make a list for the year a goals list and stick it on your wall

Make a collage with real materials not the apps, it’s more fun cutting and pasting and using your hands

Paint

Listen to a podcast I can recommend some!

Join a club or an organization (like volunteer work or a club at school, or somewhere where you can help someone if you’re good at what you do, like if you’re good at writing, join the writing center as a tutor)

[thestudymonster-blog]

(day 2/100 of productivity • spring term 🌷) Right, so I rewrote my lecture notes from the first stats meeting and then covered the next chapter as well. I also finished the stats homework, so now I can focus on my other three classes for the remainder of the week.

[thestudymonster-blog]

I’ve had readers call in to say, “I’m in a rut. I want to do things but I can’t get myself to do them,” and “Ugh, honestly, when I return from work, I have no energy left in me at all. All I can do is binge watch Netflix or YouTube.” Perhaps these are some problems you face too? (wow, I’d do great in commercial voiceovers, lmao.) I’ve come up with some solutions in the past - this article ‘getting out of a rut’ and this answer - but I realized that these habits have a deeper, psychological connection. Now, I don’t want to freak you out with my geekiness when I’ve barely made it past the intro, so here’s the short answer: Change your perspective. Change your life.

Mic drop. Leaves stage. Comes back to pick it up. “We’re on a budget guys, need this for my next article too.”

Keep reading

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[thestudymonster-blog]

Okja the Dog

[thestudymonster-blog]

I hate the stereotype of you can’t be social and smart like um no I’m gonna go to parties and stay up all night and go to concerts and crowd surf and I’m still gonna work hard and get an A+ in all my classes. 

[thestudymonster-blog]

3.02.2018 [18/100 days of productivity] Ig: hristinasview

[thestudymonster-blog]

STEP TO STEP

I. make clear what you want to accomplish

II. how you gonna do it?  → make a plan (with very small steps)

III. why do you want / why do you have too?

IV. prioritize it → this is so great for it

V. positive mindset → you can do this, if you finish this you can do whatever you want without feeling guilty

VI. just start. Don’t think about it. just do it!! Don’t wait to be in the perfect mood for it

VII. no distractions → put your phone in another room, write down your worries if you can’t think clear

VIII. track your progress → have a tracker in your bujo/journal/smart phone etc. and track every small progress / productive thing you did. That way you don’t feel like you do nothing & can be proud of yourself (maybe it even motivates you if you see what you already accomplished)

IX. reward yourself → with reading, watching a series, sweets, chatting with friends whatever makes you happy

TIPS

• motivation ‹ self discipline → motivation comes and goes and of course it’s nice to be motivated but you can’t always rely on it. The key isn’t how to motivate yourself, it’s how to work without it (creds)

• done bad is better than done nothing → I’m a perfectionist too but sometimes you need to remind yourself that not everything has to be perfect

• finish what you started

• always have in mind how you’ll feel if you achieved your goal

REMINDERS

• don’t put too much pressure on you 

• try being not so hard on yourself → if you didn't’ do anything productive, it’s okay. You’re human and tomorrow is a new day

• don’t try to do everything at once

[thestudymonster-blog]

[12.10.17]

Almost half way through junior year.

[thestudymonster-blog]

My favorite method of learning pronunciation in another language is singing. 

I spent the hours I travel on the bus singing reggaeton and have almost no accent when speaking Spanish. 

Bollywood soundtracks helped me master the ड़ sound. 

One of my students struggled with the English w sound and I had him sing the song “I Want It That Way” and he can say it almost perfectly. 

Sing. Even if you suck. Sing.

[thestudymonster-blog]

My bullet journal spread last week! I will post a full spread photo soon ^-^ This weekend is super busy for me because next week is packed with summatives. It’s going to be super stressful for me. 

･ﾟ*  *｡･ studygram

[thestudymonster-blog]

an example layout using my study schedule printable!! you can download your own right here (see weekly schedule). if you’re using one and have posted a photo, please tag it with #emmastudies!

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New study space 🌷

[thestudymonster-blog]

- 10.30.2017 -

lit coursework on a Monday afternoon. Happy halloween for tomorrow, guys  🎃

[thestudymonster-blog]

biology, again…….. i’m trying to revise at least a chapter a day so that i can finally move on to chemistry whoop go me!!!! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵) ๑

also i was searching for some new highlighters to buy and i found mildliners (for the first time in my life omg lol) but they were expensive so i ended up buying these stabilo boss highlighters instead, they’re slightly cheaper c: