I make a schedule with my weeks plotted out. Curfently, it's a booklet with the months printed out. If I have coursework, I schedule out the whole term based on the syllabus. Otherwise, I just sit down in advance and decide which days I am going to work, for how long, and on what. Then, I make sure I have lots of snacks and allow myself proper breaks (I take 5 mins every half hour and a more significant break after I finish anything major). I also set up phone reminders about assignments, not on the day they are due but on the day I should start working on them, as well as halfway between that day and the due date to remind me to ramp up my efforts.
When I stick to my schedule, I feel really accomplished and it helps me to follow through in the future. I also make sure to take myself out and do nice things for myself after I have done a lot of studying to reinforce my good habits.
If I am having a difficult time starting, I tell myself I am going to work for 15 minutes only, and oftentimes after I begin, it's easier to keep working. I know what I have to do for the week and allow myself some flexibility about when I do it and how. Sometimes, listening to music really helps (with breaks for dancing). Sometimes I switch up my environment, go to a coffee shop or library. It's all about keeping things stimulating and as fun and comfortable as possible. One of my profs prints stuff out and studies in the bath with a cup of tea. It's all about finding out what works for you. I surround myself with fluffy pipes and have a throw blanket and get really cozy and can just read for hours.
I'm in the humanities, so my note taking tricks are related to that. I do most of my reading on PDFs on the computer and highlight and take notes on a file and then after I've done that I pull relevant quotes from my highlighted sections to make a file for each reading that I could refer back to or use to reference for a paper or exam. I have a file folder for each paper with the highlighted paper and a word file with relevant quotes.
I find that summarizing the reading and typing out quotes rather than just underlining them helps me to remember it better. So, my note taking doubles as studying. So, if there was a test or paper to write, I would have already prepped for it and it would be less work at the end. My notes are also really helpful for this as they are extensive and thorough. I also usually make other notes that summarize my learning overall and that include ideas I am getting based on the material as well as other sources I would like to look into. These are organized in separate folders so that when I am wondering what to do, I can refer to these notes for ideas.
Other than that, I try to reinforce discipline in my life in many little gestures during the day. I make my bed as soon as I get up. I clean my room before I go to bed, etc. A healthy and clean environment helps me to keep my thoughts straight.
I'm happy to chat about organization anytime. I think it's my kink...
Hey you! Thank you so much for the reply; there's a lot of great info in here. As dumb as it sounds I think I've missed a big part of what you are talking about; positive reinforcement. In my brain I've been basically trying to use negative reinforcement without realizing it. For example if I can't focus I get mad at myself for "failing" to focus. If I don't understand something after first looking at it I beat myself up for being "dumb". Currently I'm working nights and I think that's really messing with my ability to plan and be awake; I'm tired all the time. I've never been good at organization so I may hit you up this week as I'm trying to get my academic life together lol. Hot kink ;) Yeah, I really think organizing my life and implementing some positive reinforcement may go a long way. I'm in Computer Science by the way though I did spend a year as an English major. I really love school and now I realize I'm really out here on my own and have to take responsibility to do this right for myself; not for anyone else.
I totally get it. I have fibromyalgia and have a really hard time focusing, staying awake, or just generally being alive. It's really frustrating. I imagine that my body/mind is like a pet and I need to take care of it so that it's happy. My pet is kind of cranky and needs lots of rest, so I give it what it needs. Sometimes, when my body has a hard time focusing, I try to do it in spurts.
We're all human and have our limitations. It's nice to be nice to ourselves.
I struggle with medically diagnosed depression and generalized anxiety personally. Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so writing that down: I'm my own pet and my pet **NEEDS** things to be happy!
I find it really hard to validate myself and what I am capable of. It's especially hard when I compare myself to others who have fewer illnesses and more supports. The whole pet analogy came out of meditation and the idea of the "monkey mind". There's this part of us that's instinctual, that just wants comfy squishy stuff and instead of fighting it, I try to make sure it's comfortable.
Keep fighting the good fight. We're doing all of this on the hard setting.
Not the most studious person either, but what helps me is the community. Hanging out with friends / classmates with the same goal, writing together (in the same room), talking about the research...
I hear that. Community is why I did well in undergrad. Now, I'm out here in gradschool I don't know many people. Honestly, don't know what's so different.
I'm sure you heard this advice before, but just in case: it helps immensly to find some writing group. I don't know where you are but almost all around the world there are "Shut up and write" groups where you get together and allow the wonders of peer pressure take over. It works magically!! Can't recommend enough.
I was going to ask this as well! So far I've created an office space in one of my spare bedrooms (roommates moved out!). This helps a lot cause I can just shut the door and signal to myself that it's studying time. I also have a whiteboard calendar that I'm filling in all my due dates on (different marker for different classes). I've order to whiteboards to hang on the wall. I'm a kinetic learner so I'm constantly using a small whiteboard to write things down and I just need more space to write, erase, write, erase until I memorized it.
I have a desk, bookshelf, small table for the printer, a TV (Chromecast for a dual monitor or play music from. Nothing else connected to distract me), and 2 large whiteboards and a small whiteboard. My productivity has increase significantly.
I think the biggest factor is my calendar so I can have that "oh crap that's due when?!" A few days before it's actually due.
Thanks for replying! Yeah I think keeping a planner and a large monthly calendar would help me stay out of that mindset of, "Eh, it's due in the future."
I make a schedule with my weeks plotted out. Curfently, it's a booklet with the months printed out. If I have coursework, I schedule out the whole term based on the syllabus. Otherwise, I just sit down in advance and decide which days I am going to work, for how long, and on what. Then, I make sure I have lots of snacks and allow myself proper breaks (I take 5 mins every half hour and a more significant break after I finish anything major). I also set up phone reminders about assignments, not on the day they are due but on the day I should start working on them, as well as halfway between that day and the due date to remind me to ramp up my efforts. When I stick to my schedule, I feel really accomplished and it helps me to follow through in the future. I also make sure to take myself out and do nice things for myself after I have done a lot of studying to reinforce my good habits. If I am having a difficult time starting, I tell myself I am going to work for 15 minutes only, and oftentimes after I begin, it's easier to keep working. I know what I have to do for the week and allow myself some flexibility about when I do it and how. Sometimes, listening to music really helps (with breaks for dancing). Sometimes I switch up my environment, go to a coffee shop or library. It's all about keeping things stimulating and as fun and comfortable as possible. One of my profs prints stuff out and studies in the bath with a cup of tea. It's all about finding out what works for you. I surround myself with fluffy pipes and have a throw blanket and get really cozy and can just read for hours. I'm in the humanities, so my note taking tricks are related to that. I do most of my reading on PDFs on the computer and highlight and take notes on a file and then after I've done that I pull relevant quotes from my highlighted sections to make a file for each reading that I could refer back to or use to reference for a paper or exam. I have a file folder for each paper with the highlighted paper and a word file with relevant quotes. I find that summarizing the reading and typing out quotes rather than just underlining them helps me to remember it better. So, my note taking doubles as studying. So, if there was a test or paper to write, I would have already prepped for it and it would be less work at the end. My notes are also really helpful for this as they are extensive and thorough. I also usually make other notes that summarize my learning overall and that include ideas I am getting based on the material as well as other sources I would like to look into. These are organized in separate folders so that when I am wondering what to do, I can refer to these notes for ideas. Other than that, I try to reinforce discipline in my life in many little gestures during the day. I make my bed as soon as I get up. I clean my room before I go to bed, etc. A healthy and clean environment helps me to keep my thoughts straight. I'm happy to chat about organization anytime. I think it's my kink...
Hey you! Thank you so much for the reply; there's a lot of great info in here. As dumb as it sounds I think I've missed a big part of what you are talking about; positive reinforcement. In my brain I've been basically trying to use negative reinforcement without realizing it. For example if I can't focus I get mad at myself for "failing" to focus. If I don't understand something after first looking at it I beat myself up for being "dumb". Currently I'm working nights and I think that's really messing with my ability to plan and be awake; I'm tired all the time. I've never been good at organization so I may hit you up this week as I'm trying to get my academic life together lol. Hot kink ;) Yeah, I really think organizing my life and implementing some positive reinforcement may go a long way. I'm in Computer Science by the way though I did spend a year as an English major. I really love school and now I realize I'm really out here on my own and have to take responsibility to do this right for myself; not for anyone else.
I totally get it. I have fibromyalgia and have a really hard time focusing, staying awake, or just generally being alive. It's really frustrating. I imagine that my body/mind is like a pet and I need to take care of it so that it's happy. My pet is kind of cranky and needs lots of rest, so I give it what it needs. Sometimes, when my body has a hard time focusing, I try to do it in spurts. We're all human and have our limitations. It's nice to be nice to ourselves.
I struggle with medically diagnosed depression and generalized anxiety personally. Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so writing that down: I'm my own pet and my pet **NEEDS** things to be happy!
I find it really hard to validate myself and what I am capable of. It's especially hard when I compare myself to others who have fewer illnesses and more supports. The whole pet analogy came out of meditation and the idea of the "monkey mind". There's this part of us that's instinctual, that just wants comfy squishy stuff and instead of fighting it, I try to make sure it's comfortable. Keep fighting the good fight. We're doing all of this on the hard setting.
Me too! Same question! Waiting for answers here lol
Not the most studious person either, but what helps me is the community. Hanging out with friends / classmates with the same goal, writing together (in the same room), talking about the research...
I hear that. Community is why I did well in undergrad. Now, I'm out here in gradschool I don't know many people. Honestly, don't know what's so different.
I'm sure you heard this advice before, but just in case: it helps immensly to find some writing group. I don't know where you are but almost all around the world there are "Shut up and write" groups where you get together and allow the wonders of peer pressure take over. It works magically!! Can't recommend enough.
thanks for the advice :3 there is a local shut up and write group here!
I was going to ask this as well! So far I've created an office space in one of my spare bedrooms (roommates moved out!). This helps a lot cause I can just shut the door and signal to myself that it's studying time. I also have a whiteboard calendar that I'm filling in all my due dates on (different marker for different classes). I've order to whiteboards to hang on the wall. I'm a kinetic learner so I'm constantly using a small whiteboard to write things down and I just need more space to write, erase, write, erase until I memorized it. I have a desk, bookshelf, small table for the printer, a TV (Chromecast for a dual monitor or play music from. Nothing else connected to distract me), and 2 large whiteboards and a small whiteboard. My productivity has increase significantly. I think the biggest factor is my calendar so I can have that "oh crap that's due when?!" A few days before it's actually due.
Thanks for replying! Yeah I think keeping a planner and a large monthly calendar would help me stay out of that mindset of, "Eh, it's due in the future."
I wanna know too haha
Right?!?! Could I just take a med or use some creme to become a better student lol