STUDY TIPS (note To Self):

STUDY TIPS (note to self):

Sometimes, messy notes work better. Spending years on studyblr and studytwt cemented the idea in my mind that my notes have to be picture-worthy with perfect handwriting and an aesthetically-pleasing color-coding system ALL THE TIME. And while I acknowledge that this works well for others, it simply doesn't for me.

My brain works really quickly when it's trying to understand a topic. So quickly that I often have multiple ideas at a time, and with the addition of my professor's inputs or my classmates' inputs, I really needed to speed up in taking down notes. This meant that my handwriting gets REALLY messy, to the point that only I can decipher it. But the extra time that my messy handwriting buys me (compared to the painstakingly slow neat handwriting) allows me to process the info, jot down the essential points, MAKE IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE IDEAS, doodle maps and symbols, and so on.

But what really helped my note taking process is having my own set of notes from the readings in advance (yes I know this isn't groundbreaking at all but for me IT IS). The night before, I wrote down notes + questions and clarifications that I wanted to address during the class. Then, during the class itself, I added my professor's inputs/classmates' inputs in the remaining spaces of my notes near each topic. This left me with pages that are filled with information both from the readings and the class discussion.

Jotting down notes from the discussion also helped greatly with retention. Since the information from the readings are still fresh in my mind, I was able to easily link the related ideas with the inputs from class. As a result, I remembered and understood stuff better.

Again, not groundbreaking stuff. But see, I've been on studyblr since junior high school (I am now a 4th year college student so that's like, a decade ago). I've been on studytwt since my 2nd year in college. Everywhere I look, I see photos of neat handwriting, color-coded notes, and overall aesthetically-pleasing study set-ups. For years, I tried so hard to do all these but I could never maintain them. I got so caught up with making things pretty that I barely remembered anything at all.

My brain is inherently messy. I always worked better on a chaotic desk, with multiple notebooks open for my notes and doodling/free space for writing down. My handwriting is messy when I write quick. My brain operated by firing multiple connected ideas at once. Neat and tidy don't work when I'm still trying to process or iron out my thoughts. Neat and tidy only works later during exam season, when I'm revising my notes so I can see shit better.

Anyway, this is just what works for me.

tl;dr: write notes in advance based on the class readings but leave space for more jotting down so that you can squeeze in info from the class discussion. Messy handwriting sometimes works better when you're still processing stuf. There's plenty of time to make them pretty later on during revision. Also, neat and pretty doesn't work for everyone (don't let studyblr and studytwt fool you).