Floor To Ceiling Method
This is something i found out recently. When you're trying to build a habit or if you want to achieve a specific goal or anything. You just have to put in a really simple chart like this.
Basically, let's say, i want to lose some weight. That's the habit that i want to build. So, that's your first step.
Step 1: Set your goal
Set your goal, whether it is losing weight or getting good grades or straight As. The trick is to be extremely specific. Write your Goal down. And write a single activity that you can do everyday to achieve your goal.
Step 2: Set your bare minimum as your floor.
Your bare minimum, let's say, a 15 min walk or 10 push ups or some jumping jacks. It could be anything. Literally no matter how small. Set a floor. Your bare minimum action that you do when you don't even feel like doing anything.
Step 3: Assign small goals for each level.
At level 1, set another action that is just a bit more challenging than the bare minimum. Then, at level 2, raise the action a bit more. And level 3 must be harder than that.
Step 4: Then set your ceiling which is a full on focus activity.
Set a ceiling which is the hardest action, let's say 1 hour of exercise. That's your highest peak action.
So, your aim must be to do your "Ceiling" activity everyday but on days which you feel that you are burnt out or are tired? This is the method that might help.
The trick is to actually never miss a day. Not a single one. You can do level 1, 2 or 3 depending on the day or even the bare minimum would be enough.
This method helps you to actually realize that you don't have to achieve your ceilings every single day. Sometimes, the floor is also enough and the trick is to not let a day go by without doing some actionable step towards your goals
This Helps In:
Maintaining Consistency
Improves Motivation
Isn't Toxic
Gives you a level that you can adapt to your day
It's easy to build habits
Hope it helps! :)
I made a similar post last year for junior year so if anyone wants to check that out, click here!
I missed out on a lot of fun because of studying
I was too serious, I just realised that now
Studied the whole year and did well, only to burn out during finals so take a break. The world does not burn because you left one question
Most of my conversations revolved around college which by the way will irritate people. Talk about actual things, be light hearted.
Spent a lot of time on the phone in the morning
Slept late. Do not follow this. Seriously.
Didn't take time out for myself
Got too addicted to the concept of learning from AI (I mean during learning and not assignments)
Loved the concept of productivity, ended up back firing.
My anxiety sky rocketed because of pressure
People will say sh*t, you don't have to listen to them
And sometimes when people say sh*t. Listen to them
I thought the same study methods I used for my junior year could be applied to senior year but no, I took too much time, trying to force myself to follow those methods and that heightened my frustration because they didn't work (so if something doesn't work even after a month? Your sign to revaluate)
Just because a method of studying worked for you in the past, doesn't mean it will work all the time so don't continue it.
Thought my whole happiness would come with that one freaking grade on my progress grade but newsflash? it didn't
Was forced into things I didn't like, competitions and extra curriculars mainly. Worst part? I won all the ones I participated in but it just felt worthless.
I empathized with others but I couldn't empathize with myself
Stopped giving a shit about certain things that actually mattered
I spent my whole senior year comforting others who had problems but never shared mine. And the result? Burnout plus loneliness.
Panicked during exams and ended up questioning myself too much.
My mental health deteriorated but I managed.
(Again, it is for your referencing obviously. I will look at this when I'm going to college.)
What's your fav subject in economics? Btw I looove your blog ◍•ᴗ•◍
Hey dear Anon :)
Well I'm glad you like my blog :D
And that's a tough question not because i like everything but because I absolutely have a love-hate relationship with economics. It's made me cry so badly but somehow I love how tough it is too...
I kinda like Microeconomics (we had this in junior year), Consumption analysis, Production analysis, Distribution analysis, Market structure, Pricing. These are some of my personal favourites, if i had to choose Macroeconomics topics, I'd go with types of economies, employment theories, law of markets and obviously Keynesian economics because that guy doesn't let me live T-T
I guess that's it. Thanks for the ask :)
Okay, time's flying really fast. My term exam results come on Monday or Tuesday and my accountancy teacher told me that I did really bad and that she was disappointed in me and that i should concentrate more on it.
So, I'm wondering how the heck did I do bad in a subject that I was studying almost everyday?! And then this other girl studied 3 days before the exam and got like 95+
Honestly, the paper was alright but i panicked and did some shitty things :// gonna avoid that in the future.
Today I:
Revised some Economics
Did accounts (1 and a half hours)
And yes, I'm gonna be putting extra effort from now on because it's really close to my next term exams and then it's gonna be followed by Revision exams and I have a school function on top of that.... i just wanna sit and cry honestly T-T
Projects to complete:
Economics (by Monday)
Computers (By Oct end)
First day of school after Eid holidays and gosh, I'm tired but it was an overall alright day. Postponed the tests they were supposed to keep today (about 3 tests) and kept 2 other suprise tests... I don't think teachers know the meaning of "informing in advance" and "actually following their schedule" T-T
No one even asked for the assignments, I was annoyed because i literally wasted my time doing them and they didn't even ask ://
Anyways, I got done atleast somethings...
Did half of the new economics assignment
Completed Arabic homework
Completed English homework
Economics lecture (YouTube) 50 mins
Discussed computer assignment (we've barely started and we have so much to do)
Tomorrow, we have tests in economics, business studies, a seminar in English and probably my computer teacher's wrath... For some reason, despite starting so early this year, i feel way less confident than last year when i only touched my books during exams... life is so weird... And mid terms start in July (don't ask me how it's mid term already when it's only like the 2nd week of school and they haven't even completed half the portions for it T-T)
Epitaphs.
Don't ask me why xD
Thanks for the tag! Tagging: @hannahxrosey @rain-is-studying @anna--studies @girl-please-study @gajina @cuticle-samurai @booklyhour and @-anyone-who-wants-to-join
Quick ! Think of a word you like !
Not necessarily your favorite word, it doesn’t even have to be a word you usually like ! Just a word that right now, at this moment, you look at and think “ooh what about this one”.
It can be a word you find funny, pretty, strange, scary, anything really ! You don’t need to tell me why you choose that word (though I’d love to know if you want to tell me), just give me a word !
(It’d be lovely if we made this into a chain but there’s no pressure <3)
uhhhhh sanguine? (literally the only word that popped up into my head rn but it’s prettyyy and sounds like summer to me in some inexplicable way 😌✨)
oh sure! Tagging @daydream-of-a-wallflower @silence-between-seconds @re-is-back-in-black @jaaklops @annotated-catastrophe @vintagetee13 @cherryswift13 @dandelions-fly-in-summer-skies @lost-in-reveriie @moonlightt444 @art-of-fools @good-oldfashioned-lover-girl @addsalwayssick @miseryoforpheus @justafanbutcurious + anyone else who’d like to join in :)
(but no pressure ofc <3)
Reminder
It's okay if you didn't achieve the things that you worked hard for.
It's also okay if you did.
It's okay if you feel like you didn't try harder.
It's also okay if you did.
No matter what people say, you did your best.
If you didn't achieve the goal that you said you would, people will say "She didn't try hard enough"
If you did achieve the goal, they would say "She sacrificed too much"
No matter what, people will talk
So, be gentle to yourself.
If you take the bus, wave to the driver and thank them as you're getting off the bus.
Being a bus driver is an underappreciated and difficult job but still very vital to society. They still have to do customer service and deal with rude and even aggressive passengers, and on top of that have to deal with traffic and other drivers all day (and let's face it, there's a lot of bad drivers out there who aren't considerate about sharing the road). All while providing an invaluable service of getting us where we need to go. Showing them some appreciation can go a long ways for someone doing such an important job that usually gets little to no recognition or thanks.
Language learning is so damn attractive. Like, who wouldn't look good when they spend hours understanding a language's illogical grammar and twisted vocabulary and have mental break downs because of it?
How To Self Study
This is coming from a girl who spent her fresher and sophomore year studying at home and yes, I got good grades. So, here are some tips that I followed for studying by myself without depending on any teachers.
So, let's get into it!
Gather and organise material
This is important, why? What are you going to study if you have absolutely no idea what your syllabus and study material is? By materials I mean:
Textbooks (If you have any)
Practice papers
Previous year papers
Extra reading materials/ Reference books
If you don't have any textbooks. Go through the topics that you have and gather resources from different sources.
Tip: Have at least 1 extra reading material for every subject/paper. It helps you understand some topics that are explained in a complex manner in textbooks which is almost all the time.
Don't depend on your teacher
Teachers are good. Seriously. But their attention will always be shifty. They have a lot of students to teach, from many other classes so if you depend only on your teachers for clarifying your doubts or being at the back of you to study then newsflash, its going to be hard. Rather, be your own teacher. Don't go "I'll ask this to her/him tomorrow after class" because that will be your answer every time you have even a small question which can easily be solved by a simple search. You're saving your time and theirs.
Tip: If you're someone like me who gets distracted when you take up your phone even for a second then write down all your questions in a paper and search them later after your study session.
Make notes
I usually say this because notes help you understand topics. There are many methods of taking notes. I usually don't follow any structure for note taking, I just read and write keywords under the topic name, linking a few things here and there.
Tip: Notes need not be aesthetic. Seriously. You can be as messy as you can.
Watch videos related to concepts
This helps and I know most already do this.
Tip: When you finish watching a topic, close the video and write down what you understood and then play the video again, fill in the gaps that you missed and watch it again.
Study in chunks
I always believe that whatever you do, you should do in chunks. Instead of doing one chapter, divide it. Into small bits. I'll tell you, you'll see the difference. I don't usually recommend Pomodoro since it doesn't work for me. I don't keep a time limit or a set number of breaks. I finish a chunk and if I am tired, I take a break otherwise i continue.
Tip: Self quiz yourself after each chunk and then take a break. Then after you finish the chunks for the whole chapter with the self quizzing then self quiz yourself randomly for every chunk. Here's an additional tip. Take 20 second breaks.
Period of deep work
This is not a new concept, i didn't realize i did this at first. Basically, when you start your work. You do nothing but work. Like nothing else. No phones. No snacking. No unwanted thoughts. Just nothing but what you have to do. That is to study.
Tip: It is difficult to implement this right away especially if you have a habit of it getting distracted easily so i just suggest => Start smaller. One topic with full concentration. It would usually take you 20 - 30 mins to get immersed in the work. 40 mins if it's something you don't like but once you get the momentum? An unbelievable achievement really. And then, change your environment.
Quality > Quantity && Consistency> Cramming
One hour of productive studying is better than nine hours of useless studying. I feel like it's better to study 20 mins everyday rather than the whole night before an exam. It just causes stress.
Tip: Start early. Your teacher is on chapter 5? And you still don't get chapter 1, it's fine. Start learning. Seriously, it's okay to be behind. You just have to stick. Do it everyday and you'll see results that is better than those who are just keeping up with the teacher.
Deadlines Are Mandatory
Have deadlines. There are a number of ways to do this. I'm a person who is really lazy and a weird soul who would never complete their to-do list for the day if they write it down. It would always be left unfinished. So i just keep a mental time limit and the thing i have to get done.
Tip: Overestimate your deadline. Like, let's say i have to complete around 15 lessons that week. I keep my deadline to around 25-30 and i eventually complete 15. It's about adapting to what works for you. Just change according to what works for you.
Practice questions / Previous Year Papers
I can never emphasize this enough. The best way to prepare for any exam is just do practice questions or previous year questions. You will learn a lot of things. The topics that are important or repeated. The topics that are never asked.
Tip: Grade yourself on each paper. Circle the questions in your textbook while you are studying and practicing. Then when you have to actually study then you can actually revise the topics a bit more thoroughly. If you want to know more, click here.
It's okay to be behind in class
During my first term in senior year, the whole class was around 5 chapters ahead for every test and exam while me? If they were on chapter 12, i was in chapter 4 or 5 but i understood the concepts and took my sweet time with each chapter. Because the more time you take for a chapter, the better it stays in your memory.
Tip: Here is where active recall comes handy. When you revise one chapter, take a 2 day break and study another subject and then go back to the chapter and answer the practice questions. If you're able to do them, great! If not, revise more and then look at it after 3-4 days. Repeat until you have no mistakes in your answers. This helps in long term retaining.
Make It Interesting
How do you study boring subjects? You adapt. Mind maps don't work for me. Neither does flash cards. So, i found something that did. Storytelling. Take your most boring subject, turn it into a story. Make it bearable.
Tip: Tie it somethings that you like. For example, business studies was the most boring one for me so obviously, every topic was a story for me. HR Theories and Processes? ==> An office romance story. Management Principles? ==> A fantasy story where a group goes on a quest. Make It interesting. Make it gripping. And let me tell you, this actually works because our minds grasp stories better than just normal theory jargon.
Difficult Topics Are Only Difficult Because You Think They Are
This was something that i learnt the harder way. Everything looked difficult at the beginning. Everything. But the most difficult paper was maths. Because i had no teacher. Literally. I was learning from YouTube, searching different sites for tips and tricks. I thought it was too difficult and then i was like "i have to do it anyway no matter how much i brood" so i started from scratch like 3 months before my exams.
Tip: A mind set change is everything. If you think it is easy. The topic will be more bearable. If you think it's tough, it's going to be more tough. If you want some more tips for complex topics, click here.
Hope this helps !!! :)
╰┈➤ My name is Penelope and I use she/they pronouns ^~^
╰┈➤ I'm a high school freshman trying to figure out what I want to do with my life :)
╰┈➤ core classes - english lit 9 - world history - 2D physics - algebra 2
╰┈➤ additional classes - chinese II - health
╰┈➤ electives - python I (sem. 1) - design for stage and screen (sem. 2)
╰┈➤ why I joined studyblr - to get advice from other students like me - posting notes pics encourages me to rewrite them to study - to motivate myself to study harder - I want to start this year confident and prepared :D
╰┈➤ goals for this year - make the varsity volleyball team [completed!] - learn how to write for fun again - avoid burnout!!
╔══════════════════════╗ ‧˚༓☾ this blog was inspired by... ☽ ༓˚‧ ╚══════════════════════╝
@myhoneststudyblr, @stingraystudiess, @studyblrspace, @gushuwa, @study-diaries, @thelailasblog, and @ashs-reverie :D
|| Isabelle || INFP-T || Study tips || Self improvement || Books ||
293 posts