Doing Well Is Much Easier Said Than Done. The Best Tip I Have Is To Just Do The Work. It’s Going To
Doing well is much easier said than done. The best tip I have is to just do the work. It’s going to suck, but there’s no secret other than doing the work. Though, there are ways to make doing the work easier!
I. Time Management
Have a planner to gain a general idea of your week.
Schedule your time for studying but also schedule time for breaks.
Every morning I check what needs to be done for the day.
I treat college as a 9-5 job with a lunch break. This may not work for everyone, but this thinking allows me to be done by 5, and I usually finish everything for the day by that time.
Take a break after you finish an assignment. Allow yourself to feel proud for finishing and give yourself a reward.
Break up projects into smaller parts, this is incredibly important. It’s easier to do an outline, then a few paragraphs rather than doing an entire essay at once.
It’s not time well used if you don’t focus on the task at hand. If you’re having trouble, get rid of distractions using apps that limit phone/internet usage.
Don’t waste time on techniques that don’t work for you. I don’t rewrite notes, it doesn’t help me study. Instead I do extra textbook problems or I watch a video on the topic.
Sometimes it’s hard to motivate yourself to do the work, to study. Then just do a single problem, a single page or paragraph. Usually starting is the hardest part.
II. Studying & Learning
Be present during class by asking questions and answering problems.
Use phone-locking apps like Forest if you need to to stay focused on the class.
Skim lecture notes ahead of time. You don’t need to take notes on them, the professor will tell you what’s important.
It’s ok if your notes aren’t pretty as long as they’re functional.
Practice problems until you can’t get them wrong.
Try to teach the material to someone else. This will show holes in your understanding. Pretend to teach if you don’t have a friend in the same class.
If you need, study in the library. Honestly, studying at my desk in my dorm has worked just fine for me though.
Do the homework, there’s no way around it. This is probably the biggest tip here. Do the work.
Actually do the homework, don’t just copy answers. Understand the answers. You can’t copy on a test.
Speaking of tests, do as many practice tests as you can find. Once the real test comes around, you won’t be as nervous and it should feel familiar.
Nice pens and notebooks aren’t required. However, spend a dollar and get a pen that writes well enough that you’re not wasting time during class getting it to work. (I’ve been through this)
Do the extra credit. There’s no reason not to, and your grade will thank you.
Go to tutoring, not everyone knows everything. You might even make a new friend since most tutors at my school are also students!
Realistically, you don’t need to do every reading assignment as long as you know what your professor tests on. If you don’t have the time, its fine to only skim the assignment.
Make study groups. If you don’t have a friend in the class, it’s as easy as asking “want to work on the homework together?” In my experience, most people are happy to work with you.
Go to your professors office hours if you need help. Your professors are a valuable resource.
Ask your friends for feedback, I do this all the time.
III. Treat Yourself
Sleep and eat well. Coffee is not a breakfast.
Please, don’t force yourself to cram a subject overnight. This is where time management comes into play.
An over-stressed student is a bad student, but a little bit of stress is healthy.
Find what motivates you. Personally, I wish to become a researcher so I work hard towards that goal to get into a good grad. school.
You don’t have to join a club. I’m not in one, and my social life is just fine since I spend time playing games with friends at night.
But join a club if you want, even for a single day. You might meet some friends.
Really do whatever you want with regards to your social life. Do what’s comfortable for you.
If you need it, colleges have a therapist that you can make an appointment with.
More Posts from Nonlinear-student and Others
The beauty of mathematics
An assortment of computer models rendered employing variations of the Lorenz equation.
Hello, lovelies! I’ve gotten a couple of asks about studying so I decided to condense them into one post for you guys! I’m trying to hit a bunch of different topics so if you need an even more specific post you can send an ask! Without any further ado, have some tips! My studyblr is @spacey-scholar
Prep
First, you always need a good base for your day! Especially if you’re studying a lot.
Make a good full breakfast! Ex. Eggs and Toast, Smoothie and fruit, Pancakes and a cup of juice.
How’s your hygiene? Do you need to shower, brush your teeth, wash your face, condition your hair? Do it! You’ll be distracted if you feel messy!
Get dressed like it’s a normal day. Staying in PJ’s is okay! But being ready for the day seriously helps focus!
Likewise, your space should be clean. A clean space is a clean mind! Remove dishes, trash, scrap paper, and extra items. Wide down your desk, organize your pens and books. Your space should feel like your space!
Now make a list of what you need to get done! What needs to be done Now, what needs to be done Soon, and what needs to be done Later?
Order your list how you want your day to go, and don’t put super-tough subjects back to back, or subjects that are similar exercises i.e. reading thirty pages of two different books back to back is no fun.
The Studying
It’s important to buckle down with No Distractions! If you find yourself distracted put your phone away! If you need your phone, put it on Do Not Disturb until you’re done. I also do this at night for better sleep.
Pick the best technique for you, Pomodoro, reward-based, group studying, etc.
Play music but only if it will not distract you! If you sing along or daydream it’s the wrong music! Classical, Lo-fi, and White noise are all good! My Spotify Here has some good ones.
Use a nice journal (I don’t mean expensive!) and pens/pencils you enjoy using. I like to have a specific journal and color dedicated to each subject.
Take notes on recorded lectures and classes, if you’re doing online classes right now try to screen record or record the audio! That way if you space out you can play it later and take notes, and you can absorb the lesson better instead of being distracted.
Don’t worry about your notes, stationary, pictures, being beautiful and your grades being perfect. Life doesn’t always look the way it does on Instagram. And the people who spend hours trying to get a good photo of their coffee are not studying!
Use flashcards! Quizlet is good if you need premade ones! If you can save up and buy them, Barrons AP Flash Cards are the best in my opinion. Very clean, not too long, very durable, and cover all subjects.
Feeling Distracted
If you catch yourself drifting off and getting into your head, get up and take a quick walk, stretch, or energizer.
It’s okay if this happens, don’t guilt yourself! practice affirmation. The best and smartest still get distracted.
If you are drifting, why? Are you hungry? Tired? Thirsty? Bored? Get a snack and some water, take a break and rest, find a way to make your studying more enjoyable.
Remember that Motivation and Discipline are different things. Sometimes we just won’t be motivated, we won’t want to do it and it will be rather frustrating. But the cure to this is not shaming its discipline. Remind yourself “This may be hard, and I may not want to do this, but I want to reach my goals and If this is what It takes I will make it happen.
Always do just one more page of you’re tired. One at a time and oh you did it! Maybe just one more? One more? Eh, one more just to finish the train of thought, Oh just- I’m done? Nice!
If you really can’t focus just move on and come back to this subject, you can always ask for help.
Supplementary Things
There are so many apps you can use to study, for free! My favorites are Tide, Quizlet, Focus Keeper, Forest, Flora, Egenda, SpanishDict, Photomath, and Kahn Academy.
You can also join a study group! You may know one, but if you don’t, there are a lot of online ones! I’m in a study Discord and have been for a while! it helps a lot and motivates me to finish my work!
You can make a studyblr, but don’t do it just for the aesthetics! It’s about studying, and sometimes that gets messy! Sometimes we fail a test, we spill our tea on our notes, we cry because we don’t understand the formula. That’s the part you don’t see!
Having cute stationery can really help, as well as nice organizers and decorations for your space! I don’t have much money so I get a lot of stuff on Amazon or FB Marketplace.
Health
Remember that no matter what you are good enough. It’s okay if you fail, it’s okay if you struggle.
It’s also okay if your path doesn’t go the way you expected! Maybe you go to a different school than expected! Or choose a trade instead! Maybe you take a gap year! Maybe your passion changes! Maybe it changes six times!
Your health is always more important than your school. If you are in pain, mentally or physically, if you are anxious, exhausted, burnt out, talk to your teachers about it! You matter more than a grade.
Your best is good enough! And your best doesn’t look the same as someone else’s best! Don’t compare!
Now go get out there and study!
I made a chart.
30 March (the first day of classes)
I have mixed feelings about this quarter. On one hand I’ll be receiving a degree and moving on to an actual university. On the other I am faced with the fact that I won’t see many of my friends for quite some time after I graduate (not to mention the new course load and ops tempo)
In all I’m happy to be back, and look forward to future productivity
Stay up ✌🏿
🎧 Trappin in Paradise 78 - Smooth sounds
2 April (Calc 4 and Diff. Eq)
These classes are the embodiment of a toxic relationship (but in the best of ways). The overall course load is a lot and most days I am struggling to get done by 10pm, but I can confidently say I FEEL LIKE A MATHEMATICIAN.
The math I’m doing now has real world applications. Yeah finding the slope of a line is cool, but when you find the vector tangent to the curve that accurately depicts the heating or cooling of a particular environment per mile THAT’S ACTUALLY USEFUL, AND HELPFUL TO THE WORLD.
On one hand, I have late nights followed by early mornings, and a fair amount of stress.
On the other, I have an overwhelming sense of validation, pride, and comfort.
This post goes out to @juicycupz, she was hands down the best partner I’ve ever had. While we may not be together now, she definitely played a major role in who I am now.
Stay up ✌🏿
🎧 Trappin in paradise 65 - Smooth Sounds
28 April (Diff Eq.)
The struggle has been very real over the course of the last week. I failed a test (it was in the teens), my mom is still in the hospital, and some days are definitely better than others, but I am holding on.
I can’t in good faith give up everything that I’ve worked so hard to build. I have also been procrastinating. The Howard deadline is 30 April, and tbh I haven’t put my all into it (despite really wanting to attend the school).
Small update, but that’s all for today.
Stay up✌🏿
🎧 Trappin in Japan 4 - Ryan Celsius
An example of a Lorenz attractor as described by a color computer model.
It is honestly saddening that I used to have to deal with this. Reposting for the fact that there are a lot of black students who have succumb to this mentality. Be proud of your education.
In this post, I’m going to talk about the study methods that have worked for me and that I learned during my time at UCLA!
(see another post like this about being healthy here)
Short Term Productivity
Use a stickynote/index card and write a couple goals for today only. Don’t write too many or you will feel overwhelmed! Stick it on your laptop or planner or notebook (somewhere you will see it)
Have a whiteboard at your desk and write down things you need to remember (like a simple equation or some vocab)
While waiting for something (the bus, your coffee, the shower to warm up) have something to recite in your head (probably something you already know, but would like to reALLY KNOW)
When you read, try to tie big concepts to things you would remember easily (like acronyms or symbols) like for example i remember gen chem oxidation as OIL RIG: Oxidation is Loss (of electrons) and Reduction is Gain (of electrons) and I remember the first four unordinary hydrocarbons from Me Eat Peanut Butter (lmao): Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane
Longer Term Productivity
Plan out your weeks!!! Plan when you will study on each day of the week and keep track of due dates
Make it a habit to do homework/assignments AS SOON AS YOU CAN (like right after you snack or something after classes)
Try not to think about how long you will study and rather think about the number of topics you will study
Don’t stop until you feel confident in your knowledge OTHERWISE YOULL JUST LOSE IT IT ALL
Keep your notes organized because you never know when something is gonna bite you in the butt again in the future
Review everyday. Like, Serioouslyyyy. It helps a lot.
Read before going to bed instead of being on your phone for 400 hours :C I THINK ITS TRUE THAT THE STUFF YOU READ BEFORE BED STAYS WITH YOU BETTER BC YOU GET TO SLEEP ON IT
Try to keep your area quiet or have only white background noise because if someone is talking about the weather and you’re studying math, best believe you’ll only remember the weather
Reading a Textbook
Most of the time, you don’t need to read the introduction paragraphs.
Read the bolded titles to see what you will be getting into
Before class you can skim lightly!! It will help you not feel lost in class
AFTER CLASS you will now FOCUS YOUR READING ON WHAT WAS SAID IN CLASS because most of the time, class-covered topics ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT! save yoself some time!!
When reading after class, do NOT just read. If you go over something that makes you go ??? in even the slightest way, read it again to understand. Look it up. Do it in THAT moment because you’re gonna forget to do it later.
If you don’t wanna read the whole darn book because ur lazy (like me) or you are cramming, READ!! THE!! SUMMARY!!!
The back of the book might have some seriously useful appendixes
Try not to skip the diagrams and pictures lol they’re there for a reason
Taking Notes in Class
dont be on your phone or whatever during class time Like actually PAy attention because if you learn it now, you won’t have to try to learn it again later (you can be on your phone later)
Take down everything written on the boards FOR SURE because if the professor/teacher thinks it’s important to write it, you better think it’s important too
Be an engaged listener! Don’t let it slide straight thru ur head
Try not to scribble your notes so you can read it later
Make CLEAR HEADERS for the topics so you can find those notes quickly
Def make friends in class in case you miss something on the notes ://
Doing Practice Problems and Homework
Get yoUR HOMEWORK DONE FIRST OF ALL
Homework is seriously a great study tool because your instructor assigned that FOR A REASON (aka it’s prob gonna be tested on)
Try to know what you are doing before you start the homework so that you don’t feel lost as heck doing it
When doing practice problems, if you have the answers, don’t be afraid to look at the answer the first time around if you don’t know how to do it. IVE SELF TAUGHT MYSELF SOOOOO MUCH by just looking at the answer to a question.
DONT RELY ON THE ANSWERS THO
Don’t memorize how to do the practice problems, you should memorize the method of solving the problem and understand each step clearly (and understand WHY you do that step!!!) just in case the test pulls some funky stuff on you
The more you can do, the better. But don’t be sleepy and do them because you won’t really retain anything
Other Random Things
My organic chem professor actually did a funny study on sleep and test scores. He said on his final exam he asked “How many hours of sleep did you get last night?”
and like obviously the more hours of sleep reported, generally the higher the student scored on the exam
SLEEEEPING IS GOOD FOR YOUR LEARNING
WHEN YOU SLEEP AND HIT THE REM CYCLE, YOUR BRAIN PROCESSES THE INFORMATION BETTER and it will really stay with you. So yall need to sleep. Don’t do the all nighters. You won’t remember anything
anyways like nike you should Just Do It
I hope you guys find this useful!! Remember that everyone has different needs and preferences, so take these tips as just tips and not rules!! Experiment with things, see what you like best, see what gives you the best scores.
Good luck with everything~ thank you for reading!
I have the most respect for this man. He was an icon and a legend. May his soul be at rest
Edward Lorenz – Scientist of the Day
Edward Norton Lorenz, an American mathematician and meteorologist, was born May 23, 1917.
read more…
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Derek, 29, They/Them, Vegan, Astro/Biophysics major. Nonlinear systems = LIFE
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