rushing through some japanese studies readings

14|04|2021

Day 18 of 60 Days of Productivity

i look at what i actually need to revise and should prioritise for the next week and it’s not actually that much...?! so i’m feeling much better about revision although i’m definitely going to still have to work hard

📚 pride and premeditation - tirzah price

🎵 hey stephen (taylor’s version) - taylor swift 

april 13, 2021 ♡

Happy Tuesday y’all! Here’s some old excerpts from my book and also of my school’s tennis courts a few years ago! I’m sorting out my camera roll from my old phone so my new one won’t be cluttered and I came across these gems! I haven’t played tennis for two years now and I really miss it, but there aren’t a lot of people around to play with and I’m unsure of my skills now, haha. As for life updates, I’ve been trying to relax and not think of the future too much as it’s simply unhealthy and also trying to get through everyday with positivity and gratitude. 

Also, over the weekend, I caught up with the recent TFATWS episode and, yes the rumors are true; it was crazy and I absolutely didn’t vibe with that ending. I was literally screaming the whole time. A certain character is lowkey irritating me. However, I also watched Interstellar for the first time (yes, I know it’s such an iconic movie, but for some reason, despite being a space enthusiast, I never found the need to watch until this year) and, wow, that film was beyond incredible. I literally get chills thinking of it. What a masterpiece. I’m no longer the same person as I was before watching it, period. I hope the week has started nicely for y’all and you’re taking care of yourselves!! 🤍✨

🎧: kuala lumpur - cristiano turrini

13|04|2021

Day 17 of 60 Days of Productivity

so i kinda took an unplanned day off yesterday and i think it really helped and today i am going to try to really make some progress on some of my english work. personally i find english the hardest to revise because it never feels like i’ve done enough and it is such a broad subject to cover.

anyway, i’m pretty proud of today’s notes because they definitely turned out better than i picture in my mind! the title is definitely not perfect and there are a few letters that just would not cooperate but considering this was my first time doing this sort of font style i’m really pleased with it!!!

Believe you deserve it and the universe will serve it ✨

my masterpost | my studygram | ask me anything

[click images for high quality]

[transcript under the cut]

Other advice posts that may be of interest:

How To Study When You Really Don’t Want To

Active Revision Techniques

How To Do Uni Readings

How to Revise BIG Subjects

Non-Stop Studying

The Problem

You find a comfortable spot to study and refuse to move ever again. You don’t even think about taking a break—that would be a waste of time and your due date is super close so you can't afford to do that

The Solution

Whether you’re doing this because you think it’s efficient or because you left everything until the last minute, you’re not going to learn much. Our brains need rest time to process information. Planning ahead is the key here. Instead of focusing only on your deadlines, work backwards and figure out when you need to start working on a project. Take into account how long each part of the work will take you. You’ll feel less overwhelmed and more able to actually learn the material, as opposed to just cramming. If you’re really in a pinch (hey, it happens to everyone), try out the pomodoro method: 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off, with a longer break every 4 circuits. It holds off exhaustion and keeps you feeling refreshed over long periods of heavy work!

Over Highlighting

The Problem

You try to study by reading the textbook, but somehow end up highlighting everything and remembering nothing.

The Solution

Turns out, passively re-reading a textbook is pretty useless. Just because you’re holding a highlighter doesn’t mean you’re actually engaging with the material. Learn how to read actively by taking notes as you read, which will force you to decide what parts of the reading are worth remembering. Come up with practice questions or make flashcards. The more of the 5 senses you use in your studying, the more likely you are to remember the information. If your exam includes an essay portion, think about what kinds of themes your professor might ask about and make some possible outlines. Even if your practice questions don’t actually show up on the exam, you’ll be in the right headspace!

Multitasking 

The Problem

You are studying at the same time that you are watching the newest show on Netflix, texting a friend about what happened last Tuesday and cooking a three-course meal.

The Solution

People are actually really bad at multitasking. While we think we’re focusing on 2 things at once, we’re actually switching between 2 tasks very rapidly, meaning that our brains never have time to fully adjust to working on either one. Unfortunately, the only way around this one is to plan ahead (weird how that keeps cropping up). Make a study schedule ahead of time and figure out which days you’ll devote to which subjects. You’ll be able to process the material more efficiently than you would if your attention was split between tasks, and ultimately you’ll have more confidence in what you’ve learned.

Solo Studying 

The Problem

You only ever study in solitude and refuse to ask anyone else for help.

The Solution

Studying on your own is fine (sometimes even preferable), but having people you can bounce ideas off of can be insanely helpful (even over Zoom!). Convince a friend or family member to let you “teach” them the material—the gaps in your understanding will become more obvious when you try to explain a topic to an uninformed party. If you have no one available, you could even teach to a pet or toy. Most importantly, take advantage of your professors or teachers and contact them if you’re confused about something. You won’t regret it.

Studying Chronologically

The Problem

You sit down to revise for an exam and you look through all of the notes from your class in chronological order.

The Solution

In addition to being a very passive study strategy, it also puts you at risk of running out of time to review the material you learnt most recently, which is often emphasised more heavily on the final exam and can also be some of the most difficult concepts to master – especially for classes like math and languages that increase in difficulty throughout the semester. You will also probably be reviewing information you already know. Instead of studying in chronological order, try studying in priority order, spending the majority of your time on the information that will be most important for you to know for the test.

Memorising, Rather Than Understanding 

The Problem

You know that you need to know facts in an exam so you study by trying to memorise all of the facts from a class, rather than truly understanding the underlying concepts. 

The Solution

Memorising can work well in some classes, especially in earlier stages of school, but it often backfires in more advanced classes. If you’ve memorised a definition but don’t really understand what it means, then as soon as the information is presented in a slightly different format, or you’re asked to apply it to a new type of problem, you will have no idea how to proceed. Rather than memorising the information from your classes, use study strategies that encourage you to understand it. Explaining ideas out loud in your own words, or teaching them to someone else, are great examples of study strategies that promote understanding.

Not Practicing How You’ll Be Tested

The Problem

You have a study method that you use for all of your exams no matter the subject or the format of the exam. 

The Solution

It’s great to have a study method that supports your revision but often they can be limited to specific skills. For example, flashcards might be a great strategy for a test that is mostly multiple-choice and matching questions, but they might be less useful for essays. If you want to be prepared for your exams, you need to make sure that the way you are studying for your test is similar to how you will actually be tested on the material. The best way to do this is by doing practice questions. Numerous studies have shown that students who test themselves on the material they are learning remember the information better than students who do not take practice tests. Practice testing also helps you avoid “illusions of competence”: situations in which you think you know the information better than you do. 

Not Using Active Revision Techniques

The Problem

You study by re-reading over your notes or perhaps rewriting them. 

The Solution

Unfortunately, this approach to studying is not very effective, in large part because it is extremely passive. Students who use this approach will readily admit that they can read over a page of notes and not remember what they have just read! If you don’t remember it right after you’ve read it, how could you possibly hope to answer questions about it on the test? Choosing more active study strategies that require you to engage with the material will enable you to learn the material more effectively and efficiently. This includes: mindmaps, flashcards, past papers, study groups, and many more.

13.4.2021 // got a shitty grade for an assignment after 2 really good grades for other courses and im just so confused and concerned about this course ugh. ive emailed the prof so hopefully i can get some help or more feedback but yeah really not a nice thing ://// anyway im going home tomorrow so ill have to leave that for next week when im back,,, also thank u for 4.7k 😌🥰

12.04.21

today was the day that i had my last orthodontist appointment (obviously unless i break my retainers or something)! definitely happy lol as nice as the guy was i do not want to ever have an appointment ever again ✌️also have been recently watching the storyville documentry on oj simpson, much more detailed than anything ive ever watched about him before! documentary is on bbc iplayer for anyone curious :)

7-9 days of productivity

I have serious respect for anyone who studies while also working part/full time. Like, I only work every second day between both of my jobs but I am just always left exhausted. Like seriously, y'all should be proud of yourselves. On my 'days off' I made a moodboard, went to Tom Odell's online concert, continued with my courses and did more organizing for uni next year. Wishing you all a pleasant week ahead! We got this!✨

12.04.2021

Lately I've been looking a lot back into the past and all the memories of last year are really painful. The feeling of hopelessness is back as the number of covid cases are increasing at an alarming rate. Situation is worse than last April.

This lil birdie came to say hello today. Reading Freud's back so I can insult and hate him even more. I have to read it to be able to defeat his supporters.

12 • 04 • 21

I have done most of the research in preparation for my 3,00 word Sarte essay and am making an attempt today to start typing it out. I'm writing about the problem of others and Sartre's solution, its a detailed and complicated topic so I'm hoping that the aspects I am focusing on are not too surface level and will get me a good grade still. I have gotten firsts in all my marked essays so far for this term (I didn't get any for my topics last term but I think I have done well on the other this term that are yet to be marked) and since this essay is 70% of the Sarte module I'd love to get a first for this as well. I will be happy with a good 2:1 though and structuring and writing this essay I think will be tougher. Unfortunately I cannot go over the structure with my DDS study skills supervisor as she is on leave for a while and I need to have the bulk of this essay done before she is back in order to leave time for my dissertation. 😭😭 I'm pretty stressed out to be honest but thankfully I am at least finding the content and research interesting...

Today is the day that in the UK outdoor dining and non essential shops are open again! It's lovely but also having people want to meet up and go places when I have so much to do over the next month is allot so I am trying to balance and make sure I don't sacrifice my work. Thankfully the date when indoor dining etc is due to open up again is after my dissertation deadline when I won't have any mandatory work left to do (I will still have a few meetings and have signed up to a three day summer course but this won't be so stress inducing).

tag me using #studywithcider

12 April 2021 // Monday

Some badly handwritten notes from organic chemistry revision lecture that I took today.

I am progressing in my chemistry subject but I still feel like I can do more with every passing day. Also Ramadan is starting in a couple of days and idk how am I going to manage studies while fasting. If anyone has any tips, feel free to tell me. Although I am taking notes from a few resources and planning a different schedule for the month.

12.04.2021

I’m stressing out about my future instead of cleaning up desk. Also, I’m returning to France this weekend to sort out everything.

12|04|2021

Day 16 of 60 Days of Productivity

i literally have no idea what work i’m going to do today... i’ve got a whole list of stuff that i don’t want to do and an empty one of things i do want to do 

— april 12, 2021

today definitely could have been better for me, but here i am thinking if i should take a gap term after finishing this one cos i'm burnt out and exhausted. doesn't help either that professors don't seem to be very compassionate towards their students. quite crazy when they go "i know there's a covid-19 surge and uni shouldn't be your #1 priority right now, i hope you guys stay safe. but btw here's 4 readings due next meeting." nonetheless, i was able to force myself to be productive today so i guess that's a good thing! and hey, have you guys listened to fearless (taylor's version)? if not, you definitely should!!!! been having a ts party every day since it came out!! anw so sorry for this mini rant, i hope you guys had a better day than i did <3

11.04.21

forgot to post yesterday! but here are some old poems we annotated in english! also happy to say i will never have to do poetry or read a poem for the rest of my life 😩 i also got a cheesecake yesterday from a Japanese patisserie! forgot to take photos but it was so yummy! 😋

11|04|2021

Day 15 of 60 Days of Productivity

so i took yesterday off from revision and i think today i’m still going to take it easy. i’m not entirely sure what i’m going to do yet but it’s definitely not going to be you know writing a load of essay plans or doing past papers cause i just don’t feel up to that... i think i might just write some pretty notes as something that is easy but still means i’ve accomplished something 

10|04|2021

Day 14 of 60 Days of Productivity

i am currently watching a documentary series about the global economy... and quite frankly it is utterly terrifying! in particular there was this episode about rubber and how important it is to our entire way of life and yet how it could literally be wiped out at any time and OMG how are people not freaking out about this?!?!? i never thought i would say this because i never actually thought about rubber ever before but now i am so stressed out about it 😭 

managing your time is something v v important! especially now that we're all at home, it's really easy for us (or for me, at least) to lose track of time. with this, here are some of the time management techniques i've tried including what worked and what didn't!

i very vaguely explained each time management technique, so here are some additional links you can check out if you wanted to know more about them:

time blocking

time blocking method by werelivingarts

flexible time blocking by eintsein

calendar blocking // time management for students by mariana's corner

getting more done with calendar blocking by amy landino

energy management

energy management by @eintsein

the one productivity system you need: time vs energy management by rowena tsai

5 tips to manage energy for higher productivity by mariana's corner

pomodoro technique

pomodoro technique 101 by werelivingarts

the pomodoro technique by mariana's corner

eisenhower matrix

time management for college students and the eisenhower matrix by mariana's corner

how to be more productive by using the eisenhower box by james clear

4-6/100 days of Productivity

Gloomy days & warm sunsets. (Also Tom Scott somehow fitting into my linguistics course ha)