Overcome Self-doubt

Survival tips for exam week

TO SURVIVE EXAMS LIKE A BOSS

1. Get your electronics out of the way. I’m a huge advocator of technology in the classroom. But no so when you’re in your bedroom. I remember I had a chemistry exam the next day and I slept at midnight reading a novel. Even though I knew the material and the answers, I couldn’t finish the test on time because I was slower than usual and couldn’t concentrate. SLEEP IS IMPORTANT. So get your phone, tablet, laptop all out and just sleep. Learn from my mistakes people. 

2. Take a day off and meal prep the shit out of your week. When I’m in exam week, I forget to eat. My bodily needs go on vacation to a dark corner of my mind and I simply forget about them until I’m at the verge of collapse from hunger and dehydration. What I did last year to avoid this is to have healthy food at hand all times by meal prepping inexpensive, light and nutritious snacks that can survive in the fridge. 

3. Have your professor’s email or phone number. We are not perfect so from time to time, we are bound to cram everything in a day. In these days, it’s very beneficial to have your professor’s contact info to ask relevant questions. Be bold and ask right away if they have past tests so you can train with them in those lasts couple of hours. When cramming, it’s best to practice instead of reading. Your professor can make a huge difference in this game. 

4. Make an efficient summary. If your professor isn’t willing to help (I see you Law Prof), then I recommend you to take notes using the chapter outline. You know that one page where they outline the chapters paragraph and give it numbers? It’s been extremely useful to me. Why? Because the paragraphs are usually named after the main ideas of the subject. Let me give you an example. One of my introductory classes was Marketing. The first chapter is named Wat is Marketing? The first paragraph is The definition of marketing, the second The marketing concept and the last one The role of marketing in a corporation. So knowing the answer to these 3 paragraphs should give you a strong idea of what marketing really is. A 20-page chapter was easily summarized in only 3 paragraphs. This saves me lots of time and I’m able to identify the most important info right away.

5. Organise a study session with your classmates. I have saved and have been saved by these. Just gather around 4-6 people from your class. Then make sure each one of you has mastered a part of the study material. Then teach what you’ve learned from the others. At the same time, you get to learn too without doing a lot of research.

6. Search it up. If you understand something, the esier it is for you to remember. So if you don’t understand the explanation the professor gave you, ditch him and go look on the internet for a video or article that explains it easier (or slower) for you. 

7. Don’t cram it at the last minute. Yes, don’t do it. It’s likely not going to stay in your mind and it will only give you more stress. I would rec to stop learning all together some 5 hours before the exam and take a nap instead so you feel more fresh and relaxed. 

8. Once you get your test, write all formulas, mnemonics and models. I like to do this before even reading the first question. This way I get all the tools I need out of my mind right away. Therefore I’ll have more space in my mind to think about the actual questions instead of thinking “what was the formula for that again?”  and enter in panic. 

Me: I love fanfiction with slow burn and slow built relationships, I love the pining and I want to wait 1628 chapters and three eternity before they get their shit together and end up dating

Also me, two lines into the fanfiction: WHY DON’T THEY JUST KISS OH MY GOD THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING IT’S SO OBVIOUS THAT THEY LOVE EACH OTHER! JUST KISS ALREADY!!!

There are so many study methods and techniques to try out that it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. Luckily, there are many expalantions online about these methods. Here are some resources to find your perfect study method(s).

Types of learners + methods

Types of learners + methods

4 types of learners

Learning styles

Learning styles quiz

Types of learners info sheet

Study methods for auditory learners

Study technique - multiple intelligences

Some study methods masterposts

study methods @letsget-downtobusiness

study methods @etudiance

study methods @prettylittlestudies

study methods @studiyng

study methods @moleskinestudies

study methods @thegrangersapprentice

revision methods @studydiaryofamedstudent

13 study methods

five study methods

study methods + purposes

study methods infographic

Top 40 study methods

different ways to study

Some well known study methods to try out

mindmaps

note taking

teaching others

flashcards

discussing the topic

mnemomics

watching videos on the topic

highlighting

sticky notes

practice questions

recite out loud

Some less known methods to try out

Sqr3

ADEPT

QDASC

Snowball method

Journey method

Dominic system

Flip tips

Alternative to flashcards

Creating a memory palace

Feynman technique

Imply your study methods

study sessions

study guide

pre-studying

active studying

study moods

resources + methods

3 days study plan

3 - 2 - 1 hour system

My other masterposts

study skills

scheduling studying

study problems

acing vocabulary lists

So cool

hey if ur ever feelin shitty use this

good emotional skills to know 4 college but also in general

this is stuff that i’ve found helpful and am in the process of working on. they may not be achievable for you without help and may not work for your specific circumstance, but this is a list of suggestions that you might be able to think about. i am also not a mental health professional so please do feel free to contradict me!!

self soothing.  having a toolbox to take care of yourself by yourself. bc sometimes nobody else is available and you just gotta put some lotion on, listen to a tune, and go to bed early. 

checking in. checking in with yourself to see if you’re okay. knowing how to alter your strategies when your strategies aren’t working. knowing when your strategies aren’t working. this is just taking some time every day to reflect on what goals you didn’t meet and why and what you can do to fix that.

there’s nothing you “should” be doing. if you get caught up thinking “i should be doing x” that’s false! stop that! “should” be doing better implies that you have some obligation to do whatever it is that you “should” be doing. you don’t owe anybody except yourself. analyze why you think you should be doing that thing and change that into…. “i want to be doing x because…” or “doing x will make me happier, because…”. overall, more productive and less self-shamey. 

disconnecting from the crowd. eating in a crowded dining hall can be stressful! knowing how to be alone in a crowd and stay calm is helpful

being okay with being alone.  tbh college is kind of… being alone a lot, in my experience. even though you’re surrounded by people, a lot of time is spent alone. making friends is hard. your friends have different schedules. you’re busy. shit sucks. we make the best of it.

knowing yourself. this relates to a lot of what i’ve already said but like. knowing your emotional state and knowing what helps trick the monkey brain is helpful. stop repressing your feelings, friends.

talking to strangers. ordering from a menu! paying library fines. going to office hours. asking for a cashier at the register if there isn’t one. ya this is hard. ya you gotta expose yourself. sometimes i just try playing a persona. like this isn’t me ordering a sandwich. this is a cool me who knows how to talk to people who is ordering a sandwich.

you don’t have to be friends with your roommates. you just have to live together in a way that doesn’t make you two hate each other. ideally, you two will coexist in a way that doesn’t interfere with the other’s daily life.

give and taking. on the topic of roommates, sometimes your roommate can be a shitty person, but sometimes you are the shitty person! give a little but if they’re negatively impacting your life, communicate.

communicating during disagreements. explain what your emotions are instead of blaming them. “i feel hurt when you…” or “i feel frustrated when” or “i feel unappreciated when.” if things get heated, ask if you both can take a ten minute break and then come back. and don’t bring up disagreements when the other party is preoccupied or going somewhere. you can legitimately schedule a discussion.

it’s okay to apologize. learning to swallow your pride gets easier each time.

knowing that people work differently than you. some people are not gonna click with you and it’s gonna seem like they have this whole brain process up there that is totally unlike yours. and yeah! that’s how it is. and that’s chill if they aren’t hurting anyone else. work with them and be flexible!! 

comforting people. you will probably/definitely see someone cry! hell if i know how to comfort people. someone please help. but some things i’ve learned are: 1) different people need different things. different people need different things! 2) people need different things at different times. 3) you can ask them what they want and it won’t be weird. 4) apparently a lot of people like hugs? but ask. and it’s okay to not want a hug. 5) just show that you care in some way if you don’t know what they need. i used to think that if somebody needed to tell me what they needed it was a sign that i just didn’t know them well enough and we weren’t compatible or i wasn’t being a good friend. that’s fake! friendship isn’t based off of fitting naturally in every way and making an effort to be good for them is important.

knowing it’s okay to not be liked by everyone. it’s okay if strangers think you’re dumb because you said something dumb in public. you know you’re not dumb. it’s okay if not everybody you meet likes you. it’s okay if you do something cringey. everybody has their own shit to deal with and you will not shatter their world.  grow and move on!

forgiving yourself. i’m trying this new thing where when i feel embarrassed about something i say. out loud. “i forgive myself.” and then i just try to grow from that and move on without getting caught in a spiral of shame.

knowing what you need vs what you want and what is better at the time. what you need: a shower. what you want: to not do that. solution: take a shower! or maybe what you actually need is to go to sleep? but guess what. you probably know what is good for you. the hard part is actually doing it.

realize that building habits is less work than discipline. emotional effort is expended every time you have to make yourself do something. just make it part of your routine and you’ll just think it’s normal to do all the good things! like, for example, i’m trying to make it a habit to eat structured meals instead of a “eat when i’m hungry” thing because i know that makes me skip meals, which is bad!

you won’t be able to do everything. forgive yourself for that. write down  things that are top priority and focus on them. everything else is not important right now and you shouldn’t beat yourself up for not being able to do them.

your health is important. i’m not saying health will solve all your problems. it won’t! but health will cause a lot of your problems to go away. because let’s face it. not sleeping causes a lot of problems. 

it’s okay to ask for help. we say this a lot but it’s hard to internalize it. here’s a thought: there’s so much shame and hesitation about asking for help so by doing that you’re actually being proactive (which is respectable) and mature, and therefore… not weak or stupid. ask for help even before you need it! most people love to help others. and especially take advantage of people who are OFFERING help. for example: counselors at school or TAs. it’s literally their job. they want to do it. and if you don’t want to talk to anybody in real life, my inbox is always open.

reblog if you:

- flinch away when someone touches you.

- panic when you accidentally break an object.

- get scared when someone walks behind you.

- feel your heart rate increase at every sudden noise.

- are easily panicked by slightly-louder-than-normal sounds.

- stare apprehensively at your bedroom doorway for hours at night.

- have trouble making eye contact with people.

- always feel either too mature or too immature for your age.

- simultaneously crave and be terrified of physical contact.

because i do all of these

Tommy Shelby running around asking people where Charlie is when he forgot where he left Charlie

studying while dealing with depression

Hi everyone! It’s werelivingarts!

Depression is a very common mental disorder that can affect negatively on the way you feel, think and act. I think that giving some tips and strategies on dealing with depression while studying would be essential to some of you who might struggle out there to get started on assignments. 🙂 Hope that this can help you to fight against depression and embrace your positivity while studying! Remember that you are loved and you are enough ❤️💙💜

And if today all you did was hold yourself together and survive, I’m still very proud of you. 🍀💐

Yesssss

Let’s just casually spread it until it becomes an actual thing.

Energy Management

A human-based organization method

click on images for better resolution; images also available here (link to google drive)

Other posts that may be of interest:

Getting stuff done: How to deal with a lack of motivation

Flexible time-blocking: A more breathable way to get things done

The ABCDE Method