The First Pages In My Bullet Journal - It’s Already Helped Me Remember So Many Tasks! 

my bullet journal + key for study-stressed-hermione

I found what works best for me by writing down the most useful symbols from bullet journals I’ve seen around tumblr and adapting them to suit my own preferences and needs! Hope this helps x

today i just realized… i’m starting school next week! i know a lot of people have already started and others still have a little while to wait, but either way i thought i’d put together a little thing to get you all jazzed for the new school year because for some reason, i’m not really feelin’ it.

week(s) before you start school:

make a de-stress box!!

i plan on making a post about this within the week but… here are a few basic tips until then.

use a card board box- shoe boxes work best

include things that help you calm down when you’re upset/stressed

CD’s, special notes, soft pieces of fabric, face masks, temporary tattoos, maybe even a movie.

it’s also pretty calming to decorate the outside of your box with stickers, a collage, or just with paints and markers.

start a journal (or a bullet journal if you’re into it)

do some general research on new study methods

start fixing up your sleeping schedule

exercise 2x a week, then carry your new habit into the school year (even if you have a gym class! exercising on your own is soooo important)

(obviously) go school supply shopping!!! (make sure you only get general items though, teachers can sometimes be specific about what they want you to have for their class.)

diy your school supplies. it’s always super fun to buy cheap supplies and then customize them. make covers for your notebooks, tape or paint your pencils, or tie-dye your pencil bag.

the day before:

sleep in, it’s your last day of freedom

pack your backpack (if you haven’t already)

use a face mask

do some yoga

relax. it’s all gonna be great

go to sleep early

the first day

meet your teachers!

reconnect with your friends

ask questions

supplies

the syllabus (or if there isn’t one, ask for a general over view. most likely (if you’re in high school) they’ll talk a lot about expectations, but you should have time at the end of each class to talk

bring a water bottle. if you think you’ll be nervous (i know i will), sucking/chewing on a straw and carrying a bottle or just something to hold on to will help

the weekend after:

use your de-stress box!

do some yoga. it will help, i promise

don’t feel pressured to hang with friends right off the bat- jumping back into being social everyday from being social once a week (or less), (like me) can be a little daunting. take time for yourself.

read something, books can be a great way to wind down

your teachers (if you’re in high school) probably haven’t given out any assignments. if anything, maybe some in-class work, but nothing too awfully important. use this “free” time to maybe do some general research for topics at your teachers mentioned would be covered. this can be a great way to understand things better when you go more in depth in class

documentaries are great ways to learn about a topic without getting too awfully intense.

go school supply shopping again!! now buy the things your teachers request you have for their classes. these things can include fancy calculators, binders of a certain size, etc.

Sherlock Approved Study Tips for Visual Learners

Visual learners are those who learn best through what they see. For example, a visual learner needs to see a math problem worked out step by step rather than just listen to the teacher explain it in order to learn. If that sounds like you here some tips on how to get the most out of your study time. 

Not sure what type of learner you are? Take this test at Education Planner and find out!

1) Color Code Your Notes

Color coding your notes can help you visualize the information you learned that day and help you quickly identify the important bits. They also make your notes pretty and colorful. Try assigning each color a meaning. For instance, everything yellow is going to be on the test and everything blue is a homework assignment. 

2) Flash Cards

Flash cards are a great tool for both visual and kinaesthetic learners. To make them more visual learning friendly, copy down the graphs or symbols that your teacher used in the lesson and make a matching game with their definitions. Caution, do not over load your flash cards! With flash cards, the gist is better than a 5 paragraph essay. If you want to make your cards online check out this handy site:

3) Watch Tutorial Videos

Watching a video can be a great way to refresh your memory or learn a new concept. In a tutorial video you can pause, rewind, or fast forward the video whenever a concept is too hard or familiar. The Khan Academy and Youtube are both great resources for educational videos. On Youtube, we love

Minute Physics

Your Teacher Math Help

Khan Academy

4) Rewrite Or Type Your Notes

It may seem repetitive but rewriting or typing your hand written notes is a great way to review the lesson. For visual learners, seeing the information again and again in new ways helps it stick even deeper in your brain. 

Studying When On Your Period

If you’re like me, that period thing can be a life-ruiner. Your mood-swings are off the charts. You have to pee all the time. Some days you go through more tampons/pads than you want to admit (even if you change it “just to be safe”). The back pain is killing you. And don’t even get me started on the cramps from hell.

But life doesn’t stop just because you started menstruating. You still have an essay due; that exam on Friday is still happening. You need to study when all you want to do is curl up and watch Clueless for the 106th time.

Let me share the knowledge I gathered over the last 6-7 years of menstruation & school/uni.

Wear something comfortable. If you have to go to class, you don’t need to look like a super model. Leggings (or sweat pants) and an oversized shirt will do. You’re there for the knowledge, not other people’s approval of your jeans’ fit.

Get comfortable. If you can study at home, choose a study spot that allows you to get into a comfortable position. (Lying on my side is my go-to anti-cramp position.) If you need a smooth surface, take a kitchen tray into bed with you. You might even want to invest in a laptop table. They’re as cheap as £2.90 (Ikea) or £9 (Ikea)

Take a hot water bottle with you. Even to class. (I’ve sat with a bright red hottie in lectures before…) The heat will help your muscles relax and soothe the cramps. It even serves as a natural pain-killer. (More info here.)  

Drink water. Lots of it. Even if you’re going to have to pee every 30 minutes. You’re losing blood. Staying hydrated is vital!

You might want to get iron supplements. If your period is very heavy, you might be losing too much blood too quickly. Which means the iron levels in your body are dropping, making you more tired than usual. (And causing worse pain than usual.) Look into iron-rich foods or get iron supplements from the pharmacy. The ones I have taste like cherry. :) (More info here and here)

Take breaks. During your period, your life can seem extra stressful and you just want to curl up and watch Netflix. That’s okay. Do that. But only watch one episode. Then it’s back to work.

Try doing Yoga. If your cramps aren’t too bad and you can somewhat move (there have been days when I was barely able to walk to the bathroom), you can try doing some yoga. You don’t even have to invest in a yoga book or class or instrucional DVDs. There are lot of yoga videos on youtube. Start off easy. You just want to relax your muscles and calm your mind. You can exercise when the blood has stopped pouring out of you.

Take those pain killers if you need them. If all else fails and those damn cramps won’t stop and you have to get to class and get your shit together, you should take some pain killers. Please be aware of the negative effects that chemical drugs can have on your body! A lot of pain killers can have nasty side effects if you take too many of them. Don’t let (non-medical professional) others limit your intake – but limit yourself. Only you know your body and how bad the pain is. If you need medicine to deal with the pain, that’s okay. Make sure you don’t take more than you need though.

Please feel free to add to this list. Let’s make life a little easier for all the female students on tumblr!

i’ve been looking into different study methods so i wanted to compile them into one post, and that’s basically what happened sooo here we go!

note taking

sticky notes

rewriting notes

flashcards

summary foldables

mind / maps

annotating

cornell / notes

color coding

symbols + abbreviations

visual note taking

studying

study / guides

blank sheet method

in the library

at night

group studying

SQ3R

practicing!!

snowball method

time management

pomodoro method

3-2-1 hour system

planning your time

getting / enough / sleep

more masterposts!!

precalculus

algebra

geometry

(ap) chemistry

ap world history

studyblr-ing

the everything book

the pomodoro method

how to use flashcards

how to use sticky notes

welcome to high school

tiny study spaces

what’s in a pencil case

i hope this was helpful! keep shining like the star you are and remember to be awesome today!!

- Aza

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

How to Study Like a Harvard Student

Taken from Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, daughter of the Tiger Mother

Preliminary Steps 1. Choose classes that interest you. That way studying doesn’t feel like slave labor. If you don’t want to learn, then I can’t help you. 2. Make some friends. See steps 12, 13, 23, 24. General Principles 3. Study less, but study better. 4. Avoid Autopilot Brain at all costs. 5. Vague is bad. Vague is a waste of your time. 6. Write it down. 7. Suck it up, buckle down, get it done. Plan of Attack Phase I: Class 8. Show up. Everything will make a lot more sense that way, and you will save yourself a lot of time in the long run. 9. Take notes by hand. I don’t know the science behind it, but doing anything by hand is a way of carving it into your memory. Also, if you get bored you will doodle, which is still a thousand times better than ending up on stumbleupon or something. Phase II: Study Time 10. Get out of the library. The sheer fact of being in a library doesn’t fill you with knowledge. Eight hours of Facebooking in the library is still eight hours of Facebooking. Also, people who bring food and blankets to the library and just stay there during finals week start to smell weird. Go home and bathe. You can quiz yourself while you wash your hair. 11. Do a little every day, but don’t let it be your whole day. “This afternoon, I will read a chapter of something and do half a problem set. Then, I will watch an episode of South Park and go to the gym” ALWAYS BEATS “Starting right now, I am going to read as much as I possibly can…oh wow, now it’s midnight, I’m on page five, and my room reeks of ramen and dysfunction.” 12. Give yourself incentive. There’s nothing worse than a gaping abyss of study time. If you know you’re going out in six hours, you’re more likely to get something done. 13. Allow friends to confiscate your phone when they catch you playing Angry Birds. Oh and if you think you need a break, you probably don’t. Phase III: Assignments 14. Stop highlighting. Underlining is supposed to keep you focused, but it’s actually a one-way ticket to Autopilot Brain. You zone out, look down, and suddenly you have five pages of neon green that you don’t remember reading. Write notes in the margins instead. 15. Do all your own work. You get nothing out of copying a problem set. It’s also shady. 16. Read as much as you can. No way around it. Stop trying to cheat with Sparknotes. 17. Be a smart reader, not a robot (lol). Ask yourself: What is the author trying to prove? What is the logical progression of the argument? You can usually answer these questions by reading the introduction and conclusion of every chapter. Then, pick any two examples/anecdotes and commit them to memory (write them down). They will help you reconstruct the author’s argument later on. 18. Don’t read everything, but understand everything that you read. Better to have a deep understanding of a limited amount of material, than to have a vague understanding of an entire course. Once again: Vague is bad. Vague is a waste of your time. 19. Bullet points. For essays, summarizing, everything. Phase IV: Reading Period (Review Week) 20. Once again: do not move into the library. Eat, sleep, and bathe. 21. If you don’t understand it, it will definitely be on the exam. Solution: textbooks; the internet. 22. Do all the practice problems. This one is totally tiger mom. 23. People are often contemptuous of rote learning. Newsflash: even at great intellectual bastions like Harvard, you will be required to memorize formulas, names and dates. To memorize effectively: stop reading your list over and over again. It doesn’t work. Say it out loud, write it down. Remember how you made friends? Have them quiz you, then return the favor. 24. Again with the friends: ask them to listen while you explain a difficult concept to them. This forces you to articulate your understanding. Remember, vague is bad. 25. Go for the big picture. Try to figure out where a specific concept fits into the course as a whole. This will help you tap into Big Themes – every class has Big Themes – which will streamline what you need to know. You can learn a million facts, but until you understand how they fit together, you’re missing the point. Phase V: Exam Day 26. Crush exam. Get A.

hey guys!!! i love listening to instrumental + classical tunes whilst studying and recently some of you guys have asked me to make a study music masterpost so here it is :]

classical music + instrumental sounds [by me]

my classical favourites

+ another study playlist by me

+ another for a new semester

+ my spotify playlist [updated regularly!]

spatial tunes collection

spotify playlists for studying

intense studying

instrumental study

superior study playlist

peaceful piano

deep focus

soundtrack for study

music for concentration

reading soundtrack

perfect concentration

instrumental rock

electro-chill

spotify classical music playlists

50 handel picks

50 classical era picks

epic classical

gentle classical

classical essentials for beginners

classical romance

the complete chopin

50 bach picks

ballet class!!!

50 baroque picks

indie classical

game soundtracks

v6 youtube playlist

assassin’s creed

super meat boy!!!

journey OST

braid

the legend of zelda: the wind waker

bastion OST

the last of us

halo 4

study play on 8tracks

tv series soundtracks

hannibal’s music [love love loveee!!]

torchwood soundtrack

doctor who soundtracks [1-5]

game of thrones soundtracks [1-5]

sherlock season 1

film soundtracks

harry potter soundtrack

amelie soundtrack

gladiator soundtrack

pirates of the caribbean soundtrack

intouchables soundtrack

lord of the rings complete soundtrack

interstellar soundtrack

best movie soundtracks on spotify

vaporwave music [i heard it’s good for studying but i only listened to macintosh plus bear with me please]

macintosh plus

blank banshee

dream catalogue

2814

supreme space race

other calming sounds + apps

coffitivity

infinitestorm

rainymood

relaxing nature sounds

white noise

+ 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

how to stay productive during holidays

bullet journals

+ more

i hope this huge list helps you all out with studying + not losing focus!! + also i wish all of you a very happy 2016 <3

-helena xx

Four rules for a disciplined life

(Credit to reddit user ryans01).

No zero days. ‘What’s a zero day? A zero day is when you don’t do a single fucking thing towards whatever dream or goal or want or whatever that you got going on. No more zeros. I’m not saying you gotta bust an essay out everyday, that’s not the point. The point I’m trying to make is that you have to make yourself, promise yourself, that the new SYSTEM you live in is a NON-ZERO system. Didn’t do anything all fucking day and it’s 11:58 PM? Write one sentence. One pushup. Read one page of that chapter. One. Because one is non zero.’

Be grateful to the three yous. ‘There’s the past you, the present you, and the future you. If you wanna love someone and have someone love you back, you gotta learn to love yourself, and the 3 you’s are the key. Be GRATEFUL to the past you for the positive things you’ve done. And do favours for the future you like you would for your best bro.’

Forgive yourself. ‘Maybe you got all the know-how, money, ability, strength and talent to do whatever is you wanna do. But lets say you still didn’t do it. Now you’re giving yourself shit for not doing what you need to, to be who you want to. Heads up champion, being disappointed in yourself causes you to be less productive. Tried your best to have a nonzero day yesterday and it failed? So what. I forgive you, previous self. I forgive you. But today? Today is a nonzero masterpiece to the best of my ability for future self. This one’s for you, future homes. Forgiveness man, use it. I forgive you. Say it out loud.’

Exercise and books. ‘Pretty standard advice but when you exercise daily you actually get smarter. When you exercise you get high from endorphins (thanks body). When you exercise you clear your mind. When you exercise you are doing your future self a huge favour. Exercise is a leg on a three legged stool. Feel me? As for books, almost every fucking thing we’ve all ever thought of, or felt, or gone through, or wanted, or wanted to know how to do, or whatever, has been figured out by someone else. Get some books.’