5 Sites Every Med Student Should Know About!

self discipline tips

here are tips I discovered very recently:

something is better than nothing. 5 minutes of work are better than zero. Just because you missed something on your schedule doesn’t mean you can’t still work on it, even for 5 minutes. Grow and build on this.

second drafts / reviews can be done after.

Don’t think you are going to do your very best work on the first try. Take the weight of perfectionism off your shoulders.

don’t think about doing it. just do it as fast as you can.

build on your productivity, not your failures.

If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once.

if you have a set of different goals to accomplish, begin with the most important one. Wait until the rotine of working for that one settles in (you feel productive and comfortable-ish), and then begin with the next. Repeat.

this way you’ll be building your way up and not juggling everything at the same time, hoping everything works out.

be patient with yourself, you’ll get there!

set smaller deadlines for your goals

have monthly and weekly-ish deadlines

e.g. if you are doing a project, due 22nd Feb, set personal deadlines, like have Introduction written by 2nd Feb, have Methods written by 10th Feb, have project complete by 18th Feb.

take them as seriously as you possibly can, don’t miss out on yourself.

write realistic daily tasks and don’t stop until you finish them. after them you can do whatever you want

on writing realistic daily tasks, the secret is knowing you can only do so much in one day, but trusting you can accomplish everything in the course of any period of time (a week, or 2 weeks or a month, etc.) because you will combine the work from all these different days.

it’s very tempting to write down all the tasks you need to accomplish in one day to just get over with it, but the real deal is you won’t accomplish half of them. You’ll feel very unproductive then, wich leads to demotivation.

spread daily tasks in the time necessary.

have a consistent sleep schedule.

if your mind isn’t ready everything will fall apart.

have one rest day per week where you plan nothing, do whatever you want except studying. this can be harder than you expect!

(don’t forget these are effective only if you actually put them into practice! good luck babes!!)

Instagram: bluelahe

Sunday, February 21.

I took these pictures last wednesday and forgot to post. 🌵 Today I have so much work to do, but all I want to do is watch the x files all day. That’s what you get when you procrastinate, Alicia.👽

General Resources

Figure Out What You’re Missing

Tennessee Tech Placement Test

Berkeley Placement Test

To Learn Concepts

Videos/Playlists:

Khan Academy - videos and exercises

Khan Academy’s YouTube - videos

ProfRobBob - short filmed lectures

brightstorm - has problems, explanation, and transcript

Websites

TheMathPage - a list of topics and basic explanation, includes problems and step-by-step answers

Coolmath - a list of topics, colorful explanations, and examples

WolframMathWorld - topics, vocab, and quick summaries (probably more useful as a review resource/recap resource)

CK-12 - detailed curriculum, has practice and resources

Open Textbook Store - textbook, homework sets, teacher notes, lecture examples, sample quizzes and exams…

Free courses:

University of California, Irvine at Coursera

University of Texas, Austin at edx

Textbook PDFs

Precalculus by Carl stitz and Jeff Zeager

Precalculus by David H. Collingwood, K. david Prince, and Matthew M. Conroy

Other Resources:

A formula sheet

Practice Problems

Non-interactive:

University of California, Davis Resource - list of topics and example problems and answers

NYU - list of topics and example problems and answers, like lecture note format

Mathematics Vision Project - has a mix of algebra, geometry, and trig. These are the “workbooks”  that my school uses.

Interactive

IXL - list of many topics and questions that increase in difficulty when you answer correctly.

List of Topics to Be Solid With Before Calculus

I took this list of topics from various internet sources and my own teacher. Resources to learn each of these are pretty easy to find. I haven’t taken Calculus yet (just have been freaking out about it), so if anyone has insight, please share!

Essential Alg/Precalc

*in italics are those my teacher stressed for my class in particular

find the equation of a line

trig (properties and values, unit circle, graphs, trig ratios (solve triangles using trig ratios & define), trig relations/identites)

different kinds of equations and graphing (polynomial, absolute value, exponential, polar, parametric, inequalities [esp those with absolute value], logs)

logs

limits

vectors

algebraic manipulation (factoring, completing the square, simplying expressions, solving equations)

–manipulate polynomials

formula manipulation

manipulation of abstract function expressions

function transformations (differences between y = f(x) + c and y = f(x+c) & the like, inverse functions)

using your calculator

analytical geometry

Memorize the following graphs visually - will help with derivatives (x^2, x^3, sqrt(x), 1/x, 1/(x^2), logx)

15 things I tell myself when I don't want to work/study

1. You are very lucky and privileged to have access to almost unlimited knowledge and you should appreciate that. 2. Be one of those rare people who step over their insecurities and succeed. 3. Only 5 minutes. Only today. (Repeat it 5 minutes later and every day). 4. You will know what to do as soon as you start. Ideas never appear from inactivity. 5. Make yourself proud. 6. One hour every day doesn’t feel much but it’s 365 hours a year. You can’t not succeed after so much work. 7. It’s not supposed to be easy. Nothing good is easy. 8. If you had a child to look after, you’d make them study because you want them to accomplish something. Don’t you love yourself? 9. “Everything you want is on the other side of fear” George Adair 10. Every mistake increases our chance to make progress. 11. If you give up now, you’ll have to return to this later anyway but from the very beginning. 12. Let the process be your result. 13. Every moment you thought your fears would suppress you has become the time you made it. 14. Maybe you think you can never find something to use your skills and mindset for. But if you continue investing in what matters to you, it will find its way out there. 15. I allow you to think globally. You have a right to the boldest dream.

“It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this.”

Hi, everyone! If you’re like me and you love a good game soundtrack or a great playlist of all sorts of game music, this is the masterpost for you. I’m one of those people who studies better with some music in the background, and what better way of making a study session more enjoyable than by listening to the soundtrack of your favourite game?

Why listen to music while you study?

Multiple studies have proven that certain students who listen to music while they study perform better academically. Unfortunately, it’s not for everyone, so you should really figure out if this is the right method for you before commiting yourself to it! The main arguement for studying with music is that research has proved that listening to classical music in particular helps the brain absorb more information and also helps stimulate one’s thinking! 

On the other hand, some people tend to lose all concentration when there’s any music or noise in the background, which leads to procrastination and lower productivity. In short, if you can’t concentrate on the task at hand and get distracted easily, this isn’t the best method for you! 

Playlists

I started actively looking for playlists with game music about two years ago and instantly fell in love. There are so many good playlists of various lengths and genres that are accessable on platforms like spotify, 8tracks, youtube, etc. All of the playlists include the tracklist in the description below them! 

Note: I won’t be adding any playlists from 8tracks because they only work in the US and Canada. 

i. General

Game music for studying: Some of you might have already heard of these videos before. They’re roughly an hour and a half long and include some of the more calming tracks from a lot of different games. All the names of the tracks are listed in the description below, which is super handy if you want to find out which game it’s from! I thought I’d put in the playlist of all of them so you can just press play and enjoy!

Video game music! 2.0: Probably the longest playlist you’ll find anywhere. a n y w h e r e. 223 hours of amazingness that you’ll never regret! 

ii. Calming/ relaxing

5 hours of atmospheric game music: This is one of my personal favourites. It’s very long so you don’t have to worry about looking for another playlist when this one finishes. 

Relaxing video game music: Another gem! Once again with all the tracks in the description. This one’s great for shorter study sessions since it’s only and hour long.

More relaxing  video game music: If the previous playlist was too short for you, check out this 3 hour one! I used this one a lot last year! 

Calming Nintendo music: A super great playlist for all you Nintendo fans! It includes some really nice tracks from the Legend of Zelda series, if you’re into those soundtracks!

Jesper Kyd playlist: Ever since I first played Assassin’s Creed 2, I’ve loved Jesper Kyd’s work. This is quite a long playlist including some of his best tracks from various games. My favourites are towards the end!

Relaxing Legend of Zelda music: You had to see this one coming. The LoZ series has some of the best soundtracks to study to (, in my opinion,) and some of the prettiest and most calming tracks. I highly recommend this 42 minute playlist for those times when you just don’t feel like working.

2 hours of sleepy video game music: This is also a little series of playlists. There are 4 of these videos in total, which adds up to 8 hours of sweet, sweet music. 

iii. Epic/ badass

Epic video game music: For all of you who need a little badass music in the background! 2.5 hours of epic and awe inspiring music to really get some work done! 

Focus - video game music: Spotify has some really great playlists, so I thought I’d include a few! This playlist is a little more epic and loud, but if that’s the mindset you really need to push through, this would be great for you. It’s an amazing 11 hours long so you’ll never run out.

Orchestral video game music: Another epic playlist, including the occasional lullaby. This is a 7 hour long playlist, so a little shorter than the previous one, but by no means less epic and badass!

Soundtracks

Compared to the playlists, soundtracks tend to be a mix of epic and calming music. Most games have their perilous moments and their I’m-so-relieved-I-managed-to-beat-that-boss-with-only-one-heart-left moments. The world of video games is vast, so I’ve selected a few of my favourite soundtracks to share with you instead of listing all of the ones I can find.

Legend of Zelda - Skyward Sword: One of my favourite all time games! The soundtrack is long too, so you don’t have to worry about looking for a new one afterwards. 

Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time: This game is widely believed to have the best soundtrack in video game history. All I can say is so sit down, gather your work and to just enjoy.

Final Fantasy VI: This 1994 gem has an avarage playtime of 65-70 hours. The game has such a good storyline and the soundtrack is a little old school with a lot of non-orchestral tracks. I’d still recommend this to everyone who likes an older style of video game.

Suikoden Tierkreis: I have memories of me just going to the overworld map so I could listen to the music. It’s that good. 

Bioshock Infinite: I’ve only ever played the first in the series, but I watched a walkthrough of this particular game and I loved it so much! The music is slightly creepy and loud sometimes but it’s a really great soundtrack overall.

The Last of Us: Another game I’ve never actually played, but the walkthrough was amazing. The soundtrack is very atmospheric and doesn’t have a lot of loud parts, so it’s generally calm. 

Assassin’s creed 2: My all-time favourite game ever. As you know from before, I think Jesper Kyd is amazing, so putting these two elements together makes a truly great game. The soundtrack is actually quite well known because a few of it’s most popular tracks are featured a lot in other playlists. E.g. Dreams in Venice and The Madam. 

The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim: I’ve listened to this one a few times and I think it’s really good! It starts off quite strong but it has a lot of calmer songs too.

Fable 2: The Fable series is well-known for being short, so the soundtrack is also on the shorter side. I know the dialogue in the game almost by heart and I can guarantee you that there’s a lot of atmospheric music in this soundtrack. 

Fragile: This one was recommended to me by a friend on tumblr years ago. It has really sweet songs and has a lot of piano centered tracks. 

Now get to work!

I hope I’ve helped you find the perfect game music to accompany you while you study! If you have any recommendations, feel free to send me a message! I’m always up to discovering new playlists/ soundtracks.

More posts

upgrade your notes!

how to start studying infrographic

handy apps for economics students

five easy steps to becoming a better you

feed yo’ brain

dealing with lazy groupmembers

X Lou

‘eat the frog' method

Hi all, it’s werelivingarts. I just stumbled across this method called ‘eat the frog’, which means you get the most difficult or important task out of your way first. I actually have been using this method for a long time, hope this post gives you a new way of managing your time and productivity! 😜 ❤️

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” – Mark Twain 

12/04/2016

For AP Gov’t, I like to type my chapter notes then annotate them during class discussions.

random things I do to fool my brain into staying interested during online study

changing my chrome cursor into something cute like a strawberry

changing my chrome theme to a wacky colour

adding stickers onto my laptop

listening to new music in a language I don’t know

or hyped video game music for energy

buying a fidget toy. like deadass I had my doubts but they’re so good

using the web paint extension while in meetings or lectures

changing the appearance of whatever note taking app you use

for epic gamers with light-up keyboards, changing the light’s colour settings

having a very hot or very cold drink 

putting said drink directly under my face when working and using a straw, so I don’t forget it’s there and don’t have to move my head much to sip

hav u eaten or drank anything today hey hello it’s already midday

sparkling water perchance?? it’s water but it’s fun and interesting

ambient fireplace 10 hours loop

alternatively, death metal hardcore bass boosted.mp3

putting on a ridiculous outfit and pretending you’re a wizard doing important work. I have given up on being “put together” at this stage

getting up and having scheduled dance breaks to move around

don’t like your chair? are u gay and can’t sit normal? try arranging pillows and boxes to make a diy cross-legged chair or sit on the floor

u kno when you get a million ideas during studying but u don’t want to break focus: hey siri okay google alexa remind me in a sec about this very specific thing that just couldn’t wait 10 more minutes to force itself into brain

giving up. lmao sometimes you genuinely need a break and nothing you do will make your brain focus so don’t feel guilty for needing rest! it’s technically more productive to spend the time resting and recharging than forcing yourself to half assedly focus and get nothing done

tl;dr- changing appearances of devices often for Spice, having small snacks and various drinks, hype music for energy, any and all fidget toys, knowing when to give up

I was asked to make a masterpost on websites like Codecademy, so I’ve tried to compile a list of the best (and mostly free!!). In no particular order: 

1. Codecademy [x]

I couldn’t not include Codecademy! Just in case you haven’t checked it out, it’s pretty neat. It has courses for learning languages and web developer skills.

Languages: Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, jQuery, JavaScript, HTML/CSS

Extras: Git, SQL, Command Line, AngularJS, Ruby on Rails

2. Code School [x]

This is pretty similar to Codecademy with the in-browser coding and such. It also has additional features like teaching videos. A good introduction to programming languages.

Languages: Python, Ruby, Javascript, HTML/CSS

Extra: iOS development with Objective-C or Swift, Git, SQL

3. Learnaroo [x]

Has tutorials followed by mini challenges based on the concepts you’ve just learnt! It also has some reference pages called “Learn x by Example”. Looks pretty good.

Languages: Python, Java, Ruby, HTML/CSS

Extra: Algorithms, Mathematics, + a bunch of premium membership stuff

4. Learn … 

A set of related websites (see below) which have mini tutorials on language concepts followed by mini challenges, similar to Learnaroo.

Languages: Python, Java, C, C#,  JavaScipt, PHP, Shell

5. Code Combat [x]

Basically, it turns learning to code into a game! As you move through the levels, new concepts are introduced, so the code you need to write to play the game gets harder. 

Languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Clojure, Lua

6. Codingame [x]

Similar idea to Code Combat, but a little more advanced. 

Languages: Python, Java, Ruby, C, C++, C#, Haskell, VB … there’s actually loads it supports.

7. Code Wars [x]

This is more for ‘training’ with a language you already know. It offers plenty of practice through challenges, so it’s really good for improving your coding skills. 

Languages: Python, Ruby, Java, C#, Haskell, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Clojure

8. Coderbyte [x]

This offers some video tutorials and challenges for a few languages, plus special courses on specific algorithms and bootcamp/interview prep. You need a premium membership for quite a lot of things, though (e.g. I don’t think you can watch any of the videos with a free membership).

Languages: Python, Ruby, JavaScript

Extras: Algorithms, Bootcamp Prep, Job Interview Prep

9. Free Code Camp [x]

Mini tutorials followed by mini challenges. Has a number of courses on the languages below!

Languages: HTML/CSS, jQuery, JavaScript

Extras: Git, Algorithms, + a bunch of projects to complete

10. Programmr [x]

Has courses to learn various languages through doing little exercises/challenges in the browser, similar to previous examples. Also has ‘zones’ for more languages, where you can find challenges, example code and projects people have shared. 

Languages: Python, Java, C++, C#, PHP, jQuery

11. CheckIO [x]

Only offers Python, but I still think it’s really great. You move from level to level, getting challenges which are gradually trickier. Learn by doing!

12. Rails for Zombies [x]

For people who already know a bit of Ruby, but nothing about Ruby on Rails!  Each level begins with a short video followed by interactive challenges where you program Rails in the browser.

That’s all (for now!) Hope this is helpful! (ﾉ^∇^)ﾉﾟ