• alright. so you don’t want to study?? well the heard truth is that you’re going to have to if you want to do well in school. if i’m not feeling up to it, i like to remember why i’m doing it. we have the privilege of learning, so use it to your advantage. i’m working hard for my future. that school you want to get into? that dream job?also, treat every class you’re studying for as if it’s your absolute favorite class. you’re not always going to like the class you’re in or the teacher who teaches it. but it doesn’t matter, because you’re going to have to do well in it to achieve your goals!! try to actually enjoy what you’re learning. go on studyblr and find people who are learning the same subject. use outside resources to help you learn.
• get out the essentials. this includes all of the papers you need to review and your laptop. put away all distractions and get a glass of water next to you to stay hydrated. 
• plan ahead. as soon as your teacher announces there is going to be a test, break down the topics you need to review and schedule time to study these in your calendar. this way, you won’t have to think twice about what you need to do later and save time. 
• don’t cram. seriously. make sure to start studying well before the day of the test. you don’t have to study for hours a day, because that’s a lot more than we can handle. thirty minutes a day doesn’t seem like very much but when you do this for a week, it adds up to a lot! this is a lot more effective than cramming in four hours in the middle of the night before. (you will thank yourself later). 
• don’t just passively read over the textbook. this isn’t very efficient and won’t help you remember the information as easily. try reading aloud is a lot more effective! you can explain the content to yourself or to a friend. this way, you’ll be able to see if you actually understand it. if you can’t explain it, then go back and review your notes. also, practice practice practice! flashcards/quizlet are your best friend for vocabulary. do practice problems or redo past assignments.
• ask questions when you’re unclear about something to your teachers or friends! it’s the worst walking into an exam without understanding the major concepts you need to know. this may not be offered to everyone, but at my school, my teachers hold after school hours for students to work and ask questions. take advantage of it when teachers are open to helping you!
• study on the go! whether you’re on transportation or waiting for a class, take out your notes or flashcards and read over them! you can make recordings of yourself reading these notes to listen whenever!! this will save you valuable time for when you get home. 
• take breaks in your study sessions. every 30-40 minutes, i recommend relaxing for about ten minutes (don’t spend too long on breaks or else you might not get back to studying). you can put on a face mask, read a book, go outside for a walk, stretch, or whatever you like! this gives your brain a break to process the information you’ve just reviewed! but if you feel that you don’t need one, don’t force yourself to stop. 
• reward yourself! give yourself a little treat when you finish studying to motivate yourself! 
• remember that learning is hard! it may seem overwhelming, but if you try your best and have patience, things will get easier. the time you put in now will be worth it, even if it doesn’t seem as thought you’re making progress. these good grades will culminate into a really good gpa!! however, don’t focus all of your energy and time into studying. this will drive you straight into a burnout. It’s important to have balance, to make time to do some self care and socialize. 

make separate folders for each of your courses. google drive even gives you the option to change the colours of the folders. in these folders, add any relevant coursework such as the syllabi, readings, and your notes document.

once you receive the syllabi, take some time to take note of required readings, and assignment deadlines. i have created a free template you can save to your own google drive that you can access here. fill out:

- course code & name - prof’s name, office hours, and email - date(s) for each week of class - weekly readings (tip: if you have online readings, you can link them in the doc!) - & open the document outline (view > show document outline)

you also don’t have to use all these features. T B H, i didn’t do weekly readings. a lot. oops. BUT i did always pay attention in lecture. i simply deleted the “reading notes” header every week i didn’t bother to read.

some profs (bless their souls) post the slides sometime before the lecture. if you have the time, copy the lecture slides into your notes. and if they don’t…type real quick to get all the info as it’s happening (or go back to slides online after lecture to see what you missed out on). i separate lecture topics with headers, with the bullet points underneath (see above). if there is anything that the prof says during class that isn’t in the lecture slides, i will change the colour of the text to a different colour. any important concepts or testable material are highlighted.

• something is better than nothing. 5 minutes of work are better than zero. Just because you missed something on your schedule doesn’t mean you can’t still work on it, even for 5 minutes. Grow and build on this.
• second drafts / reviews can be done after.
• Don’t think you are going to do your very best work on the first try. Take the weight of perfectionism off your shoulders.
• don’t think about doing it. just do it as fast as you can.
• build on your productivity, not your failures.
• If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once.
• if you have a set of different goals to accomplish, begin with the most important one. Wait until the rotine of working for that one settles in (you feel productive and comfortable-ish), and then begin with the next. Repeat.
• this way you’ll be building your way up and not juggling everything at the same time, hoping everything works out.
• be patient with yourself, you’ll get there!
• set smaller deadlines for your goals
• have monthly and weekly-ish deadlines
• e.g. if you are doing a project, due 22nd Feb, set personal deadlines, like have Introduction written by 2nd Feb, have Methods written by 10th Feb, have project complete by 18th Feb.
• take them as seriously as you possibly can, don’t miss out on yourself.
• write realistic daily tasks and don’t stop until you finish them. after them you can do whatever you want
• on writing realistic daily tasks, the secret is knowing you can only do so much in one day, but trusting you can accomplish everything in the course of any period of time (a week, or 2 weeks or a month, etc.) because you will combine the work from all these different days.
• it’s very tempting to write down all the tasks you need to accomplish in one day to just get over with it, but the real deal is you won’t accomplish half of them. You’ll feel very unproductive then, wich leads to demotivation.
• spread daily tasks in the time necessary.
• have a consistent sleep schedule.
• if your mind isn’t ready everything will fall apart.
• have one rest day per week where you plan nothing, do whatever you want except studying. this can be harder than you expect!

studygram: tbhstudying