#I need to finish writing my uni essay but when I’m done prepare for more of these two | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vinnieworld · 3 years

Text

5 tips to boost 5 days of Productivity

We all love to procrastinate and most of us (including myself) have made sport out of this, but is this how we really should be approaching things?

The answer is NO.... apparently

So join me in my self evaluation of bringing you 5 tips how I avoided procrastination by being a bit lazy.

Being productive for a whole week when you have too much on your plate but you spend your entire weekend scrolling through social media... well me too :)

Though Mondays suck, its a brand NEW week so we can't let Mondays win and ruin out entire week right?

Tip 1 - Preparation before the week start

- Make a to do list - For the next day or the week

A short list of your most prioritised tasks e.g. starting that essay you been avoiding, even if it just picking the ttile

Make sure to not put too much pressure on these tasks

Keep it simple

DO NOT put too many things, be realistic only add things you know you can achieve

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

We all have those sleepless nights, especially when you have a 9am lecture/class the next day. Somehow you end up going to sleep at 4am still make it to your lecture on time, though the rush might be exciting this is not the way to start the week because your mind will get used to this so much and this becomes your normal routine.

Not going to lie, I am super guilty of this but I found out this not only drains my energy, it strips me away from my motivation and make me lazy all the time.

So one bazzare night I thought to myself what would I potentially want to do this coming week, so I got my phone started typing my "potential" to do list for the week, okay the list was quite long and seemed quite overwhelming, and I knew I wouldn't do all of this so though I made the list I didn't put too much pressure on this. When I checked back in the middle of the week I did most of the things on the do to list unconsiously. This was so surprising I never get things done.... what changed ?

Most of the time we put too much pressure ourself, that's why we procrastinate and they avoid the things we need to do. The minute the pressure is gone you get the urge to do your things even if you are unaware of it.

Tip 2 - Follow today's work TODAY

- Follow the lecture and make notes while you're attending the lecture

Take brief notes on what's on the slides

If the lecturer give extra info add those especially

DO NOT panic if you don't write everything on the slide, remember these are brief notes to for later revision

Speed is not important, what's important is that you have something written on the paper

when the lecture/class is finished fill in the gaps you left during it, do this right after while you still have the energy.

one page = one lecture (unless the lecture is 90 slides then its bit tricky)

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

I personally find it very hard to keep on top of things, especially with how different lecturers have different methods and speed with delivering their content. I tried many methods, recording the lectures, printing the slides, handwriting everything but it only made me bored of the things I was learning.

I can't stare at pages and pages of writing when I'm trying to revise, so best way for me to do this is if I have one page or two for the entire lecture. This helped me a lot of condense my notes, motivated me to keep writing and I felt accomplished by the end of every lecture.

Tip 3 - Keep one book for all your modules

- Invest in a chunky subject divider notebook

This is where you write the notes form the previous tip

One book to take to all your lectures, don't have to carry five or more

Write all the assignment and exams for that subject in the dividers (Kinda like a self-reminder)

Keep a general section where you write extra information that relates to the subjects (e.g. extra seminars, extra activity sessions, groups project notes, your own research for subjects, assignment preparation etc. )

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

Most of my detailed notes are digitalised, this is way easier then writing hours and hours of detailed notes by hand. But all the modules, lectures, practicals are separated so it's too much of hassle to find what I want when I want to have a quick glance at something.

Dividing the book by subject and seeing different content I am going to need regularly being on one place really is therapeutic for me, give me less stress so I don't have to spend time looking through pages of notes to find just one sentence.

Having one book for all my modules, helped me so much to keep on motivated to write notes and keep on top of it and when I revisit it, it's so pleasing to the eye.

Tip 4 - Write flashcards on the day

- Put little bit of extra into a flashcard

Once you finished a lecture, read back and pick the most key bits and write a maximum three sentences

Keep it very very brief

Think of pictograms for some words. e.g. little blog with stokes for a virus or a spark for electricity

Some info you can't fit on your page put it on the flashcard, like a diagram or a table

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

I am a sucker for flashcards, seeing them makes me so happy to revise. But making them when an exam is near is frustrating so if you make them before by the time you get your exam season you already have flashcards to revise from. How convenient!

Tip 5 - Write a sentence or research a bit everyday for your assignments

- Every time you feel like you done nothing today take a look assignment and write sentence - Take this step by step everyday and add information along the way

Pick a title first for whatever your assignment is

Do basic research on the title you chose

Do a basic plan

Improve on the basic research

Add information to the plan

and ect....

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

Doing assignments is tricky, very boring, they can be very long and stressful so we avoid even starting it until the day before it's due. Okay, we all work well under pressure but we don't really produce our best work under a day so investing little time everyday or every other helped me to produce more quality work than normal and it was less pressuring and stressful when I started the binge writing on two three days before the deadline, because all the research, preparation is done all I had to do was write and improve my work along the way.

I actually cannot recommend this enough because it saved me from a lot of breakdowns over my assignments. Just by adding something to it every now and then I basically finished my first draft by the time I actually want to start to write properly.

Bonus tip - Take the weekend off! - > If you're like me and get bored very easily with doing the work then follow these tips for the days you have school or uni, finish everything by Friday and take the whole weekend of .... TRUST ME you will be much more prepared for Monday.

Thank you so much ya'll for reading this, I do ramble a lot but it's a part of me that I embrace so I hope this was helpful for you and make sure to tell me your thoughts and feelings.

Till next time Lovelies x

#students #university #productivity #self improvement #study motivation #procrastination #study notes #tips and tricks #study tips

160 notes · View notes

mkkhaikyuu · 3 years

Text

Autumn Skies: Chapter 4

previous | chapter 4 | next | masterlist

Horizons

Warnings: none (?) except for angst

wc: 3k

Coffee. You desperately needed coffee. And lunch, too, you decided, your eyes flickering to the wall clock across from you to look at the time.

You sat deflated in your seat at Miss Yukino’s office. You had just finished taking an English language assessment test for your Yale admissions that lasted around two and a half hours. It’s not that you had a hard time. You were confident that you’d managed to at least get a decent score on it. But you stayed up late last night, combing through your brain for the words to write in your college essays.

You vaguely recall 02:46 AM glowing green on the digital clock on your nightstand when you finally plopped down into your bed last night. And at 5:15 AM, the same clock had woken you up for morning club practice.

Practice had gone on normally that morning, which actually was quite unfortunate for you. Not only did you not get enough sleep, but you had to toss balls to each of the volleyball players for their spiking practice and had to clean up the gym afterwards. You barely had any energy left when you had your morning class.

It was the week before your final exams for the term so some classes were free so that students could get some of their own studying done. So after your first class that ended at 9:30AM, you were free for the rest of the morning. You then went straight to Miss Yukino’s office for the language assessment test. By the first hour of the exam, you were already beat.

Stifling a yawn, you looked over at the clock again. 12:03PM. You waited as Miss Yukino typed away into her laptop, shuffled through the papers on her desk, then typed away into her laptop again.

You decided to fish your phone out of your bag and found that Kenma had texted you.

Kenma (11:58am): y/n, where are you?

You (12:03pm): I’m at the guidance counselor’s office. I’m almost done here and I’m gonna go grab lunch right after. Why?

Kenma (12:04pm): what are you doing there? did you get into trouble?

You (12:04pm): No! What do you take me for? I’m here for my uni admissions. You know, that kind of stuff.

Kenma (12:05pm): what? I thought you were going to the university of Tokyo with Kuro. he doesn’t seem to be busy preparing for all that stuff right now unlike you.

Kenma (12:05pm): y/n... is there something you’re not telling me?

You grimaced at Kenma’s text. If he were here right now, he would have pinned you down with his calculating gaze. The guy was just too observant. It was hard to let anything get past him. Sighing, you typed in a reply.

You (12:07pm): oh yeah about that...There’s a possibility that I might not be attending Tokyo uni. Nothing’s set in stone yet though so I’d rather not talk about it for now. Please don’t tell anyone?

Kenma (12:07pm): okay, sure. but you know you can tell me about anything anytime, right?

You (12:07pm): yeah, I know :)

Kenma (12:09pm): anyway. can you come down to the clubroom once you’re done there? we can eat lunch together. i’ll buy you food. my treat :)

You (12:11pm): oh??? why’s that? but sure! thanks Kenma! You’re the best <333

Kenma (12:11pm): you’ll see when you get there.

You frowned in curiosity at his message. Kenma was not the type to initiate something like this. You wonder what was up. Exhaustion momentarily forgotten, you couldn’t wait to get yourself to the clubroom. Just as you put back your phone back into your bag, Miss Yukino calls your attention.

“Y/n, the testing center said that your results will be available next week. In the meantime, I suggest you work on your essays.”

“Oh, right,” you nodded.

“The deadline’s coming up. Don’t hesitate to drop by anytime if you need any help. The sooner we can comply with all the requirements, the better,” she grinned, raising an index finger.

You sighed in relief and stood up, smoothing down your skirt. “Thank you, Miss Yukino. I mean it.”

She waved you off, laughing softly, “I’m just doing my job. Don’t worry too much, okay? Now get out of here and have lunch. Catch up on some sleep tonight, too! You look like you need it.”

You grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of your head. “Yeah, I will. Thanks again! Enjoy your lunch!”

You gave her a quick bow then left.

Once out of the office, you headed straight to the clubroom where Kenma asked you to meet him, jogging on the way. You were half worried that something was wrong and half relieved that you could finally take a break from the wave of draining activities you’d had since you stepped foot into the school this morning.

Reaching the clubroom, you reached out to grip the door handle and slid the door open slowly, hesitatingly, as if you were afraid of what you’d find on the other side. Peeking through the small gap, you see Yaku and Kenma staring back at you owlishly. They were seated at the table in the clubroom, Kenma holding his console and Yaku opening his lunch.

“Come in,” Yaku tells you, eyebrows raised at the way you hovered at the entrance.

“Is something up?” you asked them as you strode in and sat beside Kenma. You noted the takeout food and iced coffee that sat on the table.

“Eat first, talk later,” Yaku announces. He gestured to the food on the table. You wonder what was making him uncharacteristically serious but at the moment you were too hungry to care.

Right. Eat first, talk later.

“Here,” Kenma says, taking out the food he had delivered from the paper bag it came in and setting it in front of you. Your eyes glossed over when you realized that it’s katsudon from that pricey restaurant at the mall.

“The coffee’s yours, too,” he tells you simply.

“What the hell, Kenma? When you said it was your treat, I thought you meant food from the cafeteria! Not-” you gestured to the food he laid out in front of you, “THIS!”

You were not a crybaby. But maybe it was the built up stress you had been feeling from dealing with your feelings for Kuroo, managing the volleyball club, and working on your Yale admissions that had tears welling up in the corners of your eyes. You pouted at Kenma, touched by his gesture.

“Why are you doing this?” you eyed him warily.

“You looked like you needed some cheering up this morning,” he shrugs.

Humming, you run your gaze suspiciously between Yaku and Kenma. “Right... Well, in any case, I can’t accept this for free so I’m going to have to pay you back later.”

“You can try but I won’t accept your payment either,” Kenma answers.

“Can you two just eat already?” Yaku huffs as he chewed on his food.

You pouted at Kenma but he only stares blankly at you until you finally decide to relent. Sighing, you reached out to poke his cheek.

“Thanks, Kenma,” you told him with a soft smile before digging into your food.

---

Now that you’re done with eating, the food containers sat neatly arranged on the table, ready to be disposed. You sat back on the chair and sipped on your coffee, finally feeling alive for the first time that day.

“So, why did you ask me to come here?” you asked. Maybe they wanted to talk about the Christmas party you were going to have on Saturday. Were they planning a surprise or something?

Yaku met Kenma’s eyes briefly before he looked back to you.

“We need to talk. The talk. This is an overdue discussion,” Yaku tells you seriously, his arms crossed over his chest.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you said and raised an eyebrow at him. You turned to Kenma for some answers.

“Just so you know, this was his idea,” Kenma shrugs.

Yaku clears his throat before asking, “Okay, I’m not going to beat around the bush. Y/n, do you like Kuroo?”

You almost spit your drink. Being asked that question was the last thing you expected. “What? Like, as a friend? Of course, I do.” you say matter-of-factly. You have an inkling that that was not what Yaku meant but you were not going to give it to him so easily.

“You know what I mean. Do you have feelings for Kuroo? Romantically?”

Yaku leans back on his seat, a softer look appearing on his face.

“And if I do?” you challenge, raising an eyebrow at him. The libero’s face lit up at the revelation.

“I knew it! You like Kuroo!” he yells shortly before frowning at Kenma and muttering, “Wait. Don’t tell me you already knew all this and didn’t bother to tell us.”

You tell them to keep it down, quickly looking around in case someone was around who might overhear.

“It’s not my story to tell,” Kenma retorts.

“Okay, okay,” you quickly interrupt the two, tapping a hand on the table twice. “What’s with all the sudden interest about me liking Kuroo?”

At that, Yaku reveals that they’ve always thought that you and Kuroo had a thing for each other before Hana came into the picture. How the team thought you were secretly dating, and how it was only a matter of time before the two of you would announce it to the team.

“I’ve noticed how you two don’t joke around like you used to before. You two don’t talk as much. You both were so inseparable -- practically attached at the hip -- before. It’s so weird seeing you two be so distant with each other now,” he continues.

Kenma listened as he played with his console, occasionally agreeing with and adding to Yaku’s points. You allowed the two of them to speak up, preferring to listen instead. A few more moments of Yaku rambling passed before he quiets down.

A whisper of a frown was etched on his face. “We’re just concerned about you, you know. Ever since you showed up late that one time to practice and when you didn’t join the celebration dinner after the spring interhigh tournament on Kuroo’s birthday, the team is starting to wonder if something’s wrong. Not only that, I noticed how you’re often spacing out and acting distracted during practice these days, which is so unlike you.”

Kenma looked up from his game and turned to you. “Yeah. You always seem so tired these days. I know you’re stressing about your studies so you could maintain your grades and graduate at the top of the class, but I know you wouldn’t stress about it to that extent. I know you well enough to know that there’s something else that’s stressing you out. At practice earlier, you didn’t even look like you had a wink of sleep last night. That’s the reason why I bought you coffee.”

The two of them look at you expectantly, making you shake your head with a snort.

“I honestly don’t know where to begin,” you said, laughing wryly while running a hand through your hair.

“I was just as surprised as you, really. Kuroo never talked about Hana to me before. They just started hanging out after class one day, and since then he’s been spending less time with me and more with Hana.”

“Kenma already knows about my feelings for Kuroo, though,” you said, meeting Kenma’s eyes.

You paused, looking up at the ceiling, trying to find the right words.

Kenma nods in agreement. “He never talked about Hana with me either so we never saw it coming. The three of us were walking home after practice a few months ago when Kuroo saw Hana and told Y/n and I to go home without him. And weeks later, we found out that they’re dating.” He shrugs and goes back to his game.

“And how do you feel about them?” Yaku asks.

Your eyes scanned the room, as if the answers were written in the walls somewhere. “Hmm, I don’t know. I mean, at the beginning, I moped about it for a few weeks.”

You thought back on all the sleepless nights and the pints of ice cream and the junk food you binged on while you wallowed in your pain and sadness. If Kuroo had seen all that, he would have thrown a fit at the unhealthy lifestyle you had adopted. But of course, he hadn’t. And so it went on like that for days.

You remember your tearstained pillows, the bad score you had on a test for the first time in a long time, and all the acting like you were fine when deep down you felt like an open wound. And Kuroo and Hana were the salt on the wound that halted your healing process each time you saw them.

But maybe the worst of it all were the questions and the what-if’s that started to haunt you.

What does Kuroo see in her that he doesn’t see in you? What did all the flirting, the soft looks he gave you, the lingering touches when your fingers or arms brushed mean?

Was it really all in your head? Was everything one-sided? Did he not feel the same pull that you felt towards him? Not even a little bit?

What if you confessed to him before it was too late?

You inhaled sharply. It felt weird to lay your feelings out in the open like this. “I was crazy to think he felt the same towards me, you know. I guess I led myself on. I actually thought I was special.” You laughed humorlessly. “But I realized that’s just how he is to the people close to him. I see it in the way he acts around, Kenma.”

“What?! No, no,” Yaku interrupts. “Like I said, we all thought you had a thing for each other. We were so sure Kuroo had feelings for you. It’s different from how he is around Kenma. There was something more,” - he paused and met Kenma’s eyes - “At least we thought there was.”

The room was silent for a brief moment as the two quickly shared a look as if they realized that they said something they shouldn’t have.

“Well, in the rare times that Kuroo acts like an idiot, he does make sure he’s a big one,” Kenma says.

The room fell silent once more but this time, the air was buzzing with some sort of giddy energy. The three of you shared a knowing look.

And then --

“Pfft!” Yaku snorted, unable to hold in his amusement any longer. And just like that, the three of you burst into laughter, although Kenma’s was more of a snicker.

You don’t really know what the look they shared just now or what Kenma’s words implied, you just found it funny.

It was a few moments later when the laughter finally died down into a comfortable silence.

“It’s been a while since I laughed that hard,” you said breathlessly, leaning back on your seat and clutching at your stomach that began to hurt just a little at how much you were laughing.

Yaku and Kenma looked over at you with fond smiles, happy to see you happy.

“So, are you going to be okay?” Yaku asks softly.

“Yeah, I think I’m doing better these days. I’m slowly learning to accept it. I know can’t force someone to love me. And I’m not the type to beg and chase after someone. So...” you shrugged. “That’s that. I’ll get over it eventually.” You really hoped so. You know fully well that some things were just not meant for you and you just had to be okay with that.

“Are you sure? You didn’t seem okay this morning.”

“I’m fine! Really!” you reassured them, waving your hands off at Yaku.

Sighing, you said, “Okay, okay. So, I didn’t really want to bring this up just yet but there’s a possibility that I won’t be staying in Tokyo for college.”

Yaku’s eyes widened in interest. “Oh? Where are you going then?”

You grinned. “I don’t want to speak too soon since it isn’t final yet. I’ll let you know once I’m sure. So yeah, I’ve been busy preparing for my admissions these days. I stayed up late last night trying to write my essays. And then we had morning practice, which is why I probably looked like shit at practice this morning.”

“For real? Good luck then!” Yaku beams, giving you a thumbs up. “We’re here for you, alright? Just come to us if you need anything.”

Kenma wordlessly nods in agreement. Suddenly, the school bell rings, signaling that it was time to go back to class.

“You guys, thank you for today,” you gave them a warm, genuine smile. “I feel so much better now that I was able to talk about things with you.”

You opened your arms, inviting them in for a hug, to which they accepted. After giving them a quick hug, you reached up to ruffle their hair, much to Kenma’s displeasure. But he’d put up with it because it was you he’s used to it. Grinning, you let go and started cleaning up the table.

With the possibility of going to Yale on the horizon, you couldn’t help but be hopeful. Maybe some distance from Kuroo is what you needed to get over him. Maybe you were just meant to be friends and nothing more. If you can’t have him the way you want him, then you’ll learn to accept that being his best friend is enough.

Baby steps. You remind yourself. One day it won’t hurt to look at him anymore.

You smiled to yourself, feeling so much lighter for the first time in a long while.

You picked up your bag from the chair as you were about to head out of the clubroom when something catches your eye. On the shelf was a nekoma volleyball club jacket with the letters KT written in permanent marker on the lining. Was it Kuroo’s? He never leaves his jacket behind.

You gave it a second look, debating whether to take it with you so you could give it to him but ultimately decided not to.

previous | chapter 4 | next | masterlist

A/N: Hello! I know it’s been a while since I updated. I hope my readers are still around. Kuroo isn’t here but he will appear in the next chapter. I’ll be able to post the next chapter sooner since I already have it mapped out.

I apologize for being away for so long. Apart from being busy with studies, I also had a hard time mapping out the direction of the story.

You see Kuroo and Hana weren’t meant to be a couple LOL. Kuroo was just meant to like her but I was too excited to post the first chapter that I completely overlooked it so I had to think of a way to blend that into my original plan for the story hahahaha. Also, I had a bit of a writer’s block for a while and wasn’t so satisfied with my writing. But i’m back! Let me know what you think of this chapter! :)

(I was going to post this as a bonus chapter but I decided that this is important to the development of the story.)

See you in the next chapter of Autumn Skies!

Brace yourselves for more angst!

taglist is still open!

Disclaimer: Kuroo Tetsurou, Haikyu!! and other Haikyu!! characters belong to Haruichi Furudate.

💖: @elianetsantana @literaleftist @yeehawslap @starry-magicshop @atsunflower @saturnfarie @sakurahoshizora @kellyyween @donica95 @kyomihann @roseestuosity @brattyshirabuismybff @rirk-ke @-doublezero @yafriendlyfangirl @kagebunshiin @julie-ackerman @acsycharm @fmwaifu @piii-chan @melodyofroses

71 notes · View notes

studywithdanielle · 4 years

Text

How to Study For: Uni Entrance Exams

14 JUL 2020

Hey guys! I’m currently studying for the TSA and I thought it would be helpful for me to consolidate my process so I can look back on it. Then I remembered that I have a studyblr (woop woop 🎉!) and that I can possibly help others by posting it on here.

NOTE: This is a strategy for exams consisting of multiple choice or short answer questions. If you’d like me to cover essay question prep, just let me know 🥰 !

Btw, I’m a conceptual learner that likes formulas so if this sounds like a rocket launch countdown, I deeply apologise ?.

What You’ll Need:

Internet - I mean, what don’t we use it for these days?

Practise papers

Practise questions

Phase 1 - Preparation

Step 1: Don’t panic

Okay you can panic a little, especially if you’ve left it late but not all hope is lost!

Yes, I know the ‘duh, duh, duh!!!’ didn’t help but panicking will only make you feel overwhelmed and will make the exam seem impossible. Here’s what you should do instead:

Step 2: Find out what the university actually wants

Why do they have an entrance exam anyway?

Especially in the UK, most universities don’t have an entrance exam so if they do, there’s a reason and you’re going to be Sherlock Holmes and find out why that is. Whilst it may seem like they’re trying to traumatise you, I don’t think they particularly enjoy marking a zillion papers 🤧.

What do they expect?

For most university courses, there are a grade requirements and knowing what those are is really helpful for setting your own expectations. If your course (likes mine) doesn’t require maths and there are maths problems on the exam, they won’t be at A-level, IB HL or AP standard.

What score should I be aiming for?

This links to the previous question but finding admissions stats for your subject will help you determine a mark that you’re aiming for. Many of these tests are not designed for really high marks so releasing that expectation early will save you a great deal of stress.

What skills are they testing?

For some entrance exams, the university will list out the skills they’re testing in their entrance exam. Practising these skills broadly will help you to develop them. For example, if they’re testing translation in a language entrance exam, reading in the target language and understanding it will be good practise because you’ll be able to convey ideas from another language if you understand them.

Step 3: Master your strategy

The worst thing that could happen in an exam is that you don’t know what to do or what to write. The best way to tackle that? Having a strategy. Sometimes just having something to do in an exam even if you don’t actually know what you’re doing gives your brain some time to stop freaking out and start problem-solving. To master your strategy, you need to:

Find out the question types

For example, the TSA is split into 2 sections (I have to do both 😭), one multiple-choice paper and one 30 minute essay. I know there are about 9-10 different types of questions targeting 2 skills: critical thinking and problem-solving. By doing this, I can work towards perfecting each question type and in theory will be able to do the whole of the first paper.

Figure out the timings

You can do this in minutes per mark or if there’s an advised amount of time you should spend on a particular type of question, take a note of this.

Figure out your process for each question type

Usually at the beginning of a book full of practise questions, there will be a description as to how best to approach each question. If there isn’t or you don’t have access to one, try looking up strategies on the wonder that is the Internet. If you’re still not sure, attempt questions with commentary answers so that id you get them wrong, you can create a strategy of your own using the tips you’ve gathered from there.

Practise, practise practice. Oh, and did I say practise?

When practising questions:

Make sure to practise a block of questions that are all the same type. This will allow you to learn how to identify the question type quicker and also gives you a sign to stop so you don’t spend all day working on these questions because you’re stressed 😪.

1. Attempt the question

2. Mark the question

3. If you got it wrong, try and figure out why yourself - write this in a different colour.

4. Check the markscheme or talk-through (if there is one) and add in anything you may have missed or anything that could be helpful for the next question in another colour. Now you’ve differentiated between what you could figure out and what you couldn’t.

5. Attempt the next question

*This may seem tedious because why would you not mark all the questions at the end? Doing it this way ensures you approach each question with a better idea of what to do and allows you to pick up on nuances that you may not have otherwise realised. Also, you don’t want to instil the “wrong” method or idea because of muscle-memory.*

6. Once you finish your block of questions, make note of something that went well, something that could’ve been better and what to do for next time. I’d advise you to keep this in a table so that you can see your progress over time. Make sure to look at this before you attempt this style of question again.

Okay so now we now how to practise a block of questions, do we do them to time or not.

I’d recommend doing them not to time at first.

This will allow you to focus on mastering your process and approach to each type of question. You should continue to do this (if you have enough time) until:

You’ve perfected your process/approach

You’ve ensured your strategy actually helps YOU get the right answer

Once you know the strategy works, you’ll feel more confident in the exam, especially because you know if you blank, you have something to fall back on.

I say ‘YOU’ because whilst a strategy straight out of a textbook may work fine for someone else, it may not be the best way for you. Don’t be afraid to tweak it to fit you or create a whole new strategy altogether!

Now, if your strategy works, move onto the next stage. If not, let’s troubleshoot your strategy.

Troubleshooting your process:

1. Find patterns: are there a particular nuances you’re always missing or mistakes you’re making?

For example, in the TSA being able to differentiate between premises and conclusions is really important. If I find that this is something I can’t do, I’ve discovered a pattern.

2. Practise on easier questions.

With the example above, I may look up arguments for GCSE RS or psychology students and try and identify premises and clauses.

3. Adjust your strategy as is necessary

You may realise that you should another step to your strategy, such as highlighting key words, after practising on easier questions

Right, so you have your strategy down - now what?

Practise to time.

It’s the timing that’s the stickler for many uni entrance exams and the best way to get that down is to practise doing the questions to time. I’d still recommend doing the questions in their question blocks at this stage or mixing up blocks that are similar in question type.

Step 4: Practice tests

Now you know what to do when you see all the types of questions, it’s time to apply what you’ve learnt to a real paper. This is where you see what has stuck and what hasn’t so it’s important to see this is a learning process - don’t expect to get 100% on your first try.

When completing a practice test:

1. Answer the entire test

Since you’ve got your processes down, it’s not necessary to mark each question individually since it’s so time-consuming.

2. Go through and mark the test

3. Try and work out where you went wrong, do this in a different colour.

4. Go through the mark scheme and add further corrections in a different colour.

5. Make a note of your mark, what went well, what could’ve been better (even better if ...) and what to do for next time in a tracker. Look at this before you next do a practice exam.

6. If you find you’re getting a particular type of question wrong every time, go back to those question blocks and master your strategy again.

As I said earlier, these tests are not designed for really high marks and so even after lots of practise, there’ll probably still be things that aren’t quite right. But if:

You’re getting the scores you want/need

You have your strategy for each question type down

Then congratulations - you are officially ready for the exam 🎉.

Whilst I wouldn’t advise all practise to stop, I do think that at this stage, running through loads more exam papers is a bit redundant. Maybe doing one every week or fortnight will suffice. Plus, if you started preparing early, you don’t want to go through alllll your practice papers before the exam actually comes around.

Phase 2 - Lead Up to the Exam

Congrats - you made it!

Honestly, I think if you’ve prepared properly then doing hardcore practise isn’t necessary and might burn you out in the lead up to the exam. If you take away anything from this really long post make it this:

Consistent practise always wins. Always.

If you’ve been consistently practising, there’s no need to cram too much last minute revision. I will say though that looking over your practice test tracker the night before the exam may be helpful as a last-minute reminder but, of course, if this is just going to stress you out further, don’t do it.

Last-Minute Tips

Don’t make this your whole life - It’s summer! There are so many more actually fun things you could be doing. Even practising a couple of times a week at first is absolutely fine.

Ask from advice from the experts - If there’s anything in particular that you’re worried about, ask someone who’s done or is practising for the test or email the university - they might be able to give you one of their students details so you can ask them directly.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you ...

I hope this was helpful! Feel free to add your own tips and if you have any questions or feedback, just ask me or message me - my DMs are always open. Of course, you could just leave a note on here but if you want to be a little fancy, hit me up!

Alsoooo, let me know if you want me to a) do this for essay-based entrance exams and/or b) turn this into a mini-series and apply these steps to different tests like the TSA, LNAT, BMAT, UKCAT, STEP etc. Then all the resources will be in one place. Obviously, I’m not preparing for all of them (doctor who? definitely not me 🤧) but I have some friends doing some of these exams so I can get some extra exclusive tips from them.

Now, carrying on with QOTD:

QOTD: How do you get over exam nerves?

For me, acknowledging that I’m nervous before the exam and that it’s okay before I distract myself makes me feel much calmer. In an actual exam, I usually cover my ears and try and focus on what I’m reading to get out of my head 😅.

PS: This is my first informative post - please don’t judge 🙈! And if you’ve found it helpful, please reblog so that others can see these tips too ☺️.

77 notes · View notes

studyingfairy · 5 years

Text

How to study w/ mental health problems

Hi everyone! I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression a while back, and these are my tips on how to manage to be a student while also having mental health problems. If you’re struggling too much, however, please please please see if you can take a break from school- your health is so much more important than anything else!!!!! However, if you can and want to keep going, I hope these tips are useful.

1. Be realistic about what you can do

When I’m in a really bad anxious/depressive spell, things take me so much longer than usual. It’s important to take that into account when planning out your tasks, so you don’t end up with an enormous unfinished to-do-list and a mental breakdown. For example, last week, I had an essay to finish, and I spent a full day proofreading it one final time, since I could only do one paragraph at a time. Make sure to give yourself enough time and only do the tasks that are absolutely essential!

2. Know your own signs

In my case, my mental health goes up and down- I might be having a great time for a few weeks but then it’ll all go downhill again (like right now, I’m in a particularly difficult bit currently). By now, I know what signs to look out for so I know when my mental health will go downhill again, so I can prepare myself. Learn these signs (if you can) and when you notice them, either try to prevent yourself from going bad (which obvs isn’t always possible- I tried real hard this time but here we are again), or plan for when you do!

3. Make lists

For me, I can’t do anything without a list. My brain is already so off the rails that, if I don’t make lists, I will forget to do things, or maybe I just can’t be bothered. If I’m in a really bad time mental health-wise, I’ll put even the small things on there (like showering or cooking), to make sure I do them and to make me feel like I got a lot of stuff done in a day even when I’m not able to be productive uni-wise.

4. Talk to your teachers!

You all probably know this, but your teachers are there to help you, and 99.9% of the time, they will be more than happy to. If you’re going through a bad time, tell them this so they know why you’re not as prepared as usual/ they may be able to give you some extra guidance. For example, I have to write my thesis over the summer, but want to do this at home rather than in my uni town bc it’s better for me to be at home rn. I told my supervisor (insert a bunch of anxious crying from my side here), and he was incredibly nice and understanding. If (like me) you have anxiety, this sort of stuff will be scary, but I promise, it’ll be worth it!

5. Be kind to yourself

This is important in general, but if you have mental health problems, you have to accept that you’re not going to be able to be as productive as you want to be (the perfectionist inside of me died a little as I was writing it). There will be days when it feels like you’ve been hit by a bus and you just can’t do anything, and that’s fine. Just wake up every day, determined to make the best of whatever the universe has decided to throw at you. Good luck!

I hope this helped some of you- if you have any questions/ just need someone to talk to, please feel free to message me!!!

2K notes · View notes

lastbluetardis · 5 years

Text

Chemical Potential (10/11)

Summary: Slightly homesick and stressed about her abysmal chemistry grade, Rose Tyler meets quirky James Smith, the boy who sits in front of her in their chemistry class. They become fast friends as James makes it his personal mission to help Rose get through the semester.

Ten x Rose University AU

This chapter: ~5100 words, teen

Notes: This was written for the lovely @thegreenfairy13 as part of the @dwsecretsanta gift exchange. Also tagging @doctorroseprompts.

The chapter we’ve all been waiting for! Just the epilogue left after this, folks.

AO3 | Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 | Ch10 | epilogue

“You’re so brilliant!”

Rose was still in shock even as James swept her into a crushing hug in the middle of the lecture hall. He’d pinned her arms to her sides, so she couldn’t really reciprocate the embrace. But even if she could, her brain was too wrapped up in the memory of the little red 89%—Great improvement! Well done! that was scribbled at the top of her exam.

“I’m so proud of you,” he crowed into her ear, a little too loudly but she didn’t mind.

Still not completely convinced she wasn’t dreaming, Rose pulled back from his embrace to glance at her exam again. The same 89% was staring back at her.

“How…?”

“Because you’re brilliant,” James said with a decisive nod. “You, Rose Tyler, are a genius.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” she said, even as a grin stole across her face. “But I am pretty good.”

James rolled his eyes at her and held out his hand for hers.

“This is cause for a celebration. Let me buy you breakfast?”

Rose followed James to the dining hall. When they were settled in one of the few empty tables, James pulled out his iPad and tapped at the screen for a few minutes before his face lit up.

“With this newest exam score, you now only need a fifty-nine percent on your final exam to get a passing grade in the class.”

Fifty-nine percent. That was doable, she hoped.

“What’s your exam schedule like?” Rose asked. “I’ve asked my boss to have off until my finals were over, and she graciously agreed. Hopefully that’ll make it easier for us to find days to meet up, but I don’t want to take away from the time you need to study for your other classes.”

“Chem is my first final,” James replied.

“Mine too,” Rose said.

“The exam is Tuesday morning, so let’s meet up both days this weekend? And then we can use Monday to take practice exams.”

Rose blinked. “How do you have practice exams?”

“Remember, Professor Young said the final is standardized. That means it’s a national exam that the ACS—the American Chemical Society—puts out for colleges and universities across the country. It’s done this for decades, so there are loads of past exams and practice exams on the internet.”

“Oh. That’s helpful.”

“Indeed. Almost every science class uses an ACS exam as their final,” James said. “Hopefully this will help you get the feel for how the exam will go. It’s all multiple-choice, and designed to fit within two hours, so the problems aren’t all that complicated.”

“Maybe for you, they’re not,” she muttered.

His eyes widened when he realized how that came out.

“No, no,” he said hastily. “I merely meant that they problems are designed to take a couple mathematical calculations, is all.”

Rose nodded and continued tucking into her omelet.

oOoOo

During the last week of classes, James and Rose didn’t see much of each other. Rose had a final project in lieu of a final exam in two of her classes, and she was swamped with work as she frantically finished everything that was due on the last day of classes.

But finally, she turned in a painting project and final report, leaving her free to meet up with James to study for their chemistry exam.

Finding a place to study was trickier than normal, as the entire student population was on the hunt for a quiet, secluded room. James, however, knew that the science buildings were fairly empty during exam week, and so they took over a small room tucked away in the basement of the physics building.

“I’ve brought snacks,” James proudly proclaimed when he and Rose met up on Saturday morning to begin their first study session.

To call it ‘snacks’ was an understatement; he’d brought a huge tote bag filled with not only pretzels, crisps, trail mix, and granola bars, but microwaveable meals so that they wouldn’t need to abandon the room for a lunch break. He’d also brought a cooler filled with drinks, as well as his electric kettle and all the makings for tea and instant coffee.

“You’re such a mother hen,” Rose teased, even though she was grateful for all of the food he’d brought.

He stuck his tongue out at her and said, “If you’re gonna be rude to me, I’m not gonna share my food.”

She rolled her eyes. “My humblest apologies. I am forever in your debt and am grateful for the bounteous meal you have scavenged for us. I grovel at your feet and beg your mercy and pray that you share your wealth of sustenance.”

James broke out into peals of giggles that had Rose laughing too. She loved the way her chest warmed at the sight and sound of his happiness.

“I suppose you’re forgiven,” he said after a minute.

“Brilliant!” Rose immediately reached for a tea bag and began to make them both a cuppa.

They saw very little of the outside world for the next couple of days. Rose had never worked so hard at anything in her life, and by the time Tuesday morning rolled around, she was utterly exhausted but determined to get that fifty-nine percent she needed. She refused to let one stupid class get in the way of the rest of her time at uni, or between her and James.

Their friendship was the most important thing to her, and they were right on the cusp of becoming something more. Ever since Thanksgiving, they’d both been aware of the electricity between them, but, true to his promise, James kept their friendship strictly platonic.

But Rose was impatient to get finals out of the way and hopefully go on a date with James. If he still wanted to.

They sat in their usual seats in the lecture hall as they waited for their professor to arrive with their exams. All around them, students were frantically cramming and flipping hastily through their notes in a last-minute study session.

“How are you feeling?” James asked as he twirled his pencil end over end across the table top.

“Okay,” she replied. “I just want this to be over. I never should’ve taken this class in the first place, but this nightmare is almost done.”

James nodded silently but didn’t say anything else. He instead faced the front of the room. Before Rose could ask what was wrong, their professor stepped into the lecture hall and began speaking, telling them to put everything away except for a pencil and calculator.

Minutes later, the exam booklet was passed out, and Rose began filling in her student information. When she was finished with that, she waited impatiently for the professor to tell them they could start.

She watched James out of the corner of her eye. He was on his phone, copying down his student ID number. A moment later, he tucked his phone into the front pocket of his jeans and continued playing with his pencil.

Rose reached over and rested her hand on his thigh. He let out a muffled squeak and flinched.

“Good luck, James,” she whispered, giving his leg a squeeze. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me this term. No matter what happens with this exam, meeting you was the best thing to come from this class.”

His face softened and a small smile tugged at his lips.

“For me, too,” he replied, and he reached down and covered her fingers right as the professor told them to begin.

The exam passed in a blur of words and numbers and bubbling in her answer sheet. She was so focused on taking her test that by the time the professor told them time was up and to turn in their exams, she realized James had already left. With a slight headache building behind her eyes, Rose turned in her exam and walked out into the lobby, where she assumed James would be waiting for her.

He was, and when he saw her, he beamed and held out his hand for hers.

Despite the fact that their chemistry exam was over, she and James continued to meet up for the rest of the week to study for the rest of their classes. While they didn’t speak very much, Rose was glad to have his quiet company as she prepared as best she could for her other exams.

The week passed relatively quickly and uneventfully. James’s last exam had been Thursday evening, while Rose’s wasn’t until Saturday. Because there would be nothing for him to do and he would undoubtedly get bored watching her pour over her books, Rose stayed home all of Friday to prepare for her Shakespeare final the following morning.

A few minutes before eight o’clock, Rose stumbled groggily into the classroom along with the rest of her classmates. She wasn’t at all nervous for this exam; it was the class she was doing the best in and one she genuinely liked.

But that didn’t mean she enjoyed taking the test. It was all essay-writing, and Rose’s hand was sore by the time she turned in her test booklet. She flexed it and her shoulders as she walked out of the room, taking care to not let the door slam behind her. She’d made it a step into the hallway when a tall, lean body invaded her personal space.

Before she could reel backward, the familiar scent of soap and laundry detergent pervaded her senses.

“You’re done!” James crowed loudly. He then winced, realizing there were still people trying to take an exam. His voice was much more muted when he said, “Congratulations.”

“Thanks!”

She skipped up to him and wrapped her arms around one of his, hugging it to her chest.

“So. Are you hungry?” James asked.

“Starved,” she said. She hadn’t had time to eat breakfast that morning.

“The university is serving free breakfast until noon to anyone still here. Want to go take advantage?”

“Absolutely!”

Arm in arm, they made their way across campus to the dining hall. It was utterly dead inside; there were two other students milling around the food court and three more sitting at their own tables.

James and Rose each grabbed a tray and loaded it with food. Waffles, eggs, potatoes, sausages, fried tomatoes, flaky croissants. Rose wasn’t sure whether she’d be able to eat everything, but it all smelled incredible, and her stomach was growling nonstop.

Rose found James at the coffee station, filling up his travel thermos. She opted for tea instead. When they were each satisfied with their platters of food, they walked past the cashier with a friendly smile.

“Got any more finals to take?” she asked.

“Nope,” James said, as Rose answered, “Just finished my last one.”

“Congrats to you both. Enjoy the break.”

Rose followed James to a table by the back wall of windows very near to the table they’d sat at the first time James had treated her to breakfast earlier in the semester.

For a few minutes, silence enveloped them as they wolfed down their breakfast. It was all delicious and sated Rose’s hunger quickly.

But even as they both slowed down their eating, James still wasn’t saying much. Instead, he was fidgeting with his thermos, flipping the lid on and off repeatedly.

“You all right?” Rose asked.

“Fine,” he said a little too quickly. He stopped playing with the lid, as though realizing what he was doing. “Have you been on the grade book portal yet?”

“I took a final at eight,” Rose reminded him. “Why?”

“Well…” James’s eyes darted back to the table as he murmured, “The chem final is up.”

Rose’s ears rang and she thought she might throw up everything she just ate.

“Oh,” she whispered faintly.

“Do you want to check it?” he asked quietly.

“I dunno…” Rose kneaded the heel of her hand into her forehead. Did she want to know how she did, or did she want to live in blissful ignorance until her final transcript was released? But surely she’d achieved at least the fifty-nine she needed, hadn’t she? “Can you look and tell me how I did?”

“I could,” he said. “As long as you don’t mind me seeing the rest of your grades.”

Rose snorted. “You literally have a spreadsheet of all of my grades.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. She took her phone out of her pocket and tapped through it to get to her online student portal. She entered her login information and handed the phone to James.

Her heart thudded against her ribs as she watched James flick his finger up the screen. Rose folded her arms on the table and rested her forehead on them.

What was she going to do if she hadn’t gotten a high enough grade? What was she going to do if they revoked her scholarship? Could she plead her case to the university? Tell them she’d made a horrible mistake in trying to take chemistry and that they should put her on probation until she could prove she could keep her grades up?

“Rose!” James’s excited voice was in her ear and his hands were roughly shaking her. “Rose, look! Look! You did it! Look!”

Rose lifted her head cautiously, not quite believing what he was saying. He thrust the phone under her nose, and she blinked rapidly to try and focus on the blur of black letters on the screen.

Final Exam: 72%.

“You did it!”

Rose’s jaw slackened and she grabbed her phone from him.

“Impossible,” she muttered, and she refreshed the page—twice, for good measure. But the little 72% was still there.

“That’s thirteen whole points above what you needed!” he exclaimed, grinning like a loon at her.

He jumped to his feet, then grabbed her biceps and tugged, urging her to stand too. She followed, feeling weak to her knees, but that didn’t matter, because soon she was enveloped in his arms. His comforting scent filled her lungs and she buried her face into his shoulder as he held her fiercely.

“I’m proud of you,” he said, squeezing her. “So proud.”

“I passed,” she rasped, shaking slightly. All that hard work had finally, finally paid off.

“Yes you did! You’re brilliant, you are!”

Rose pulled back to look up into his face. It was bright with joy, and her stomach did a little somersault. She would never have been able to do any of this on her own. And through some sheer luck and James’s unending patience, kindness, and intelligence, she met all of the requirements to keep her scholarship. She could stay at the university.

She didn’t have to leave James, her best friend. She’d never met anyone like him, and nobody had ever made her feel as good about herself as he did. She felt like she was the very best version of herself whenever he was around, and she loved him more than she’d ever loved anyone.

Standing there, with his hands resting at the small of her back, his eyes bright, his mouth curved in a smile, and their bodies invading each other’s space, Rose’s control snapped. Between her promise to herself—that if she passed, she would try to make something with James work—and her almost certainty that James was interested in a relationship with her, it was inevitable.

Their hips were pressed flush together as their arms remained around each other’s waists. As though realizing how intimately they were standing, James’s face flamed red and he pulled his hips back a fraction of an inch. But his eyes were dark as they darted from her lips, to her eyes, then back again.

“Rose…” he croaked.

His voice was breathy and made a thrill of heat shoot from her heart into her belly. He licked his lips, making them shine invitingly. Rose sucked in a trembling breath and, with her heart beating through her entire body, she rocked up onto her tiptoes, settled one of her hands around the nape of his neck, and pressed her lips to his.

He let out a muffled sigh as his muscles relaxed and he melted into her arms. He clutched at the fabric of her jumper, pulling her impossibly closer as he angled his head to the side to deepen the kiss.

Of all the times she’d imagined this—and she’d imagined it embarrassingly frequently—none of it came close to the real thing. His lips were soft, warm, and full against hers, moving in time with her as though they were already familiar with kissing each other.

Their lips danced together, tugging and releasing, chasing and yielding. Nothing had ever felt this good, and Rose never wanted it to stop. Heat sparked down her spine as he let out a helpless whimper when her tongue tentatively probed his bottom lip. She echoed the sound when his fingers tangled into her hair, massaging her scalp as he held her tenderly, reverently.

Oh, God, how am I ever going to stop?

She felt like laughing and sobbing all at once, because this was the most perfect moment in her entire life. The weight of the world flew off her shoulders and it seemed as though it would never settle on her again. Being in his arms was the only place she ever wanted to be and she prayed he felt the same way.

She caressed her hand up his jaw, gliding along the smooth skin before landing in his hair. It was even softer than it looked. She grabbed a handful of it, her nails scraping across his scalp, and he let out a wrenching groan as his entire body shuddered in her arms. Her core ached and throbbed with desire.

Oh, God.

Half a second before she was going to hitch her leg obscenely around his hip, James broke their kiss that was actually probably more of a snog now. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath; little black dots were swirling in her vision, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap him into a tight hug. And possibly another kiss.

He was deliciously rumpled. His hair was sticking out at all angles and a happy, dazed glint had entered his eyes.

Rose licked her swollen lips and breathed, “All right?”

He nodded quickly, and he reached out to cup her cheek in his palm. His thumb brushed across her bottom lip, and she had to restrain herself not to suck the pad of his thumb into her mouth. Instead, she settled for pressing a quick kiss to it before he dropped his hand to his side.

“Yeah,” he whispered, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Yeah. I just… I wanted… did you… did you want to do that?”

Rose furrowed her brow as her heart sank a little. “What d’you mean?”

His cheeks were bright red and his eyes darted across her face, then to her lips, then to a far-off point behind her shoulder. They traversed this path several times. He looked terrified and helpless, and something in her chest cracked at the sight.

She reached out and took his hand, hoping to offer him some bit of comfort until he could tell her what he was thinking.

“It’s just… did you want to kiss me like that? Or were you just happy about your grade?”

Rose frowned at him. Did he seriously not know? He had to know. He had to realize she’d been wanting to kiss him for weeks. That she was irrevocably in love with him. That she wanted to spend the rest of her life kissing him and being with him.

“Both,” she said firmly, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m overjoyed I passed the class, but I also wanted to kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while now.”

His face morphed into an expression of utter delight, and she debated her next words for many long seconds. She was tempted to leave it at that, then return to kissing him in the middle of the dining hall, but she swallowed her nerves and said, “You’re my best friend, James. And I know we’ve only known each other for a few months, but I… I’ve fallen in love with you.”

His jaw slackened in surprise and his hand went limp in hers. Her cheeks burned, but she forced himself to keep his stare as she tried to parse through the emotions flitting on his face while trying not to vomit with nerves.

“You… you love me?” he squeaked.

She nodded, and his face slowly bloomed into the widest, most beautiful smile she’d ever seen on his face. The sight of it sent her blood thrumming as hope swelled though her.

“Oh, Rose. I…I…” He reached forward and cupped her cheeks in his palms. His thumb idly stroked her cheeks as he tilted his head down until his forehead was flush with hers. His breath puffed against her lips, and the closeness of him made her eyes flutter shut. “I… I’ve fallen in love with you, too.”

He shifted and hugged her closer, burying his face into her shoulder. Her heart raced at his words, aching with love for him as she held him just as tightly.

“I’d thought maybe you fancied me,” he whispered into her ear. “But I hadn’t been sure if you were just a really affection person who hugged and held hands with her friends all the time. And I’ve tried asking you out on dates, but I would either chicken out or you would stop me. I barely dared to believe… to hope…”

“Believe it, mister,” she teased, taking one of her arms from around his waist to poke his belly. He squirmed and giggled, then pulled back to look at her. His fringe had fallen onto his forehead, and she reached up to brush it back. “I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way, either. Then I worried that if I said something and you didn’t like me like that, it would make studying awkward and uncomfortable. So I’d decided to wait ‘til the end of term, just in case you weren’t attracted to me, I could run away and avoid you for the rest of my time here.”

He rolled his eyes.

“And then I was terrified I wouldn’t pass chemistry. I didn’t want to fall in love with you only to have to move back to London a month later. It would break my heart.”

His face softened, and he leaned down to brush a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you,” he murmured. “So much. I don’t care if we’ve only known each other for three months. You’re my best mate, and I always want you to be my best mate. Even if you’d had to move home again, I wouldn’t have let you go without a fight. Or at least without making sure we would stay in contact.”

“Sap,” she teased, but she couldn’t help the grin that split her face.

He blew a raspberry at her, but then his face went solemn.

“I, er, I should probably tell you. I haven’t really, er, done this before,” he said in a rush, his face flushed pink.

After her initial confusion faded, a lump settled in her stomach. “Was that your first kiss?”

She was mortified. If she’d known that, she would’ve made it gentler, sweeter. The kind of first kiss he deserved to have. And she would’ve asked if it was okay that she kissed him, rather than yanking his face into hers. But for his first time kissing, he was sure good at it…

“No, no, ‘course not,” he said quickly. “I’ve had a few girlfriends, and we’ve kissed. But… but that’s it. None of them were ever serious enough that I wanted to do anything more with. Y’know… anything physical. Never been in love like this before.”

His cheeks had somehow turned redder and he looked uncomfortable and vulnerable.

“I… I’m not really sure how this works,” he mumbled, embarrassed. “Because I want everything with you, Rose. Everything. But I don’t want to muck anything up.”

“It works however we want it to work,” she said simply. “I want to do everything with you, too, but I only if you want it and are ready for it. We can go as slow or fast as we’re both comfortable with.”

His shoulders straightened a bit. “Yeah?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “That’s what it means to be in a relationship. We’re in this together, James. Together.”

He smiled, his body relaxing. “I like the sound of together.”

She beamed. “Me too.”

“So… d’you think maybe we could get back to the kissing thing?” He towered over her and leaned down far enough that the tip of his nose brushed hers.

“It was rather marvelous, wasn’t it?”

“The best kiss I’ve ever had,” James said honestly.

“Me too,” Rose admitted.

James’s eyes widened, but he looked pleased and slightly smug. Rose rolled her eyes, then pressed herself closer to him until their lips slotted together.

This kiss was gentler than their frenzied first kiss, but the knowledge that he wanted to kiss her—that he loved her!—made shivers rocket down her spine. She trembled in his arms as she looped her hands over his shoulders, scrabbling for any purchase to pull him closer.

He moaned against her mouth as his hands dropped to the small of her back. His fingers clenched and loosened repeatedly into her jumper as they made slow passes up and down her spine. It was as though he didn’t know what to do with his hands. For that matter, neither did she. They ran through his hair, then went to his jaw, then cupped the back of his neck. Anything to keep him close. Anything to keep him kissing her.

His lips moved gracefully with hers. The only evidence that they were new kissing partners was the occasional bump of their noses and missteps when they each went to adjust the angle of the kiss. But it was still perfect, and they each automatically corrected any errors they made.

Rose’s mind was empty of anything except the man in her arms. Her body fizzed with pleasure and endorphins, leaving little room for anything else except for the unending mantra of I love you, I love you, I love you looping through her head.

The words were bursting to escape her mental filter, and she eased them out of the kiss. James’s breath came in choppy pants against her lips; hers wasn’t much better. Her lips felt deliciously swollen, and she licked them, still able to taste him on her tongue.

“I love you,” she said softly, reaching out to rest her palm on his chest. His heart thudded steadily beneath her palm. “I love you, James.”

His breath caught in his throat and he lifted his hand to cover hers. He wrapped his long fingers around hers and squeezed them, then brought her hand to his lips to place a delicate kiss to each knuckle.

“I love you, too,” he croaked. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”

“Neither have I,” she admitted.

Something flashed behind his eyes. “Not… not even Jimmy?”

Rose shook her head. “No. I thought I loved him. And maybe I did, as much as my teenaged self could. But you… my God, James. It’s like my body is way too small to contain this. I’m overwhelmed in the best way possible.”

“That’s how I feel.” He ran another line of kisses along the ridge of her knuckles. “I’ve felt like this for so long. I’ve been terrified you might not feel the same.”

Rose couldn’t help but chuckle. “I was worried about the same thing.” Then her brain caught up with what he said. “When did you realize you were in love with me?”

James tilted his head to the side. As he thought, his tongue pressed to the backs of his teeth.

“I think I’d known for a while,” he said at last. “Or I suspected. I don’t entirely know when the transition from ‘friend’ to ‘more’ happened officially; I just know that I loved our study dates and mate dates and wished they were real dates.

“But the point of no return for me was the night you stayed with me on the anniversary of my parents’ death. You stayed with me even though I was miserable company. And you spent the night. When I woke up and saw you asleep on the recliner… I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I wanted to wake up every day and see you first thing.”

She smiled softly at him.

“Your turn,” he said, pinching her waist lightly. “When did you fall in love with me? It was immediate, wasn’t it? You just couldn’t resist this foxy body and suave, sexy charm, eh?”

He winked roguishly, and Rose burst out laughing. He pouted, but the effect was ruined with the smile creeping across his face.

“After our trip to Philly,” she said when her giggles subsided. “I was looking through the photos we took together and I realized that was the most fun I’d had out with someone in a very long time. And I wanted to spend a lot more time with you outside of studying.

“And then on election night, when I told you about Jimmy, you didn’t judge me for anything.” His brows furrowed, and he opened his mouth to argue. But she placed her finger over his lips. “You’d be surprised how many people wanted to give me a lecture about how I should’ve left sooner than I did. But you… you just listened. And you gave me a hug and didn’t make me feel stupid for anything that happened.”

“I think you ought to rethink your friend choices, if you fell in love with me for common decency,” James huffed, talking through her finger. “Er. Not to be rude or anything.”

“Though that is a teensy bit rude,” she teased.

He stuck his tongue out at her, then licked her finger. She pulled it back with a shriek, wiping the wetness off on her jeans.

“You’re disgusting!” But she was laughing, which softened the reprimand.

After a beat of silence, James asked, “So… since it’s the end of finals and we’ve cleared the air about our feelings, could I take you out somewhere? A date-date. No more mate-dates. Not that you’re not my mate. You’re my best mate. But you’re more than just my mate now and…”

Rose’s chest warmed with affection for the man babbling in front of her. She rocked onto her tiptoes and brushed a kiss to his cheek.

“A date-date would be wonderful,” she said, then she pressed her lips to his once more.

#ficandchips #thegreenfairy13 #doctorroseprompts #dwfic #doctor who #ten x rose #ten x rose au #au #uni au #my fic #chemical potential

52 notes · View notes

biopsychs · 6 years

Text

What I Learned From University (2nd Year)

See what I learned in first year here

Adjust how you study → I have a different study method for each class. Even if the content is similar to another class or you’ve had the prof before, you have to personalize your learning.

You can skip class sometimes → My introductory microbiology class was the worst class I’ve ever taken and I love microbiology. The prof sucked and I found I could just catch up on notes on the bus and have extra time to sleep in. I rarely skip class but I realized my time was much better spent working on other things. Only skip classes if catching up on notes is more efficient/a better use of your time than actually going to lectures. Also, don’t be afraid to take a day off (when you can) if your mental or physical health is suffering.

Group projects suck → I knew this already but nothing could have prepared me for what I had to deal with in my one semester long research methods class. I wish I had talked to my TA or prof earlier to explain what was going on and how I could fix it. (Side note: Use Google docs for group projects!)

Mentoring programs are a great thing to be involved in → I got involved with a mentoring program for women in stem at my university and it has been such a valuable experience! I have access and connections to upper year students and women working in academia and industry who are there to provide help and guidance. My only regret is that I was too timid to ask for help at the start -- take advantage of the opportunities you have!

Get larger projects like reports and essays done as soon as you get them → My organic chemistry lab reports always took so long to write so I would delay working on them. However, I eventually got into a routine of finishing my lab report (or at least 95% of my report) on weekends (my labs were on Fridays) and it made my life so much easier! Just get it done and you won’t have the looming stress of a big project or report hanging over you.

Go to social events on and off campus → You can be social in so many different ways at university! Find something you’re comfortable with or go just outside your comfort zone. I went to a pizza party for psych majors and it was chill. I also went to a pubcrawl and it was so much fun. If you’re hesitant, drag a friend along the first time but make sure you talk to new people!

Apply for summer jobs early → Lots of good summer jobs for university students are posted early! I check my university’s job board and also look for jobs that are meant for students (where I live the government will provide funding for summer students to certain organizations). Make sure you send in your applications in as soon as possible too! Even if the deadline to apply is in two weeks, some places will get in touch with applicants (and could potentially hire someone) before that deadline. Find out if your uni has a career advising office (or something like that) and check it out, if you need help with resumes, cover letters, interviews, etc.

Leave your options open → If you’re unsure about your major or career path, leave your options open as much as you can! Use the time you have now to explore what you really like. Last year I made the decision to do a double major in biology and psychology, because I wanted to go to med school but also wanted to leave the option of research (in bio or psych) open. Now, I’ve decided to major in psych and minor in bio, with the intent to pursue clinical psychology. I took classes and got research experience that helped me make an informed decision about what I really like and want to do.

Get involved in research and use your connections → Get research experience as early as possible. This will help you figure out if you actually want to pursue research or not, and will be so helpful with applications if you end in a position where you’re doing your own research! I have found it much easier to get involved with research by having connections (like talking to a prof, grad student, or upper year undergrad student who is already involved with a lab) rather than sending out cold emails to profs and hoping they’ll reply. If you are sending an email to a prof/lab you don’t have any connections to, make sure your personalize it -- mention any prior experience you have and why you’re interested in that lab specifically.

Check your email constantly → As a general rule, you can never check your email too much. Make an effort to reply to emails as soon as you get them, because otherwise you might forget about them. In general, reply to emails within 24 hours anyways.

Take a summer class → I took a summer class on the psychology of motivation and it was totally worth it. I knew I would have to take a summer class at one point and I knew I would prefer to do it earlier in my degree (taking a summer class in my last year does not sound like fun). It was refreshing to see how well I could do when one class was my only priority and I was able to learn/retain the content so much better. It was also nice that I was able to take an upper level course (my previous psych courses had been only 1st or 2nd year level) by itself so I could get used to the increased demands. One thing to note is that summer classes go by really quickly (in my case 3 lectures were equivalent to 3 weeks of classes) so make sure you’re keeping up with the material.

Find your optimal level of stress → One thing I learned in my motivation class is that we all have an optimal level of stress. Think of it as an inverted U shape, with performance on the y axis and stress on the x axis. The highest point, the top of the U, is your optimal level of stress, where stress is helping you perform to the best of your ability. If you move past that point (either less stress or more stress) your performance is going to decrease. If your stress levels are high and anxiety-causing your performance is going to suffer. I found my optimal level of stress when I was studying for my first motivation midterm -- I was cramming the night before but because I had no other pressing responsibilities (like 4 other classes) I was able to feel stressed without feeling panic or test anxiety also. Find your optimal level of stress and see how well you perform. Remember that feeling when your stress levels are rising so you have a baseline to get back to.

Don’t get stuck as “premed” → Being premed is completely okay but don’t close yourself off from other options. I know so many people who are premeds and are also biochemistry majors. Some of these people don’t even like biochemistry but stick with it because they think it will make their application look better. Please study something you’re actually interested in. Med school is a great option but just make sure you have a plan B (and a degree that is going to suit this plan B). I know someone who graduated with their biochemistry degree and regretted it -- by the end of their degree, their plan was no longer med school and they wished they had done a general biology degree, w classes they liked, while taking a few biochem classes they liked. I used to consider myself premed but I realized clinical psychology is a much better fit for what I actually like/am good at. Just make sure you want to be a doctor for the right reasons is all I’m saying.

Morning classes are actually kind of okay → Everyone talks about how bad morning classes are, but I actually prefer them. I have a hard time paying attention in later classes and it’s really nice to have all my classes done by mid-day. Just make sure you keep a regular sleep schedule (i.e. try to go to bed/ wake up at reasonably early times so your body can recover better on the nights where you get less sleep)

Always come prepared → This applies for so many things. Bring a snack, don’t forget your charger, do your readings. You’re never going to regret being prepared but you may regret not being prepared.

Be ready to register for classes → Know your time and date to register for classes and be ready to click register right at that time! I always make multiple schedules b/c often the lab times or classes I want to take are full. If a class is full, make sure you know what to do. Register on the waitlist. If there isn’t a waitlist, find out who you need to talk to (usually the prof or department head). Check back a few times a week to see if spots open up in classes, because a lot of people change their schedule. Don’t wait to talk to an academic advisor if you’re not sure which classes to take or have any concerns.

Quizlet is a blessing → Quizlet is an app/website that lets you make flashcards and view other people’s flashcard sets. Study flashcards while you’re waiting in line for coffee or on the bus. You may also be able to find flashcards from people who took the same class as you -- use those! If you make your own flashcards be a nice person and share them with your friends :)

A bad grade is not the end of the world → In one class I got 35% on my first midterm and never managed to get a midterm grade higher than 68%. I was absolutely destroyed when I saw that mark on my first midterm and was ready to give up. Please don’t give up! I talked to my prof and was able to have my other midterms weighted more and I used my lab reports to bring my mark up. If you show your profs you’re working hard they’ll do what they can to help you out. It’s really easy to feel like your hard work is not making a difference, especially if you’re continually not getting the results you want -- this doesn’t mean you should stop working hard, it just means you may have to study differently, review material daily, and ask for help! If you fail you need to remember that you will have to work harder -- you have to keep up with the new material and relearn the old material. I wasn’t overly happy when I saw my final grade in the aforementioned class but, when I compared it to my first midterm and my feelings of utter confusion, I was satisfied with my grade because it showed my progress and improvement (and I also used it to motivate me to never let it happen again).

Realize that everyone is at university for different reasons → Some people have big goals, some people are still figuring it out, and some people just want to get their degree as soon as possible. There’s nothing wrong with being any of the above, just don’t expect everyone to have the same goals as you.

Know the deadlines for dropping courses → Even if you don’t think you’ll be dropping or changing any courses, write the dates down in your planner. My friend waited a few days too long to drop a math class that turned out to be extremely difficult and, even though she passed it in the end, she was stressed out all semester and her performance in other classes suffered as a result.

You’ll always be meeting new people and making friends → I lived off campus first year and felt like I had missed my chance to make friends. I shouldn’t have worried so much. Second year was much better in that there were a lot more familiar faces in my classes and I got to know other people much better through smaller classes and labs! Other people are always happy to make friends so just take the first step by starting a conversation :)

You can’t give 100% all the time → Some of the best advice that I was given this year was that you can’t give 100% all the time. You only have so much time and energy (mental and physical) you can give. For some tasks, the outcome from 70% effort and 100% effort may not be too different. Figure out what tasks those are so that you have enough energy to give 100% when you really need it.

#studyblr #university #studyquill #elkstudies #intellectys #etudiance #studyplants #studybuzz #briellestudies #mine

3K notes · View notes

melisettastudies · 6 years

Text

How I finished my first year of law school with a first - Starting law school advice (pt 1)

Soooo...I’ve been spending the past few days replying to people on all platforms asking for advice on starting Law at university so I thought I’d give my experience and methods on how I finished my first year of university with a First (which like the top grade for people who don’t understand the system). It’s a long post but I’m going to include FAQs and my top tips. (Ps: I’m in my second year of university now)

FAQs:

1) I didn’t study law at A-level, am I at a disadvantage?

Fun Fact, I actually went to Medical school for a week before deciding it was too much for me, meaning my A-levels were centred around science and medicine. This meant I started Law school having no experience in ‘essay based’ subjects such as Law. I had to completely adapt and adjust my way of learning and from experience was at no disadvantage to my peers who had studied law. If anything, I noticed my teachers preferred it when students have no law knowledge, so they can start Uni level content without needing to dwell on the difference between A-level and Degree level content (obviously, at A-level law wouldn’t be in as much detail as it would be at a Degree level).

So no, you wouldn’t be at a disadvantage, and no matter what you studied before starting uni, you just need to be able to transfer the skills you picked up during your pre-uni studies to your degree. Plus, many people wouldn’t have studied law at A-level, at least, I haven’t met many anyway.

2) What is the difference between a lecture and a seminar?

This one is pretty easy to explain. A lecture is when there are hundreds of people in a big lecture theatre having the teacher explaining the content and teaching the syllabus. I’m not sure at other unis but at mine, you don’t really get to ask many questions during lectures because they’re not long but this may vary from one university to the other. So generally, a lecture is where you learn the information from a professor. A seminar is much smaller, more like a normal classroom where you will be applying your knowledge; this will be where you are likely to be trying exam questions and problem questions and this is where you get to ask all your questions.

3) Will I have any time to socialise?

YESSSSS!!! The legal profession is a veeeeeery social one; you will be attending things like law fairs and events where you will be meeting lawyers, judges and other important people (known as Networking events) where you need to be able to charm them and make them know your name. If you’re looking at becoming a lawyer of any kind, you need connections especially for after graduation, and this means loooooots of networking events, lots of parties and dinners and lots of socialising. Your studies, if managed well, will not hinder you from having a social life with your friends, and you need that aspect to help you with the professional side of things (awesome right?!). Fun Fact: I managed to get work experience from having won over a Barrister at a Networking event; and if they ask for your Linked In at any fairs, you make sure they get your username! That social networking site is a Godsend when you need to learn about someone or want to gather everything about yourself.

4) How do I make notes?

I will be making a whole post about how I personally take notes, but briefly, it is all trial and error until you find what works for you. Some chapters will be a lot more content heavy, others can be summarised in bullet points; it’s all a matter of figuring it out as you go.

As for whether you type or hand write your notes that’s totally up to you, I do both so I have the information multiple times: First I type full notes (which I sell, meaning if you need motivation, just remember you can make money off your notes that’s enough to motivate me soooo...). Next, I type summaries, then I hand-write the chapter summarised further (which is my favourite part because I can make those pretty notes that you see on here). I do like to also make flashcards, but I tend to do that closer to assessments or between chapters (so I’ll finish Chapter 1 and start Chapter 2, midway, I’ll review my knowledge on Chapter 1 and make pretty flashcards.

All of this sounds really long, but I promise, as long as you work efficiently, it’s actually manageable plus I do everything as I go along - I will also be making a post on this in more detail soon too :D.

5) Aside from studies, what else should I do during law school?

Well, the only thing I want to put emphasis on here, is that whilst law school is supposed to be enjoyable, and you are supposed to have some fun, it is important to work hard so that you can find a job after you graduate...

The legal profession is suuuuuuper competitive, it’s not enough to just get a first anymore, you do need to have a CV that stands out from all the rest. My top tips:

Get work experience - apply to things like Pro-Bono, help at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, shadow lawyers, attend court hearings, etc. Experience is absolutely crucial in the field!

If you speak another language, GET A QUALIFICATION IN IT! - I know 7 languages, and as such, I have done 3 A-levels in 3 languages and the rest, I did an equivalent qualification through my uni. This is important as you have something of substance to show to employers when you come to apply for a job and mention this skill. It really makes you stand out, even if it’s a single language and it’s SUPER helpful if like me, you want to work internationally. If you don’t know another language, move onto the next bullet point:

If you don’t speak another language, you can learn one OR Pick your strongest skill and capitalise on it! - this means, if you’re good at a sport, join a team and show dedication, these things count when impressing employers, they’ll see you as a team player with discipline and that ALWAYS looks super appealing. It’s super useful if you are able to show why your skill should be appreciated in the career (for example: if your experience/skill is to be an awesome cashier, you can say you’ve dealt with embarrassing situations like a rejected card, which gave you the skill of knowing how to handle these scenarios SO, when you have a customer, and they have something they are ashamed of or uncomfortable to discuss, you know what to do. See? easy peasy.)

So, that’s enough FAQs, now onto my top tips:

PREPARE FOR YOUR LECTURES AND SEMINARS - do NOT be the student that can’t contribute, you will not get enough out of those lessons.

If there’s consolidation work, DO IT! - it really helps you understand where you’re confused and what you need to work on.

Don’t study for longer than 30 mins at a time with 5-15 minute breaks - Law requires a lot of reading, which means a lot of eye strain, crouching and very little movement.

Do yoga - as the above bullet point highlights, you need to stretch your limbs, back and neck, otherwise you’ll be in a lot of pain. Also, stretch your wrists, you’ll save yourself a lot of pain.

Exercise - maintaining a healthy lifestyle means you’ll have energy and power to keep going. Even just 15 minutes of active time a day really helps relieve some stress.

Remember that nobody is perfect, you can’t maintain a constant perfect studious attitude and should never put that sort of pressure on yourself. Balance is everything. (i’ll also be discussing my experience with mental health in my first year at law school and how I dealt with depression and anxiety).

Drink water - I know, it’s a cliche, but it’s actually important because you’ll be reading so much, you increase the likelihood of a headache if you’re dehydrated, so keep hydrated kids!

Never, ever feel bad for sharing your successes - if you’re proud of something you’ve achieved share it! just stay humble, and don’t rub it in people’s faces.

have a diary and carry a notebook with you at all times - track meetings, notes and to do lists to make sure you’re on top of everything.

Wake up earlier - I wake up at 5am and get some work done, but if you wake up earlier, you have more time to wake up slowly, and not stress yourself from the morning. Take time to do your makeup or hair, take time to meditate or exercise or read, or even do work, but start your day slowly and not rushing around getting things done.

and finally, please please PLEASE remember to actually make time for yourself, make night time routine where you take time to do a skincare routine or wind-down time or simply lounge around and watch Netflix. If you know you have the time to do this, you’re less likely to procrastinate!

Enjoy law school guys, it’s actually an amazing experience with pretty cool people!

- Mel x

20 notes · View notes

equinesanonymous · 6 years

Photo

If you're wondering what uni is like, this is my to-do list for this week, academic on the left and non-academic things on the right. I barely have any class this week because of the strikes in the UK 🙄 So I'm using this time to get ahead a little, drafting all my end-of-term essays and such. I also have loads of things to do in preparation for the summer. Exciting times ahead! Still, this is normal. It’s not unbearable, maybe 4-6 hours per day without classes, and if I stay on track I should have the weekend free.

I think I’ve come to a bit of a realisation in how I approach my school work. Because I work well in my flat, so don’t need to go anywhere or even get dressed, I tend not to view it as ‘real’ work, not in the same way I view my actual job. And that’s a really bad approach to take for the most part, because then I don’t feel the next to timetable and while I do take it seriously, I don’t approach it with the same “this is what I need to do, I am going to sit down, work for x amount of time, and finish it” mentality.

I realised this when yesterday, I had nothing planned for the whole day and was planning on catching up on work. And while I did, for the most part, get everything done that I wanted to get done, I literally did not get dressed or leave my bed for the whole day, and kept thinking of it as a ‘day off’. While it’s ok to work in bed once in a while (I write quite well in bed, for example), not truly separating work and ‘off time’ properly I think is what’s leading me to feel stressed out, like I never truly have time ‘off’ because I haven’t had time ‘on’. And since I don’t set concrete goals of “I am going to do x and y today and it will take me approximately z amount of hours to do them”, I never feel fully accomplished because my To-Do List is, of course, never empty.

So, after realising this, I’m going to try to experiment a bit in the last few weeks of this term and see if I can get things a bit more worked out for next year. I’m especially motivated by seeing how organised my boyfriend is. As a second year law student, he obviously has a heavier workload than me, but he has a timetable he follows most of the time, he knows how long an assignment will likely take him, and sets realistic goals for what he can and cannot do.

I’m going to start by trying to make a more detailed bujo every week, detailing what I need to do that week and when I plan on doing it. I’m also going to try to get a better guess of how long readings/draftings/etc take me, so I can plan accordingly. Furthermore, I’m going to try to change my approach to work a bit. When I have work to do, I will get dressed and brush my teeth, even if I don’t leave my flat. I’ll try to work outside it more, and structure my time better i.e. “I’m going to work from 9 til 12, then take a 1 hr lunch break, take a walk, and get straight back to work at 1.” Obviously life gets in the way sometimes, but I think if I at least try to follow this mostly, hopefully my work will improve immensely. I’ll let you know! <3

#studyblr #studyspo #personal

6 notes · View notes

aspire-to-the-light · 6 years

Text

Executive momentum 1: Feedback loops and reset points

(Previous)

I tend to fail with abandon. I wake up in the morning feeling unfocused, so I read the news for hours before remembering that I forgot to take my meds. The news links to other news and before I know it I’m reading about politics/war/disasters and feeling distressed about it. When I try to go back and focus on my essay, I’m distracted by curiosity and wanting to google some details of the stuff I read on the news. I feel guilty, and that makes it yet harder to focus, which makes me feel more and more frustrated.

Eventually I realise that in the war between “I want to do distracting time-wasting shit” and “I really ought to do work”, self care got completely forgotten, so I take a shower and eat something and feel somewhat more grounded. This makes my system one certain that the problem is insufficient self-care, and therefore I should play video games for hours to make myself feel better. Even if I do succeed at stopping playing video games after the time I decided to play them for, the video games are now way more salient to my brain, so I’m more tempted to go back to playing them.

After a while I start panicking about how I’m throwing the entire day away, and decide that I really ought to do something, so I stare at my to-do list having decision paralysis about which aversive task to do first. I realise I’m really behind and I haven’t done the tasks I was supposed to do yesterday, so I spend a few hours rescheduling everything so I’ll get things done by their deadlines. While rescheduling, I miss the social event that I was supposed to be going to, so I don’t get the extravert points I need.

People ask if they can help. I ignore them because admitting to being this unproductive would be shameful.

It gets really late, but I’m not tired enough to sleep because I’ve done nothing but lie in bed all day, and besides I feel like I really ought to get at least one task done before I sleep so that I can say I didn’t throw the entire day away. I stay up til 3am reading articles about how to defeat akrasia, too tired to get productive work done, but not tired enough to force me to sleep, and too feeling-like-I-should-be-working to voluntarily go to sleep.

I sleep in the next day and miss a morning appointment...

> “OK, so just don’t fail with abandon. Tell your system one that even if you were supposed to go to sleep at 12:00, and it’s 12:05, that doesn’t mean you need to stay up til 3am. It means you get to sleep at 12:05. Reframe it so that everything’s a scalar of doing more/less well, rather than a binary of everything being good or everything being bad.”

This works a bit, but not completely. This solution fixes the aspect of it which is just in my models - the bit where I’ve failed once, so I believe I’ll fail again, so I’m not motivated to try to succeed. But the problem is not just in the map, it’s also in the territory. Failing once does make it more likely that I’ll fail again.

Spending time on a distracting thing makes it more salient, so I’m more tempted to spend time on it again. If my lack of focus means I forget to take my meds, or my disorganization means I miss an appointment, or my lack of preparation means I don’t make it to an event, that has real consequences. If I don’t get a task done when I was supposed to get it done, I have to reschedule the task for the next day, and sometimes I then have to stare at my schedule for a bit figuring out when I’m going to fit all the tasks in and whether I should cancel some commitments.

If I need to leave at 12:00 to get to an event on time, and it’s 12:05, sometimes that means I should give up on going to the event because being late is worse than skipping (eg. if I’m late to a sports class, I’ll miss the warm-up, and be more likely to be injured).

If your brain works like mine, it’s really important to figure out how resets work.

A reset breaks you out of the feedback loop you’re in. So, you’re in a feedback loop where you don’t do any work, so you feel unproductive and guilty and unfocused and demotivated, so you don’t do any work. Then you go to sleep and wake up again. Much of the time, this resets the feedback loop. Your emotions from yesterday are less salient, you alieve that it’s a new day and a fresh chance, and you start the day with some easy tasks (showering, dressing, breakfast) which lead into some less-easy tasks (checking email, prioritising your to-do list) which lead into harder tasks (writing an essay) and behold, a positive feedback loop!

Very specific resets are easy to figure out. You’re in a negative loop where you don’t keep up with emails, so they build up in your inbox, so there’s an overwhelming amount of emails, so you get avoidant about the emails. So you do a quick sweep through the inbox to check for anything really vital, and then hit “delete all” and start afresh.

More general resets can be harder. You’re in a negative loop where you're having a bad day so you keep having a bad day, and it affects everything - you haven’t kept up with emails, you’ve not done work, you’ve missed appointments, you’ve forgotten your self care, you’ve let distracting-things become salient and available to you - and it’s much harder to figure out how to stop having a bad day.

There are smaller scale resets; sometimes you’re having a bad few hours, so you go to the gym and work off your emotions, and come back feeling refreshed and like you’ve done a worthwhile thing, and get on with work. Showers, gym, naps, coffee breaks, all kinds of thing work on this scale. At small enough scales sometimes it’s just a matter of snapping your fingers in front of your face, saying “snap out of it” in a firm voice, and clearing your mind for a bit.

But sometimes there are much larger scale feedback loops where you’re not having a bad day, you’re having a bad year, and it’s starting to look less like “you got distracted by video games so missed a deadline and now you have even less time because your teachers are insisting on scheduling remedial sessions”, and more like “you didn’t do anything all month so you slipped into depression and didn’t do anything next month so you lost your job so you couldn’t pay for therapy so you had a freakout on all your friends and now you have no social life".

(For clarity, that’s not a feedback loop happening to me. I’m being deliberately exaggerated/extreme to gesture at the worst end of things.)

I don’t know how to make good resets at the larger-scale end of things. In fact, I keep watching people (self very much included) repeatedly fail hard at larger-scale resets, even resets they seem sure will work. “Things will get better after X!” and then things don’t get better but “Things will get better after Y!” but then things don’t get better but “Things will get better after Z!” but then things don’t get better.

Sometimes this is because the reset is mis-targeted. Taking some time off to meditate will fix your “feel guilty so don’t work so feel guilty” problem, but will not fix your “behind on fixing-problems work, so no time for preventing-problems work, so even more fixing-problems work is needed” problem. Planning to catch up on your uni work over the summer break might fix your “I never go to lectures, so it takes ages to find information on my own and write essays, so I don’t have time to go to lectures” problem but will not fix your “I’m not motivated by school, so I underperform, so I feel bad about school” problem. Moving to the Bay might fix your “I don’t feel like I fit in with people here, so I don’t socialise ever, so I don’t know how to fit in” problem but will not fix your “I have social anxiety, so I never go to social things unless I’m specifically invited and encouraged to attend, so nobody knows me well enough to specifically invite me to things” problem.

Sometimes there’s a durable underlying problem that will just start the feedback loop going again after your reset, unless you head it off. Maybe you quit Facebook to kill the “I post on Facebook a lot, so I get notifications about responses a lot, so then I’m always on Facebook and end up posting a lot” loop. But you don’t fix the underlying problem with your executive function and your unmet social needs, so you just end up addicted to Tumblr instead.

Sometimes people just seem to have more of a tendency for negative feedback than positive feedback. When they fail at things they fail hard, but when they succeed they can’t build on it, so negative feedback loops last and become stronger whereas positive feedback loops falter quickly. (Many different small things probably contribute. Feeling more guilty about failures than happy about successes. Or letting tasks overrun and delaying new tasks when you’re slow, but not using the extra-time-created to start new tasks earlier when you finish faster. Or having resets like distractions kill your positive loops, but not interrupt your negative loops.)

The most important thing I’ve found is to have a clear idea of what sustains your negative feedback loops. It’ll be lots of things, but there’s usually a major one - for me I think it’s that the more I procrastinate the more I want to procrastinate. (I game for a while, so I end up caring about my ranking in the game, so I want to game more. I spend time on tumblr, so the Discourse becomes salient, and my brain comes up with more Discoursey thoughts it wants to talk about. I get into stupid arguments, so I’m emotional about stupid arguments and want to spend all my time shouting at people. I do some conlanging, so conlanging is super available and I end up thinking about it rather than thinking about my work.)

The other important thing I’ve found is to have regular, automatic resets that you really alieve will work. So, you don’t fall deep into a negative feedback loop, realise everything’s going wrong, and struggle to figure out a good reset from within your not-particularly-great-mind-state; resets happen regularly anyway. Sleep is like this; every morning gets you a new day, which most people alieve at least slightly is a little bit of a fresh start. Though sleep has the drawback that it breaks positive loops just as easily as it breaks negative ones. I find regular exercise sessions are great, because they feel productive enough and leave me alive-feeling enough that they don’t break positive loops, but they absolutely smash negative loops.

Bigger resets are somewhat harder to find. New Year works like this for me, and I have a bunch of rituals that help make sure it’s a really good reset (resolutions I alieve I’ll keep! a blank new calendar! letter to myself in a year!), and whether my New Year is good and my rituals go well actually ends up being a fairly good predictor of how much stuff I’ll get done in January and February. Getting more things that work like New Year works seems like a fairly important project that I don’t quite know how to start on.

(Next)

25 notes · View notes

lucianhuntress · 7 years

Text

Scenario: Uni AU First Meet

This is my first attempt on scenarios, because I had too much time at work. The ideas for each chocobro are borrowed from my Uni AU Love Colored Pens.

An unlucky encounter turned into something more interesting.

Noctis

It was a normal day in school. You had just entered the classroom a few minutes ahead of the start of the class. You made a beeline to the desk you always sat at, only to find out that someone else had claimed it first.

And that someone was using the desk as a place to nap.

After a well spent moment of waking him up, instead of finding another free spot for your belongings, you made his sapphire blue eyes flutter open. He let out the cutest yawn you had ever heard and he slowly fixed his eyes on you. He furrowed his brows as he took in the sight in front of him.

“Who are you? Where’s specs?” he mumbled half-awake.

You only knew him by the name, Noctis Lucis Caelum, but you hadn't really talked to him before that moment. And there you were, trying to get him move his stuff elsewhere from your desk.

Noctis processed the thought for a moment and gave up your seat, sluggishly.

You took your seat and studied hard during that lesson.

It would have been pretty obvious, that ever since you had shooed him away from your desk, he would have learned his lesson. No, it continued for weeks. Every time your lesson was about to begin and you dashed to the classroom to get ready for the class, you found him napping in your seat.

He always mumbled something about specs, while flashing you puzzled looks.

The frustration of someone else claiming your seat drove you desperate and finally you went so early to the classroom to reserve the seat for yourself. After a few minutes, Noctis strolled into the room and you beamed at him the with most triumphant smile you could muster.

He walked over to your desk and asked: “can I nap here?”

You declined, smile still playing on your lips.

He hesitated for a few seconds, “well would you still go out with me?”

Prompto

To pass a course, you enlisted to an event, where the photography majors sought volunteers to help with portrait photos. You really had to go through all that just because your professor was so good friends with the photography professor.

So you ended up posing for a blonde guy you had never even seen before. His joyfully sparkling blue eyes caught your attention, along with his sweetly reddened cheeks. Damn, had you just lucked out by getting the cutest photographer in the room.

“Hey, my name’s Prompto, what’s yours?” he had asked, while biting his lip — the red deepening on his freckled cheeks. You introduced yourself to him, still amazed by his features.

He guided you through the whole photoshoot, but somehow you couldn’t take your eyes off him. He was just so adorable with the camera in his hands.

Prompto cheerfully smiled and complimented a look you had given to the camera he held in his hands, making you feel suddenly all hot and bothered. You couldn’t even help yourself from flinching at his touch when he shifted your body just a little bit to the left.

After the photoshoot had ended, you felt sad. Certainly, you had not planned for it. You both had had so much fun while you had taken the pictures, he certainly had a great sense of humor and he was so cheerful and warm.

You were preparing to leave the classroom when you overheard him mumbling to himself, while he browsed the pictures with a cute sigh, “so pretty…”

“Excuse me?” was all you could say as you turned around to see his flustered expression.

“Uhhh, pretty— weather? I guess, hehe,” Prompto smiled nervously and pointed at the camera in his other hand.

There was a picture of you on the preview screen and you couldn’t help yourself from breaking into a grin.

“Are you busy tonight? Maybe we could take some more photos somewhere else?” you decided to ask.

His eyes widened and he nearly dropped the camera. “I-I-I…” he sputtered, “uh, sure!” he smiled nervously. His face had turned to tomato red along with his ears. “I know just the place!”

Gladio

An idea had been poking your mind ever since the semester had started. You had always wanted to learn some self-defense, should such a need arise, and now your schedule almost screamed to be filled with some activity outside the studies.

The university’s gym felt silent late in the evening, but you were determined to learn. You paid no mind to the still air in the school’s corridors as you made your way to the gym.

Of course, the university’s martial arts team was there. They taught some beginner level self-defense to those who were willing to learn, but they also practiced for the next upcoming tournament.

Luckily, the captain of the team was there teaching the small group you were now part of. He was definitely well fit for the role as he proudly explained what he was going to teach your group that evening.

He had muscular body, tattoos decorating his arms and long dark brown hair. “My name is Gladiolus, but just call me Gladio,” he had introduced himself.

It didn’t take long for you to start wondering if he was single.

Eventually, he asked for a volunteer, but as no one did so, you raised your hand. His amber eyes fixated at you instantly and you already felt a sting of regret. His muscular body would definitely inflict pain, if he wanted so, but you swallowed the doubts and waited for him to use you as a practice doll.

Well, it literally felt like it, when he first showed some small jabs. His fists never touched you as he stopped the movements just before the hit.

Then someone decided to ask about throws.

Oh, how much you wanted to test out the jabs the captain had just taught you.

“Well, I’m gonna show you all — just this once,” he complied while his hands grabbed you firmly. Gladio gave you one last smile before flipping you around in the air like a table. You found yourself sitting on the mattress astride, unable to comprehend what had happened. It had been over so fast that you hadn’t even had the chance to realize it. The only memory from it was the sudden ache all over your body.

He gave you slightly apologetic smile and offered you a hand to help you up.

Gladio ordered the others to start with some punches, but he turned to you to say with a sly smirk: “sorry about that, I wanted to see how durable you are, wanna grab some coffee after the practice?”

Ignis

The deadline pressed hard as you had to finish three more essays for your professor. You had been searching the whole library for a reference book. Of course there was no one to help you out as you had no idea how to describe the book you were looking for and the librarian had given you a pretty annoyed look after you had sputtered some nonsense to her.

But there it was, the book you had been looking for. It was waiting to be picked and so you reached out your hand for it, but instead of getting a hold of the book, someone else’s hand bumped to yours in the mid-air.

You glanced to your left to see Ignis Scientia. The top student of your class. He looked as much surprised as you did and he pulled his hand back, smiling charmingly.

You had never seen him up that close, nor had you even said him a hello before that moment and somehow you were now enchanted by his deep green eyes behind the spectacles. His light brown hair was stylish as ever and he smelled so… nice.

“You can have the book,” he sighed in defeat.

“N-no!” you protested. You both needed to finish the essays anyway and there was only one copy in the bookshelf. “How about we share the book?” you suggested.

He was taken aback by a such request, but his lips curled into a small smile, “alright.”

You both sat at the table in the reading area and soon the table was covered with papers, pens and books. The book you two had decided to share, lied between you two. Suddenly it wasn’t a solo project anymore. You helped him, if he happened to ask information from you, instead of trying to flip through the pages in hope of finding the reference of the correct kind.

And he did the same for you.

He even bought you a can of ebony from a vending machine behind the corner and after brainstorming and writing for a couple of hours, you both were done. The essay seemed to be better than all your previous work.

“Thank you, Y/N, it was a pleasure,” Ignis smiled and you sighed from relief.

“We should do this more often,” you blurted. You slammed your hands in front of your mouth, feeling slightly ashamed.

He stared at you with an unreadable expression, but it softened after a bit. “Sure, you’ll buy the ebony next time?”

#ffxv fanfiction #ffxv scenarios #ffxv imagines #noctis lucis caelum #gladiolus amicitia #prompto argentum #ignis scientia #ffxv reader insert

37 notes · View notes

hillarykylie · 4 years

Text

Can’t stress how important this is.

💕 Your habits, practices, work ethics and daily routine will reveal a lot about you than you think and as most entrepreneurs would say, the route to your success 💕

I don’t have the BEST daily routine myself, but I’ve definitely made significant chances to my productivity and habits over the year which’s helped added value to my life.

Have long-term goals in mind, but start by breaking them down into small, achievable goals.

It’s a lot of effort and hardwork - since it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, but trust that it’s worth the process.

These are things which I have incorporated into my schedule:

• less distractions - less use of social media unless necessary

* turn off notifications / mute conversations temporarily unless crucial.

* stop refreshing your newsfeed for the umpteenth time.

* turn off your active / read statuses

* switch your phone to silent

• Filter who you follow / subscribe to on social media

* unfollow/unsubscribe to accounts/channels who promote constant negativity, hatred and encourage destructive lifestyles and behaviour.

* part of my journey to recovery from ED was to stop following Pro-Anorexia blogs who perpetuate/encourage anorexia. (I’d realised in hindsight how much I was regressing in terms of my mental health because I was constantly getting fed by toxic information)

* fill your following list with accounts/people who radiate positive vibes - mental health recovery channels/accounts - therapist accounts, quotes, or memes! (They make you laugh anyway) study blogs, fitness videos.

• less procrastination - this skill takes a bit of time to master but basically, allocate yourself a strict length of time to rest and recharge.

- I’m still guilty of procrastination now and then but it’s become more infrequent recently.

- of course if you’re drained, take breaks.

- getting your tasks done before doing what you like is a much better and rewarding feeling.

- one thing to combat my emotional procrastination is to set myself about 10-15 minutes to cry or have a breakdown and then get back to work (ik this sounds odd and bizzare, but this works wonders for me everytime lol)

It’s okay to feel defeated, exhausted and drained. Allow yourself to feel and don’t suppress these emotions. But set yourself a reasonable amount of time to let your heart out and cry. And when all that’s done, get back to work.

• if you’re a Student and find yourself struggling to catch up with work, schedule your day.

Be consistent & disciplined with your work.

You don’t always have to be ahead, but you can stay on top of work through consistency and maximum productivity.

Have a plan, set a schedule. I have a whiteboard in my Uni room which I list out all the important things I have to do - whether it’s essays, readings or laundry.

(Trying to get myself to jot down important events as well on my calendar)

* organise your notes, be consistent with your readings, start your preparation early so you wouldn’t have to burn the midnight oil when your deadline/submission is around the corner.

* write down/type the things you have to do and tick it off when you’ve done them

• TIDY YOUR ROOM.

I never realised how having a clean, tidy workspace and bedroom is associated with having a clear, focused headspace.

This is a skill I’ve only picked up recently. Honestly ask anyone who knew me before the age of 18 and they’d tell you how horrid my living conditions were, I was literally living in a pig sty.

My room isn’t the neatest for now but I’ve made it a habit to clean my room thrice a week, do my laundry, wipe my tables, the floor, change my sheets as frequent as I can, throwing trash, keeping my room as immaculately clean, hygienic and nice-smelling as possible.

De-cluttering has become a newfangled technique of mine in destressing.

Add fairy lights, make your room/home feel like a sanctuary you want to come back to after a long day.

• Take baths!! At least once every 2 days

Added the latter because I know it’s unnecessary to be washing your hair everyday especially when it’s winter.

I know a lot of people with depression like me in the past who have difficulty taking showers but personal hygiene affects the way you feel and perceive of yourself.

Notice how you feel so much more reinvigorated after a bath. It cleanses your soul.

• have a skincare routine - this is applicable to both men and women. essentially, take care of your skin.

everyone in our family has stringent facial routines. you don’t have to go to expensive facials to get clear skin.

But make sure you stick to your day and night routines and wash your makeup off (if you wear makeup that is)

As someone who struggled for years with cystic acne and covered it using makeup, I’ve completely stopped using makeup and have only been using ONE skincare brand for 9 months now - which’s completely transformed the vitality of my skin that I no longer suffer from acne or have frequent breakouts.

I added this because I believe the condition of your skin will affect the way you feel and your motivation. For me personally - my struggle with acne really threw my motivation and focus off course.

• READ, educate yourself.

You don’t have to bury yourself in text books or boring literature but find something that sparks your interest and delve deeper into them.

Read about people’s personal experiences, their stories and trajectories.

Thought Catalog, Elite Daily are two of my favourites.

• surround yourself with inspiring individuals who have the same work ethic and drive as you.

• instead of watching trashy shows about useless gossip and hearsay (trust me I’ve been there - binging Love Island), watch documentaries and videos where there’s an underlying educational value.

Ted Talks and podcasts are my pockets of wisdom.

love love Jubilee debates on YouTube as well where people are divided into two groups whose ideals/beliefs vie against each other - they’ve done rly controversial and intriguing debates such as on pro choice vs pro life, body positivity vs fitness and health, religious vs aesthiests, guns vs no gun policy

I especially love psychological documentaries, reality talk shows where substantive tangible issues are discussed and resolved like Dr Phil / Oprah / World’s Strictest Parents

I’m definitely not at where I want and NEED to be at yet, and there’re are still areas of improvement which I’m still trying my best to work on (e.g my punctuality - huge one)

I think a lot of my lateness is due to the fact that I’m always taking forever to pick my outfits and checking myself out in the mirror lmao

I also hope to lay off my incredibly stressful work ethic. I know I said it’s good to be consistent in working hard but my work ethic is pretty severe that it sometimes exacerbates my anxiety.

Instead of procrastinating like what the majority claim to be trapped doing to themselves, I tend to overwork and overstress.

like I’d feel extremely guilty and have panic attacks when I sense that I’m not doing enough work which actually yields perverse consequences.

I’m a workaholic with an Asian work ethic (the Singapore education system has toughened and conditioned all of us to be academically inclined and disciplined so yea this is an intrinsic quality in most of us) so it’s hard to just ‘relax’.

I spent weeks being ill and hospitalised yet I was still able to finish all my readings and submit my essays by the original deadline despite having an extension due to my illness.

0 notes

firstyearstories · 7 years

Text

6 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting University

http://anotherangle.eu/posts/the-stunning-architecture-of-the-university-of-alberta/

1. Studying in university is way different than studying in high school.

In high school, I used to be able to sit down at 7pm the night before a test, study for a few hours, still get my 8 hours of sleep, and go and get a pretty good grade on the test the next day. You’ll quickly find that in university, this isn’t realistic. If I tried doing that in uni, I would have flunked out by now. Try your best to keep on top of your readings (more on that later) and any little assignments or extra not-for-credit work that your professor may recommend doing. If you study even just for an hour every night, then by the time it’s midterms season you’ll feel significantly less stressed. The same applies for finals; a little goes a long way. When it comes to studying for the exams themselves, give yourself a week minimum to really make sure you know the content. If you have any questions or are confused on any topic, ask! Your profs and teacher assistants are there to help, and they want you to do well too.

2. Keep on top of your assignments.

For myself, the biggest difference between high school and university is that in high school, I did the homework every. single. night. whether I wanted to or not. In university, it’s so easy to just decide to skip the readings or the assignments for class the next day. Nobody will be chasing you down, making sure you’re doing your readings and are prepared for exams. If you choose to not keep on top of your work, then that’s your problem. And trust me, once you decide to skip a reading once, then you will not feel like doing a single reading the rest of the semester. Once finals roll around, you’re going to be kicking yourself and asking yourself why you didn’t just suck it up and do the couple hours of reading every night. As for the major assignments like essays, don’t let them sneak up on you and all of a sudden holy cow; it’s the day before your 10 page essay is due and you don’t have a thesis yet. (Been there, done that. It’s really not fun.) Once the due date is a about month away, try to start forming an idea about what you’re going to write about, and start looking for any resources and articles you’ll want to reference. Do a little at a time, that way you won’t be stressing out the night before needing to pull an all-nighter to write a subpar paper when you could get have received a higher grade by taking it little by little, and really taking your time to read over your work and make edits.

3. Explore your options.

Out of my group of friends that went on to post-secondary, I am the only one that finished in the program I started in four years ago. It’s okay to change your mind, and university allows for a greater degree of flexibility and independent choice than high school does. In sum, people change, and the university understands this. Nobody is going to stand between you and the experience you are trying to cultivate for yourself. As you grow and develop through your experiences at university and elsewhere, so do your interests and your dislikes. One of my friends made it to his third year of nursing before coming to the realization that his heart wasn’t truly in it. He said that he simply could not see himself working as a nurse for the rest of his life. A program that you thought was perfect for you when you first started post-secondary may not fit the person you become after you get some more life experience. Don’t be afraid to switch programs and study something that truly interests you, you’ll thank yourself in the end.

4. You can use Wikipedia as a reference.

Ok, so technically I did learn this in first year, but it’s such a good tip I can’t not share it with all of you. During my MUSIC 103 lecture one day, my prof was talking to us about our essays we had to write. My world was changed when she gave us this incredible piece of advice: she said “If you’re trying to find a good scholarly reference, go to Wikipedia, look up the article of the topic you’re writing on, and look at the reference list. There you can find plenty of acceptable, scholarly references and you’re good to go.” And there you have it. It works for pretty much everything since, you know, there’s a WIkipedia article for pretty much everything. I’ve carried it with me ever since and still use it to this day. That said, it’s not a great idea to limit yourself to Wikipedia for sources, and I’d really encourage you to learn how to use the databases available to you as a student. Campus librarians are really helpful if you’re having troubles figuring out how to navigate the databases, and may also be able to point you in the direction of some great books you could use for your assignment. If you’re still having a hard time finding an appropriate source after exhausting all of the options listed above, there might be limited information or research on the topic (something to consider if you’re interested in pursuing graduate studies), or your topic might be too narrow. In this case, I’d recommend visiting office hours with your professor or scheduling an appointment if you’re unable to make it to their office hours.

5. University is not just a place where you go to get a degree

If you’ve decided to go to post-secondary, you are likely very serious about your education. First of all, to attain a high enough average to apply into your chosen program takes hard work. However, compared to the work you will have to put in to complete a university degree, high school will seem like a cakewalk. Cakewalk: a word which here means an absurdly or surprisingly easy task. University costs a lot of money and most people want to get their money’s worth. Speaking from personal experience, take your classes seriously, but don’t forget to enjoy your university experience. It’s all about having a healthy balance. If you don’t balance out hard work with some extracurricular activities, you will burn out fast. Take the time to give your body and your mind a break and your ability to keep up with the rigors of university education will improve drastically. Volunteering on or off campus, playing sports, or picking up a new hobby are great ways to give your mind and body a much needed break. And don’t hesitate to check out involvement fairs, mixers, or informational sessions. You just might find the thing you’ve been looking for all along. During Week of Welcome, there will be a massive tent set up in the middle of campus (Main QUAD), where many of the university’s 400 student groups will gather to talk to you about the various ways you can get involved on campus and with their club. Some of the clubs will change day-to-day, so feel free to visit each day if you haven’t found something yet.

6. You are not your GPA.

If there is any one thing that I truly hope you take away from this article, I hope it's this: you are not your GPA. At the end of the day, your first year really doesn't matter. Now I'm not telling you to slack off and not try, but you might find yourself enrolled in a class that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you study, you just don't understand the course material. And that's fine. It happens to everyone. For me, it was CHEM 101. When I got my final mark back, I was just happy to see that I passed. But I'm going to be an elementary teacher, and it’s highly unlikely that my future employer will care about my CHEM 101 mark from my first year. First year is hard. It's a huge transition from high school, and can honestly be a bit of a eye opener. Even if you're going to apply for a graduate program, they'll only look at your last 2-3 years, never the first. So don't be afraid to fail, experiment, or put yourself out of your comfort zone if it means you’ve learned something (even if it’s something about yourself). Try your best, but don't beat yourself up over one bad grade during your first year. We've all been there, and trust me, it only gets better.

About the Authors

Michael graduated from the U of A Faculty of Nursing this past year and is currently working as a Registered Nurse in the OR at the University Hospital. He has volunteered with the Week of Welcome/UAlberta Orientation program since 2015 as both a General Volunteer and a Team Facilitator. Michael’s all-time favorite spot on campus is the Butterdome where he and his classmates would go to play badminton between classes.

Sydney is going into her fourth year of a Bachelor of Elementary Education degree and will be doing her Advanced Field Experience (student teaching) this fall. This is her second year with the Week of Welcome program, and her first year as a Team Facilitator. Sydney’s favourite places on campus are the tenth floor education lounge and the arts lounge in the old Arts building, purely because they’re great spots to take a quick nap in between classes.

4 notes · View notes

countdownstudyblr · 7 years

Text

Study Tips - Part 1/?

This is a (non-comprehensive) list of study tips and attitudes that have helped me get through my first year of uni.

Note-taking:

Think about using a personalized shorthand

This is entirely up to how your brain works and picks out patterns, but I find reading over notes to be much smoother if it flows in my own words, and if there isn’t too much written down to clutter the space.

I use things like “w” instead of the word “with”. I use “=“ when I want to say that something is defined as whatever follows, and I use “≠” to mean that the two terms being separated are exactly opposite in meaning. If two terms mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably, I use a “/”.

Some of the things I do are specific to subjects:

In math, “cont” means continuous and “diff” means differentiable. I only denote “if and only if” statements with iff, never with the double-headed arrow. I only ever write “aa” for amino acids in biology. I will never write “sodium” (or other elements) fully, and will use Na+/K+/H+/P/Ca2+, or H20, O2, CO2, H2SO4, H30+ (with reference to compounds).

I also always use a delta symbol to represent the word “change” or “difference”.

Examples:

“xyz can be labelled w a fluorescent dye...”

“... separation/unzipping of the helix.”

“xyz causes Δ in pH.”

Humour

I used to be pretty particular about the way my notes looked, and I know that marginalia is not always something people want to have. I’m also garbage at doodling.

I would suggest trying this out even if the above apply to you (even if it is on a sticky note or somewhere else!). I found that this was incredibly helpful for me: if anything funny was said in lecture (the prof made a joke, there was some kind of funny interaction...), I wrote it down.

In the margins of a lot of my notes, I now have memorable events alongside coursework. Though this doesn’t necessarily help me study or retain information, it makes the review process a bit more dynamic. I really value, now, my opportunity to slip into the amusement of a moment past, and it keeps me feeling refreshed enough to continue studying.

Examples:

In my biology class this semester, on the first day, in response to something the professor said, my neighbour turned to me and I wrote down what she said. “I love engulfing large particles.” Hilarious, and definitely comes to mind whenever I think about phagocytosis.

“Ladies and gentlemen... you’ll have to deal with his [a classmate’s] puns for the next four years!” Groans, mumbling, and then, “Not if you fail him, Professor!”

“Why would we [the professors] ever use l’Hôpital’s rule when we can just do it in our heads in two seconds with Taylor expansions? Ha!” (which is followed in my notes by: “him @ us fools/plebs.”)

Studying:

Task-based breaks, not time-based ones

I like to break up my time by task. I always read and hear tips that one should study for 1.5 hours and then take a fifteen minute break, then come back, rinse, repeat... My two cents: that doesn’t work for me. Not only am I notoriously bad at respecting the “fifteen minute break” limit, but approaching the 1.5 hour mark, I start to fidget and lose my focus.

Though it certainly isn’t productive or healthy to close yourself up in a room/library/class for hours on end, I find that having a task as your goal is much more rewarding than a time based one. If I tell myself I will eat once I finish all the math problems I have assigned, there is no way for me to creatively manipulate that goal.

That said, I think “productive” breaks are important. Regardless of how you set up your break time, it’s no good if all you do is flip open a new tab on your computer and watch youtube every hour and a half. Walks are good, the gym is good, a healthy snack is good, and the occasional episode of a short and funny show is good.

Ultimately, finishing a task is a great mental reward, and as long as you make sure to chunk responsibilities in manageable bites, you won’t find yourself working longer than is healthy, but you also won’t feel like time is working against you.

Study during daylight hours (in exam time, especially)

Wake up early and study. Try not to stay up late. Ultimately, you won’t get more hours of studying done just because you stay up late (then you sleep in, etc). Unless your productivity goes way up (which doesn’t make much sense, because one gets tired out after a whole day of existing!) at night, sleep when it’s dark and work when it’s daytime. Prioritizing sleep is so important.

Daylight stimulates so many things in the body - so don’t shut yourself up somewhere dark. Get out at least once, open the window, think about sunlight. Give yourself a change of pace from all the pages of notes you’re going through.

Your exam won’t happen at 4 in the morning. Make sure you’re going to be functional whenever it is, which won’t happen if you pull five all-nighters before the exam.

Also, don’t live off of coffee. I love it as much as the next person, and up my intake as stressful periods come and go... but it affects the quality of sleep and can sometimes work against you by making you fidgety. Tea is good as a ~caffeinated drink!

Other resources:

Read&Write

This is a chrome extension that reads your text out to you. There are probably a million other ways to have this happen, but I like this one. I find it hard to focus when I have to read my notes back, an essay I’ve written, or other dense readings. If someone is reading it out to me, it is easier to listen along and harder to get distracted.

Similarly, when doing long readings of well-known books (philosophy readings), I’ve found it very effective to search up the audiobook (maybe speed it up to 1.5 speed if on youtube!) and read my copy while someone is also reading to me. It helps me process the words on a few different levels - the reader’s intonation makes understanding easier for me, it makes it impossible to skim and miss important sections, and it gives me a chance to take some notes without stopping reading.

Rely on others constructively

Working with other people is good, but nothing replaces devoting time to something yourself. Your own ideas, while often positively impacted by discussion with others, can get lost if you only think the way someone else is thinking.

Shared notes are messy and don’t follow linearly. Everyone has different styles for note-taking. If you miss a class and get someone else’s note, rewrite it! After passing through your head, it will be more accessible to you. If you don’t, it’s as good as having it in a different language!

That said, if you have a final coming up with a million essay prompts or something, it can help to divide up tasks and make the preparation easier on you. My philosophy notes for the final are the result of collaboration. However, I intend to copy them to a private document, check them, verify quotes and concepts against my notes from the year, and finally modify all the notes I received. I cannot memorize what someone else wrote for me.

Also, don’t blindly send all your hard-earned notes to someone who does not deserve them, who won’t return the favour, or who is asking at the very last minute. Sharing a day’s worth of notes or helping with a specific question is always good. Writing notes with others in mind can motivate you to take more complete notes and follow everything in lecture! However, the choice someone makes to skip every class all year... is their own problem. Issues of academic dishonesty and plagiarism are not lightly dealt with at any level, so consider what’s at risk and at what possible personal cost before saying yes to every request.

Look for textbooks online (as late as possible)

If you want to avoid selling your soul for a $200 textbook and you don’t mind reading from a computer screen, always look for pdf versions of your textbooks. The catch: some professors suck and they make the most recent version of a textbook the required text. Some of them like to make money by releasing updates to their own books just days before the semester starts. Some have a million “recommended” resources that are... actually mandatory. Some will make you buy four solution manuals along with the textbook (none of which you want or will use). Some will make you buy a book you will never open.

Don’t play yourself by forgetting to buy necessary software for online quizzes or animations, but really look online for whatever else remains. You might be surprised about what’s out there.

All of this is old news. What I’m saying is: don’t get desperate if you can’t find your textbook online before classes start. If you know you can buy it from the school bookstore anytime, and you can afford to go a few lessons without a book (or maybe you can borrow a classmate’s!), wait. Someone will upload that pdf you need, but maybe it will take a few days.

I found two HUGE textbooks of mine online (bio and organic chemistry), though neither was available as a pdf at the beginning of term. My reason to have them both in paper copy and electronic copy is that I avoid lugging them around on my long commute. I also plan to sell the hard copies after the year is done, but keep the digital ones for possible reference.

So many resources are available - try them all out at least once

Inside the classroom setting, take advantage of review sessions and question periods to seek clarification.

If you want, make some friends in class - at least so that you have someone to fall back on if you’re ill, can’t come to class, or if your computer crashes and you lose everything. If you have questions after a practical, a problem set, an essay, or a test, there is always someone there who can help you work through it.

Outside the classroom... you have infinite resources. Free ones, too! Youtube channels like crash-course have helped me with getting a full understanding of historical periods and gaining a foundation for classwork. Professor Dave Explains’ channel has been invaluable for me in organic chemistry. I’ve listened through many a lecture by Dr. Sadler to gain new perspectives on some of my philosophy readings. I’ve also looked online for suggestions about approaches to different math problems and physics questions, because sometimes a comment in some random forum can inspire you to get to the answer!

Also, check out past exams and tests! Even if you can’t do them all or don’t have an answer key, they help you feel more prepared for the structure of an assessment. Along those lines, check out model answers or assignments if they are provided or offered. Before the assignment is due, this will help you make sure you are including everything you need. After the assignment is due, this will help you improve your answers and see where you went wrong.

Thanks for reading, I hope to be back soon with more tips!

#study tips #studyblr #coutdownstudyblr #masterpost #mine #motivation #notetaking #exams #ebook #school #uni #studying

58 notes · View notes

biopsychs · 7 years

Text

What I Learned From University (1st Year)

FIRST YEAR

Everyone is super friendly, especially in the first few weeks → Introduce yourself to the people sitting near you for the first few weeks of lectures. Everyone is looking for a friend or at least someone to talk to!!

If you commute, make that time productive → My bus ride was an hour there and back each day. It sucks but I would try to be productive for at least half of the commute. I have a post about being productive on public transport here.

On that note, stay on campus as long as possible each day → As soon as I got back home I would procrastinate every little thing. Stay in an already productive environment for as long as possible.

Maybe don’t buy your textbooks used → I thought I was being smart by buying used textbooks (most schools will have a buy and sell facebook page for textbooks). I ended up having to pay for access codes in order to do my online homework – access codes that cost ~$70 separately and came included with new textbooks anyways. Email your prof or talk to someone who has recently taken the class to find out if you need an access code. If you do, your best bet is to buy a new version of the textbook (unless you can get a seriously cheap used textbook).

Print off your timetable and find all of your classes before the first day → This helped me so much! I found exactly where all my classes were before the first day of class. I wrote down little tricks to help me remember where everything was (i.e. my calc lecture is in the arts and science building which is also where the only subway on campus is).

Don’t knock living at home to save money → If you’re lucky enough to have a college or university close to home at least consider living at home. Getting your own place or living in dorms is expensive. (But if you have to find off campus housing on your own, don’t leave it too late or you might not find a place)

Figure out the best way to take notes for each class → You have to customize the way you study for each class, all depending on the prof and the content. I hand-wrote notes for some classes (chem, calc, and physics), but not others (psych and bio). If you’re writing by hand you can always just annotate your textbook notes or lecture slides (if they’re posted before class). If you fall behind while taking notes, just leave a gap and check out a friend’s notes after class.

Adjust your expectations → Don’t expect to get straight A’s, like you might have in high school. You can strive for straight A’s but be realistic as time goes on. For classes I struggled with, I expected to be near the class average. If I was a lot lower than the class average then I would know to invest more time.

Make time for physical activity → If we’re being honest I hardly exercised during uni. Go for at least a half hour walk each day and try to start a physical activity routine. Get a friend and join a sports team, go to a fitness class, or commit to some form of a daily workout with them! You’ll feel bad bailing on someone else, plus working out is more fun with other people.

Review content throughout the semester → Reviewing little bits of content will save you a massive content review right before finals! Look through old notes while you wait for your daily coffee or take 15 minutes to watch some khan academy videos on stuff you learned in the first month of classes.

Think seriously about how much you can handle → Don’t take on too many responsibilities at once and consider all of your options! I worked weekends and some week nights throughout the school year. Looking back I should have worked less because my stress levels were way too high. Also, quite a few people I talked to took 4 classes instead of 5, for their first semester of university. I don’t think I would have done it, in the end, but it’s always something to consider.

Have fun but be responsible at parties → Always go to parties with people you trust!! If you didn’t do much partying/drinking during high school (like me), remember to pace yourself when drinking! Eat before you go out and have some water between each drink, till you find your limit. Don’t let yourself be peer-pressured into anything but also don’t be afraid to have fun! And check out if your uni has a safe walk program (someone will come and walk you back to your dorm or your car if you feel unsafe or nervous for any reason)

When procrastination hits, aim to be productive in some way → The only reason my biology mark was so high was because I would study biology whenever I got sick of studying for physics and calculus. If you know you need to study but just can’t do it, start by being productive in some other way – study a subject you do like, do your laundry, organize your study area, etc. Get your brain to start thinking productively.

Labs are difficult so be prepared → I had so many labs first year. Some tips: eat and hydrate before labs, never assume you can finish your prelab last minute, be nice to your lab partner, always remember lab safety (don’t be the person trying to wear shorts in the lab, TAs will not hesitate to kick you out), don’t rush through an experiment but be efficient, and ask for help (even if you feel like you’re bothering your TA).

Please go to bed early. Sleep affects everything → I was so dumb and would never go to bed early even though I had to be up at 6 am almost every day to catch the bus. Lack of sleep will catch up to you eventually!! Also, all nighters are not necessary, unless you make them necessary. I prioritized and never had to stay awake too late. And never pull an all nighter the night before an exam (you’re better off getting sleep and resting your brain).

Bring a water bottle everywhere → Buy a decent water bottle and always carry it with you. Even though my uni is small there are still tons of spots around campus where I can refill my water bottle!! Stay hydrated my friends!

A practice problem a day keeps the F away → This saying probably works best for science classes, but I guess a reading a day will get you somewhere too. Do something for every class each day, even if it’s just a practice problem or a quick reading. Develop a routine!

You’ll have lots of midterms → I was under the impression that midterms happened just once a semester (I thought I would have one week where I had a midterm for each class). That was not my reality. I had 2 or 3 midterms for each of my classes scattered throughout the semester. Study really hard for your first set of midterms till you get used to the high expectations!

Don’t worry about what other people are doing or thinking → This is mostly in regards to social media. I was bummed when I looked back on my first year of university, because I felt like I hadn’t done anything fun compared to other people. You only see the image that other people want you to see. You don’t know how hard someone worked or how hard they didn’t work. Just focus on you and how you can affect positive results in your life.

Other people literally don’t care about your appearance → My friend’s little sister visited campus and asked us “Why is everyone wearing sweatpants?” People literally don’t care. Dress nice and put lots of makeup on one day, because you feel like it, and wear sweats the next day.

Start essays and reports as soon as possible → You never know what might come up so be prepared for the worst! Outline your essay or graph your data as soon as you can.

Eat healthy and do meal prep → You can eat healthy during university! Set aside a couple of nights each week to do meal prep. Cook food in bulk to save money and don’t eat out too much. Try to have at least 1 serving of fruits or veggies with each meal or snack you eat!

Find a good study spot on campus → Explore your campus and figure out your favourite places to study. I had a couple of spots where I would always meet my friends to study and quiet spots where no one would bother me. Studying outside or in an area with natural light is always good.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your profs and TAs → This is the number one thing I’m going to try to do more of in my second year. TAs are chill to talk to and they can tell you tons of useful information on what upper year classes are like, which professors are good, why they chose to go to grad school, etc. If you’re struggling in lectures or labs, talk to your prof or TA! Make an appointment and be sure you can tell them exactly which concepts you’re struggling with or at least where you got lost. One of my profs told us he just waits hopefully during office hours for someone to come in. (Also profs love it if you ask them about their research or any topics they seem passionate about during lectures.)

Explore all the resources your university has to offer → My university has a program that is basically people bringing their dogs around for students to pet, in order to relieve stress. It actually works and gave me something to look forward to! Just be aware of your options so that if something in your life changes you know where you can go to ask for help.

Get a planner and utilize it → There’s no excuse not to have a planner of some sort. Use your phone, get a bullet journal, or buy a cheap planner. Have somewhere where you can record important deadlines and make to do lists. I also recommend back planning all of your studying at the beginning of the semester. Write down your midterms and finals dates and write down how much you’re going to study each day leading up to the exam. This way you’ll be able to look ahead at each month and figure out what needs to be done (i.e. getting an essay done early because the due date falls during a busy week of midterms)

This post ended up being a lot longer than I expected whoops. Take the things I said into consideration but remember that everyone’s experience will be different. Good luck to everyone heading to university!

My Other Posts:

AP lit tips

high school biology

organization tips

physics doesn’t have to suck: how to enjoy and do well in your required physics classes