the cruel choice between pdf (free) vs physical copy (annotatable)
Can we romanticize humble academia?? Be in love with sharing your knowledge with others. having a sheepish smile on your face as you clumsily explain a concept that you fully understand but haven’t read up on recently. Happily help someone understand a complex concept that you do understand. Roll your eyes and make funny faces at people purposely being pretentious. Give away or sell at a reasonable price old textbooks that you know are still in use. Lend and exchange notes with other genuine acedmics. Encourage others with whatever their studies/aspirations are.
Pretentiousness in academia is so outdated, and frankly off putting. Romanticize the academic practice of being kind.
Physicists: the words we are using to define terms have specific mathematical definitions, so it’s important to use the correct words to talk about the correct quantity
Also physicists: Hahaha, luminous intensity isn’t an intensity, luminous flux isn’t a flux, and optical power isn’t a power!
animation screencaps
body visualizer
create infographics
desktop goose
help with writers block
boil the frog
professions based on your personality
best dictionary ever
fighters block
writing tool
slides go
slides carnival
online library
free movies and tv shows
free movies and tv shows #2
worldbuilding website
make music online
human pose reference
I'm still very much on break (basically just eating, sleeping, reading and swimming, it's delightful), but I want to sum up this year. It's been a fucking rollercoaster of a year and I still can't believe like half of the things that happened, both good and bad. Nevertheless, I want to focus on the positive ones to kickstart the new year in the most uplifting manner I'm able to pull off. Which is not very optimistic nor uplifting, but I can be at least not full of doom, haha.
I want to do this chronologically, just because I tend to forget the good stuff that happened more than two months ago.
Let's wrap this up!
presented at my first international conference (February)
prepped two PhD dissertation projects (April) and successfully defended them during the PhD programs interview (June)
wrote my diploma thesis while cooperating with the best mentor ever (January till June)
got accepted to two PhD programs and currently doing both of them! (June)
co-written three papers over the summer - two already published, one under a promising peer review (June-September)
defended my thesis and passed my state exams with straight As, meaning I got my master's degree! (September)
wrote a book chapter that got accepted (November)
quit the job I hated (January)
got rid off so much stuff I didn't need (mostly July, August)
read 130 books, yaaay
stopped saying yes to meetings with acquaintances just because I felt like I should see them (big one!)
found a functioning skincare routine (September)
started swimming again (and loving it) (September)
A lot of this year has been mostly about surviving, to be honest. I was battling a lot of anxiety and depression, I was extremely stressed at times and couldn't sleep. Swimming and taking proper days off helps, close friends help. I'm gonna do a post with some goals for 2022, so I won't spoil here that, haha.
It was a good year after all.
Take care!
M.
Oooh, I tried this method in first year physics too! It was very effective, since I got fine details from the pre-reading, which was supplemented during the lecture! This method worked fantastic (as long as I kept a routine)! Good luck with it!
aug 25, 2021
✨2/30 days of productivity✨
started taking notes on QM today. i think i figured out how i want to take notes this year (at least in this course); reading and taking a bit of notes pre lecture and then i made a column of space for adding things during the lecture so i don’t have to write everything down during the lecture, only the things i missed in my notes! this way i can focus more on listening and understanding during the lecture, i damn hope it works lol
Unrealistic polymath genius: has six PhDs.
Realistic polymath genius: just has the one set of degrees, but their bachelor’s, their master’s, and their doctorate are each in a different field, and they’d be happy to explain – at great length – how the three relate to one another.
“A rainy day is like a lovely gift – you can sleep late and not feel guilty.”
― Elizabeth Jane Howard
[id: an animated black and white gif of a person tapping a pencil on a blank sheet of notebook paper. /end id]
Dividers used are by @firefly-graphics and their IDs are in the alt text!
General school tips, dealing with online class, strategies for school in general, etc
How to pay better attention in online classes | another
Strategies to improve concentration
How to stick to your plans
Review Tips and Presentation Advice
Dealing with executive dysfunction masterpost
How to use google search like a unicorn
How to annotate a text
For the lazy night owl (masterpost)
University tips and advice
Avoiding burnout (tips + resources)
Dealing with impostor syndrome
Good emotional skills to know for college but also for life in general
Grad school advice
Study Strategies and other study advice things
For neurodiverse students (masterpost)
Studying with ADHD (the actual post is a joke about but check the notes - they have actual advice there)
How to study for an exam in a really short time (masterpost)
Scheduling studying + other productivity tips (masterpost)
Studying effectively
Lazy Study Tips
Study tips from a Psychology Prof
Studying with a study buddy
On productive breaks
Types of study breaks
How to deal with mental fatigue
Hybrid note taking nethod
Note taking guide
Upgrade your notes resources masterpost
Using google docs to take notes
Resources that could be useful for school and academics
Self study resources (masterpost)
Learn things for free (masterpost)
Textbooks | more textbooks
Sites to download literature masterpost
Free online courses
Asmr ambiences (masterpost)
Productivity apps and extensions (masterpost)
Wallpapers screensavers and apps
Productivity apps masterpost
Resources and Tips on specific subjects
Languages and linguistics of africa
75 free language learning resources
American Sign Language
Mandarin learning resources
Classical language learning
Course on reading poetry
Cultural quarantine masterpost
Sewing resources
Video essays | Essays/Food for thought
Computer science and engineering masterpost
IB Psychology Study Tips
How to study for mathematics
Study tips for accounting students
Black History Library
Not much school related but I included because they could be useful
Journal prompts
How to fill your empty notebooks (masterpost)
Dividers graphics for posts
How to start a studyblr | another post
Master the art of napping
Job interview tips + masterpost
Use firefox instead of chrome
Actual frugal recipes (lots of helpful websites and links)
drink more water instead of more coffee.
weekly goals are bullshit. set yourself 3-day goals. you’ll be less laid-back.
don’t just mindlessly stare at words. before you start studying, know your approach to it. have a plan.
summarizing the concept in your own words is the key part of taking notes. don’t just copy things down, convert them into your own way of talking, your own vocabulary, no matter how dumb and unprofessional it sounds.
don’t let the “studyblr aesthetic” fool you. studying doesn’t have to be pretty. summaries and notes can be messy as long as they’re comprehensible. you can always rewrite and reorganize them later. (honestly, you better do. and you better keep them.)
don’t throw away the papers you’ve solved your problems in. staple them to the fucking textbook. you need to see them constantly. cause you’ll need reminders of how far you’ve came, when you’re feeling discouraged.
don’t be an armchair analyst for your issues. if you have an idea then act on it.
remember: the exact point where it becomes difficult, is where your growth begins. take a deep breath, and try to focus on the paragraph in front of you.
get off your high horse and understand that if you’re a zero, you won’t go to 100 in a couple of days. first, you’ll need to reach 30, then from 30 to 60, and then from 60 to 90. nobody is 100 everyday. that happens very rarely.
you need to have fun everyday. you need to have peaceful time every single day. even on exam night. especially on exam night, actually. so make sure you’ve studied enough so you can have some time to yourself.
once you’re on a roll and in need of some challenge to stay on track, start writing down your studying hours. tell yourself you’re not allowed to do less than 80% of what you did yesterday. whatever the hell it was, even just one hour. so if yesterday you really studied for like, say 8 hours, today your goal is to study for at least 6 and a half hours. if you can’t keep up with that, make it 70%, or 60%.
be forgiving of yourself. be kind to yourself. even if you bounced back and lost your streak. start again. as slowly as you did before. take your time. it’s okay, you were there once you can get there again.