空儿 /kòngr/ -  free Time, Spare Time

大禹治水

I personally struggle with depression and anxiety, along with an eating disorder (which, believe me, can have its toll in your academic life) and chronic tiredness, so I decided to make this post to share things that have helped me. Here are some study / productivity tips!

If you are feeling burned out, take a productive, physical break. If i start feeling tired but my task isn’t done, I take a small productive break. I fold clothes, clean my brushes if I’m painting, clean your room, exercise, stretch, anything that will briefly take my mind off things. 

Don’t be too strict with your timetable: Allow yourself a 10 minute window between tasks because you might need a small break or something might come up. Have in mind that you will be doing the tasks you are planning to do, not the idealized version of yourself who doesn’t need breaks and doesn’t get tired (something I am definitely guilty of doing).

Don’t fight yourself! Your mood matters! Notice your mood and your body, how are you feeling? Are you tired, does anything hurt, are you thirsty, do you need to take a short walk? If you don’t feel like doing something very mentally taxing, you can put on a podcast, music or a YouTube video, and just organize your files, fold clothes, declutter your school folder, etc. You will thank yourself later without sacrificing your mental health even more. 

Have a place to write down distracting thoughts that you can address later. I have a recycled piece of paper taped to my desk at all times and there I scribble ideas and things I have to do. You can check the list later, just write those thoughts down and forget about them while you’re doing your task. 

Experiment with how many tasks you can do in a day. Set your priorities) and put tasks together and do a little bit of each category

Ask for help from your friends or professors! They just want you to do well and helping you or giving you a little bit more time is easy for them to give you. 

Eat the frog first. Do the most difficult thing first, the one you fear the most, the one that will take you more time and energy. I have found that some tasks seem a million times more difficult in the evening than in the morning, so I usually start with the most unpleasant tasks right when i wake up since I have more energy then. 

Break up everything in small parts. Outline a task before you start. Starting something is the hardest thing for me, once I know what i have to do everything is so much easier to do. Sketch it out, then just fill out the blanks. 

Be aware of your learning style. One of the reasons why you find studying a certain subject difficult might not have to do with the subject at all, but with how you are learning it. Here’s a test to find out your learning style 

Dedicate a whole day to one thing. This is an approach I use when I’m in a weird mood / energy fluctuation state. I just dedicate a whole day or a whole week to do something (this week is painting, I’ve gone a bit overboard), and it helps me to cram something until my desire to do that thing has gone away and then I can focus on something else. 

Force yourself to work on something for only five minutes. Only five minutes! I do this when I have tried everything else and I just cannot be bothered. Put on some music and promise yourself you only have to work on that assignment for five minutes, and then you can stop. Many times I see that it was easier than I expected and I continue working on it after the five minutes has passed. 

If you get bored easily, try multitasking with tasks that don’t require a lot of brain power. This is for my ADHD folks. I personally don’t have ADHD but here are some study tips from people who actually do: link one link two 

Put the deadline a few days earlier so you have time to ask for help if you need it. This is a very common study tip but definitely helps if you struggle with time management. 

Change the location or study with someone

Have multiple schedules: I personally have a high energy schedule and a low energy schedule. Both are necessary and I have found that they create a great balance. I can do a post on this later if you guys want! 

Build an automatic routine and group habits together. This might be good for forgetful folks. Have a morning/afternoon/night routine and group tasks that you tend to forget. Organize it around an even (before going to class, after a meal) to make it impossible to forget it. It will become automatic in no time and then you won’t have to worry about that stuff. 

Here are some reminders if you’re feeling discouraged. 

Chinese - 空房间  (kòng fáng jiān)

How do you say “an empty room” in your native language or the language you are learning?

别让那些不懂珍惜你的人来衡量你的价值。

Don’t let someone who doesn’t know your value tell you how much you’re worth.

真正的成功在于克服对不成功的恐惧。

True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful.

好好活、多多爱、常常笑。

Live well, love much, laugh often.

真的！(zhēn de -> true that)

如果你只读其他人都在读的书，你的想法也不会超越其他人。

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.

村上春树 Haruki Murakami

Something I want back for Christmas 😂

ho ho ho where did my motivation go

We’ve all been there: You have stuff you need to get done, you know you need to get it done, but no matter what you do you just cant get yourself to take out your stuff and do your work. 

I have this problem quite a lot, so here’s a post to help some of you out!

Articles

Read this to get some quick motivation (tw: curse words) It’s sure to get your blood pumping and give you the vigor you’re lacking!

Harvard’s solutions on how to stop putting stuff off

7 helpful study tips 

8 helpful study tips

Manage your time studying

How to seriously study

Detailed article on how to get motivated to study

10 study motivation quotes for all types of students

3 scientific backed study motivators

Videos

Unbroken

Dream (EXTREMELY INSPIRING)

Be Phenomenal

Why Do We Fall

Mindshift

Be Hungry

Stop Killing Time

Destiny

Vision

You Will Win

Study Spotify Playlists

Deep Focus

Peaceful Piano

Intense Studying

Productive Morning

Electronic Study Music

Study Time Starts Now

White Noise

Epic All Nighter

Focus Now

Late Night Focus

Genius Time

Nice and Easy Workflow

Motivating Study Blogs

@elkstudies, @getstudyblr, @minimaliststudies, @nehrdist, @tbhstudying, @highschoolering, @saturdaystudying, @stxdybug, @dangostudy, @raavenclaw, @academla

There are so many more studyblr’s, but those are just some I can think of off the top of my head!

I hope this helps motivate some of you guys, and good luck with all of your studies!  (੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭*:･ﾟ✧

真正的朋友愿意理解你的过去，相信你的未来，接受你的现在。

A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.