It’s Essay Writing Season For Tons Of Students!

hey guys!!!

so this entire past month has been extremely, extremely stressful for me because i had so many exams and i only realised how hideously unprepared i was for them on the day before the exam, which was really really awful. so in the middle of september i created a studyblr to keep myself motivated + get some helpful tips from the studyblr community on how to go abt studying for tests. the results proved to be super helpful and ive resolved to keep running this blog for as long as i can, because it really helps me stay motivated and i’ve already learned so many things from the community, despite the fact that i’ve only been here for around a month.

but anyways, i decided to create this masterpost in order to help others stay motivated + keep studying not only well but also properly i.e. not necessarily studying for exams but life in general, if that makes sense.

~ staying motivated + focused

coffitivity

download the forest app

chrome site blocker

self control app

try the pomodoro technique

pomodoro printable

getting back on track

guide to staying motivated

an excellent post full of great advice

lots of great advice from an a levels student

masterpost full of motivational quotes

how to avoid procrastinating

100 reasons to study

how to study like a harvard student

motivational movies/shows

types of learners [what method of learning works for u]

motivation for harvard students [and basically all other students]

~ staying organized

5 habits of organized students

set up a bullet journal [1][2][3]

keeping school notes organized

use dropbox to store important files

masterpost on organizing schoolwork

a super awesome n helpful video tutorial

how to organize ur desk

how to study space

study space guide

study space tips and guidance

guide to study guides

atracker - track ur time and stop procrastinating [mobile app]

minimalist organization

masterpost on time management

time management tips

how to be productive

how to use a planner

effective planning system

~ note-taking

notability [ios app - best note-taking app imo]

note taking overview

cornell method

summary foldables

fastest way to take notes

simple, creative note-taking

how to make ur notes look pretty [infographic]

how to make ur notes look pretty [video]

taking notes from textbooks

taking notes during lectures

for: maths [1]

for: history

how to make mind maps

great supplies and stationery u could use to keep notes pretty and organized

what is visual note-taking?

how to: visual note-taking

what are sketchnotes?

how to: sketchnotes

masterpost on note taking methods

~ research techniques

how to google effectively

use google scholar as an alternative to google

one of the best websites for research [esp. while doing science projects at the last minute…i would know]

alternative to wikipedia

find books in nearby libraries

openlibrary [ebook library]

online journal search engine [find scientific publications]

~ essay writing

guide to writing a great essay

HUGE general writing masterpost [including essays]

a huuuge essay writing masterpost

how to write a university-level essay

how to connect ur points and ideas: transition words

editing checklist

advice: college application essays

improve ur vocabulary 

check the readibility of ur essay

website which grades ur papers and essays

~ free online resources & courses

openculture 

mit opencourseware 

the open university 

coursera 

khanacademy

codecademy [how to code]

memrise

study geography

online calculator

maths masterpost

amazing maths + general knowledge site [u must check this out!!!]

maths cheat sheets

mathway [solves any maths equation]

website that balances chemical reactions for u

study guides for many subjects

windows apps [not all study-related, but useful anyways]

more phone apps for productivity

list of great apps every student must have

crash course: psychology

crash course: world history + world history 2

crash course: anatomy and physiology

crash course: astronomy

crash course: big history

crash course: chemistry

crash course: biology

crash course: literature

crash course: us history

crash course: economics

crash course: us government and politics

crash course: intellectual property

crash course: ecology

free ebooks [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

masterpost of free ebooks

~ languages

memrise

duolingo [20+ languages - very fun and interactive]

lang-8

thesaurus

reverse dictionary [1]

learning vocabulary

how to learn any language

HUUUUUGE language masterpost [so many languages and resources]

literature masterpost [for english - reading something other than textbooks is important yo]

english literature for college students [masterpost]

english literature: sparknotes

english literature: cliffnotes

english literature: shmoop

english literature: crash course

english literature: novel guide

no fear shakespeare

self-studying languages

spanish: advice

spanish: getting started

spanish: vocab

spanish: grammar and spelling checker

french: advice

french: getting started

french: vocab

french: grammar and spelling checker

french: masterpost of amazing resources

japanese: getting started

korean: masterpost of amazing resources

~ survival tips + advice

how to study for ANY subject

10 mistakes when studying

101 study tips

studying for a test

general study tips

how to study

how to survive high school

how to survive college

college survival masterpost

things to avoid doing

college: applying for scholarships

giving presentations

improve ur handwriting

resume cheat sheet

productive + relaxing afterschool routine

productive study breaks

emergency life hack: send last minute assignments after the last minute without getting into too much trouble

~ mental/physical health

the thoughts room

the dawn room

the quiet place

it will be okay

international suicide hotlines

iphone feature [to use in case of emergency]

emergency chat [mobile app]

sleeping tips [1]

dealing w insomnia

bedtime calculator [1]

stress management

how to reduce stress

staying calm during exams

grief masterpost

list of happy things

motivation for when ur not feeling so good

~ stress reliefs

clear ur mind

healthy study snacks

mug cake masterpost

smoothie masterpost

salads masterpost

more study snacks to boost brain activity

creepy sites

taylor swift tumblr replies

draw cool neon things

musical sea creature

watch a cool dream

watch any tv show/movie

just shower thoughts

poptropica [so underrated, my favourite game site, it’s for kids but it’s so entertaining and so much fun]

plant personality quiz

cookie clicker

make cool colourful silk

make virtual sand art

fake tweet generator

fake text generator

listen to calming sounds

huge masterpost full of fun stuff

~ music

ghibli music

coffee shop blues

classical music masterpost

masterpost of studying music

classical vocal music masterpost

cute nostalgic piano music playlist

my favourite instrumental playlist of all time

my studying/instrumental playlist collection on 8tracks

i think that includes most of the best resources i could find!!! feel free to message me in case 1) any of the links are broken, 2) u want me to add on to something, 3) u have a suggestion for a masterpost [i would love that so go ahead and ask if u do] or if u just wanna talk! also, feel free to reblog and add ur own comments/resources. hope this helped!! 

- mli

not up to buying stabilo or staedtler? restricted access to resources? this post might help!

credit to studyception​ and ray over at fistudy for helping out with this post, because figuring out brands, stores, and prices in america is easier when you have a friend in america to talk to.

** note: i’m an upper class teenager, and i’m not an authority on what is/isn’t cheap. i also haven’t tried all of the things on here.

supplies

walmart has cheap five-star notebooks that are $1-2

at target 1-subject 5-star notebooks are $1.97, 3-subject is $3.87, 5-subject $5/6

also, five-star folders there are ~$2

do not use moleskines, especially if you can’t find them cheap, and i can’t say moleskines are often cheap. they are not worth their price.

a spiral or composition notebook works fine – compositions have sturdier spines, but spirals’ pages are easier to turn or tear out if they’re not perforated, so keep that in mind.

mead composition notebooks at target are $0.50

papermate flair pens can be found at costco, among other places. they’re $12 for a pack of 14 and are quite pretty. also, they’re better quality than stabilo — more ink, bleeds less.

dollar tree. you won’t find anything fancy there, but you don’t need fancy. use dollar tree.

don’t worry about brand names as long as it’s quality. yes, muji is expensive.

don’t buy those sets of 20 colored pens. if you’re into color coding, you need, what, 4-7 colors? three different shades of red isn’t necessary.

or if you don’t want a bunch of colors at all, go with blue and black and maybe a highlighter.

if looking for basic pens with black ink, do not bother with anything fancy just get one of those packs of 10 gel pens that are for like $2 or something (they better have these in the usa)

paperback books are cheaper. just make sure to treat them well.

free sat/ap prep materials here

english class: for finding novels (need that book for english?), tuebl has free epubs, you just need to know how to search it (there’s no viruses, though!). if you can’t read epubs because of the format, then download the epub and convert it to pdf (or another format). if you need a hard copy, book depository can be cheap but isn’t free.

if you need a laptop or tablet cheap, like <$100 cheap, pls try reading this post!!

for color coding, walmart and staples sell sets of four colored pens for $2-3 each

like the kipling 100 case? this is similar and $9 to kipling’s $40

advice

if you have a job or too many activities and get home late, squeeze in studying when you can – breaks between classes, at lunch, whatever you’ve got. if you’ve got a free period, use it. a’s before baes.

also, sometimes overworking yourself is your only option, especially if you’re short on time. do your best to prevent it — remember to eat something, don’t procrastinate, don’t get distracted.

want to use the pomodoro technique for studying, but you don’t have a computer or phone? use any clock you have and mark down the times on a piece of paper

if you want to minimize the amount of supplies: pens. highlighters. paper + cheap notebooks. i don’t recommend much else

workspaces

to be a studyblr, you do not need a pretty workspace (or even have one, use the floor, dinner table, couch, whatever), but if you want one, here’s some cheaper ways of keeping your workspace looking nice!

don’t clutter — put your paper in stacks, and if you have drawers/cabinets, use them

but if you don’t have too many papers put them in folders or binders

if you have boxes small enough to do so but large enough to hold your clutter, put the extra papers + stuff you don’t need often but may need later in the boxes and shove them under the desk.

containers help, esp. for pens, but they cost money. try using cups — the tiny, flimsy disposable ones will tip over for sure, but you can put smaller things like tape or erasers in there. bigger, more stable ones for pens.

want decorations? try making paper flowers [x x x x x] or glitter jars [x x x x x]. put up drawings if you’ve got the space.

buy washi tape if you can use up money on something pointlessly pretty, michael’s has so many varieties, and they’re $1-2 each. target also has some with thicker rolls, but it’s more expensive + less variety. costco has some as well! i’m recommending it for decorating. as far as its function as tape, you can use it as a label, but don’t try to actually hold anything together with it.

don’t like the look of those pen containers? add a strip of washi tape around the brim. put it on boring notebook covers. loop it through some paper clips and use that as bookmarks. you can try this [x] for inspiration, but it’s buzzfeed and i don’t recommend you try to washi tape your car or use it as wallpaper. some other suggestions: [x x x x x x]

(hint: yes, we use filters. photo editing is a thing.)

highlight your notes omg if you want to spend hours rewriting them to look pretty, that’s awesome, but highlighters will work

software

sometimes it’s easier to do things online than wasting paper or notebooks on it! means less stuff to carry around with you, too.

however, not everyone owns a macbook (or even has their own computer), so i tried to post sites that can be accessed across all computers and aren’t mac-only.

here, some websites — wolframalpha and mathway, and you can google some math things!

sparknotes will probably save you at some point

check your writing for things like cliches, passive voice, adverbs, etc, or just for grammar with:

prowritingaid editminion hemingwayapp autocrit spellcheckplus

search engines: ipl, orion’s arm (for science), ecoasia (save trees!), library of congress (about the usa), sweet search

also, if you don’t want to buy a planner/sticky notes/whatever that involves to-do lists, try todoist - available on the web, ios, android, chrome, firefox, windows, and os x / or wunderlist - available on windows, mac, android, iphone, ipad, windows phone, chromebook. i’m fond of both!

create citations with bibme or easybib

need somewhere quiet to study and don’t have much of a workspace? find uncrowded places in your area with avoidhumans

microsoft word costs so much money. use libre office. it’s free and basically the same thing. or try openoffice.

if you need to use public computers (there are probably some at your library or something): get a gmail account and use google chrome. when you’re using it, log into the account. bookmark all the things you need. as long as you log into that account when you get on a computer, those bookmarks will be with you, as well as your browser data/settings.

speaking of syncing across computers, evernote is cool for notetaking & google drive is your friend

other posts

internet resources

if you don’t have much money and you’re getting your first apartment

free online courses

sat help [because expensive prep books/classes, ew]

find cheaper or free textbooks/classics online [2] / but maybe read this post first [warning, all bold]

“i’m so poor because i buy too many books”

cheap online colleges

100 recipes for the starving student / similar: [x x x]

feel free to add onto this post x

005/100

I decided to do one of the “what’s in my school bag?” things.

Firstly, I’d just like to express my thanks to my faithful bag- I lug its huge soul everywhere and it has not once complained of showed any signs of stress. It’s somewhat like a Mary Poppins bag. Thank you, beloved bag.

I’ve got my Kikki K planner, which is an absolute lifesaver. I love it to bits. The A4 notebook which I use for random scribbles and things that don’t belong in my subject books. Then my textbook, which I’m always having to stop myself from highlighting in- I’ll be able to sell it one day I’m sure. My two subject books, these are awesome. I picked them (and about 5 others… oops) up from Kmart for $3! My beautiful pencil case which I get complimented on everywhere- it’s actually a makeup bag from Napoleon! It’s so lovely though. And my laptop, wallet, lip balm, and a collection of different medicines which I’m forever forgetting to take with me- perks of having a chronic illness that gives me zombie brain 🙈

Hate that horrible silence while you’re working/studying? Perhaps your music is annoying you? Or maybe you just want to relax. Try these to help you fill the silence:

Coffitivity - Coffee shop environement stimulator

RainyMood - Sounds of rain

USS Enterprise - Engine hum

Celestial - Sounds like airplane engines

Fireplace - Sounds of a crackling fire

Nature - Forest sounds

Oceanside - Waves Crashing

Train - Sounds from onboard a train

MyNoise - Customazible background noises

Try these out and you’ll feel yourself focusing a little more.

Academic Earth and Open Culture offer dozens of courses, text books, ebooks, and ways to educate yourself right at your fingertips!

[Edited: Make sure to read the full terms and agreements, and like most online course sites, do not expect this to act as a replacement for a real-life class unless any specific course you sign up for states it offers transferrable credits. Make sure you know most online-courses will not be recognized as a replacement for any part of any curriculum by credited educational institutions.]

Through Academic Earth, you can take courses in all of the fields below:

Business

Computer Science

Mathematics

Engineering

Science

Humanities

Social Sciences

Art & Design

Test Preparation

Academic Earth offers a variety of Universities, which you can click through below to see which University offers for specific online courses. 

Berklee College of Music

Caltech

Cambridge

Carnegie Mellon

Case Western Reserve

Columbia

Cornell

Dalarna University

Dartmouth College

Examkrackers

George Washington University

Gresham College

Harvard

IIT Delhi

IIT Kanpur

IIT Kharagpur

IIT Madras

Lund University

Michigan

Mises Institute

MIT

New School

Notre Dame

NYU

Oxford

Princeton

Rice

Stanford

The City University of New York

UC Berkeley

UC Irvine

UCLA

University of California San Francisco

University of Chicago

University of Houston

University of London

University of New South Wales

University of North Carolina

University of Western Sydney

Wesleyan University

Yale

Open Culture offers dozens of FREE  [500] online courses, [450] audio books, [500] movies, [40] language lessons, [325] ebooks, and [150] text books for your personal mind expansion!

Online courses from Open Culture include the listed topics below:

Archaeology

Architecture

Art & Art History

Classics & Classical World

Economics

Film

Geography

History

Journalism

Languages

Law

Linguistics

Literature

Music

Philosophy

Political Science, International Relations, and Law

Religion

Sociology

Urban Studies

Aeronautics

Anthropology

Astronomy

Biology/Medicine

Chemistry

Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence

Engineering [Mechanical, Civil, and Electrical]

Environment & Natural Resources

Mathematics

Physics

Psychology & Cognitive Sciences

Public Health

Business

Enjoy the over-abundance of free educational resources, and never stop exploring and expanding! And if anyone knows of any other great self-education resources, let me know!

Check yourself before you wreck yourself!

Made my desk study-ready!

Daily Pastel Planner Printables

Comes in the 5 colours pictured above (peach, pink, lilac, blue, mint). There are two versions. One with times put out, perfect for a schedule and to-do combo. The other one is without time and works well for long to-do lists.

All of them comes with dues, goals, to-do, important tasks, notes and a food section!

Download from Google drive for free (PDF files):

Day with times (12h clock)

Day with times (24h clock)

Day without times

I have weekly pastel printables too which you can find here.

If you use them, tag me in the picture so I can see.

Setting up my first bullet journal! I want to test it out as a planning method this summer. Please let me know if you have any tips!

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.’