So, I’m An Anki User And I’m Completely Aware Of How Intimidating Anki Can Be Upon First Glance.

Executive Dysfunction & ADHD study tips! 😙 🌷 😘

I’ve collected study tips from myself and others who struggle with studying. Here’s a masterlist of strategies people use to help :) For those curious, #3 is my personal favourite and is probably the main reason I didn’t flunk all of my classes this year. Feel free to add your own!

Sleep, eat, exercise. The basics. Treating my body right helps me keep a routine and makes me less prone to impulsivity. This makes it a little easier for me to do the things I need to do and fight back my executive dysfunction.

Play idle games while working. Anonymous says “I get bored very, very quickly and need constant stimulation, so every time I have to wait for something, I will immediately divert my attention. Having an idle game running helps me not to lose too much focus, so I get more work done as a result.”

Use a tutor. Since I can’t follow self-imposed deadlines, I create external deadlines by booking tutoring appointments. This forces me to make sure I have at least a basic understand of the material before the session so I know what to go over. Most schools have free peer tutors available, so take advantage (if your school doesn’t, try a study group)! This is a great way to create deadlines you can follow, and it always helps to study with someone who can answer your questions and keep you on task.

Play music. @luminarily says “Sometimes I sit in silence and I get bored of it or I get a song stuck in my head or something. But I have forcibly linked music playlist and actually doing something I need to do so that when I put on music I am automatically forced to do the work I was supposed to do. So it makes the work and the listening more enjoyable both and it’s easier to stay on task… I use unpaid youtube on my phone so I can’t leave the tab or else I can’t listen to music anymore so I can’t go on my phone. And also youtube mobile lets you set watch time timers, so when my music stops I take a break and don’t burn out!”.

Play ambient noise. Similar to #4. I am not stimulated enough when taking notes, reading textbooks, etc., but listening to music can be too much and makes me stressed. I like to play ambient noise (my personal nerdy fave is Slytherin dormitory ambience on Youtube lol). It’s enough to stimulate my brain, but not overpowering to where I get distracted or stressed.

Block out time to do work. @tidal-rose​ says “I find it easy to do stuff by saying ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’ But I don’t mean the procrastinate-y ‘I’ll do it tomorrow,’ I mean plan to do it tomorrow. Set aside a block of time when you are going to do nothing but the task. …I just realized this sounds like such a neurotypical answer oh gosh. It really does work to hack my executive disfunction”

Have a plan. If I don’t have a straightforward + actionable plan for right when I wake up, I will just do literally nothing all day. I have to know what I’m going to be doing when I wake up, like “shower, be at the library by 10am, and do practise problems there”. If I only have a vague plan like “study chemistry tomorrow” it’s a lot harder for me to do anything.

Start small. It often feels impossible to do even the bare minimum. When I can’t even get myself to write a single sentence of my paper, I try to do even less than that. Literally just open up a Word document. Even just opening up a blank page is a fantastic start, and starting is the hardest part.

Change locations. The longer I sit in one space putting off an assignment and stewing there in my anxiety about it, the harder it is to start. So I move. Even if I just go from my desk to the floor. Sometimes this can change my headspace enough to make it easier to do what I need to.

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When do I not need accents?

E + CT: élection, collecte, affection

E + double consonant (except initials EM-, EN-: emmerder, ennui): celle, équerre, greffe

E + R (within one syllable): perdre, dermatologue, termite

E- + S (initial) : espoir, essayer, essaim

E- + X (initial): examen, exemple, ex-copain

E + -T (last): bonnet, coffret, Juillet

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french person: 80

me, an intellectual: blaze it

french news vocabulary 🇫🇷

à la une   on the front page

les achats de précaution   panic buying

l'actualité, les actualités   news

affolé (adj)   panic-stricken

allégué (adj)   alleged

un appel   appeal, call

une arme   weapon, gun

une arme blanche   knife

les armes de destruction weapons of mass destruction

assassiner   to murder

un assaut attack un attentat   attack

un attentat-suicide   suicide bombing

l'avortement   abortion

la banlieue   suburb

un bilan   death toll

blanchir exonerate

blessé (adj)   injured, wounded

une bombe   bomb

un bouchon traffic jam

braquer to hold up, point a gun at

la canicule   heat wave

un cas de force majeure   disaster (natural or man-made)

les Casques bleus   UN peacekeeping forces

un casseur   rioter

une catastrophe aérienne   air disaster

une catastrophe écologique   environmental disaster

une catastrophe naturelle   natural disaster

censurer to censure

un cessez-le-feu   cease-fire

un cible - target

le chômage   unemployment

un collecte au profit des sinistrés   disaster fund

coupable guilty

un coup d'état   overthrow

une coupure de courant   power outage

le crime   crime

un criminel, une criminelle   criminal

une crise   crisis

un cyclone   cyclone, hurricane

se déclarer - to break out (eg. a fire) 

déclencher to launch 

décréter to declare 

des dégâts   damage

le deuil   bereavement, mourning

un désastre financier   financial disaster

un désastre politique   political disaster

les drogues (fem)   drugs

un éboulement   rockslide

une élection   election

une émeute   riot

une enquête   investigation

une épidémie   epidemic

extrader   to extradite

un feu   fire

un flic (informal)   cop

flotter le drapeau en berne to fly flag at half mast

la garde à vue   police custody

être mis/placé en garde à vue   to be kept in custody, held for questioning

le gaz lacrymogène   tear gas

un glissement de terrain   landslide

une grève (faire la grève)   strike (to be on strike)

la guerre   war

la grippe aviaire   bird flu

la grippe porcine   swine flu

hexagonal   French

l'Hexagone   France

un immigrant, un immigré   immigrant

les impôts (masc)   taxes

un incendie   fire

une inondation   flood

inonder   to flood

un insurgé   insurgent

des intempéries   bad weather

IVG   abortion 

le kamikaze   suicide bomber

la loi   law

la lutte (literal/figurative)   struggle, fight

une manifestation   demonstration

le meurtre   murder

la mondialisation   globalization

une navette spatiale   space shuttle

un obus   explosive shell

opération escargot   rolling blockade

un ouragan   hurricane

une panne d'électricité   blackout, power cut

la peine de mort   death penalty

la pénurie   shortage, lack

la police   police

un policier   police officer

la politique   politics, policy

le politique   politician

poursuivre en justice   to sue

le pouvoir d'achat   buying power

présumé (adj)   alleged

un procès   trial

le réchauffement de la planète   global warming

la région sinistrée   disaster area

une réplique   after-shock, counter-attack

la retraite   retirement

un scrutin   ballot, election

un séisme   earthquake, upheaval

selon (prep)   according to

un sinistré, une sinistrée   disaster victim

un soldat   soldier

un sommaire summary

un sondage   poll

soupçonner to suspect

le suicide assisté   assisted suicide

les suites aftermath

un syndicat   union

le système de santé publique   health care system

un témoin   witness

une tempête   storm

le terrorisme   terrorism

tirer (sur)   to shoot (at)

les titres   headlines, headline news

une tornade   tornado

les transports en commun   public transit

un tremblement de terre   earthquake

une trêve   truce

tuer   to kill

un vaccin   vaccine

une victime   victim  (Note that this word is always feminine, even when referring to a man)

viser  to target

voter   to vote

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🌸Human body vocab🌸

le corps - body

le cou - neck

la poitrine - chest

le ventre - belly

la hanche - hip

les organes génitaux - genitals

le tibia - shinbone

la tête - head

le sein - breast

le mamelon - nipple

la taille - waist

le nombril - navel, belly button

l’avant-bras - forearm

l’aine - groin

la cuisse - thigh

le genou - knee

la jambe - leg

le pied - foot

la nuque - nape

l’épaule - shoulder

le bras - arm

le coude - elbow

le poignet - wrist

la main - hand

la cheville - ankle

le talon - heel

le mollet - calf

la fesse - buttock

l’aisselle - armpit

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"Rester“

To stay: Je vais rester à la maison avec toi aujourd’hui - I am going to stay home with you today

To remain for a while: Ton coup de soleil va rester quelques jours - Your sunburn will remain for a few days

What is left: Il va rester assez pour demain - We are going to have enough left for tomorrow

One still has to: Il me reste à dire au revoir - I still have to say goodbye (i.e. and then I’ll be completely done)

Nevertheless: Il reste qu’ils vont partir plus tôt que prévu - Nevertheless, they are going to leave earlier than planned

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Study advice from a former/still procrastinator🧠🔍

So I’ve always stuggled with procrastination. I would stress myself out over doing no work and my solution was to continue doing no work. I got okay GCSE grades but if I would’ve revised/studied harder I could’ve done a lot better. These tips aren’t going to motivate you by themselves, unfortunately nobody can motivate you but yourself. I hope these help someone :)

Visual learners👀

Mindmaps help so much. Use as many or as little coloured pens and highlighters as you like. They really help you visualise the basic content of each topic.

Diagrams! But I don’t study a subject that uses diagrams? It doesn’t matter! Draw little diagrams and doodles to help you picture the content in a more fun way!

Colour code everything! Colour coding really helps you create cues. Cues are essential in recalling information so if you write your notes for one topic in purple and there is something purple in your exam you will activate that cue!

Sticky notes! You can put these everywhere. For my GCSEs, I had sticky notes: on the hallway mirror, in my sock draw, on the fridge, stuck to the TV remote. Literally everywhere you go on a regular basis or everything you use. Use digital sticky notes on MacBooks or set alarms with the info as the title of the alarm.

Use kahoot! Everyone knows what kahoot is so I’m not going to explain it. However, it is very fun and competitive and if you struggle to enjoy the content using a kahoot makes it a lot more fun.

Audio learners🎶

Record lectures or online lessons. You can use these to look back and listen to what your teacher is saying, listen to what they emphasise.

Watch YouTube videos on the topic. Honestly, ASAPScience’s songs helped me so much in GCSE science. It’s easier to understand and it gets stuck in your head if you want it to or not. (Just don’t listen to songs before opposing subject exams: I once had the periodic table song stuck in my head during an Literature exam- not helpful.)

Create mnemonics!! Just liked in primary school when we learnt the colours of the rainbow by remembering “Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain”, it’s so helpful. And, the stupider and funnier the more you will remember it.

Written learners📝

Rewrite them notes!! Rewrite them in different colours, type them up. Write them and see how much you can remember after 10 minutes.

Revision/note cards are amazing. You can lay out revision cards however you like. You can have them as questions with the answers on the other side, you can use it for the basic information or to just rewrite your notes in a form you can easily carry around with you.

Exam questions. This isn’t only for written learners, it’s for everyone. Anyone who ever has a test or exam for something. Use past exam papers or practise questions. Answer them and then use mark schemes to grade them. You’ll learn how to structure answers for different types of questions and you’ll also learn timing. It’s the best way to revise!

Overall tips🪄

You need to find something to motivate you. For you it can be getting into university, to show off to someone or even to just reward yourself. In all honesty, I use spite to motivate me. To prove people wrong and show that I’m more capable than they thought is an easy way to get myself to study.

You have to force yourself sometimes. There is never going to be a time where you want to study that extremely difficult topic that you haven’t been able to grasp. So you have to push yourself- this is harder for some than it is for others. But once you get into the swing of pushing yourself a little, it does become easier.

To counteract the point above, you have to take breaks. And I’m now taking, an hour break for 10 minutes of work. I mean, study for 25 minutes and have a five minute break and continue that. Get up, stretch, walk around, listen to song, get a snack and some water. Shake your body because sitting at a desk for hours on end is only going to hurt you.

Find a study buddy. Some people work better alone, I know I do. But some people need others to keep them on track and that’s perfectly okay! In my opinion, you shouldn’t choose your best friend as your study partner unless they are going to be strict with you. If you know that the person you plan to study with is only going to distract you, then pick somebody else.

Use a study group! Similar to a study buddy but in this case you can discuss the material you are going over and ask for other’s help. Peer mark fake questions for each other or again, do a quiz. Pick the right people and a study group will work perfectly!

Find a way to shut your brain off. Easier said than done, I know. But if you’re brain is pumping out thoughts about what you’re having for dinner or the show you watched last night, then you aren’t going to get anywhere. Some people use rain sounds (like me!!) but I wouldn’t recommend listening to music. You may think you’re new Playlist is going to get you excited to work but it’s only going to distract you. If you want to listen to music I would recommend purely instrumental music of songs that you don’t know- they’re plenty on YouTube!

Use reminders on your phone or study apps to keep you on track. I’ve heard so many people talk about the app, Forest. I have given it ago and I’d fully recommend it too. It has built-in reminders, sounds to listen to (and we know I love rain sounds) and small achievements to keep you motivated. You get rewarded with a tree or a few trees after your study session and if you get enough coins you can plant an actual real tree!! If you don’t want to pay £1.99, I completely understand so I would recommend Flora. It’s free and has almost all the same features as Forest. Give them a go!! (I will make another post about the differences:))

Speaking of phones, turn yours off!! Unless you’re using it for studying, in which case disable all notifications for a select period of time. You can set screen time limits on IPhones and if you really need it, get someone else to set the password so you can’t simply override it.

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Tiny vocab list for each star sign

Aries / Bélier 🐏

La ferveur- fervor

Le zéle- zeal

Revenons au nos moutons- let’s get back on topic (lit. Lets come back to our sheep)

Taurus / Taureau 🐮

le bien-être- well being

terre à terre- down to earth

Y a pas le feu au lac- there’s no rush (lit. There’s no fire in the lake)

Gemini / Gémeaux 👯

convaincre- to convince

drôle- funny

tête de linotte- scatterbrained, bird brained

Cancer 🦀

La tendresse- tenderness

sombre- gloomy

Avoir une dent contre (qn)- to hold a grudge against someone (lit to have a tooth against someone)

Leo / Lion 🦁

dramatique- dramatic

la volonté- will

Mettre le main au feu- to be sure of something (lit to set one’s hand on fire)

Virgo / Vierge 👩🏻

sous-estimer- to underestimate

serviable- wiling to help

chercher la petite bête- to nitpick, to find fault (lit to look for the little beast)

Libra / Balance ⚖️

Compromettre- to compromise

la justice- justice

Tourne la langue sept fois (dans la bouche)- think before you speak (lit. Turn your tongue seven times (in your mouth))

Scorpio / Scorpion 🦂

la passion - passion

la pulsion- impulse

tenter le diable- to tempt fate

Sagittarius/Sagittaire 🏹

Au hasard- by chance, at random

la joie de vivre- joy of living

mettre la puce à l’oreille- to get someone thinking about something, to tip off, to warn (lit. To put a flea in the ear)

Capricorn/Capricorne 🐐

le but- goal

la ténacité- tenacity

mettre la main à la pâte- to buckle down, to work hard (lit. To start kneading dough)

Aquarius / Verseau 🍶

excentrique- eccentric

la coopération- cooperation

Cousu de fil blanc- unpredictable (lit. Stiched with white string)

Pisces / Poissons 🐠🐠

Idéaliste- idealistic

sensible- sensitive

comme un cheveu dans la soupe- turning up at a bad time, an awkward moment (lit like a hair in soup)

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Hybrid Note Taking Style

A note taking method that blends the best of paper and digital note taking that I’ve been exploring lately. So far it’s working really well for me :) Hope it helps! 

Hybrid Note Taking Method

Problems with other note taking systems

Each note taking system has its pros and cons. Here are some of the problems I found with (fully) paper and (fully) digital note taking systems.

Paper

Can’t use the search function on your notes.

Can’t add images and other types of digital files easily.

Difficult to keep overview between notebooks.

Can’t share these as easily as digital notes.

Digital

Not as ‘romantic’.

Sometimes less engaging.

Lack of physical presence can lead to you forgetting about it.

Can be more difficult to do things like sketching, making schemes, making illustrations etc.

Benefits of Hybrid

I like using hybrid methods because they bring you the best of both worlds.

Easily searchable.

Information in your notes is traceable.

Makes it easier to find and carry out actions e.g. finding extra info.

Doesn’t damage books.

Allows you to embed different types of files.

What you’ll need

Source material (e.g. book, academic paper)

Any kind of notebook :)

Digital note-taking app → I like Notion (it’s free).

Step 1 - Read & number the material

As you go, use a pencil to lightly put numbers into the margins whenever you deem something worthy of noting down or remembering. This will help you locate the source of specific parts of your notes later.

Step 2 - Write Q&A-style notes

Write the information down in question-and-answer style. Come up with useful questions that link to the material you want to remember (e.g. Q → What is the main problem with using platform-based planning for new ventures? A → Assumptions underlying the plan are used as fact rather than best-guess estimates to be tested and questioned). Use the numbers you placed in the margin of the pages to specify the source of the information you used for each answer.

Example → Chapter 1 page 27 note 3 becomes 1.p27.3

Step 3 - Write actions as you go (Supporting notes)

Supporting notes

Write down your thoughts, anything you’re curious about, things you want to look up, things you’re confused about, actions you’ve been inspired to do, etc. For example → ?m Maybe I can apply this to my visualization assignment? / ! Look up what 'plurality of the future’ is / fex Organizational transformation through design. I find this a great way to support and manage the learning process.

Action key

Keep a small action key in which you have an overview of what your action marks mean (e.g. ?m→ questions to myself, f → find, fex → find example, ?? → I don’t get it, ! → general actions)

Don’t be afraid to customize your actions!

What you’ll get

Actionable notes

Your paper notes will contain a structured and easy to read overview of actionable items that came up during the reading. This can be questions you need answered, reminders to find specific information, etc. This will make them a lot harder to forget to do!

Easily traceable sources

With the codes you’ll be able to tell easily and quickly where the information you’ve written in your notes came from.

Searchable & review-ready notes

Notes will be (mostly) made in question-and-answer style. This will allow you to easily review using active recall. All you need to do is cover/hide the answer and you can check how well you truly know the material.

Thanks for reading!

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French Quotes About Love part 1

Life- 1, 2, 3.

1. Aimer, c'est vivre; aimer, c'est voir; aimer, c'est être- To love is to live; to love is to see; to love is to be.

2. J'entends ta voix dans tous les bruits du monde- I hear your voice in all of the world’s noise.

3. La vie est faite de petits bonheurs- Life is made of little pleasures.

4. L'amour est une rose. Chaque pétale une illusion. Chaque épine une réalité- Love is like a rose. Every petal an illusion. Every thorn a reality.

5. Le désir s'exprime par la caresse comme la pensée par la langage- Desire is expressed by touch like thought is expressed by language.

6. Une femme qui connaît sa valeur ne mendie pas l'amour- A woman who knows her worth, does not beg for love.

7. Je viens du ciel et les étoiles entre elles ne parlent que de toi- I come from the sky, and the stars only ever speak of you.

8. La vie est belle, et vous êtes comme elle- Life is beautiful, and you’re like life.

9. L'amour, parfois, c'est aimer quelqu'un qui ne t'aimera jamais- Love is sometimes loving someone who will never love you back.

10. L'esprit s'enrichit de ce qu'il reçoit, le cœur de ce qu'il donne- The spirit grows with what it receives, the heart with what it gives.

Part 2?

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