How To Take Better Notes During Fast-paced Lectures

finished today's classes(⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

i love my social psychology professor, she's so funny and GENUINELY loves the field

these are pictures from my last week of my first year at university and my first week of summer break

can't believe first year is over, i feel like i didn't do much extracurricular-wise but atleast my academics were good? eh

i have a lot of things planned for the summer break, hopefully im able to complete atleast half of the list ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ

ill make the list here so i can hold myself accountable lolol

things to do over the summer:

Intern at NGO - mandatory uni requirement

Take my DSLR out more - improve photography/documenting skills

Join dance class again

Make a LinkedIn account

Get into politics

Try new Art - embroidery/a new painting style

Join a gym (very scared about this)

Learn driving and get a license

Play more badminton

Do major-related courses/workshops/internships

Learn basic cooking

so I got into grad school today with my shitty 2.8 gpa and the moral of the story is reblog those good luck posts for the love of god

i have an assignment due today at 11:59 and im so scared im not going to make it

hoping for the best because i plan on staying in my academic weapon era

(⁠｡⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

edit: IM DONE WITH THE ASSIGNMENT?????? ONG

this week's photo dump (⁠✿⁠^⁠‿⁠^⁠)

live, love, laugh food honestly (the picture in the middle is an ice-cream sundae situation made in a dorm hahaha)

a foggy morning on campus

did some origami in statistics to stay sane

campus fountain said 🏳️‍🌈

Good afternoon! Back with some pink notes 🩷 these are my absolute essentials for notes!!

Kokuyo campus notebook in B5, Kacogreen pens & unipin fine liner for titles :)

made it thru first sem of uni ssjajahaahsjagsgsmsn

Studying when EXAUSTED

This is for those times when you really desperately want to be productive and get things done but you can't focus and you just want to sleep but you didn't do anything today so you feel shitty.

if you can, please just go to sleep (I do get that sometimes you feel so shitty about how little work you got done that you can't sleep, but if you can, please do it and approach tomorrow with a fresh start)

plan out what tomorrow is going to look like. I will break it down by task, for example: 6:00 wake up, 6:05 work out 6:15 shower, 6:30 make tea, 6:40 start work, 7:30 break etc. This will 1) help you feel better about not getting anything done 2) can help you be more productive tomorrow.

if you have things to do that are easy/low brain power, do them. These are things like printing out work, scanning stuff, tidying your kitchen. getting these little things out of the way can make a HUGE difference later

if you can, just read over your material. Don't even try to understand, just read it. Tomorrow when you come back to try and actually learn it, you will already be a little familiar and it can speed things up for you

eat something, drink something, and see if it makes you feel better- many times when i'm "unable" to go on, I eat a meal and drink a glass or two of water and magically I feel great again

try doing a workout- sometimes it just makes the exhaustion worse, but if you need to stay up later (shoutout to my fellow 6:30 pm bedtime pals) it can stretch time a little bit, and sometimes wakes up your brain. It's also good for you and can make your sleep go better

DONT DRINK COFFEE. or tea. no caffeine. you are already tired, it's not going to fix anything, its just going to make you jittery and sad. it's also going to upset your sleep schedule and make the tired worse for tomorrow.

lastly- just go to bed. pushing through true exhaustion is not going to help you or anyone else. anything you try and learn is going to float right out of your head, and it can lead to burnout which will make everything worse. Please just sleep

Music makes anything easier, even writing pieces in a different language

The Night Before Your Exam

Hello, hi there. Recently I made a post about what to do the day of your exam and it’s still getting notes which is amazing. Thank you all. So now, please enjoy these realistic tips for the night before your exam that do not involve perfum, gum, or cramming. Please don’t cram.

Get a good night’s sleep. I know that for many of us this is a major challenge because we deal with insomnia or anxiety disorders that keep us awake. Try taking a warm bath in Epsom salts. Stay in the tub until you break a sweat. Pick your salts wisely because some of them are more energizing (i.e lavender salts are more energizing I have found).

If you are having trouble sleeping because of tension in your neck/back, try to relieve the tension by rolling out your muscles on the floor, or conciously tensing them up for about 10-20 seconds before slowing releasing. The Epsom salt bath really helps with any sort of tension. I have chronic nerve pain from a car accident and it’s one of the few things that help me that is more holistic.

Don’t shy away from melatonin. It works wonders and you won’t feel “hung over” in the morning like you may with Z-Quil. They have melatonin gummies too!

Try lowering your body temperature. Sleep naked. It’s life changing. If you can’t sleep naked (because you live in a dorm) still do your best to keep it cool. Our bodies get tired when their temps are lower.

Additionally, do not cram for any exam. The night before your exam is not the time to be learning any new material. We are way past that. Gently refresh the material that you already know; however, do focus on items you may struggle with. Remember, althetes don’t go crazy hard the day before a game - treat your brain the same way; no heavy lifting.

You may take this time to rewrite your notes. It’s a simple act that can definitely help you to remember.

Try teaching the material to someone else, or if no one else is available - stand in the mirror and give your own personal TedTalk on the subject. Hey, if it works for Sims, right? Remember that if you can teach the material, you know it. Reiterating in your own words is so helpful.

This should go without saying, but eat a good dinner.

Use the “Match,” “Test,” and “Spell” functions on Quizlet. Very helpful.

Have I said do not cram yet?

Lay out your clothes for the morning. The fewer decisions the better.

You’re going to want to wake up with enough time to review your study materials a couple more times, get ready for the day, and leave for the exam early (so that you have time to review when you get there and to ensure you are on time!) So set your alarm in advance.

Make sure that you set out your blue book, calculator, etc. so that you are prepared for the exam tomorrow and you aren’t sprinting across campus to find somewhere that sells blue books.

Triple check that alarm.

Try to limit your use of electronics 30 minutes before you need to fall asleep. I know that isn’t always reasonable though. Just make sure your phone is plugged in so that it is well charged and ON when you need that alarm to go off.

Drink some water.

Don’t drink any coffee or other caffeinated beverage/over induldge in nicotine/or take your *prescription!!!* adderall after 8 PM. Really for the Adderall don’t take it after like 5:30. You will be up all night long, my friend.

Okay last time: do not cram for any exam. That’s like over extertion for your brain and it will take you time to recover. If you continuously pull all nighters to cram you will crash and burn eventually. So just start early on your study plan. You can make time for it, I promise.

Happy studying, realistic students!