How To Learn A Language When You Don’t Know Where To Start:

How to Deal with Study Burnout

As students in this day and age, it’s quite common for us to juggle rigorous academic responsibilities and overwhelming extracurricular activities. As a result, we might feel burnt out. But what exactly is burnout? 

Burnout is when you feel physically and mentally exhausted as a result of constantly lacking the energy required to fulfill the demands of your studying.

Burnout can be broken down into three parts:

Exhaustion is what causes you to feel tired all the time and unable to concentrate. You could also get sick or have trouble sleeping.

Cynicism or depersonalization is when you feel disconnected from those around you, e.g. your friends and family.

Inefficacy is a decrease in productivity, efficiency, or quality of your work.

How do you know if you have burnout?

Symptoms may vary, but they include:

Being unable to absorb new information

Intellectual exhaustion

Decreasing academic performance and productivity

Feeling like you need to prove yourself

Making yourself work even more, even though you’re exhausted or being unwilling to study further

Neglecting your needs

Long term fatigue

Showing disinterest in things you normally enjoy, e.g. hobbies or friends

Denying that something’s wrong with you (may manifest in the form of aggression)

Avoiding social interaction

Feeling empty and depressed

What can I do to fix it?

Here are some short term solutions for dealing with burnout.

1. Take a power nap Power naps are life changing. They help you recharge your energy and get you ready to start working again. They also improve learning, memory, creativity, alertness, and mood. I would recommend napping for 30 minutes at most, because anything more will lead to a longer sleep session.

Optional: drink coffee before your nap - something that takes a short while to consume like a shot of espresso - so that you’ll feel alert and revitalized afterwards!

2. Take a shower A cold one will wake you up, but a warm one will calm you down. I suggest starting with warm water, then ending with cold water.

3. Exercise Whether it’s playing soccer or doing yoga, the important thing is to get moving! Exercise releases endorphins or happy hormones that help you combat stress.

4. Run a quick errand This will help take your mind off things while also getting something done! You’ll also end up walking, which is technically a form of exercise.

5. Call or visit a friend Sometimes what we’re lacking is social interaction, and hanging out with a friend definitely helps. Whether it’s providing you with a distraction or giving emotional support, your friends are always there to help you. Plus, science has shown that being with friends reduces your cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

6. Eat a snack Preferably a healthy one. Eat something with proteins, vitamins, and fibers to boost your mood. Here’s a list of mood boosting foods.

7. Surf the web This requires A TON of discipline, but it’s definitely a game changer. Surfing the web is one of the most relaxing things you could do. I personally look for a good laugh during my study breaks, so I’d watch a comedy or scroll through memes to get those happy hormones up and running.

8. Do an activity you find interesting, e.g. a hobby We all need happiness in our lives, and our hobbies are perhaps the best way to find that joy. You could sit down with a page turning adventure, or go outside and shoot hoops, or listen to a podcast, or even bullet journal, as long as you’re having a good time.

9. Listen to music Music is one of the ways we gain energy, so I always make time for it during the day. However, you should choose the right music, because not all the music you love is going to make you feel energized. For me, it’s pop punk with hard hitting beats, thundering guitars, and really upbeat, enthusiastic vocals. Some of you might be energized by mellow music with dreamy vocals that make you feel like you’re floating in the clouds. If you choose the wrong music, you might just end up feeling sluggish and drained.

10. Get some fresh air Your brain needs 20% of the oxygen in your body. Fresh air brings more oxygen to your brain so that you can think more clearly, feel less tired, and concentrate more easily.

How do I make sure I don’t get it in the future?

Avoiding study burnout in the long term has a lot to do with our study habits - as well as our daily habits. We need to make sure that our bodies and minds receive the things they need, and that we aren’t overworking them.

1. Study a little at a time Break up your notes into smaller, more easily digestible pieces and learn a little at a time. This way, you’re not overwhelming your brain, and you have time to let that new knowledge settle in.

2. Time management Having a good study schedule is crucial in preventing burnout. You don’t want to force yourself to work at your slow hours. Aside from that, you definitely shouldn’t leave things until the last minute, and sticking to a schdule will help you pace yourself. Here’s a post I wrote on How to Make an Efficient Revision Schedule and How to Beat Procrastination.

3. Get enough rest I cannot stress enough that sleep is so important for you. It improves your cognitive functioning and also enhances your mood, making it less likely that you’ll get burnt out. Make sure to take power naps, too, if you feel like you need them. 

You also really shouldn’t pull all-nighters. Sleep is also involved in cementing memories in your brain, so if you study a little before you sleep, you’re bound to remember more than if you studied a chapter during an all nighter.

Having trouble sleeping? Here’s a post I made about my night routine and how to get better sleep.

4. Cycle your study environments Your body and mind are bound to get tired from being in the same location for prolonged periods of time. The best way to fix that is to study in different places: at your desk, your backyard, the dining table, a cafe, a friend’s house, the library, etc.You should find a frequency that works for you. I like to switch it up every 2-3 days; some people change locations every week.

5. Eat well As I’ve mentioned before, healthy foods with protein, vitamins, and fiber greatly improve your mood and your physical health. Proper nutrition will give your brain the power it needs to push through. Also make sure not to skip meals; honestly you’ll just end up feeling terrible afterwards.

6. Take frequent breaks Let’s face it, we’re human, we’re bound to get tired from studying for a long time. Taking breaks enables our brains to digest the information we just learned in a pace that works for it. Breaks also help us focus on something other than studying, so that when we do get back to it, we’ll be ready to digest even more information.

7. Set realistic study goals You’re gonna memorize all 500 pages of your biology textbook in one day? Good luck with that. Some of you might be compulsive studiers, but this kind of habit isn’t very good for your brain or your physical health. Studies have shown that excess studying can lead to lower productivity, fatigue, and - you guessed it - burnout. In the end, this will result in lower academic performance, perhaps even in the long run. So instead of trying to study so much in one sitting or one day, break up your material into chunks.

8. Maintain your social life Wherever you lie on the introvert-extrovert spectrum, everyone needs social interaction once in a while. It keeps you sane and healthy. Go out with your friends, have a sleepover, or maybe even a study date.

9. Start the day right What we do in the morning can significantly affect our mood for the rest of the day. Sometimes we don’t even feel like getting up in the morning, or doing anything that day. One thing you should do is create a morning routine you enjoy to jumpstart your day. Here are 8 Morning Habits for Productivity.

10. Think positive When we’re feeling burnt out, it’s hard to not think negatively about everything. In reality, that just makes our condition worse. So think positively! Start small, like congratulating yourself for getting out of bed today, and then work your way up to bigger accomplishments, like finishing 2 chapters of your textbook.

11. Keep a stress diary This is kind of a new concept for me, but it’s really great. How it works is that each day, you would write down all the things that made you stressed and how they made you stressed. This will help you identify the things you’re doing that’s causing your burnout, e.g.

Too long study hours? take regular breaks

Too much time in the same place? cycle your study environment

Not eating properly? set aside time to eat healthy meals at least 2 times a day

Not doing the things you love? schedule in time for that, e.g. during your long breaks

Not getting enough human interaction? make a study group

Too much negative thinking? adopt a positive mindset (you can always start small)

Not getting enough sleep? fix your sleep schedule

And that’s all I have for you guys this time. Hope these tips will help you manage your stress and study burnout whenever you have them. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop an ask!

P.S. if any of you want to see the images in this post in better quality, click here (link to google drive)

Hi dear Lumen,

Do you have any tips on how to study more effectively and/ or memorize better because it would help a lot. Thank you🤍 Have a great day/evening!

Hi darling,

As you may know, I am a maestra at organizing, creating systems, and simplifying things in order to maximize efficiency - and that applies for studying as well. 📚

1. Learn how you learn, in order to learn better!

I often emphasize the importance of self-knowledge and working with instead of against yourself. In this case, that translates as working with your abilities instead of forcing yourself to learn in a dry, outdated, uniform manner that doesn't align with you, just because school, college, or your family says so.

Are you a visual learner (through the eyes)? Then write down your lessons in a concise, aesthetic manner, this will help you memorize easier. Add diagrams, illustrations, or even just sketches related to the lesson, as it further helps with memorizing.

Are you an auditive learner (by listening and speaking)? Then read your lessons out loud. Record yourself if it helps, play it back until you can recite it back. Ask friends to help with rehearsing for extra support.

Are you a haptic learner (by touch and feeling)? - This one's more tricky, but you can employ some activity while studying, such as braiding, tapping your fingers or feet, gesturing, etc.

There are theories of other types of learning, as mentioned here and here. If the above 3 don't apply to you, do a quick research to see what resonates with you more, in order to find a more efficient technique. It can make all the difference in your study routine.

2. Figure out a routine that works for you.

Do you study better in the evening/at night? When it’s quiet and nobody is disturbing you and your schedule is clear? You may be a night owl and it’s your natural circadian rhythm to have higher brain activity and energy towards the evening/night - if so, take advantage of it.

Do you study better in the morning? Because you feel fresh and focused? You’re likely an early bird, so arrange your study schedule to follow this rhythm accordingly, you'll be much more productive.

If you have a chaotic schedule that doesn't allow much flexibility for the above, simply work with your available schedule to the best of your ability. Move household chores and other errands around so that your peak efficiency timeframe can be used for the bulk of your studying.

3. Additional tips:

Do rewards help in completing a task? If yes, try something useful like taking a sip of water after reading 3 paragraphs, or that you can watch your favorite show after finishing studying, or going to the museum, or whatever it is that makes you excited at the moment!

Do you have a short attention span? Don’t worry about it, just divide your studying in brief intervals of 30-60 min, with a small break inbetween to keep your concentration sharp. If you start to get distracted, remember why you’re doing this (your academic goals, whatever they are), and if that doesn’t work, maybe you just need some fresh air or a cup of tea to start fresh.

If you have issues staying on track, you can ask a friend or family member to hold you accountable by checking up on you.

Don’t forget to make studying enjoyable as possible: use colorful stationary, set up a nice desk that fills you with pleasure or excitement when you see it (ie. plants, lighting, pretty decor, books organized in a satisfying way, etc), a fluffy pillow against your back, the list goes on. Get creative! This is your space.

Another way to make studying enjoyable is thinking out of the box. If you prefer a more streamlined, digital system, use an app that makes the process of studying more enjoyable - whether it’s something as basic as the native Notes app on macOS, Word docs, or a professional tool like Ulysses where you can organize everything to your heart’s content.

Visual inspiration and moodboards: you can also browse through Pinterest boards for inspiration or even follow Tumblr studyblr-ers to make studying as a process more aesthetic and appealing. There is a truth that the imagery we expose ourselves to inspires our actions; when you have your dashboard filled with pretty desks and notebooks and tidy handwriting from bookblr and studyblr content, it can boost your motivation. (Just be mindful not to fall into the trap of unhealthy perfectionism, or associating your self-worth with productivity - neither of those things will help you in any way, and will only cause anxiety, low productivity and self-worth issues.)

If you fall off track, don't be hard on yourself. It happens to the best of us. If you really want to finish what you started, just do what you can, take it one step at a time, and remember that you only fail if you stop trying. Give yourself space to do your best (even if that is 5% on some days, it's still good enough), and improve along the way. You can do this! 👏🏻👏🏽👏🏿

Hope this helps. Good luck and have a productive day/evening ahead to all ambitious ladies! 💞 ☕️

-Lumen

Making the perfect study plan

Exams are getting closer and now is the perfect time to create a solid study plan to get motivated and be productive. Here are some tips to help you making your study plan!

You don’t need a fancy planner. You can just use Excel to create it as you like and it will be more than enough!

Make a list of all the topics you have to study and gather similar subjects in the same category. Then, classify them by priority order.

Estimate the amount of time you’ll need to study each topic. Don’t underestimate it : you have to take all the time you need to understand and memorize, otherwise you’ll end up rushing things up and not being productive enough. I remember adding 1 hour more than I thought I would need so I could have plenty of time to go deeper in the subject without stressing myself out.

Know when you’re the most effective and do the hardest tasks in that moment. Keep the lighter subjects for the rest of the day. When I was doing my first med school year I would always study chemistry and physics in the mornings and the rest in the afternoon and evening !

Plan your breaks and meals. If you want to watch an episode from your favorite TV show, plan it. Your free time is important too! Make to create time for daily activities that fulfill you :)

Plan your delay! Set a day in your planner where you just catch up on everything you’re late on so you don’t get super stressed if your study day didn’t go as planned ! I always use my Sundays as « delay days » haha

If you have enough time, try to plan review sessions of the topics you’ve already seen. When I was studying anatomy I would make review sessions one day a week so I could memorize in the best way possible.

Also, plan a day or half a day to test yourself. Do it early enough to re-adjust your study plan if you feel like you have to spend more time reviewing a certain topic!

And you, what are your “planning habits”? Do you use a planner ?

Please reblog and like this post if you want more tips like this one!

Instagram

I believe in free education, one that’s available to everyone; no matter their race, gender, age, wealth, etc… This masterpost was created for every knowledge hungry individual out there. I hope it will serve you well. Enjoy!

FREE ONLINE COURSES (here are listed websites that provide huge variety of courses)

Alison 

Coursera

FutureLearn

open2study

Khan Academy

edX

P2P U

Academic Earth

iversity

Stanford Online

MIT Open Courseware

Open Yale Courses

BBC Learning

OpenLearn

Carnegie Mellon University OLI

University of Reddit

Saylor

IDEAS, INSPIRATION & NEWS (websites which deliver educational content meant to entertain you and stimulate your brain)

TED

FORA

Big Think 

99u

BBC Future

Seriously Amazing

How Stuff Works

Discovery News

National Geographic

Science News

Popular Science

IFLScience

YouTube Edu

NewScientist

DIY & HOW-TO’S (Don’t know how to do that? Want to learn how to do it yourself? Here are some great websites.)

wikiHow

Wonder How To

instructables

eHow

Howcast

MAKE

Do it yourself

FREE TEXTBOOKS & E-BOOKS

OpenStax CNX

Open Textbooks

Bookboon

Textbook Revolution

E-books Directory

FullBooks

Books Should Be Free

Classic Reader

Read Print

Project Gutenberg

AudioBooks For Free

LibriVox

Poem Hunter

Bartleby

MIT Classics

Many Books

Open Textbooks BCcampus

Open Textbook Library

WikiBooks

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES & JOURNALS

Directory of Open Access Journals

Scitable

PLOS

Wiley Open Access

Springer Open

Oxford Open

Elsevier Open Access

ArXiv

Open Access Library

LEARN:

1. LANGUAGES

Duolingo

BBC Languages

Learn A Language

101languages

Memrise

Livemocha

Foreign Services Institute

My Languages

Surface Languages

Lingualia

OmniGlot

OpenCulture’s Language links

2. COMPUTER SCIENCE & PROGRAMMING

Codecademy

Programmr

GA Dash

CodeHS

w3schools

Code Avengers

Codelearn

The Code Player

Code School

Code.org

Programming Motherf*?$%#

Bento

Bucky’s room

WiBit

Learn Code the Hard Way

Mozilla Developer Network

Microsoft Virtual Academy

3. YOGA & MEDITATION

Learning Yoga

Learn Meditation

Yome

Free Meditation

Online Meditation

Do Yoga With Me

Yoga Learning Center

4. PHOTOGRAPHY & FILMMAKING

Exposure Guide

The Bastards Book of Photography

Cambridge in Color

Best Photo Lessons

Photography Course

Production Now

nyvs

Learn About Film

Film School Online

5. DRAWING & PAINTING

Enliighten

Ctrl+Paint

ArtGraphica

Google Cultural Institute

Drawspace

DragoArt

WetCanvas

6. INSTRUMENTS & MUSIC THEORY

Music Theory

Teoria

Music Theory Videos

Furmanczyk Academy of Music

Dave Conservatoire

Petrucci Music Library

Justin Guitar

Guitar Lessons

Piano Lessons

Zebra Keys

Play Bass Now

7. OTHER UNCATEGORIZED SKILLS

Investopedia

The Chess Website

Chesscademy

Chess.com

Spreeder

ReadSpeeder

First Aid for Free

First Aid Web

NHS Choices

Wolfram Demonstrations Project

Please feel free to add more learning focused websites. 

*There are a lot more learning websites out there, but I picked the ones that are, as far as I’m aware, completely free and in my opinion the best/ most useful.

my very talented friend emma came over recently and took photos of my home

i think she captured it so perfectly

I miss you so much…😢 r.i.p. my endless love Loki ❤ (? - 2018)

Teen French expressions

For if you want to make hip young friends.

Disclaimer: French people complain a lot. A lot. Don’t be surprised if 90% of these expressions are complaining.

Non mais oh - say this if someone does something mildly annoying and you want to express your shock and distaste.

Tu me fais chier - (alt. tu me fais chier, là.) literally ‘you make me shit’. means you’re pissing me off.

Carrément - translates to ‘squarely’. Means ‘literally’. If someone tells you something surprising or annoying, you can answer simply “ah carrément.” see: tu me fais carrément chier.

J’hallucine / je rêve - are you annoyed by something? say these.

C’est pas possible - a classic. anything bad happens - c’est pas possible. There is no cheese left? It’s not possible. I’m hallucinating. This is a burden on me that solely I can bear I cannot believe this is happening.

Ça commence à me gaver - I’m starting to get real sick of this. see: Ça commence carrément a me gaver là, putain.

T’es relou - verlan slang for ‘lourd’ meaning someone’s heavy, personality-wise. They’re tedious.

Ça me saoûle / ça me gonfle - similar to gaver, means something’s pissing you off, you’re sick of it.

Grave - totally.

C’est clair - totally/that’s clear. Like ‘claro’ in spanish. “Justine elle est trop relou” “C’est clair. Elle me fait chier.”

J’en ai marre - I’m sick of this.

J’en ai ras le bol - I’m sick of this.

J’en ai ras le cul - I’m sick of this (vulgar).

(J’en ai) Rien à battre - I don’t give a damn.

(J’en ai) Rien à foutre - I don’t give a fuck.

C’est bon, là. -  That’s enough.

Perso, euh, - “Personally,” generally used at the start of a complaining sentence, to express how personal the matter is to you. Perso, euh, c’est bon là. J’en ai ras le cul.

Rôh là - general expression of distaste. Le longer the rôh, the more annoyed you are. Rôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôôh, c’est quoi ce bordel.

C’est quoi ce bordel ? - translates to “what’s this brothel”, means “what’s this shit?!”

C’est de la merde - It’s shit.

C’est une blague ? - Is this a joke?

Idem - ditto

J’ai la dalle - I’m hungry

Ça caille - It’s freezing

Ouf - two meanings 1. phew or 2. verlan for “fou”, meaning crazy (as a noun or adjective). “Kévin, c’est un ouf! Il fait du vélo sans casque!” “Ouais carrément, c’était un truc de ouf!”

Kévin - there’s a running joke that all the young delinquents seem to be called Kévin.

Crever - slang for “to die”. Va crever, connard!

Connard/Connasse - c*nt, but a lot less vulgar in french peoples eyes

And finally,

T’es con. No English translation can express the power behind the words “t’es con”. While it may sort of translate to “you’re a c*nt/idiot”, it expresses something much deeper. You really are a god damn fool.

How to plan your week based on your goals.

Hello people!

This week I’m back, as I promised, to share with you guys how I plan my week based on my goals.

Sometime ago I wondered why people plan their week? For the past me looked a lot more simple to plan daily what I needed to do each day, but a lot time it didn’t work. I almost always forgot to plan in the night and needed to plan during the day, sometimes it made me feel overwhelmed and with that constant feeling I was never on control.

So planning the week for me become really important, because even when I have a lot of things to do, I know everything already have a home and a time to make it and I didn’t have that anxiety about future things.

Goals

I started to plan my week because of my goals. Most of the time, when we set goals, they look vague and unachievable, but I went to search and I learn a lot of ways that taught me how to set possible and achievable goals. One of the tips was to break the big goals on smaller fractions of things I could make on my daily life, so everyday I could work towards them.

The formula is simple, but it’ll not work if you don’t put effort do make them happen.

So every year, like everyone I set my goals and resolutions, so I divide it on smaller goals to make it look achievable (If you didn’t set goals for this year, it’s never late, make your list now and start to work towards them).

So I chose the Year goal I’m going to work on, divide into all the other categories.

I gave you guys a really simple exemple, but I use this method for almost every goal I have in my life, for the small one and for the big ones.

Dump everything down

After having all your goals organized and ready to put them into your planner, you can see which task you’re going to do on the week. Here you can put everything down, every little thing you want to make this week, put on a piece of paper or on a note on your phone.

Time

Another thing I do is organize the time. For each task I see how much time I need to accomplish it.

After that I see the time I have to make this tasks on the week, so let’s suppose: You work 8 hours each day, sleep 8 hours (we dream about it too!), let’s put more 2 hours of commuting and 3 hours for personal stuff. Like this you have 3 hours in the day you can use for whatever you want, you can use this time for achieving your goals, you even don’t need all of it, maybe 1 hour is already enough. What I’m saying here is analyse your day to see the chunk of free time you have, sometimes we even don’t know we actually have time because we lost it scrolling through social media or doing things that don’t bring us any good.

But let’s work on another scenario too, let’s suppose you actually don’t have this 3 free hours each day, but you still want to work on your goals every week. Sometimes, make it everyday it’s not possible so it’s time to prioritize.

Prioritize.

Oh here we are, the thing you’ll see on every post about time management and planning. Why it’s so important?

When achieving goals, we always want to do everything in one month, we have 5 goals and work on all of them in one month. BUT, we all know that it’s not always possible.

So one thing you can do is choose a goal to work each month or each week, so you can achieve them without burning out or ruining your mental health.

See what’s more important to you and plan it down.

Sooo, after all of this I hope now you know how to plan your week based on your goals and it make them looks more possible. Of course, never forget that not always we’ll be able to do everything we planned and it’s totally okay! We’re all humans and not some type of productive machine, some days all we want is sleep and watch Netflix, you can plan this too if want.

That’s it for today! I hope you have a simple and organized week! Don’t forget to take care of yourself.

Hi everyone it’s my first sharing and i’m so excited hope you like it 😊

Cary Elwes + tummy