Waddup my name is Charlie, im 21, and i never fucking learned how to study.
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Latest Posts by charlies-day-off - Page 3
me whenever anybody says that they like me/that i’m their friend
the older I get the more dog I become
How to move out: The beginners guide for living on your own.
I compiled this from a Reddit topic a while back. Thought I’d share it here.
If you notice fruit flies and you don’t have fruit you’ve got a problem on your hands and it needs to be delt with ASAP.
Make sure to clean every day. It doesn’t take long. Just do it. The person you are trying to bang will appreciate a clean house.
Posters make you look like a college kid. Get real art.
You can find cheap furniture on Craigslist but beware of bed bugs.
I once got a microwave and a toaster oven from Salvation army for $10. Salvation army is your friend.
Nobody ever moves in for “just a few weeks”.
Always pay your bills on time.
You can get cheap cleaning supplies at the dollar store. Brooms, buckets, sprays, all of it.
Communication is key if you live with someone. Don’t bottle things up. Talk about what’s bothering you like an adult.
When you do look - CHECK THE WATER PRESSURE!
I had to take baths and wash myself under a trickling bath faucet for a year because I didn’t think to check this on my first place. That being said, I still loved living there.
You will be lonely sometimes. Have “rituals” to give your day structure. Know at least one neighbor - get a phone number. Never lock the door without the key in your hand, especially if you are going running at 6 a.m. in January. Have “emergency kit” - candle, matches, chicken noodle soup, Pepto Bismol, Tylenol, bottled water. Know where your circuit breaker is and how to flip the switch if it trips. Get to know a couple of local shopkeepers - their friendly “hello” will make you feel part of a community until you build your own. Don’t wash darks and whites together in hot water. If you keep your place reasonably neat, you will feel calmer. Start with inexpensive, easy-to-move furniture, but have a bed that you can really sleep on, even if it is on the floor. Have at least one thing that is lovely to look at, even if it is just a cobalt blue water glass. Treat yourself like an adult - you’ll stand up straighter and people will treat you better. Pay your rent on time no matter what. Enjoy!
Really wish I realized how expensive things are. You never think about paying for things like milk, toilet paper, or dish soap. It adds up. To a lot.
A household needs maintenance, and now you’re gonna be doing all of it. Mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, folding your clothes - everything that keeps your house working is going to have to be done by you.
Bad habits are easy to fall into when you don’t have someone harassing you to steer clear of them. Don’t overindulge on your first taste of freedom.
Before you move out of any place that you are renting, make sure to do a walkthrough with the landlord or property manager present to determine how much of your deposit you are getting back. I spent an entire day making sure that an apartment that I had lived in was absolutely spotless, only to be told that I was being charged $300 because I had left the place in terrible condition. Take a video of the place when you first move in and after you move out. Videos are more reliable nowadays. My landlord took a video of the place when he gave us the keys and I did likewise. If I get fucked about I don’t want there to be any argument about shopped pictures.
On a side note, get the landlord’s email. Any time anything is wrong/needs fixing, email him. Establish the paper trail early. For instance if the dryer breaks (if you’re lucky enough to have one), you may be able to start deducting from your rent 30 days past the notification date. If you don’t have it on paper, it’s just your word vs his.
Also, try to get along with the landlord, fix small/cheap shit yourself (under $5), it makes things go so easily when you call them in because you broke the sink. It also means you don’t have to wait for Jose, who, while a lovely person, is completely incompetent and will make it so the stairwell light never works again.
There are more cleaning supplies that you will need and never thought about before if they were always provided by your parents or housemates. Make sure you have a toilet brush, plunger, Clorox spray, disinfecting wipes, dustpan, etc. Having these on hand will save you a lot of grief in the long run.
A pair of Jeans will last a week (or more depending on physical activities), a shirt only lasts one to two days (depending on physical activity during said day), thou shalt not use underwear and socks more than once.
Learn how to turn on a pilot light and the location of them all. One for the oven and a few for the burners. Make sure your gas valve is open when you light them. Also, check them whenever you clean your stovetop to make sure nothing put them out.
Have beer and a deck of cards handy.
Buy a trashcan that has a lid. Your garbage will reek if you’re living alone since you’re not accumulating as much trash and taking it out as often.
Do your fucking dishes! Right now
Keep a detailed grocery list. It will control your spending, and keep you from forgetting things, if you’re a forgetful moron like me. I spent the first few years that I lived alone making repeated trips to the store because I kept forgetting bread/peanut butter/toilet paper, etc. I keep mine in my phone, so I can write down things as I think about them throughout the week.
Do not forget to buy potholders. Let me tell you a little story. I moved into my own place and decided to cook some dinner. So it comes time to pull my delicious smelling casarole out of the oven. I open the oven and than instantly realize what I did not have. I immediately made huge pads out of paper towels and tried using them to no avail, the dutch oven was heavy enough and hot enough to burn right through those puppies. I folded some kitchen towels and scooped my quickly burning food out of the oven. The towels were ruined. If only I had remembered to buy potholders this whole travesty could have been avoided. Don’t let it happen to you.
You’re going to be moving fairly frequently, get no larger than a 46-50" TV or a queen sized mattress. The bigger the shit it, the harder it is to move.
File. Buy a box of file folders and file your papers away. Start with your lease agreement and anything related to the apartment ( any flyers from the landlord/management company, work orders, deposit receipt). Make another file for bills (home phone, internet, cable, electric, gas, water, sewer, trash, any and all bills related to your place of residence). Then another file for your bank (save everything they send you, unless you know its junkmail. Another file for paychecks and work related expenses. Another file for School and school related expenses. Then another for random shit receipts. Another for transportation (car/bus/toll pass). Lastly make a file for your taxes. Over time you’ll figure out the best system for yourself, but that’s the standard breakdown.
Before you rent, ask what the maximum percentage rent can increase yearly. When renting your first place most landlords/complexes do not tell you that when it comes time to renew your lease, if you choose to do so, they can, and often will increase your monthly rent. They usually keep it around the rate of inflation, which is about 3%, but I have had landlords try to jack rent up 10% per month. If the increase is above 4 or 5%, beware.
On your last box of tissues? Get more before it runs out. Always have more. This goes for basically any disposable paper product; napkins, toilet paper, etc.
Wash or change the sheets at least every other week.
Clean the bathroom every week. That place gets dirty quickly, but you don’t see it until you clean it.
Those are the things that stand out to me.
Utilities are PRIVATIZED and no one is going to hold your hand through your move experience, you NEED to call your default retailer for services to be installed and/or switched into your name and I recommend doing this at the very LEAST 1 week before you move in so you can receive a bill and have power/water/gas ON when you move in.
It gets old fast when people move in, have no power, then get IRATE because it cannot be turned on RIGHT THIS SECOND. We’re a power company, not mind readers or miracle workers.
Also, paying for your utilities comes before paying for $500 worth of meat to stock your fridge/freezer, cable/satellite or internet and any fun you might think you need to have. Without power your food will spoil and your T.V./Computer wont turn on. Its common sense.
Always remember that you have options even if you’re only looking for something really cheap, it’s worth it to find the right place. The rest of this is mostly opinion but it was hard-learned:
Lived on the ground floor once, never again. The ground floor is where bugs come from, where thieves come from, where sprinkler water comes from… A window on the ground floor is not a window, you will never open the blinds
No roommate will be as good as no roommate
Paying more to live within walking/biking distance of your workplace or school, and then not owning a car, pays off in a big way.
Be thorough when you look at a place. Check where the windows look out to. Check what the tap water tastes like, and how hot it gets. Check how the floor feels in bare feet. Look behind things. If you’re looking in summer, will the place be freezing(or expensive to heat) in the winter? If you’re looking in the winter, will it be too hot in summer?
As an extension of the above point, know what the internet will be like before you move in. If necessary bring in a laptop with some network analysis tools. Ask what the available options are and do research. If the only option is Comcast’s “fuck you in the ass with an analog dildo” plan, walk on by
Remember when you move in that you are setting patterns you will live by for the foreseeable future. So think about what you do with dishes, laundry, where your shoes go. Make conscious choices of your habits while it’s easier.
Sometimes, living completely alone means you won’t talk to people for a whole weekend. Be careful not to become a hermit! Go to local interest groups or clubs. Stay in contact with friends and family. Invite people over often.
I have never, ever used a rental agency who didn’t completely screw me over on my deposit. Don’t count on getting that money back when you move out, and focus on building a new nest egg.
Cooking for one is boring as shit and you’ll end up eating the same three meals over and over, getting takeout or just not eating if you don’t make some sort of routine of it. Spend an evening every week cooking enough food for the rest of the week and freeze it. Saves you tonnes of time and means you’ll actually be bothered to eat something.
It’s really hard to notice when your house is dirty if you’re the only one who ever sees it. You need to have a good clean up once a week. Imagine your mum is coming over and try to see it through her eyes and you’ll notice things you didn’t see when you weren’t really thinking about it. Consider hiring a cleaner once a fortnight: they’ll see the bits you missed and do things like windows and skirting boards. Also: a cleaner won’t clean if your house is hella messy, so that’s good motivation right there.
Learn basic first aid so that if you hurt yourself at home and nobody is around, you can take care of it. Learn how to self administer the heimlich manoeuvre.
Learn basic DIY type stuff. If your tap is a bit leaky, perhaps you can tighten it up yourself instead of calling a plumber. Likewise if there’s a small hole in your wall, you should be able to fill it in yourself.
White vinegar will clean about 90 per cent of stuff really well. Use it on stains, residues and build ups. It also keeps your house smelling fresh.
Make sure your landlord isn’t sketchy. I’m in a current situation where the guy I’m renting through is very rude and gets angry whenever I call him with a problem. I’m afraid that he’s going to screw me over in the security deposit because he did that to the previous tenant who I got the room from. (100 dollars charged because she used a different shower head) Be sure to establish a paper trail too, take pictures of the apartment and get stuff in writing. Its to protect yourself
While these may not apply to you, I’m especially lazy:
Dishwasher, mandatory. I will never do dishes other wise and it becomes a mess. Especially if you live with roommates. We had so many dishes pile up that the next person in line would spend 3 hours doing the mess. With a dishwasher you can simply load it up as needed, then run it when its stuffed full.
Air Conditioning, mandatory. I had nothing at all to cool it down in a summer heat wave and the computers kept pumping out more heat. I remember just hanging out in my car rather than go inside.
Furniture is fucking retarded expensive. Chances are if you’re not working a real job, you can’t afford to go buy it. Even at Ikea. If you can find anything for free in decent condition, take it. Acquire a collection of crappy furniture, and I"m sure at least one friend/relatives want to offload that piece of shit sofa in their basement. Spending money on furniture is a waste of money.
Also worth nothing, I’ve never met any guy who has given a shit about a dining room set. I eat on a breakfast tray on my sofa or at my desk for every meal. Don’t feel the need to make a home out of some “you should have this” societal obligation. Unless you have a specific need for it, don’t bother with anything that you wont use.
If you’re a full time worker with steady income. Automate paying your bills. Just have them auto pay as they come in. You don’t even have to budget. Just have a cash checking account. Every paycheck dump 100 or 200 into it. That’s your do whatever spending money for lunches, bars, and life. Leave the rest in your direct deposit account and just let it accumulate and pay your bills.
If you prorate your power bill, don’t fucking move at the end of summer. I got slammed with over $1000 in back power usage that had to be closed out in 30 days. In fact if it starts getting out of control, pay extra per month.
The golden rule: Clutter is cool, Filth is bad You don’t have to be a neat freak, but you don’t have to be disgusting. I have random boxes of cords and wiring laying around. Clothes in piles all over the place. Random automotive parts, tools, and accessories just laying in the living room. I’m by no means tidy. But you don’t want to leave old food, dishes, and filth accumulate. Empty your trash, clean your bathroom, and vacuum your floors. Thats really all you need to clean.
Your place is your own, do with it what you will.
When taking possession for the apartment make sure you check all the things they require you to do when you move out. Many times the landlord wants you to wash behind the fridge and stove, wash the walls or repair any items damaged…make sure those are actually done by the previous tenant before signing those papers. If the sink faucet is leaking don’t sign until its fixed. Go through the apartment with a fine tooth comb.
At the bottom of the agreement make sure you note any problems in the suite that are out of spec with those above requirements when you took possession, have the building manager sign your notes and GET A PHOTOCOPY!
This is how they steal your deposit money, you will be surprised how that annotated signed agreement gets “lost” or disappears…don’t give them a reason because they won’t give you a positive renters report to your next landlord if you don’t CYA.
BTW I haven’t met a single apartment landlord that wasn’t a scumbag looking to scam their tenants in some way. My favorite is the parking lot snow removal charge if your car isn’t moved in time when you work nightshift and they slip the note under your door 15 minutes before the plow arrives at noon. Another good one is the “shut your plug off” at your parking spot at night to save electricity and you get out and your block heater has only been on for 10 minutes at 5AM.
Most of all change the deadbolt to your own key, they are supposed to have access to the apartment and have their own keys but they often go in when your not around just to snoop, if that deadbolt is locked with your key and the knob lock is open when you come home you know they tried to gain entrance to your suite without your knowledge.
Always use the deadbolt!
When taking possession for the apartment make sure you check all the things they require you to do when you move out. Many times the landlord wants you to wash behind the fridge and stove, wash the walls or repair any items damaged…make sure those are actually done by the previous tenant before signing those papers. If the sink faucet is leaking don’t sign until its fixed. Go through the apartment with a fine tooth comb.
At the bottom of the agreement make sure you note any problems in the suite that are out of spec with those above requirements when you took possession, have the building manager sign your notes and GET A PHOTOCOPY!
This is how they steal your deposit money, you will be surprised how that annotated signed agreement gets “lost” or disappears…don’t give them a reason because they won’t give you a positive renters report to your next landlord if you don’t CYA.
BTW I haven’t met a single apartment landlord that wasn’t a scumbag looking to scam their tenants in some way. My favorite is the parking lot snow removal charge if your car isn’t moved in time when you work nightshift and they slip the note under your door 15 minutes before the plow arrives at noon. Another good one is the “shut your plug off” at your parking spot at night to save electricity and you get out and your block heater has only been on for 10 minutes at 5AM.
Most of all change the deadbolt to your own key, they are supposed to have access to the apartment and have their own keys but they often go in when your not around just to snoop, if that deadbolt is locked with your key and the knob lock is open when you come home you know they tried to gain entrance to your suite without your knowledge.
Always use the deadbolt!
Cars are useful when living alone, get one.
Carpet cleaner and wood floor cleaner or swiffer-like mop if appliccable. 409 Spray works on everything. and cheap glass cleaner (glass plus), kitchen sink sponges yellow with one green side), two towels, two sets of sheets.
get a $10 tool kit with multi-bit screw driver, tape measure, hammer, scisors, Allen wrenches (L-shaped hexagonal pieces of metal)… Also get a level, a stud finder
Get a plunger. Apartment toilets clog easily
Keep a flashlight in your bedroom.
Don’t waste your money on cable, phone line or newspaper/magazines. Just get internet, and a cell phone to connect to the outside world.
Most apartment complexes have pools, these are very expensive/annoying to own, but very easy/fun while renting… enjoy them while they last.
Hang a calendar on the wall with bill/credit card/rent due dates… bonus for laundry day, cleaning day and dishes.
Don’t get a pet just yet. Dogs are very difficult to properly care for in apartments (no litter box) and any pets will limit your ability to go on vacation. Also they will be more destructive when cooped up in an apartment all day.
Turn off all electricity and use less air-conditioning/heating when you are away.
Always lock your door. even when going to the on-site laundry facilities or dumpster to drop off trash.
Ask neighbors about package delivery and what’s the best way to go about it where you want to live. Some apartment complexes let you leave a package at the front office, but then they close early and you can’t get it until they open.
Bicarb (baking soda) and vinegar clean almost anything, including couches, carpets, bathrooms & kitchens.
If you live in a cold climate, don’t live in a place with a sliding glass door. Your heating bills will be incredibly high. Also watch out for large north facing windows, you will freeze your ass off.
In general, trust your gut instincts about your potential landlord(s). If they seem like creeps, or not responsible, they probably aren’t, and you should keep looking. A little bit higher rent is well worth having a good landlord.
As a side note, google your state+landlord tenant handbook. Be aware of your rights and responsibilities as a renter, and deal with your landlord accordingly.
Invest in good tools/gadgets/time savers for everyday tasks.
Keep the place just clean enough but with a few deliberate messy things here and there to reveal something quirky yet attractive about your character for surprise visits from women.
Put at least one bookshelf with your favorites in the living room; don’t make it all about the TV.
Research a little about decoration (I prefer Spartan styles) and don’t center any room around a sports team or video game.
Dusting is so much fucking easier when there isn’t shit out everywhere.
Get a GOOD electric air cleaner and let that sucker work.
Playing music and drinking wine is a great foundation for doing tedious chores.
If you have cats, take extra care on cleaning. People can absolutely smell a full litter box and cat piss. And keep the litter box out of the bathroom if guess will be using it.
I don’t care if you never smoke inside. That shit smell will cling to everything you wear and get into your house anyway.
Make and keep a cleaning kit handy for the apt if you have one and for each floor in a multiple story dwelling
Buy surgical/cleaning gloves (BJs has them in a huge pack). You’ll need them more than you realize and they are great for nasty messes or cleaning since you aren’t worried about sticking your actual fingers into a mess.
Buy shit tons of vinegar and always have limes and ice around. Leaving vinegar around the house in bowls can absorb odor and lime peels/rinds and ice down the garbage disposal (ice first, then limes) will make things smell better.
Snake out/ clean out your drains every few weeks by hand.
Two off the top of my head:
Make sure your stuff will actually fit where you’re going to want it.
Get all your utilities set up before you move in.
reblog if you’re a little lost in life rn
🌻 life lately has been good!
🌻 i've been trying my hand at green smoothies. unfortunately, out blender isn't powerful enough, so there were still some tiny spinach pieces in my smoothie haha. still tasted yummy and felt healthy tho!
🌻 also, i've been trying to stick a bit more to a skincare / health routine, including probiotics for my ibs, lotion after showering, niacinamide in the morning, and retinol in the evening.
🌻 mischa and i recently went to ikea with his mom. our plans to move in tgt are slowly taking more shape, we're looking for apartments that will be free anytime after november, and are thinking about which furniture we need. ikea was super fun, we saw and noted some pieces we liked, and had köttbullar :) also, i got some cute cacti!!!
🌻 i'm still working hard on my ma thesis, but i'm trying not to stress out too much over it. next due date to hand in my final draft is aug 30th!
🌻 tomorrow night, mischa and i will be flying to london for one last time until monday, where i'll be handing in my apt key. i'm really looking forward to hitting up brunch places, going to the saatchi gallery, and browsing brick lane market :)
wait lets use that spotify stats page i want to know what everyone’s long term most listened to artist and track are! mine are the cure + “the river the woods” by astronautalis
College Note-Taking System
Having cohesive and effective notes is one of the key skills I think one should have, especially in an academic setting. When you’re receiving a ton of information each day, you want to be able to keep track of that and remember what you’ve learned. I’m constantly trying out ways to make my note-taking more effective and tailored to my needs. Here’s what my note-taking system looks like so far.
Quick note: click on the images for better quality!
Class Notes
Taking notes in class is an invaluable way to keep track of the new knowledge you’ve gained. However, depending on the mode in which the lecture material is conveyed, I take my notes differently. Here’s a summary of how I take my notes for each type of lecture, as well as some examples from the classes I’m taking now.
Slides (e.g. Macroeconomics)
Macroeconomics is a class in which you should be able to intuitively understand a lot of concepts but also remember a lot of things. Because of this, I’ve tailored my note-taking method and habits to achieve that goal.
I write my notes by hand because handwriting is more effective in committing things to memory.
As for what I actually do - and this is what I’ve done for other classes in which the professor/lecturer uses slides:
Read/skim over the slide.
Read each bullet point as the professor goes through them.
Copy it down if it’s straightforward or write it down in a structure and diction that I understand better (not necessarily in my own words - sometimes it’s just restructuring, e.g. splitting things up or joining different bullet points together).
Take note of any other important details the professor says about any particular point unless I think it’s intuitive or common sense.
Here’s an example from a Macroeconomics lecture.
Oral Presentation (e.g. Anthropology)
During classes in which the professor just speaks and doesn’t use much visual material, I listen before I write instead of attempting to write down every single detail mentioned.
Also, I type up my notes instead of handwriting them since the exams are all open-book so I don’t really have to commit things to memory.
Here’s what I do:
Listen for a cue that tells you what this particular part of the lecture will be about (and write it as a heading).
Write down main ideas and their supporting facts/details. If the facts/details come before the main ideas, then I’d usually draw an arrow.
Write down ideas and details from readings in their own section/subsection.
Sometimes, my professor also shows short clips in class, in which case I’d write down the message that I think the clip was meant to convey, as well as things that the professor points out that I didn’t think of on my own.
I’d also look up concepts/ideas/people/events (in real time) that are important to my understanding of the lecture material.
Here’s an example of a Google Docs document from an Anthropology lecture.
Demonstrations and Sample Problems (e.g. Computer Science)
Classes in which the lecture is mainly going through demos and problems are kind of tricky, because you want to know and understand what the professor is doing, but you also don’t want to be writing down every single step that’s being executed. Here’s what I’ve found to be the most effective so far:
If there are any, I import the slides/handout onto OneNote and annotate directly on the slide. If not, I just write down things like definitions, important concepts, and syntax-related things.
I focus on understanding what the professor’s doing with the demo or problem.
I then summarize the steps they took and
Write down comments and points they brought up, e.g. common errors, desirable habits/practices.
Also, these kinds of classes are usually classes in which you’d learn better when you actually do problems yourself, so I definitely learn more when I do assignments and labs than when I’m in class.
Here’s an example from a Web Programming lecture.
Here’s one from an Object Oriented Programming and Data Structures class. I often draw things to help me visualize the general points.
Rewritten Notes
My rewritten notes have definitely changed a lot since high school. Since most of my classes don’t require a lot of memorization, I organize my notes in such a way that they’d be easy to index or find information from. Here are some of the ways I do that:
Establishing a Visual Hierarchy
Having a well-defined hierarchy helps me flow through my notes really well as i read them. It helps me organize information like a mind map without actually making a mind map - I know the big topics and their subtopics and sub-subtopics and details … basically it’s easier to see how these ideas fit together.
But why don’t I just make mind-maps? See, the thing is, a lot of my notes require sequential or linear thinking, e.g. in macroeconomics it might be the sequence of events following a change in the economy, or in computer science it might be a general algorithm for solving a certain type of problem, or it might be proving or deriving a certain equation. These sorts of things just generally don’t work well with mind maps. Instead, establishing a visual hierarchy in my notes helps me organize different ideas while retaining the linear nature of the information.
Here’s what the hierarchy looks like.
Here is an example from my Web Programming class, which is a purely project-based class, so no prelims or exams. As you can see, I draw rectangles around important terminology so that I can easily find them while I’m working on a project. I also include examples from in-class activities as well as notes on syntax so I have an idea of how to implement certain things. These examples and notes are further grouped by terminology/concept.
Structuring Them for Easier Flow
My syllabi for my college courses are nowhere near as detailed as the syllabi for my high school courses - those of you who take/have taken Cambridge exams would know. In college, my syllabi are only lists of topics and not what you’re expected to know for each topic. Because of this, I have to find a way to arrange information so that I can achieve the most comprehensive and cohesive understanding of that topic, i.e. so that the flow of my notes is similar to the flow of my thinking.
For example, in my economics notebook, I like to have the details first (e.g. the separate markets: the goods market, the assets market, and the labor market) and then the big picture later (IS-LM-FE). Some people prefer the other way around - seeing the big picture and then going into the details - which I can understand and have done myself for certain topics.
Making Use of Proximity and Spacing
I very much dislike notes without good use of spacing and grouping things together. Keeping related ideas in visual proximity helps your brain (or at least mine) organize this information. It’s also a lot easier to find things and visualize your notes when they’re not just a huge chunk of text.
One thing I should probably mention is that I don’t use colored pens anymore because it just takes a lot of time to switch pens and think of a color palette. I also don’t have much use for it. In the past, I used color to help me memorize and group things in different categories, but now, I’ve found that there aren’t a whole lot of categories I need to keep track of, and when I do, I can do so with just one pen but changing the style of the text.
And that’s what my note-taking system currently looks like. It’s working well so far, but I still think there are other things I could try out that might be a better fit.
So yeah, hope this was helpful, and as always, feel free to drop an ask if you have any questions, or even if you have any suggestions or would like to share your note-taking system. Have an awesome week!
03.06.19 - monday
during exams i used to get really stressed out about not having enough time to study between, so i designed myself a lil study planner that maps out my week
it has a section for events, a checklist, and a time tracker so i can tell myself to stop freaking out :)
edit- due to popular request, here’s the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wEiA8ttDysOxAIjMwzKqvUWkC-sTMKNW/view?usp=sharing
love you guys <3
03.06.19 - monday
during exams i used to get really stressed out about not having enough time to study between, so i designed myself a lil study planner that maps out my week
it has a section for events, a checklist, and a time tracker so i can tell myself to stop freaking out :)
edit- due to popular request, here’s the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wEiA8ttDysOxAIjMwzKqvUWkC-sTMKNW/view?usp=sharing
love you guys <3
A new “How To Study” series!! Part 1 of ???
see part 2: How To Study Physics
How to study BIOCHEMISTRY (from yours truly, a biochem major at ucla)
(but also note that i’ve only taken one biochem specific class so far but this class was general biochemistry so hopefully the tips and tricks i learned from taking this class will apply to higher levels of biochemistry!)
studygram: @markiveelle
Biochemistry is a VERY dense subject, it requires a good background in general chemistry (such as acids and bases, thermodynamics) and a strong biology background (hence BIO cheMISTRY) (who would have ever guessed)
Anyways I like to think that biochem is not exactly a strenuous subject in that you won’t need to rack your brain to solve application problems, but it DOES require a LOT of memorization which is arguably less painful, but is still scary.
General Memorization Tips
Start early! The earlier you start your studying, the more time your brain has to process the information which means it will get more comfortable with it and you’ll probably be able to remember it more easily later.
BABY STEPS, don’t try to memorize like 600 terms in one sitting. You’ll probably get them mixed up. The brain doesn’t work that way (for most of us!). Instead, start with the first ten things, get them down really well, then move on to the next ten, then try to get all twenty together. And then the next ten, and then a cumulative self check, and so on. I think this was the best way to start. You have to find how much information you can retain in one sitting!
Make use of free time, try to recall things when you’re waiting in line for food, for the bus, for the shower to warm up, etc. Jogging your memory at all times helps make it more solid.
Make whatever you’re studying your phone/laptop background so it’s of easy access to you! I made the amino acids my iPad lockscreen when I was trying to memorize all of those!
Seriously flashcards help
Memorizing the 20 Amino Acids (and their structures…) in one week
My first quiz in my biochemistry class was to be able to remember all 20 amino acid names, three letter abbreviations, one letter abbreviations, and structures at physiological pH. It was scary lol I had to memorize all that in oNE WEEK (evil)
Grouping them into their respective types can help you in the long run when you may be asked which amino acids are present in polar/nonpolar environments.
I started memorizing the negative and positive amino acids first (there were the least of them lol). I used the cumulative batches method where I memorized the negative ones completely and then moved onto positive ones, and then did a cumulative self check. When I felt comfortable with those I moved onto nonpolar, then aromatic, then polar (idk why i did that order tho)
Most of the one letter abbreviations are the first letter of the name of the amino acid, especially in the nonpolar cases. I remembered the names and abbreviations of the nonpolar ones by just remembering GAVLIMP (read down the column!)
Glutamic Acid is GLU, E (which just spells glue)
Arginine is ARG ARRR ® like a pirate (lol)
Glutamine is Q and that’s weird so that resonated with me
Glutamine and Asparagine are similar to Glutamic Acid and Aspartic Acid in structure!
The nonpolar amino acid structures kind of build upon the previous one, which is also how I remembered those structures
I mainly took advantage of photographic memory in this case because whenever I was asked to recall a certain amino acid, in my head I would think about where that amino acid was on this poster I made. That helped my brain keep everything organized!
Memorizing Fatty Acids/Certain Carbohydrates
FLASH CARDS
Whenever you have to identify or name things, flashcards are the best!! I remember I made flashcards for everything on this page and me and my friends quizzed each other while waiting to be seated at korean bbq lol
Photographic memory again!! Write out all the stuff you gotta know onto one piece of paper (try to limit it to just one side) and study from that. It’s like organizing how your brain will remember stuff (kinda like you knowing exactly where something is in your drawer because you organized it that way)
Memorizing Pathways or Cycles
Glycolysis was the first pathway I had to remember, this one took me the longest because we were required to remember the structures, the names of the enzymes, the cofactors, LITERALLY EVERYTHING in one week it was a STRESS MESS
On this poster I have the detailed version that includes structures on the top and then a brief overview on the bottom that just has the names of stuff. I thought this helped (not sure how)
If you have taken organic chemistry in the past, then memorizing the structures may come a little easier to you because the names of the structures are super close to IUPAC naming so you can deduce from there!
It’s important to run through this IN ORDER over and over and over. Write it out so your hand gets a feel for it.
GOING IN ORDER IS JUST SO IMPORTANT because it conditions your brain to follow that order and you’ll notice that everything builds upon the other (the brain loves patterns and order so this will expedite memorization)
We also had to track carbons, so color coding would have helped in this case too! Color code each carbon so it’s clear where everything goes.
I think biochemistry is also a subject that requires a lot of time and effort, so make sure you give yourself time to study for it. Make a good study group as well so that you have many other people to correct you if you make mistakes, and you can correct them on their mistakes! I also think that catching errors or learning from previous errors is the BEST way to remember the RIGHT information because it shakes you; no one likes to be wrong!
But also remember that everyone has their own habits, find the study tricks that work best for YOU! The more you study, the more you discover what benefits you more. Keep an open mind and a good attitude towards the subject you are working on, and remember that so long as you try your HARDEST you’ll be proud of yourself in the end!!!
Literally do your work as soon as you know it exists. If you get homework, do it during your free or when you get home or on the train if you really want to, on the day you get it. Just got set an assignment? Get the draft done that weekend. It doesn’t have to be amazing and absolutely ready to send in, it just needs to exist. Just got sent an email? Reply when you see it. If you’re not sure how to response to it, write Dear (), leave a gap and then write Regards () and keep that in your drafts. Set a reminder on your computer or write the reminder on a sticky note that you’ve got that sitting in your drafts and you need to send it off in the next 24 hours. Need to clean your room? Don’t spend time thinking or planning how you’re going to clean it or how you’re going to change up the space in the process, just pick stuff up and put it where it should be until everything’s in order. Done. Seriously dude, when a task arises as an issue, tackle it as soon as you realise it exists. Remember, it doesn’t need to be amazing it just needs to be done. So, when the due date of the task creeps closer, you can go back, work with what you have and make it the quality you want it to be.
me, a legal adult: when i grow up,
College Note-Taking System
Having cohesive and effective notes is one of the key skills I think one should have, especially in an academic setting. When you’re receiving a ton of information each day, you want to be able to keep track of that and remember what you’ve learned. I’m constantly trying out ways to make my note-taking more effective and tailored to my needs. Here’s what my note-taking system looks like so far.
Quick note: click on the images for better quality!
Class Notes
Taking notes in class is an invaluable way to keep track of the new knowledge you’ve gained. However, depending on the mode in which the lecture material is conveyed, I take my notes differently. Here’s a summary of how I take my notes for each type of lecture, as well as some examples from the classes I’m taking now.
Slides (e.g. Macroeconomics)
Macroeconomics is a class in which you should be able to intuitively understand a lot of concepts but also remember a lot of things. Because of this, I’ve tailored my note-taking method and habits to achieve that goal.
I write my notes by hand because handwriting is more effective in committing things to memory.
As for what I actually do - and this is what I’ve done for other classes in which the professor/lecturer uses slides:
Read/skim over the slide.
Read each bullet point as the professor goes through them.
Copy it down if it’s straightforward or write it down in a structure and diction that I understand better (not necessarily in my own words - sometimes it’s just restructuring, e.g. splitting things up or joining different bullet points together).
Take note of any other important details the professor says about any particular point unless I think it’s intuitive or common sense.
Here’s an example from a Macroeconomics lecture.
Oral Presentation (e.g. Anthropology)
During classes in which the professor just speaks and doesn’t use much visual material, I listen before I write instead of attempting to write down every single detail mentioned.
Also, I type up my notes instead of handwriting them since the exams are all open-book so I don’t really have to commit things to memory.
Here’s what I do:
Listen for a cue that tells you what this particular part of the lecture will be about (and write it as a heading).
Write down main ideas and their supporting facts/details. If the facts/details come before the main ideas, then I’d usually draw an arrow.
Write down ideas and details from readings in their own section/subsection.
Sometimes, my professor also shows short clips in class, in which case I’d write down the message that I think the clip was meant to convey, as well as things that the professor points out that I didn’t think of on my own.
I’d also look up concepts/ideas/people/events (in real time) that are important to my understanding of the lecture material.
Here’s an example of a Google Docs document from an Anthropology lecture.
Demonstrations and Sample Problems (e.g. Computer Science)
Classes in which the lecture is mainly going through demos and problems are kind of tricky, because you want to know and understand what the professor is doing, but you also don’t want to be writing down every single step that’s being executed. Here’s what I’ve found to be the most effective so far:
If there are any, I import the slides/handout onto OneNote and annotate directly on the slide. If not, I just write down things like definitions, important concepts, and syntax-related things.
I focus on understanding what the professor’s doing with the demo or problem.
I then summarize the steps they took and
Write down comments and points they brought up, e.g. common errors, desirable habits/practices.
Also, these kinds of classes are usually classes in which you’d learn better when you actually do problems yourself, so I definitely learn more when I do assignments and labs than when I’m in class.
Here’s an example from a Web Programming lecture.
Here’s one from an Object Oriented Programming and Data Structures class. I often draw things to help me visualize the general points.
Rewritten Notes
My rewritten notes have definitely changed a lot since high school. Since most of my classes don’t require a lot of memorization, I organize my notes in such a way that they’d be easy to index or find information from. Here are some of the ways I do that:
Establishing a Visual Hierarchy
Having a well-defined hierarchy helps me flow through my notes really well as i read them. It helps me organize information like a mind map without actually making a mind map - I know the big topics and their subtopics and sub-subtopics and details … basically it’s easier to see how these ideas fit together.
But why don’t I just make mind-maps? See, the thing is, a lot of my notes require sequential or linear thinking, e.g. in macroeconomics it might be the sequence of events following a change in the economy, or in computer science it might be a general algorithm for solving a certain type of problem, or it might be proving or deriving a certain equation. These sorts of things just generally don’t work well with mind maps. Instead, establishing a visual hierarchy in my notes helps me organize different ideas while retaining the linear nature of the information.
Here’s what the hierarchy looks like.
Here is an example from my Web Programming class, which is a purely project-based class, so no prelims or exams. As you can see, I draw rectangles around important terminology so that I can easily find them while I’m working on a project. I also include examples from in-class activities as well as notes on syntax so I have an idea of how to implement certain things. These examples and notes are further grouped by terminology/concept.
Structuring Them for Easier Flow
My syllabi for my college courses are nowhere near as detailed as the syllabi for my high school courses - those of you who take/have taken Cambridge exams would know. In college, my syllabi are only lists of topics and not what you’re expected to know for each topic. Because of this, I have to find a way to arrange information so that I can achieve the most comprehensive and cohesive understanding of that topic, i.e. so that the flow of my notes is similar to the flow of my thinking.
For example, in my economics notebook, I like to have the details first (e.g. the separate markets: the goods market, the assets market, and the labor market) and then the big picture later (IS-LM-FE). Some people prefer the other way around - seeing the big picture and then going into the details - which I can understand and have done myself for certain topics.
Making Use of Proximity and Spacing
I very much dislike notes without good use of spacing and grouping things together. Keeping related ideas in visual proximity helps your brain (or at least mine) organize this information. It’s also a lot easier to find things and visualize your notes when they’re not just a huge chunk of text.
One thing I should probably mention is that I don’t use colored pens anymore because it just takes a lot of time to switch pens and think of a color palette. I also don’t have much use for it. In the past, I used color to help me memorize and group things in different categories, but now, I’ve found that there aren’t a whole lot of categories I need to keep track of, and when I do, I can do so with just one pen but changing the style of the text.
And that’s what my note-taking system currently looks like. It’s working well so far, but I still think there are other things I could try out that might be a better fit.
So yeah, hope this was helpful, and as always, feel free to drop an ask if you have any questions, or even if you have any suggestions or would like to share your note-taking system. Have an awesome week!
20/100
I like color coordinating my subjects…and genetics is yellow! Did some exam prep today, went over my notes and made summaries of each lecture.
GUIDE TO:
FIX YOUR SLEEPING SCHEDULE (1-2 months)
Try to wake up earlier every day. Like 5 - 10 min earlier than the day before. Until you wake up any time before 8am or so…
If you struggle with waking up & snooze button is you bff:
Put your alarm clock as far away from the bed as possible.
Drink a glass of water right after you wake up.
Pour another glass of water on yourself right after you wake up.
Prepare some coffee the night before, leave it by your bedside, drink it after you wake up.
Have your blinds/curtains open, so that it’s bright after you wake up.
Try to go to bed 5-10 min earlier than the night before.
Track how many hours of sleep you’re getting. Aim to get at least 7h per day or 49h per week.
Increase your sleeping hours incrementally. Aim to get at least 1h of sleep more than the previous week. For example, if this week you slept for 41hrs, aim to get an extra hour of sleep next week, so it’s 42h.Once you get enough hours of sleep and wake up early-ish.
Try to keep your sleeping schedule consistent. It is really important to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Even if it’s weekend. Or even if that means, you getting less than 7hrs of sleep that day. I’d say waking up at the same time everyday is the most important step, which will help you the most with fixing your sleeping schedule.
START EATING HEALTHY (1-2 months)
This step really depends from person to person, but firstly I suggest you take some blood tests to see if you have any deficiencies, etc. Especially, if you struggle with cravings.
Try intermittent fasting, if you struggle with binge eating or overeating. As it will help you to learn to listen to your body better: when it’s hungry, when it’s full, etc. It’s really simple, there are many methods of Intermittent fasting, but I’d suggest 16/8 for the beginners. (Google it for more info)
DRINK ALL THE WATER. Again, if you’re not drinking enough water, try to level up your water game incrementally. Download some water tracking app on your phone to help you. Drinking water will make you more energetic, increase your metabolism, and decrease you appetite (among many more benefits).
Track what you eating. I would really suggest tracking your meals for around a month. Because, most of the time people have no idea that what they’re eating is unhealthy. Again, download an app to your phone for that.
Make your own meals once in a while. Not only this will save you money, but it’ll help you to see what’s really going into your body.
Eat less meat and more veggies/fruits. Go to your local market and buy some veggies/fruits, you have never tried before. I’m sure you’ll find your new favs. Eat/buy less meat. Not only it’s good for the environment, but it is good for you, too. Get a veggie burger instead of the beef one, etc.
Cut dairy. Find your new favourite milk substitute. Advice: Oat milk is really good with the tea and oatmeal/porridge; hazelnut milk is amazing on it’s own; cashew milk goes well with cereals.
Learn more about nutrition in general. It will help you to make better food choices and it will make eating healthy much easier in general, because once you understand all the chemistry behind the food and what it does to your body, you kinda don’t want to make yourself feel worse. Here are some free resources: - Human nutrition course from Alison.com - Crash course Metabolism&Nutrition: Part 1 and Part 2 - The Health Nerd’s YouTube Playlist about nutrition - What I’ve Learnt YouTube Playlist - Human nutrition course from Alison.com - Crash course Metabolism&Nutrition: Part 1 and Part 2 - The Health Nerd’s YouTube Playlist about nutrition - What I’ve Learnt YouTube Playlist
GET PHYSICALLY FIT (2-6 months)
Define your goals. Do you want to lose weight, do you want to get stronger, gain weight, be able to climb stairs without losing breath, run 5k?
Remember - you’re half-way through. Being physically fit has a lot to do with what you put into your body. So, if you fulfilled the previous step of eating healthy - you are half way through!
Make a plan. A Reasonable plan. Be honest with yourself.
Start small. Like, 5 min exercise in the morning. Or doing 10 sit ups per day. Don’t do anything overwhelming, like running 5k everyday if you haven’t run for the past 5 years.
Make sure that you kinda like what you’re doing. If you absolutely hate running - don’t do it. Hate doing sit ups in the morning? Try some yoga instead.
Explore until you find what you like. You don’t have to go to gym to get fit, especially if you hate it. Find a type of exercise, which you actually like. Maybe it’s dancing or hiking, taking your dog for a walk. Sign up for several trial lessons of various sport clubs. Ditch ‘em if you have them until you find something that you love. Stick with that.
Do the small changes in your everyday life. Stairs>Escalator, Walk>Drive, Do some squats while brushing your teeth, switch from regular desk to standing desk, etc… Find ways to incorporate being active into your everyday life
Track your effort instead of your progress. You cannot really control your progress that much (especially if your goal was to lose weight). However, you can always control your effort. So track it instead. This will leave you more motivated. As you will be able to see that you can do more and more everyday. Whereas, if you tracked your progress, you may not always get the result you hoped for, which might demotivate you and make you upset, wanting to quit.
BEAT DEPRESSION
Do the previous 3 steps and you’re half way through.
See a therapist/doctor. Depression is an illness, requiring medical treatment. So, get it. Remember: there is absolutely no fucking shame in having a mental illness.
Get some extra support. Talk to your friends or family. Or maybe someone on the internet.
Write it out. If you don’t want to talk - write down your thoughts. It can be just as helpful. It’ll help you to understand yourself better, see problems in your thinking, etc.
Distract yourself from yourself. Get someone/something to take care of, so that you can, for a moment, stop thinking about yourself and focus on something else. E.g, get a plant, or a dog, or a fish.
Self-care day. Dedicate at least one day per week for self-care. Take yourself out, either to a museum or some fancy cafe, do some stuff you like, whatever your hobbies are, do some physical self care: bath, face mask, manicure, etc., listen to some nice music, watch a film…..
STOP PROCRASTINATION
Celebrate your victories instead of mourning over your loses.So the only thing you’ve done today was write one sentence for your 20 page essay? Amazing! Buy yourself a candy for that!! I mean, you could’ve done nothing, but you didn’t - you wrote that one sentence and that’s worth celebrating.
Do it for only 2 minutes. If there’s an important thing you’ve been putting off for a while, tell yourself that you will only spend 2 minutes on doing it. If after 2 minutes you don’t want to do it anymore, great, stop it. However, after 2min. you actually might want to do more. No pressure either way.
Track your productivity. Track how much time you’ve been productive that day. Try to increase that time by a little bit every day.
Always forgive yourself. So, it’s been a week and you’ve done nothing? Don’t sweat it. Let it go. Blaming yourself will bring you absolutely nothing. Nothing good will come out of your negativity on yourself. So stop it. Forgive yourself and start again. And again, if you need to. Never stop trying. Always pick yourself after you fall. Beating procrastination and increasing your discipline is a skill. And all skills can be build on. There is nothing in you stopping you from changing. Remember that.
LEARN HOW TO DO TAXES (1h - 1 day)
Go to google.com.
Type in: “How to do taxes *the name of the country you’re living in*”
Read the results.
GET MENTALLY STRONG ENOUGH TO MAKE PHONE CALLS
Remember that just as with beating procrastination, making phone calls is a skill. And, again, skills can be learnt.
Get a new SIM card.
Top it up.
Dial some random numbers and pretend to be a salesman, selling whatever you like.. E.g., trying to sell broadband, cable tv, trying to get people to donate for some charity… Or whatever really… Me and some friends used to pretend we’re selling kittens or wood logs. Alternatively, you can pretend that you dialed a wrong person and talk about whatever, e.g. “Hey, Jess!! You wont believe what I saw today!! *start telling a made-up story*…”
If you get uncomfortable - just drop the call. No consequences whatsoever.
Repeat until you build up your game and your phone-call anxiety starts to diminish.
SLAY THOSE BITCHES Congratulations, now you’re ready to take over the world! Got get ‘em!!
Ominous positivity
Eight Ways to Remember Anything by Alex Lickerman M.D.
Reference: Research-based strategies to boost your memory and keep it strong via psychology today
Something I think we don’t do enough, especially as students, is forgive ourselves. We’re constantly striving to be better, achieve better but along the way we’re beating ourselves up for making mistakes. For being human. It’s impossible to constantly be eating healthy, working out everyday, getting 8+ hours of sleep and getting straight As as well as doing a ton of co-curricular, we’re not superheroes and anything that promotes otherwise is lying. We are not perfect and the standards that we are held to these days is simply unrealistic. And beating yourself up for not achieving unrealistic expectations isn’t going to do you any good! Something we need to do more of is forgiving ourselves, forgive yourself for not doing the homework. You know you can do it tomorrow. Forgive yourself for not going to the gym when you know there’s a mountain of work waiting for you at home. Forgive yourself for having days where all you ate was junk. FORGIVE YOURSELF! We’re only human. We can only do so much.
24 Invaluable Skills To Learn For Free Online This Year
Here’s an easy resolution: This stuff is all free as long as you have access to a computer, and the skills you learn will be invaluable in your career, and/or life in general.
1. Become awesome at Excel.
Chandoo is one of many gracious Excel experts who wants to share their knowledge with the world. Excel excellence is one of those skills that will improve your chances of getting a good job instantly, and it will continue to prove invaluable over the course of your career. What are you waiting for?
2. Learn how to code.
littleanimalgifs.tumblr.com
Perhaps no other skill you can learn for free online has as much potential to lead to a lucrative career. Want to build a site for your startup? Want to build the next big app? Want to get hired at a place like BuzzFeed? You should learn to code. There are a lot of places that offer free or cheap online coding tutorials, but I recommend Code Academy for their breadth and innovative program. If you want to try a more traditional route, Harvard offers its excellent Introduction to Computer Science course online for free.
3. Make a dynamic website.
You could use a pre-existing template or blogging service, or you could learn Ruby on Rails and probably change your life forever. Here’s an extremely helpful long list of free Ruby learning tools that includes everything from Rails for Zombies to Learn Ruby The Hard Way. Go! Ruby! Some basic programming experience, like one of the courses above, might be helpful (but not necessarily required if you’re patient with yourself).
4. Learn to make a mobile game.
If you’re not interested in coding anything other than fun game apps, you could trythis course from the University of Reading. It promises to teach you how to build a game in Java, even if you don’t have programming experience! If you want to make a truly great game, you might want to read/listen up on Game Theory first.
5. Start reading faster.
Spreeder is a free online program that will improve your reading skill and comprehension no matter how old you are. With enough practice, you could learn to double, triple, or even quadruple the speed at which you read passages currently, which is basically like adding years to your life.
6. Learn a language!
With Duolingo, you can learn Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, or English (from any of the above or more). There’s a mobile app and a website, and the extensive courses are completely free.
Full disclosure: BuzzFeed and other websites are in a partnership with DuoLingo, but they did not pay or ask for this placement.
7. Pickle your own vegetables.
Tired of your farmer’s market haul going bad before you use it all? Or do you just love tangy pickled veggies? You too can pickle like a pro thanks to SkillShare and Travis Grillo.
8. Improve your public speaking skills.
You can take the University of Washington’s Intro to Public Speaking for free online. Once you learn a few tricks of the trade, you’ll be able to go into situations like being asked to present at a company meeting or giving a presentation in class without nearly as much fear and loathing.
9. Get a basic handle of statistics.
UC Berkeley put a stats intro class on iTunes. Once you know how to understand the numbers yourself, you’ll never read a biased “news” article the same way again — 100% of authors of this post agree!
10. Understand basic psychology.
Knowing the basics of psych will bring context to your understanding of yourself, the dynamics of your family and friendships, what’s really going on with your coworkers, and the woes and wonders of society in general. Yale University has its Intro to Psychology lectures online for free.
11. Make your own music.
Step one: Learn how to play guitar: Justin Guitar is a fine and free place to start learning chords and the basic skills you’ll need to be able to play guitar — from there, it’s up to you, but once you know the basics, just looking up tabs for your favorite songs and learning them on your own is how many young guitar players get their start (plus it’s an excellent party trick).
Step two: A delightful free voice lesson from Berklee College Of Music.
Step three: Have you always thought you had an inner TSwift? Berklee College of Music offers an Introduction to Songwriting course completely for free online. The course is six weeks long, and by the end of the lesson you’ll have at least one completed song.
Step four: Lifehacker’s basics of music production will help you put it all together once you have the skills down! You’ll be recording your own music, ready to share with your valentine or the entire world, in no time!
12. Learn to negotiate.
Let Stanford’s Stan Christensen explain how to negotiate in business and your personal life, managing relationships for your personal gain and not letting yourself be steamrolled. There are a lot of football metaphors and it’s great.
13. Stop hating math.
If you struggled with math throughout school and now have trouble applying it in real-world situations when it crops up, try Saylor.org’s Real World Math course. It will reteach you basic math skills as they apply IRL. Very helpful!
14. Start drawing!
All kids draw — so why do we become so afraid of it as adults? Everyone should feel comfortable with a sketchbook and pencil, and sketching is a wonderful way to express your creativity. DrawSpace is a great place to start. (I also highly recommend the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain if you can drop a few dollars for a used copy.)
15. Make your own animated GIF.
BuzzFeed’s own Katie Notopoulos has a great, simple guide to making an animated GIF without Photoshop. This is all you need to be the king or queen of Tumblr or your favorite email chains.
16. Appreciate jazz.
reddit.com
Have you never really “gotten” jazz? If you want to be able to participate in conversations at fancy parties and/or just add some context to your appreciation of all music, try this free online course from UT Austin.
17. Write well.
Macalester College’s lecture series is excellent. If you’re more interested in journalism, try Wikiversity’s course selection.
18. Get better at using Photoshop.
Another invaluable skill that will get you places in your career, learning Photoshop can be as fun as watching the hilarious videos on You Suck At Photoshop or as serious as this extensive Udemy training course (focused on photo retouching).
19. Take decent pictures.
Lifehacker’s basics of photography might be a good place to start. Learn how your camera works, the basic of composition, and editing images in post-production. If you finish that and you’re not sure what to do next, here’s a short course on displaying and sharing your digital photographs.
20. Learn to knit.
Instructables has a great course by a woman who is herself an online-taught knitter. You’ll be making baby hats and cute scarves before this winter’s over!
21. Get started with investing in stocks.
If you are lucky enough to have a regular income, you should start learning about savings and investment now. Investopedia has a ton of online resources, including this free stocks basics course. Invest away!
22. Clean your house in a short amount of time.
Unf$#k Your Habitat has a great emergency cleaning guide for when your mother-in-law springs a surprise visit on you. While you’re over there, the entire blog is good for getting organized and clean in the long term, not just in “emergencies.” You’ll be happier for it.
23. Start practicing yoga.
Most cities have free community classes (try just searching Google or inquiring at your local yoga studio), or if you’re more comfortable trying yoga at home, YogaGlohas a great 15-day trial and Yome is a compendium of 100% free yoga videos. If you’re already familiar with basic yoga positions but you need an easy way to practice at home, I recommend YogaTailor’s free trial as well.
24. Tie your shoelaces more efficiently.
It’s simple and just imagine the minutes of your life you’ll save!
If you’re anything like me, you go to the library with the best intentions then inevitably get distracted and wind up finishing none of the tasks you set out to do. Here’s a handy guide to how to get more done when you go to the library!
Planning your study session
Know what you’re doing ahead of time. Not only does this mean you can plan out your time to keep you on task, but you can also pare down which books and notes you need to bring.
Try and choose subjects that you need to be in the library for. For instance, if you need books to write an essay, read them in the library so you don’t have to drag them home. It’s better for your back, and more motivating when your time is limited!
Make a plan! Whether it’s just a to-do list or chunking your work into ten minute blocks, have goals to accomplish and keep yourself on task.
Don’t expect to be fully focused the whole time you’re there. No one can concentrate for 4 hours straight, so work some breaks into your plan and cut yourself some slack.
What to bring
A water bottle. You’re better off staying hydrated with water than sugary drinks from the vending machine, and bringing your own bottle is the best way to do that because you can keep it right at your desk.
Your chargers! Nothing cuts a study session short like your computer dying, so be prepared and make sure you’ve got your laptop/phone/tablet charger on hand.
A jacket. At least at my university, the library is almost always freezing. Even if yours isn’t, bring a jacket to keep you warm because sitting still for ages is a surefire way to cool you down!
Healthy snacks. Bringing your own food means you won’t be spending money, and you have a reason to stay at your desk and away from the vending machine. It also means no noisy crisp packets! Here’s a guide to library-friendly quiet snacks.
Headphones. Sometimes, even the library can be a bit noisy. Whether you’d prefer silence or some light music, having headphones can help you out.
Study essentials. Don’t depend on the library having copies of your required textbook, so bring your own from home, alongside essentials like pens & paper!
Making the most of the library
Don’t sit on the ground floor. It’s the loudest and busiest, and the place where you’re most likely to run into friends or get distracted, so avoid it off the bat. Similarly, stay away from high traffic areas like the loos, printers, and cafe.
Use the resources available! The library offers so much more than books: research databases, primary sources, librarians, and even audio resources if you’re a languages student like me. Make the most of all that’s on offer!
Get there early. Especially in exam season, the library fills up pretty fast and that can prevent you from sitting where you would usually. If you want a prime spot, your best bet is to get there when the library opens.
Try booking a study room. They can be great for working on group projects or if you want to snag a one person room and work with even fewer distractions.
Remember that the library doesn’t guarantee productivity. You still need to be prepared and focused, regardless of the location! Try and ditch the rest of the day’s worries at the door and just concentrate on work.
Other tips & tricks
How To Effectively Study In A Library from The Happy Arkansan
Library Study Session Tips & Essentials from Bookish & Bright
How to have a Productive Library Study Session from Macarons & Mascara
Packing List for Studying in the Library from Life As A Dare
How to Study Efficiently and Effectively
Home vs. Library: Finding a Study Spot from Survive Law
Your purpose in life is not to love yourself but to love being yourself.
If you goal is to love yourself, then your focus is directed inward toward yourself, and you end up constantly watching yourself from the outside, disconnected, trying to summon the “correct” feelings towards yourself or fashion yourself into something you can approve of.
If your goal is to love being yourself, then your focus is directed outward towards life, on living and making decisions based on what brings you pleasure and fulfillment.
Be the subject, not the object. It doesn’t matter what you think of yourself. You are experiencing life. Life is not experiencing you.
there’s a website where you put in two musicians/artists and it makes a playlist that slowly transitions from one musician’s style of music to the other’s
it’s really fun
im a simple gal i see a pygmy animal i lose my Fucking mind
THERE IS A FONT THAT IS DESIGNED TO MAKE U REMEMBER EVERYTHING
I don’t usually share a whole lot but THIS IS INCREDIBLE
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apply for jobs you’re not qualified for! audit upper-level classes! get drunk with your TAs! see that poster advertising that lecture series? go there take notes and ask questions! thank the presenter for talking about this topic you love! if the class is full before you register, email the professor and ask if they can squeeze you in! RAISE YOUR HAND! tell the disability accomodation office to do their goddamn job! ask for help! file complaints! go to class in your pajamas and destroy the reading! you got this! you KNOW you got this! be arrogant enough to learn EVERYTHING! take your meds! punch a velociraptor in the dick! fear is useless and temporary! glory is forever! shed your skin and erupt angel wings! help out! spread your sun!
i had a really good morning! you deserve a really good morning! kill anyone who says you don’t and build a throne from their bones!
Legally Blonde (2001)
