Get Out Of Your Hot Chocolate Rut This Year And Try Out One Of These 10 Amazing Combinations! My Personal

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hello again dear friends!!! a lot of you have asked me how to stay productive during holidays + this is just a tiny masterpost to help you make the most out of your holidays :]

wake up early!!! this helps you get stuff done

also don’t sleep too late at night [unless it’s christmas eve or new year’s eve then i understand why you’re still up]

take time for yourself!!! practice your hobbies, take baths, go on vacation, sleep a little bit more…take a day to do whatever you may feel like doing, holidays shouldn’t be stressful [here are some ideas]

finish that book you wanted to finish or start a new one!! remember life is not just studying all the time

prioritise what you need to do + get your homework done asap!!! do the trickiest tasks first so you just have simpler ones left to do [if any]

revise!! this will help you just in case you have any important exams coming up after the holidays or just to keep your mind refreshed on the material you did in class

make a list of goals you want to accomplish next year!!

find time to go shop for gifts [if you do that sort of thing]

keep in contact with your family and friends!!! the holidays are the best time you get to talk to your family and friends, hang out with your friends and visit your relatives

organise your desk/room etc!! this helps you to free your mind and helps you stay productive [plus it’ll be prepared for the next scholastic term]

try to fit in time to exercise or go for a nice walk

avoid procrastination!! don’t waste your time no matter how good it may feel, you’ll thank yourself later [check out some apps here to accomplish this]

if you have any school projects, try to get most of them done during the holidays!! lord knows you’ll have a lot to do during the school year so any little extra work will help

try making your decorations instead of buying them [here are some ideas]

create shopping lists in advance!! these will help you make sure to get what you need and avoid buying what you don’t need [be it food, gifts, decorations etc.]

do some online shopping!! as you might be well aware of, january is the perfect time to treat yourself, take advantage of those sales

+ my masterposts

notes, studying, and self-study resources

self-study resources

supplies

igcse resources

improving your handwriting

how to studyblr

literature masterpost

organisation

aesthetically pleasing notes

annotating

studying a foreign language

really great apps

math

college + uni

motivation

biology

space!!!!

chemistry

physics

summary writing

the discursive/argumentative essay

the narrative essay + the descriptive essay

the ultimate english masterpost!!

stress relief

what i’ve learnt throughout my years of being a student

+ more

this is just about everything i wanted to say so i hope this helped a lot of you out!! happy holidays + remember to make the most of them while you have them <3

-helena xx

Thanks for all the suggestions. If you have more, just send me a fan mail!

Studying & Testing

time management

help on reading and research

help with memorizing and testing

learn how to study

google citations

googling tips

citing social media

awesome study tips

study techniques 

tips for a productive study break

How to study

study tips

How To Pull An All Nighter And Do Well On An Exam

thinking & memorizing tips

how to get motivated to study

Make flashcards

tips to help you focus

chrome site blocker

time management & motivating yourself tips

Study tips

Learning

Solve any math equation

Solve any math equation (2)

Alternative to Wikipedia

Square Root Calculator

Cube Root Calculator

Expression Simplifier

Multi Step Equation Calculator

Slope Intercept Equation Maker

Can’t Do Your Homework?

Chemical Equation Balancer

Cliffsnotes

Sparknotes

PurdueOWL

Take online college courses

How to multiply big numbers

Science equations simplified 

Teaches Everything

Crash Course

Solve any math problem

Online calculator

Simplified science formulas

Teaches you any subject

Essays

Essay Structure Guide

bibliography maker

How to cite

how to write an essay

google citations

social media citation guide

The Five-Paragraph Essay

Using Punctuation Marks

Deadly Sins Checklist

Formatting Your Paper

Writing About Literature

Basic Essay

Revision Checklist

Planning and Organization

Editing and Proofreading

Latin Terms

Essay Structure

Tips on Introducing Quotes

Academic Writing Tips

How to write an essay

Dealing With Stress

yoga poses for stress relief

about relaxation techniques

Music/Sound:

calm/nature sounds

chill playlist

coffee shop blues

coffee shop sounds

concentration playlist

relaxation

study playlist

4hours of classical music

calm.com

rainymood.com

4 hours of classical music

good background study mixes 1 2 3 4 5

Study Break Suggestions

really good basic tips

MIT study break tips

how to be productive on a break

how long to nap

how to pull an all-nighter

Notetaking

How to Take Notes on Power Point Slides

How to Read Hard Readings

The Art of Pseudo-Skimming

Rapid Note-Taking With the Morse Code Method

Accelerate Q/E/C Note-Taking

The Story Telling Method

Taking Notes from Research Reading

Dorm Life/Socializing

how to deal with a roommate you hate

creative ways to organize your dorm

avoiding big mistakes when picking a major

how to have a healthy college relationship

making friends in college

college packing list

how to bond with your roommate

pros and cons of joining a sorority

why being single in college is okay

adjusting back to school after a semester abroad

making the most of your college years

Dorm room survival

Health/Safety:

what to do if you think you’ve been drugged

how to deal with a hangover

dealing with loneliness

Rape Escape

falling asleep tips

How long to sleep

how to talk to and help an anxiety-ridden friend

how to wake up in the morning

keep taking your mind off of it

mental illness recovery tips

need a motivational speech? i like this one for myself.

not having a good day? :c

picking up a hobby can relax you during the school year!!

seriously just please try to relax ily

take your mind off of it

tips on self-love

when to go to sleep/wake up

working out is a total stress-buster.

Classes/Programs

choosing a study abroad program

what to do if you want to transfer

what to do if you have a bad professor

find out about your professors before you register

scholarships and financial aid

Food:

10 cooking hacks to get more bang for your buck

essential foods to keep in your dorm

eating healthy in a dining hall

cheap & healthy snacks

chocolate muffin in a mug tutorial

Coffee recipes to help stay awake

Every Starbucks drink and pasty

For the vegans 

quick and easy soup recipes

study snacks i ii iii iv v

thousands of quick and easy snack recipes

Yummy cheesiness!

40 on-the-go breakfast recipes

Money:

8 places to snag student discounts and deals

7 money tips for college students

5 ways to survive college on a budget

tips for saving money in college

Success Tips:

how to make the most of your course syllabus

developing discipline as a freshman

using the urgency vs. importance matrix to get stuff done

8 things successful students consistently do

35 valuable tips for successful students

4 types of apps college students need to use

how to create structure in college with a calendar and a to-do list

how to deal with homesickness

Staying Motivated to do Well

How Can I Stay Motivated and Finish My School Work?

25 Simple Ways to Motivate Yourself

Get motivated to study

How to survive freshman year

Other

Cheat sheet for becoming an adult

Surviving college

Finals survival guide

Studying strategies 

Homework help

Flashcards

CrashCourse

App that helps you manage your time

Citation tool

Can’t remember a word?

techniques for studying and learning

Crunch Day Studying:

Maybe you’re super ahead and want some pointers, or maybe you have a day or two before your exam(s) and you aren’t where you wanted to be. Life happens, you procrastinate, have fears of failure, saw your last set of grades, had a shitty schedule and sleep cycles to boot. 

I) First things first:

Go eat breakfast/lunch, keep refined sugar on the down-low to avoid spikes and mood-ruiners. Set a limit to how much caffeine you drink on the days before, because sleep is king. Grab some fruit and water to keep fueled for your trek.

Meet with a friend. 10 minutes, maybe even with your food. Get a quick hug, exchange a few words, just make sure you see a human face before you lock up so you don’t lose your humanity in the process. 

Take a quick shower if necessary, and at least wash your hands as a gesture to the sanctity of what’s to come.

Take a nap if necessary: trust me, just 20 minutes.

Set a bedtime alarm: and get 8 hours in for as many days as you can before your exam. Studying is all about programming those neurons to do the work on command, not treating them like slaves to your ideals of self-discipline and hardwork.

Clear some headspace: 5-10 minutes so you have a bubble to sit and study in, and nothing smells bad. If you’re feeling really energetic then run and put your laundry in and set up your laundry alarms. 

II) Environment: 

Silence your phone

Prepare your weapons: keep pens, stickies, paper, and printer at hand. And clear off that desk.

Light it up: Bring them over and turn it all on. I have a lamp and a million christmas lights attached to the underside of my bunk/over my desk

Get cozy: I wrap myself in my big fluff blanket and cannot study without it, #noshame

Not too cozy: don’t even look at your bed. Mine is lofted and hours go by if I ever get stuck up there. 

Put on some sounds or earplugs: contrary to popular belief most of us study better in silence, but some atmospheric pieces are listed below.

Gather your materials: printed notes and review questions in a binder

Set up your laptop: if you use it to study at all. I find it helpful if you:

close down all distractions: no steam, no calibre/ebooks, NO NANOWRIMO, no social media, no youtube/music, no anime, no manga, no photoshop, no fruityloops, etc whatever you do. 

have audacity: I record my entire study session, talking to myself in third person/teaching my friend Audacity how to do stuff because I love my friends but can’t trust them with my (academic) life. 

put up motivational photos: I open up some pictures on half my screen, like the one listed above (and more at then end of this post). The trick is to say “this is me, Imma do it” everytime you glance at it. 

use wordpad or evernote: they will suffice to generate that final study guide/practice exam: color code in whatever makes you happy, keep it under 5. Study method below:

III) One of many methods:

Take a practice exam/problem sets to determine your weakest sections (ahaha like the SATs), and to get a feel for the professor’s question style.

Make Outline of entire exam’s topics, thinking of that practice exam.

Fill in points, slide by slide (I digested the slides beforehand and wrote in sample test questions). Very effective for content heavy classes. 

Bold terms/concepts: especially if they showed up in the practice exam. (blue)

Make summary questions for each important bullet/subtopic, as you go (red)

Make test questions - finish each section, reflect, and write higher level, test questions (purple)

Mark down: Highlight anything that you need to review more. 

Test yourself using those questions, add in questions as necessary. Create a second study guide to focus on your weakest points for further refining. 

Have fun:

Sounds: sometimes it’s loud and generated noise is necessary (examples listed from white noise to musical)

SPACE ODYSSEY | Deep White Noise For Focus, Power Naps or Sleep | Sounds Like Star Trek TNG Engine

3 Hour Focus Music: Study Music, Alpha Waves, Calmi ng Music, Concentration Music ☯465

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim OST- All explore tracks - good if you need to do creative work or want to add emotional memory to your facts. “Broken Road” is exceptionally distracting for me though, so I’d use this at the tail of a study session.

Extended OSTs - mostly video game soundtracks 

More Motivational Photos: keep your favorites on your desktop or something

This Blog

r/getmotivated

Made my desk study-ready!

It’s essay writing season for tons of students!

After being a college writing tutor for over a year, I thought I would share my advice with all you awesome people on tumblr. This is how I write essays, but if you’ve got more tips, feel free to add them below. 

Happy writing. You can do it!

A summary on how to take good lecture notes (and get the most out of lectures)

#13 || Link to my study tips series

08•29•15 School Prep ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait for school to start! Spending this last week before school DIYing supplies, planning, organizing, and shopping. I hope you all enjoy your last week of summer, or if you’re already in school, good luck!

The first pages in my bullet journal - It’s already helped me remember so many tasks! 

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen

“The Diary of Anne Frank” by Anne Frank

“1984” by George Orwell

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" by J.K. Rowling

“The Lord of the Rings” (1-3) by J.R.R. Tolkien

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White

“The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien

“Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott

“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury

“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte

“Animal Farm” by George Orwell

“Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell

“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger

“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain

“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett

“The Lion, the Witch, and the Wadrobe” by C.S. Lewis

“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck

“The Lord of the Flies” by William Golding

“The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

“Night” by Elie Wiesel

“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare

“A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L'Engle

“Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck

“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens

“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare

“The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams

“The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett

“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens

“The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling

“The Giver” by Lois Lowry

“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

“Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein

“Wuthering Heights” Emily Bronte

“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green

“Anne of Green Gables” by L.M. Montgomery

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain

“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare

“The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larrson  

“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley

“The Holy Bible: King James Version”

“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker

“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas

“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith

“East of Eden” by John Steinbeck

“Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll

“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote

“Catch-22” by Joseph Heller

“The Stand” by Stephen King

“Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon

“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J.K. Rowling

“Enders Game” by Orson Scott Card

“Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy

“Watership Down” by Richard Adams

“Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden

“Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier

“A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin

“Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens

“The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway

“The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (#3) by Arthur Conan Doyle

“Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling

“Life of Pi” by Yann Martel

“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from Five Years of Weekly Knowledge” by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

“The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis

“The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett

“Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl

“Dracula” by Bram Stoker

“The Princess Bride” by William Goldman

“Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen

“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd

“The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel” by Barbara Kingsolver

“One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

“The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger

“The Odyssey” by Homer

“The Good Earth (House of Earth #1)” by Pearl S. Buck

“Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3)” by Suzanne Collins

“And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie

“The Thorn Birds” by Colleen McCullough

“A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving

“The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot

“Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O'Brien

“Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse

“Beloved” by Toni Morrison

“Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut

“Cutting For Stone” by Abraham Verghese

“The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster

“The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“The Story of My Life” by Helen Keller