okay studybugs, to celebrate 20k+ (!! thank you so much?? what) i’m venturing into masterposts&helli

okay studybugs, to celebrate 20k+ (!! thank you so much?? what) i’m venturing into masterposts… sostudying loads & loads works to a point, but using time productively issuch a helpful skill (I’m still trying to learn) & can help reduce unnecessarystudy time/cover way more ground far more quickly so why wouldn’t you?? Methods:-The right studymethods are important, try a few and choose which work for youE.g. I know thatactive study methods work best forme, so I write notes/essay plans, do exercises/tests, make flashcards and testmyself, do past papers, and go over them all with a highlighter for goodshit/key mistakesCondense, condense, condense!! That’s why I use flashcards even morethan full-blown notes now, it’s so much quicker and easier to deal with smallchunks of infoAlso flashcards takeway less time in my experience – to make larger note-sheets pretty (which is aBig And Important Deal for me) takes a lot more time/planning/rewriting thanjust a little , A5- sized piece of cardI repeat: it is way quicker to write out 1 flashcard again than1 whole A4 sheet of notesOn that note(ha), feel free to rewrite your notes if they go a bit wrong, but only if you have time and it will bebeneficial to you. Re-writing notes can help get the information in betterand is not always a complete waste of time. If not, tho, chillax, swallow yourpride and keep on writing, even if you just had to cross out three WHOLE WORDSright in the middle of the page. Your examiner is not going to care. Promise :)Use online resources we forget about these too much! Use Quizlet for absolutely anything (more onthis below) and memrise is great tootho I don’t use/like it as much. If there’s a particular kind of test/resourceyou need, type it into Google, particularly if it’s for languages of for a setcourse (e.g. ‘EDXEL A-level History’), chances are someone else has needed itbefore too and it’ll be ready and waitingTeach what you’relearning or discuss it with your mum/friends, anyone. Just talk at them andtell them everything you know on the spot, it’s a great way to help youremember everything and also test gaps in your knowledgeAlternativelyjust sit and write everything you know and can possibly think of for a topic itdoes the same jobGeneral:-Let’s improve time management Study groups –beware to know thyself tho (if you think you and your friends will just spendages chatting then avoid avoid avoid)but these can be a great way of keeping focussed and productive over longerperiods of time, break up the monotony of studying and be a really helpful supportnetwork for a particularly difficult topicChecklists! And keep them after you finish the day,they are so so indispensable for planning, staying on track and working out howmuch you have left to do, as well as remindingyou how much you’ve already done (which is so important! Keep tabs on this! V.motivating and rewarding as well as instructive)Actually just plan plan plan this cannot be stressedenough. I plan what I’m doing in each session for my entire day in the morningso that I can keep track of how well I’m doing. It doesn’t matter if you fallbehind of catch up too quickly (lucky you), sometimes we over-estimate ourfabulousness! Planning just gives you a structure (which really helps everyone)and short-term goals to work towards, which are important to keep youworking/motivated Plan specificactivities/topics for each section. If you’re planning and writing in just ‘french’for 45 mins or ‘latin’ for an hour then you might as well not be planning atall. Instead write ‘french: practise essay – [essay title]’ and ‘latin: fourvocab tests (irregular verbs, adjective declensions, masc. & fem. nouns’Have a setschedule! Keep to similar timings throughout the day with regular breaks (weall know this but it’s important). Lots of people find Pomodoros helpful, Ifind them a bit to stop-start-y and I can’t get much done so I prefer to havelonger study periods with longer breaks. Donot work for more than 50 minutes at a time it is pointless, unhealthy andit does not work. Maybe try tokeep roughly to your school day timings to limit the amount of work you’redoing to a healthy level? I do 45 mins with a 15 min break each time (myprintable schedule is here sorry it’s a bit messy)This means evenwhen I’m at school I can do 2/3 sessions in the evening still sticking to thesame timingsWhat to do inbreaks – make tea, small exercises, browse social media, have a chatWhat to eatwhilst studying – blueberries (the food of the gods got me thru my GCSEs),nuts, any fruit (your brain runs mainly on natural sugars – not refined),anything green (smoothie, kale, avocado),fish (maybe not for a snack but hey whatever floats your boat (ha)) Drink lots ofwater (tea counts! especially if it’s black (leaf-water)), eat well andexercise it’s actually beneficial to your energy levels, mood and informationretentionWork in a well-lit(preferably natural light), comfortable and sensible atmosphere so you canFOcus – preferably quiet (exam practise) or if you need some noise make sure it’slow in the background so it won’t distract you – distractions = timewasting Feel free to gosomewhere other than your room if you know this is going to be more helpful! Ifind myself losing focus surrounded by my books etc. sometimes so coffeeshops/libraries are a really good option (especially with classical music in myheadphones)I like soft pianomusic when studying as it’s calming and easy listening without anyconcentration but if you want to have a look at other background noise go herefor music or here for general noiseApps &c.:-Disclaimer – I don’t often use apps to study. Almostall of these notes are just from brief interactions. I usually just use thedefault timer on my phone as my timings don’t fit the usual Pomodoro apps, butif you’re looking for something a little more snazzy my all-time faves (they’reall free) are:Momentum (chrome extension for laptop) – studyblrstalwart; I actually use this every day & I love it. Aesthetic motivating new-tab/homescreen with gorgeous landscapes, clock, inspirational quote and to-do lists Quizlet (website and app) – as I mentioned, my absolute fave appfor on the go revision. Any quiz/test you need will be there (within reason). Iway prefer it to memrise as I findthat just takes too long. 4 different ways to learn on the app + more online,once you’ve saved the quiz it doesn’t need wifi so you can use it literallyanywhere  Flat Tomato – fave timer I’ve found. Based onPomodoro but I’ve changed the settings and it works perfectly with the way I like to schedule my time (which is rare). To-dolist from which you can name each session & also looks pretty with nicecolours. V. simple, no habit tracker or anything but works really nicely &well FocusNow – Bye delay – free version of Forest which I’ve never used tho I know both are v. famous in thecommunity (and for a reason!). Has an adaptable timer (based on Pomodoro). Grows a ‘castle-farm’square-by-square for every session you go without clicking off the app. Habittracker & everything and v. sweet MinimaList – v. simple but lovely-looking andaccessible to-do lists. If you click on a to-do a timer for 15/30/45 mins comesup, and if you pick up your phone a dialogue box tells you to put it back down Pomotodo– really nice app fromwhat I can see, just as good if not better/more aesthetic than Flat Tomato, with habit tracker &c.and v. v. cleverly designed. The only thing for me is that you can’t change thetimings – it’s Pomodoro or nothing, but if that works for you would defforecommend (FYI I have an iPhone so the above apps are all from the app store. Some good google play ones I’ve seen are: Pomotodo (again), Brain Focus, ClearFocus, Focus Lock and Forest which is on google and apple too (but: ££))plus! focus & study more effectively; study better; study tips for lazy peoplehopefully this helps, feel free to ask if you have any questions or requests(also 1st masterpost eek so please be nice and let me know what you think!). striving for maximum productivity is the interminable struggle - good luckxxx e -- source link

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