Little Study Tips

little study tips

set up a reward system: be that candy, lighting your favorite scented candle, watching that episode of b99, or scrolling through tumblr aimlessly for 5 minutes! ensures you stay motivated while completing tasks step by step

create a vision board: vision boards are collections of pictures that motivate you or describe a future you want to achieve. not only is it a lot of fun, you learn a lot about yourself and your goals and always have something to give you that spike of motivation. tip: pinterest has amazing boards on every. topic. out. there

break up your larger tasks into smaller ones: i’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times but it’s so important to create a list of smaller tasks instead of one big one. everything seems much more do-able once of a sudden, and you can prioritize certain tasks much more easily.

write it down instead of looking at it: if you really want to memorize something, writing it down will help you a lot more than just repeating the words out loud or staring at them. this also goes for any structures you need to know by heart: printing out a picture and labeling it is way better than just looking at the labeled textbook!

just start for 5 minutes: even if you don’t feel like it, tell yourself you’ll only do it for 5 minutes. this makes it easier to actually get started on things, and might still trick you into continuing the work even after those 5 minutes are over.

write a letter to your future self: some websites, such as futureme, offer the free service of being able to send yourself an email in some months, a year or multiple years from now. thinking about how much can change in that amount of time and how far you can come is extremely motivating, and also a very nice surprise for your future self.

Some pointers my Prof gave me before I began grad school

Yesterday I visited my university (undergrad) after two years in order to collect documents since I’m moving to grad school. I contacted one of my profs there and asked for advice, as I was nervous about joining research after such a long gap. Here is the advice he gave me:

General tips:

1. Be truthful to your research. Do not copy down somebody else’s work, even if you know you won’t be found out. Trust me on this, being accused of plagiarism is the worst thing to happen to a researcher and if you are exposed later on in career, your entire reputation will go down the drain.

2. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. He screwed up an instrument and waited 6 months before asking one of his subordinate who fixed it in 5 minutes. Imagine the amount of work he could have accomplished in those six months.

3. Manage your time well. Grad school is extremely demanding and some days you may not have time for sleep. Do not put off important work if you have time else you’ll end up doing it all in a hurry and without quality.

4. Every professor/guide/supervisor has her own unique method of teaching. Respect that and try to adapt. Even if you don’t understand most of what they teach, just listen. You might get a fresh perspective on things.

5. Be in touch with your teachers from undergrad etc. and ask them if you get stuck. They might help you out or at least guide you to someone who can.

6. Choose your topic wisely. Study the trends and know what are thrust areas in your field. However, the choice of guide is a major one. Make sure you understand the ways of your supervisor. Ask around, google his papers etc. and make sure he is not someone you’d hate for the entire extent of your school.

Tips related to Science research:

1. Know that there are more than one ways to solve a problem. However you cannot try them all due to time/energy/resources restrictions (or simply because your guide advises you against it). You need to know your limits and try methods that are optimized to your situation.

2. Be like Feynman. He knew his theory but he was a good experimentalist too. Have a balanced approach and know your strengths. If you are experimentalist, interact with theoreticians in order to get an idea of their approach and vice-a-versa. Your goal is to get the result and understand how you got it.

3. You are in research not only to understand a theory/idea but also to apply it. It is not enough to know your books, you need to be able to solve the problem you are tackling. You won’t find a complete solution because nobody has solved it (thats why YOU are working on it, aren’t you?). You need to create/discover the solution.

4. Every problem in science completes a picture/theory. However not all of them receive the limelight. Find a topic you are interested in and know something about rather than chasing a “popular” one that everyone is talking about.

5. The biggest one: Do not feel inadequate for not knowing everything.

Nobody knows everything. You are in grad school to learn too. When you get stuck, get help/ask around; do not let the fear of being inferior get in the way of learning. You have got brains enough to understand things and you can.

6. Do not rely only on teachers/guides. Often your guide/supervisor will not know anything about the problem you are struggling with and will not be able to help you. In those times, find an expert (if there is) or consult books/papers. You should be able to study on your own, without somebody pushing you or deadlines.

Well, this is all I can remember. I hope it is helpful to those of you who are in a similar situation.

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toothbrushabsurdity

5 years ago

concept: my home is filled with sunshine, always, and the sound of wind chimes in the morning. the doors are always open and it smells like sea. i am never lonely. this is my place.

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