Small Ways To Improve Your Life

Studio Ghibli tributes by Bill Mudron.

I made one of the frames into a gif! Hope it works -_-

Ghhh yeah tumblr ate the quality hm hm hm

being on tumblr is just so cozy... you know what i mean? instagram and twitter are all flashy and loud but tumblr is as cozy as my bedroom with scented candles on a cold November night

last year i used to sleep from 5 am to 10 am every day and it was Not Good for me. i’ve gotten a couple of questions about my sleep schedule so i thought i’d share some tips that helped me adopt a healthier sleep schedule. enjoy 🛏💤

i’ve been saying this to myself this morning and i’m going to say it to you in case you need to hear it: you are not here to be physically attractive. that is not your purpose. you are here to learn new things and be kind to people and listen to your favorite music and pet cute dogs and read big books and drink good coffee. you are here to see beauty in the world and create it when you can’t find any. you are not here to impress people with how you look.

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! 

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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! 

by Karen Leopold

The classes you wish you were taking this semester

How to study smarter:

So my (very cool) teacher was talking about this in class the other day, made me want to make a post about it.

The image above is adapted from the National Training Lab in Bethel, Maine. It basically shows how much information the average student retains when using certain methods.

Attending a lecture is only 5% and reading the material is only 10%.

Which could be a potential answer imo to why many people spend hours reading stuff and not retain most of it or not do well on tests.

Anything audiovisual increases the percentage of information you’ll likely retain up to 20%, having it demonstrated in front of you gives you 30%. Discussion (which can be done very easily) can make you retain up to 50%, practicing with your own hands means you’ll retain 75% and finally when you teach others you’ll retain a massive 90%.

So how can you implement this into your study routine to retain the most information?

Audiovisual: I think this is very easy, YouTube channels like Khan Academy cover almost everything, so go online, find some videos relevant to whatever you’re studying and watch them.

Demonstration: This is pretty much your teacher’s job, an example here would be anything related to social or hand skills, in my case interviewing and examining patients. At my school before we interview any patient or examine them my teacher does it first and we carefully observe. So whenever someone is demonstrating something pay full attention. And then if possible practice it (possibly with your friends as a role play) because that’ll increase the percentage of information you retained to 75%

Discussion: This is very basic and can be done simply by just reading the material before, preparing questions and engaging in brief discussions with your teacher throughout the lecture. Or if pre reading isn’t your thing just join a study group and discuss everything you’re learning over there.

I’ve already talked about practice briefly with demonstration, it’s pretty self explanatory (especially for OSCEs, for all you medstudents)

Teaching others: You can volunteer to tutor anyone or just take the lead in your study group. All of my teachers swear by this method. Some even suggest explaining to yourself if you can’t find anyone else but I have never tried it. (or force your family/boyfriend or SO to listen, that’s what I do)

Get creative and make the most of your study sessions, if anyone tries any of these please let me know!!

Losers/Lovers album by Shark Puppy. This is their second album, which encapsulates their time together in Derry, Maine as children. The band met when they were only thirteen!

1. Welcome to the Losers Club written by All Members. An upbeat tune with a classic rock styling. Vocals on record by Richie Tozier and Beverly Marsh.

2. Rock War written by Richie Tozier. A metal song with lots of guitar and bass. Cool drum solo about 1:25. Vocals on record by Richie Tozier.

3. Hamburger Helper written by Stanley Uris and Richie Tozier. A psychedelic song, slow and mellow, but a sense of urgency begs to punch through. Almost anxious. One of their experimental songs, often forgotten. Vocals on record by Ben Hanscom.

4. Birds at the Quarry written by Stanley Uris. Quiet and peaceful, incorporating bird song and even water sfx. Look out for the sounds of the didgeridoo, played by Mike Hanlon. Vocals on record by Stanley Uris.

5. Skinny Dip written by Beverly Marsh. A sexy song that shouldn't be played with children or parents around. Marsh owns her femininity and sexuality, taking it back from the male gaze. Vocals on record by Beverly Marsh.

6. Kissing Bridge written by Richie Tozier. Tozier plays every instrument in this recording, including strings, mandolin, guitar, and piano. Ethereal, loving, and sweet. It tells of a first love that remains hidden in the shadows, but blossoms within. Vocals on record by Richie Tozier.

7. I Fucked Your Mom written by Unknown band member. The band has hinted that one of their members wrote this about their crush, but they have been coy, not revealing which one wrote it. Fans speculate the slow and sensual love song was written by the vulgar lead songwriter Richie Tozier, but the band persists that it wasn't him, but someone 'unexpected'. Vocals on record by All Members.

8. Sewer Babies (We Were Rebels) written by William 'Big Bill' Denbrough. A punk song about getting in trouble as a kid. Fast, wild, and loose. Vocals on record by Bill Denbrough and Richie Tozier.

9. Derry Free written by All Members. Fast paced, rock song about freedom and the fears of adulthood. Vocals on record by All Members.

10. But It's Summer written by William 'Big Bill' Debrough. It is rumored that Bill really hates summer because of this song. It's angry, loud, and very different from his other songs. Vocals on record by Bill Denbrough.

Bonus:

Blood in the Bathroom by Beverly Marsh. Slow song about the fears of growing up and losing yourself. The fear of adults, of change. Beverly is usually known for her upbeat feminist songs, so the departure was surprising but welcome. She shows a vulnerable side of herself that had not been seen before. Vocals on record by Beverly Marsh.

Paul Bunyan Song by Richie Tozier. Quirky, silly music attached to very dark lyrics. Tozier speaks of toxic masculinity, internalized homophobia. The yodels (by Richie Tozier himself) in the background are threatening and hollow, a strange way to describe a normally silly form of singing, but it works. Vocals on record by Richie Tozier.

Lovers by All Members. A big, smashing love song about friendship, sticking together and never letting go. Vocals on record by All Members.