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STUDYBLR

@silent-scholar-blog / silent-scholar-blog.tumblr.com

| Shannon • 19 • Canada | a nursing student trying to stay motivated and spread positivity ♡
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universtudy

How to Never Fall Behind in Classes

Alternatively titled: How to Use Your Planner or How Organization and Discipline Will Get You Better Grades

This is my full guide on how to use your planner effectively and make sure that you are never missing deadlines or falling behind in classwork and homework. This is definitely more about the university level and works best with a dated planner, rather than a bullet journal. Let’s get started! 

  1. Get all of your syllabi together and write down dates. Go through one class at a time and mark down all of your major tests and assignment due dates. I recommend putting these dates into the monthly and weekly views, and perhaps coming up with a symbol or other indicator that tells you they are of utmost importance. 
  2. Make a weekly schedule of when to complete readings and do a weekly review of notes. Instead of trying to randomly decide when to do these things, assign a date for each task for each class. If you have a tutorial on Tuesday, do the assigned readings for it every Wednesday. I recommend scheduling one to two weekly tasks per day, and to leave a few days open, whether it be weekends or days when you have a lot of classes.
  3. Make a master list of assignments. I find that sometimes, even having due dates in the calendar view isn’t enough, and they can still sneak up on you. The master list will be a good place to double check if you have any deadlines approaching easily. 
  4. In the week or so before a due date, create a checklist of smaller tasks needed to complete the assignment. Set individual due dates for each smaller task by working backwards from the due date. Smaller tasks may include finding sources, making an outline, writing a rough draft, and editing and adding references to create a final copy. Write the smaller tasks into your daily to-do list. 
  5. You can also do this with studying for tests, but the checklist would look slightly different. You could either sort by study method (first do flashcards, then do essay outlines, etc.) or sort by the topics you need to study. 
  6. Stick to the schedule you have made. Obviously, if something comes up and you need to move your to-do list around, do so! But if you aren’t doing anything and you see readings on your list of daily tasks.. do them. Having the plan set out like this makes it easier for you to remain disciplined. 

Why use this method? 

  • By creating a schedule for repeated weekly tasks like completing readings, you make sure that you can’t repeatedly push off smaller tasks until you are weeks behind. I don’t think it is very reliable to just will yourself to do readings, or to keep up with them without tracking it. 
  • By writing down all of your due dates, you will never be shocked to find out something is due the night before. You will know and you will be prepared. 
  • By creating smaller checklists of tasks to complete before a major test or assignment, you will never find yourself in a situation where you have an essay due in a few days and haven’t even started. You will be following a timeline and making sure you don’t have to rush.

I know this system may seem rigorous, but planning is the only way you can keep on top of your workload in university! Falling behind is a lot harder if you are organized and disciplined, and being on top of your workload will help you a lot when it comes to exam times… no cramming and all-nighters if you have been consistent all semester! 

To be honest, I’ve yet to stick to totally stick to these kinds of guidelines. Still, I like to read through them and reblog often, as it seems like each semester I’ve gotten a little better about implementing these kinds of tips and I think they’ve helped me tremendously over time.

I’ve seen so much evidence for the power of habit making over decision wherever possible.

I think next semester I will make a point of buying a dated calendar with ample note space so I can do these tips with ease and accuracy, yet still use elements I like of bullet journaling

I realize I have already reblogged this but it’s also good to put the due dates of major assignments ( however you define major) and exams into your phone and put two different alert reminders in case you’re like me who might forget to look at those lists but has her phone on her person 24/7

Excellent tip!! I write due dates in like 15 different places… so whatever you’re going to see the most, write it there.

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medemedemed

24.05.18 | That time I spilled my coffee after two sips and the only barista had to clean up after me and still gave me another for free. #imsosorry #thankyousomuch 🙌🏻 (Also, isn’t this just the cutest coffee shop?? I’ll take one of each plant please, thank you very much)

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mjalti

I know it sounds fake but you really do have a lot of silent lovers on this planet who look at you and wish they had your smile or your hair color or your humor or your intellect or your intentions or your heart, your manners, your eyes, your ease, even just you. People who are too shy to tell you what they admire about you or what they wish for you or who they see themselves becoming bc of you & they’re too shy to tell you. even tho it isn’t verbalized, the universe has still heard and the universe has loved you for helping out on its creations. You’re that person. You’re you.

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🍂 28 JUNE 2018 | 17:38 🍂

Today I studied some medicinal chemistry! I also got to watch a nice sunset from the office window, so life is good.

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HOW I GOT A 4.00 GPA- AND HOW YOU CAN TOO!

4.00- the golden number. Every student wants it, but how to get there? In this post, I’ll be giving you my best advice as to how I got my 4.00 GPA, and how you can get one as well. The post will be split into 4 sections- before school, during school, after school, and overall. Hope you enjoy! 

BEFORE SCHOOL:

  1. MAKE SURE YOU’RE COMING TO SCHOOL PREPARED. I can not stress this enough. Your school day begins before you even step inside a classroom. If you use a device to take notes, make sure you charge it overnight. If you use notebooks, make sure you’re bringing them all with you. Be prepared for the day that’s about to come
  2. EAT A GOOD BREAKFAST. Eating poorly literally diminishes your ability to think well. Have a balanced breakfast- keep yourself well fed throughout the day as well. 
  3. BE ON TIME. Starting your day late can sometimes put the whole day out of whack. Teachers can also take points away from you if you have poor attendance and punctuality, so make sure you’re always on time!

DURING SCHOOL:

  1. ACTUALLY PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS. Make sure you take advantage of the lesson time you have. The teacher is there to teach you, so try your best to learn. 
  2. GET THE IDEA INTO YOUR HEAD THAT CLASS TIME IS WORK TIME. I know it can be tiring to always be working. But, associating class time with play time is dangerous (and a hard habit to snap out of). You will have time to rest later- now it’s time to work. 
  3. PRACTICE SMART NOTE TAKING. Don’t copy everything the teacher says- that’s not effective. Be succinct, try your best to assimilate the information before you write it down. 
  4. YOUR TEACHERS ARE RESOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE- USE THEM AS SUCH. Ask them questions. If there’s a concept you didn’t quite understand during class, try to ask them about it later. This will show you are dedicated and have the desire to learn. 
  5. ACKNOWLEDGE DISTRACTIONS, AND AVOID THEM. If your friends are distracting you during class, don’t sit near them. You’ll have time to hang out later. If your phone is distracting you, turn it off or don’t bring it with you. Know what your distractions are and make an effort to avoid them. 

AFTER SCHOOL: 

  1. REVIEW WHAT YOU LEARNED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. You’re more likely to remember what you learned that day if you look at it more than once. Reinforce your new knowledge. 
  2. REST. It won’t do you good to just study your way into exhaustion. It’s not good for your mind or your body. Take care of yourself too. 
  3. STUDY REGULARLY AND EFFECTIVELY, NOT DAILY. You don’t have to study every day. I repeat- YOU DON’T HAVE TO STUDY EVERY DAY! That is not the best way to learn. 3 hours of productive studying are way better than 8 hours of ineffective studying. 
  4. GET YOUR HOMEWORK DONE WITH. I know, homework sucks for the most part. But teachers can discount points from you if you don’t hand in assignments on time, so just get it over with. 

OVERALL:

  1. GET GOOD SLEEP. Only about 15% of teenagers get enough sleep on a school night. Try your best to be in that 15%. Sleep deprivation can decrease your ability to concentrate and solve problems, so sleep well!
  2. UNDERSTAND THAT SOME DAYS WILL SIMPLY BE BETTER THAN OTHERS. It’s ok if you’re not doing too well on one day- don’t beat yourself up because of that. Vow to come back stronger tomorrow. Stay motivated and don’t lose hope because of some bad days. 
  3. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR STUDY SESSIONS. Keeping track of my study sessions is my favourite way to organise my studying. Since I struggle with hyperfocus, I time myself while doing a certain task so that I don’t lose track of time. I strongly recommend the app Focus Keeper for this!
  4. WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESSES. You don’t have to just accept not being good at something. For example, I struggled with History for the longest time, and it was always my lowest grade. But after months of working and working, I now do well in all of my exams because I dedicated myself to it.
  5. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, REMEMBER THIS AT ALL COSTS: NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, IS UNLEARNABLE. As much as some things are harder to learn than others, this does not make it impossible. Keep in mind that you can do anything by working hard and being dedicated. 

That’s it for today guys! I hope you found this post helpful!

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[ 4/50 days of productivity ] may 14, 2018

i finished that bio test and actually felt pretty good about it, so now it’s english and psych sooo we shall see how that goes. this is from some early morning studying and a delicious smoothie bowl :)

how are you guys liking the more frequent posts?

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