Jan 9, 2021

notes and annotations!

SCHOOL CHEAT SHEET!!

soothe yourself | self care

stationery  

printables

helpful sites

music for studying | more music

note taking methods  | another one

studying methods

english | physics | chemistry | biology | maths | languages 

how to learn a language

ultimate guide for writing | writing resources | writing helps | tips for writers

how to write a kickass essay | write a great essay | stuff you need to write essays | essay tips | essay checklist | grade your essay

how do I study for…

bullet journals | a guide to bullet journals

the testing effect

everything you need to succeed in school

time management

organisation

how to annotate | another one

guide to aesthetically pleasing notes | improve your handwriting

create a study guide

resources | helpful websites | there’s an app for that

get more out of google 

productivity resources | 14 apps to become productive | how to stay productive

lazy night owl school survival guide

apps for a better life | useful websites for students

masterpost of studying tips

social media citation guide

college masterpost | another one | starting college on the right foot | packing for college | how to survive in college

how to ace that college interview

food to stay motivated | motivation guide

how to stay awake in class

balancing a healthy lifestyle

studying on your period

huge masterpost for the semester

a very long list to help you survive school

not enough time to finish an assignment?

100 delicious cheap recipes 

53 posts for students

high school cheat sheet

other cheat sheets

Bless the person who made this. I love it. 

Advice for studying in lockdown

Get yourself a thermos or insulated pitcher. Fill it with hot water. Bring a mug and a few tea bags back to your room. Now you have a day’s worth of hot tea at your fingertips.

Get away from the computer and take some pen-and-paper notes. I know it may be tempting to just stare at your screen all day, but any chance to rest your eyes is a good one.

On that note, invest in some computer glasses, or a blue light filter program for your computer. We’re all in the digital realm these days, and protecting our vision is important.

If you need to, set yourself a weird sleeping schedule. All of my classes are in the afternoon or evening, due to classmates in other time zones. I stay up til 2:00 am and sleep in until 10:00 am or later most days.

Have different clothes set aside for class. I understand the temptation to show up to that Zoom call in your pajamas, really I do. But your mind connects certain physical objects with certain activities, and it can be difficult to truly wake up when you’re giving your brain signals that it’s time to sleep.

For the same reasons, do not study in your bed. If you get sick of your desk or table, try spreading out on the floor instead.

Do not check the news before studying or class time. You will be distracted, anxious, and unable to focus. Get your own day in order first, then worry about what’s going on outside.

If you are struggling to feel productive even while you’re getting your schoolwork done, take breaks to do chores. It means you’re still getting things done, but you’re switching from mental progress to physical, tangible progress.

Go sit outside for a while. Leave your phone in the house and just sit on the front porch, or in the back garden. Being shut inside is not good for creatures like us, so we need all the sunshine and fresh air we can get.

Please, for goodness’ sake, do not compare yourself to other people. For every blogger out there proudly posting 3 pictures a day of their immaculate, artistic, detailed notes, there’s two dozen who have gotten absolutely nothing done and feel like shit because of it. Other people’s success is not your failure. We are all struggling right now, even those of us who are good at hiding it.

Oooh, I tried this method in first year physics too! It was very effective, since I got fine details from the pre-reading, which was supplemented during the lecture! This method worked fantastic (as long as I kept a routine)! Good luck with it!

aug 25, 2021

✨2/30 days of productivity✨

started taking notes on QM today. i think i figured out how i want to take notes this year (at least in this course); reading and taking a bit of notes pre lecture and then i made a column of space for adding things during the lecture so i don’t have to write everything down during the lecture, only the things i missed in my notes! this way i can focus more on listening and understanding during the lecture, i damn hope it works lol

Romanticize your education

the midday stillness of a library

coursework sprawled on top of a desk

notes on the margins of a textbook

tracing names carved into an armchair

the inherent eroticism of the library after dark

a note falling out of a battered book

reminders scrawled across your hands

cursive handwriting

whispers cutting through the silence of the dormitory

the cold glow of a laptop screen in a dark room

ink stains

notebooks with half the pages crossed out

passing notes during lecture

getting up at 3 am to google something

leatherbound books with gold lining

crisp white paper

the smell of new books

I would like to add a category to the academia aesthetics called Realistic Acedamia and it's where you show up to class everyday in jeans+hoodie with dirt cheap coffee and reduce Serious Conversations About the Nature of the Universe to memes.

Also includes messy handwriting, a collection of ugly free pens you got from library events, and complaining incessantly about your chosen area of study

Learning to like Physics

I actually cannot believe how much I used to hate Physics until last year, but then I actually took the time and effort to understand it and?? it’s so cool and fun and easy?? unreal.

It literally seemed impossible for me and I legit thought I wouldn’t be able to graduate because I was never gonna pass Physics (I’m a Math major so we actually have 4 required Physics courses). I don’t know what the point of this is but, don’t be afraid of Physics guys!! (or any other subject!!) yes it’s frustrating as hell and you feel dumb for not having a clue about what is happening or how to work out the problems but I swear once it clicks for you (and it will) it’s gonna be great.

So if anyone needs a step by step (for college/uni), here’s one:

Google is your best friend, the internet has plenty of videos/papers/worked out problems for you to check out. The most important thing to look for is drawings and videos that help you visualize what’s going on. In most of general physics, the key is to see what forces are acting, and from that follows everything else.

Know your core equations. Honestly it’s always the same ones in the end.

For mechanics: you absolutely gotta know Newton’s Laws, Work and its relation to Kinetic/Potential Energy. Momentum is also important.

For thermodynamics: pV = nRT, Boyle/Gay Lussac etc (note that they’re all connected), Carnot’s Cycle.

For electromagnetism: Maxwell’s equations. This is as far as I’ve gotten in my studies.

Understand where the formulas come from, rather than learning them by heart. For me, this was necessary because my memory is absolutely shit so there was no way I could remember every variation. But most of the formulas actually do make sense, and once you’ve drawn out a diagram of what’s happening, you can work them out yourself.

For the previous point, I suggest you watch and rewatch your professor’s explanation until you get the gist. Don’t get discouraged if it’s not immediately crystal clear, seek out other explanations if you need to. Then try to do it yourself.

ASK. FOR. HELP. I cannot stress this enough, do not feel ashamed about asking questions in class or during office hours. There are no stupid questions, and you’re paying thousands every year for people to teach you. Also physics is hard, so you’re pretty much expected to not understand immediately. Moreover, I can guarantee there’s at least one other person in the room with the same question who’s too afraid to ask. I was that person, and I failed the class because of it. Don’t be me.

Practice until you’re able to do most variations of standard problems. Once you’re able to do a certain problem, try to change it and see what happens. You don’t have to crunch the numbers all over again, go with your intuition first. Then you can calculate everything and see if you were correct.

This is all I’ve got at the moment. It applies to General Physics because I’m still pretty shit at Mathematical Physics (Rational Mechanics?) lmao, which is why I don’t talk about Lagrangians and such here.

If anyone has any other tips (for Mathematical Physics as well!) , please feel free to add them. Note that I’m from Italy, and this is what it was like for me. Other countries might have different ways of testing or focus on some formulas that I haven’t included. Do what works for you, obviously.

Good luck STEM students, I know it’s hard, but hopefully worth it in the long run :)

Sometimes my work feels more academic than my studies

6 Small But Powerful Study Habits

Many students—including myself at one point—tend to think that making big strides towards their academic goals means also making drastic changes to how they’re used to approaching academics and studying; however, making big strides towards your goals oftentimes only requires that you make small changes in your day-to-day behavior. For instance, you can replace small unhelpful habits (like checking social media between classes) with small helpful habits (like reviewing notes or flashcards between classes). These little behaviors accumulate over time to lessen the burden of big tasks. They can also build a stronger sense of self-efficacy and mastery, both of which go a long way to motivating you when it comes to the bigger goals. Here are 6 small but powerful study habits that you can adopt: 

1. Do 5 minutes of revision everyday by reading through your class notes and creating questions for yourself to answer at a later time. 

Doing this will help you identify what you don’t understand early on so you have time to learn and ask questions. It also gives you a chance to practice and quiz yourself on material you may feel confident about. As a result, you might be able to narrow your focus on what you truly need to study come exam time and not waste time reviewing material you’ve already mastered.

2. Write down your homework and important due dates during or at the end of each lesson, ideally in a planner that you include other tasks and events. 

This is one of the simplest yet most important steps you can take towards better academic performance. It ensures you meet your deadlines and can help you realistically visualize the time you have available in comparison to all your other tasks and events. If you don’t have an accurate sense of the amount of time and energy you have to complete a certain task or meet a deadline, you won’t be engaging in other small, helpful habits to work towards that goal. 

3. Self-monitor your learning. 

During class, ask yourself if you’re understanding what the professor is saying. While taking notes, reading, watching an educational video, or doing any other study task, ask yourself what the key points were and try to identify areas that you can’t articulate or summarize well. If you identify these areas and come up with questions, be sure to write them down and fill in the answer at a later time to measure how well you addressed those lapses in comprehension. If you find that the answer still seems confusing, you can then ask your professor for additional guidance. 

4. File notes in the right place everyday. 

Make sure that your notes for each class are separate from other classes and grouped with other related notes. It would be even better if each subject was filed or organized in a way that you can easily distinguish between units and sub-units within each class/subject. Keeping your notes organized allows you to easily revise and review. It also creates a mental image of the information. For example,if you have a specific method to organizing your notes and use that method to review them, then you may be able to imagine going through your notebook or binder to find a particular piece of information during the exam. 

5. Read one online article or watch an educational video to supplement your classroom learning everyday.

Extra reading reinforces the ideas that you’ve learned in class and places them in a wider context. It also strengthens your critical thinking and comprehension skills. 

6. Reflect often. Each day, ask yourself: what went well? What didn’t go well? How could you improve?

The more specific you can be, the better you can identify solutions to improve. It’s also helpful to ask these kinds of questions after big events like the end of a project, essay, exams, and the end of the semester. 

Best Wishes, Bujo Paper Creations

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