All The Things That Made My Life Full—sciences, Not The Least Of Them—an Ever-unfolding Journey Of

~Update~

Last night, I had another crashout and realized I'm not at all prepared to test for my discrete math course. my foundation in math is not up to college level and it really shows. i'm going to divert and work on other courses and do tutoring for the rest of the term until i'm ready to take the final for discrete math again (and actually pass).

the relief i felt getting off the call with my advisor was insane. i'm starting on a critical thinking and reason course today so stay tuned for more complaining about that. i feel like a whole human again this is great.

Ur not stupid ur program is just hard

Your boundaries, schedules, discipline, habits and routines = your life’s outcome. They are everything!

[ 6th may, 2025 • 78/159 days ]

-> classes (total: 2h00)

-> EMD worksheet 1 (total: 4h00 - ex 1.1. a-i)

-> journaled

-> finished reading When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamín Labatut

-> continued reading The Turnglass, by Gareth Rubin (finished the green side of the book)

saturday | may 24

treating myself to a productive morning at a bougie coffeeshop. most weekends i just study in my dorm until the library opens, but getting off campus is a welcome disruption. just a couple more weeks left in the term, something which is both reassuring and terrifying.

in other news, my petition to graduate early was approved yesterday, so i'm officially 1 year away from finishing my degree!

| 29 april 2025 |

wow april is almost over... trying to balance end of the semester TAing and studying for final 🤪 also the cherry blossom picture is from like a week ago haha

🎧 1x1 — bring me the horizon, nova twins

~2024-2025 moodboard~

this upcoming year, i'm focusing on my career goals, personal wellness, and my spirituality.

eight step guide on how to study (as a third year pre-med student with ADHD and a 4.0)

welcome to my step by step guide on how to study. i have a love-hate relationship with studying, but this is what works to get me going. getting started is the hardest part, i promise.

step one: prep your space. get a glass of water or coffee or energy drink and make sure you have everything you need out and ready. throw your phone across the room or just put it out of sight. you will forget that other fun things exist (like tik tok) if you cannot see it. out of sight, out of mind.

step two: sit at your desk (or table or a general designated study space with a chair). studying in bed never works like you think it will and studying on the floor (while enriching) will do nothing but hurt your back from hunching over. sitting at your desk makes you feel much more productive (most of my study sessions start by just forcing myself to sit in my chair).

step three: put some music or ambience on. if i need to use my brain more i'll opt for some fantasy-themed forest ambience or sci-fi droning sounds. your brain is tricked into thinking that you're having fun if music is on, but plot twist! you're actually being productive. music i turn to is soft piano, video game soundtracks (genshin, undertale, minecraft, stardew valley) or lofi, but your mileage may vary. DO NOT do music with words unless you want to be distracted.

step four: make a list of need-to-dos and rank them based on priority and time. start by doing an activity that will take a short amount of time. by completing a short to-do, it builds the motivation to keep going.

step five: start a study timer. i bought a physical study timer that is so satisfying to wind and set and watch the time tick by, but a desktop one works just fine. set your timer based on how much energy you have. some days i go for 60 minutes, some days i do 25, it all just depends. as a study session goes on, it's normal for your amount of energy to go down. i may do 60-45-30-20 then take a long break. know thyself and thine needs!

step six: lock in. do not think about what you are doing, simply do it. do it before your brain has the chance to convince you it doesn't like what you're doing.

step seven: take regular, controlled, and useful breaks. do not start an activity on your break that will break your flow. walk around, stretch, check your phone, refill your drink, have a snack. reward yourself! you're doing great, i promise.

step eight: long break. do something that will rest your mind. maybe watch youtube, eat a meal, play a video game, read a few chapters of a book. be proud of the work you've accomplished.

i hope this helps! happy studying!

remember why you started