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cats are so fake like they’re theoretically related to apex predators and yet they weigh 8 pounds, sleep 20 hours a day, and scream if you feed them half an hour later than usual

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10 tips to increase your motivation for study

Motivation is one of the biggest issues for students and it is always great to find a few things that can keep you feeling inspired. Here are my top ten ideas:

start small - set yourself a challenge to work for five to ten minutes. Yes, just five minutes can be enough to get started! If you can get through that five minutes, you will start breaking down that feeling of disinterest and begin to get more into working. A fantastic application that will keep you from using your phone and on a time limit of between 10 minutes and two hours is Forest! However, here are some free alternatives.

plan tomorrow today - I find planning my day - or at least writing down a couple of tasks - before bed is extremely beneficial. In the morning I wake up with intent and get see my main priorities. They don’t have to full-fledged plans or written nicely in my planner but even just small reminders on a post-it note are enough for me to feel more organised.

give yourself a bit of structure - as mentioned, having a plan is a great way to start the day. You might use a planner, a bullet journal or a free printable from me to organise! Set yourself up with 3 key things to finish or do during the day. Give yourself a goal and a reward upon completion. Put time limits on tasks and use a schedule to stay on track.

utilise a studygram/studyblr - basically, the communities on Tumblr and Instagram act as amazing accountability partners! I am constantly motivated by my blog and being able to share my day to day life on Instagram or Snapchat. I definitely have become incredibly motivated and disciplined because of these two communities. If you’re thinking about starting a studyblr, read this. If you’re thinking about starting a studygram, read this. If you already have either, here is how you can use it to further motivate yourself!

set up an inspiring workplace - dedicating a space to work, and only work, is a great way to build a mindset of motivation which kicks in when you sit down. This Pinterest board has loads of inspiration for setups and organisation! You can also add a cute plant, a bright study lamp and some motivational printables for added encouragement!

externalise your short and long-term goals - by making a verbal or written commitment to your goals, you are much more likely to take steps to follow them through. You might want to have a really productive week catching up on all your work, improve your GPA or pass your semester with flying colours. At the start of each week think of the ways you can put your goals into actions. Then at the end of the week reflect on how you did. Track your progress and keep up your motivation by seeing things get a step closer each time!

listen to some music - putting on my favourite songs always put me in a better mindset and feeling more positive. Before a study session or during a break, I will sometimes put on a few songs I’m loving and take a moment to refocus.

don’t force it - if you’re feeling unmotivated to study, try doing something else for a short amount of time. Avoid things that could distract you like browsing Facebook or Instagram. Instead, try tidying your bedroom, organising your upcoming week, read a chapter of a book, or get a drink of water. Alternatively, make an action plan for what you need to do with your next few tasks. That way you’re still making progress with your work but aren’t sitting feeling too unmotivated to actually study.

find some inspiration - there is no shortage of amazing people with incredible stories of success! Podcasts such as The Daily Boost, The Tony Robbins Podcast and The School of Greatness are great examples. Ted Talks are often incredibly insightful and motivating! Search for quotes or stories from your favourite people!

change your mindset - one of the biggest challenges in motivation is adjusting your own perspective. For instance, instead of thinking “I am terrible at this” think “How can I learn this differently to really understand?”. “I made a mistake” think “What can I take away from making this mistake?”. “It isn’t perfect” think “These perfectionist tendencies are only making this more difficult, I can be content with my work”. Having a more positive outcome to each situation should help boost your confidence and motivation!

I hope these few tips are useful and help improve your motivation! If it helps, I would love to hear about it :-)

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hi emma ! i am still new about studying reguarly this might seem stupid but i still dont know how to study properly i have always studied 3 days before exams i want to change this and how can i find my studying style thank you ( my english is not good sorry )

Hi there! I’ll list a bit of a step-by-guide to getting started and actually studying. Hopefully that will give you some pointers and you’ll be able to revise!

Firstly, it is important to make the disctination between what you’re studying for. As in are you studying for your finals, an in-class assessment or just a topic quiz in your next class? Obviously, bigger exams require a lot more studying and generally over a longer period of time whereas a topic quiz might just be some quick revision over a couple of days. Understanding the format of your upcoming exam or test can be important for knowing how to study!

Figure out what you have to study. Write down what you need to go through to revise. You could do it on a computer, as a to-do list or as a mindmap - whatever works best for you. When you’re studying for several things at once, separate your subjects and use subheadings for each topic. I always use my syllabus or cirriculum to see what I’ve got to cover. It’s always a good idea to make a point of anything tough topics. For example if there is something you’ve struggled with during class, make that a proirity rather than studying something that you already know.

Make a study plan! Having a schedule is a great way to organise and methodically study prior to your upcoming test. I would recommend using one my study schedule printables which you can download here (under weekly schedule) for free. Plan out your weekly routine - including activities you already have. Then you map out when you can study. You can check out an example of planning it out here.

Get out everything you will need. Tidy your desk, pick out a few pens, a notebook, your laptop. Whatever you think will help!

Have a read through your textbook (if you use one). Highlight or flag anything important. If you want to, summarise each chapter in 5-10 bullet points once you’ve read it.

Figure out how you’re going to take study notes. I will generally do new study notes if I have big exams coming up. For me, I find writing study notes easiest on OneNote. You can see my formatting here. I will read through my in-class notes and textbook to take really brief notes. I will also add any additional information I find useful from the internet. You don’t need to re-do notes if you’ve already got some that are good for studying. I generally won’t re-do my notes properly if I have a smaller test coming up - perhaps just use flashcards or make some rough notes.

Sometimes simple notes aren’t as effective than other revision methods. You could try writing flashcards (for things like vocabulary, definitions, summarises, equations), mindmaps for linked ideas (for things such as facts about a person or subheadings under one topic) or timelines/cause-and-effect maps (for history subjects or seeing connections between events). Figuring out what style works for you will make your study more effective. If you’re unsure what your learning style is, take this quiz! Once you know you can find more precise ways to study.

Once you’ve finished notes, you need to review them! Read over them when you can. Highlight them. Teach your friends or family members!

Read through past papers or sample answers. Depending on what examinatinon system you’re doing, you might be able to access previous years tests and the recommended style of answers. This is a great way to see how you compare and what you can do to improve your answers! It’s always a good way to test yourself if you do timed practices papers. That way you can see if you’re within the time frame and can finish.

Check out YouTube for any educational videos on what you’re learning! Sometimes they’ll be short, descriptive videos about the topics you’re studying. It can be good to watch someone else teach you about it - especially if you’ve had trouble understanding from your teacher.

Whilst studying is important, remember to take regular breaks and not overwhelm yourself. Taking time to destress is very important for your health. Burning out from over-studying isn’t fun.

Here are a few other links that might be useful to you:

solutions to common procrastination problems

tips for memorising information

applications to use (includes organisation, notetaking, self care)

my note formatting method + colour code

ways to stay motivated

how to take notes from a textbook

10 tips for improving your productivity

things (personal, academic, etc) to do every week

10 tips to increase your motivation for study

I hope this helps! Best of luck with your studying. Remember to stay focused and positive. It is all worth it in the long run xx

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What do you do to relax when you're stressed? Exams are awful for my health. Sending you love 🌟

Thank you, love. 🌸  I’ll be honest, exam season takes a toll on my health as well, but here are some things I try to do to relax:

Go on thequietplaceproject.com (it has interactive relaxation exercises)

Listen to rainymood.com (either while studying or relaxing, and it sounds great over music too)

Listen to music

Go for a walk

Read some poetry or a novel

Stock up on yummy snacks for my study sessions

Message a friend, or go out for coffee with them

Drink water and tea; avoid too much caffeine

Do a few minutes of meditating or deep breathing if I feel especially panicky

Write or draw in my diary

Make sure to go home, eat dinner, shower, and go to bed

The most important thing is to take breaks regularly. Even if you have a lot of work to do, it’s important to get in even just a few minutes to recharge. I usually work for about an hour at a time and then take a 10-15 minute break. After I’ve done 3 cycles of that, I take a longer break, 30-60 minutes usually. Some people like the Pomodoro method of 25-minute working periods followed by 5-minute breaks. It’s whatever suits you, really. Best of luck to you on your exams. 💕

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My mind has been all over the place these past few days because I’ve got 3 assignments due on Monday, but setting aside a little bit of time to keep my desk tidy seems to work wonders. (Even if it’s just another form of procrastination) ✨

Peep more photos on my instagram: @the_girlygeek

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first of all, your account inspired me so much to improve my studying skills and i'm so thankful for that!! I wanted to ask you if you know any time management tips. I tend to get home late after college and always end up sleeping late and waking up tired to do work. Any advice?

Hey! Thank you so much :-) Here are a few links that might help:

productivity and time management applications

how to remove distractions

types of procrastination and how to deal with them

google chrome new tab options for improved productivity

10 small ways to improve your productivity

how to stick to a schedule

how to stay alert

my after school routine

how to improve your sleep schedule

xx

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hi emma ! could u share some note taking tips please? thanks !

Hi! Here are a couple of things that might work :-)

find a pen that is best for you - it seems a pedantic thing but it can make a difference. This and this photo I took whilst in a stationery store might help! I tend to use Staedtler 432 pens for class notes - they don’t mould/change shape like the finalisers do, they don’t smudge with or without highlights like some gel pens do!

again, find a notebook you like - in year 11, I went through like 10 notebooks trying to pick one I liked. Because my writing was so small I was against regular a4 notebooks so I started using a5. Then they were too small but too thick, or the spiral really annoyed my wrists, or it didn’t lay flat! There were many things that annoyed me so I would change them regularly. Eventually I found the Arc Notebook from Staples and it solved all those issues - I absolutely love it!

always add a title and dates to your notes - Knowing when you learnt a particular topic can be handy for when exams are coming up and you need to study or when you need to organise your notes. Dates can also give you an indication of when you should be revising the material to ensure your remember it. Have a look at this post, it outlines the curve of forgetting and can help you determine when you should start studying.

make a structure - for note-taking, it can be overwhelming looking at a textbook and thinking what you’re going to write out. Make a note-taking layout/colour code that works for you and that subject. Mine is here - it just gives me an idea of how I’d lay everything instead of going in with no action plan.

read the textbook/reading material prior to your class - This helps give you an outline of the material so you can summarise and shorten your notes. You also have the opportunity to clarify anything you might not have understood from just reading.

use the layout of the textbook or syllabus to organise your notes - I found copying the headings and subheadings really helped simplify my notes and helped to ensure I was learning each section. If this is not for you, use the titles given by your teachers as mentioned before!

include different ways to show the information - Use mindmaps, bullet points, graphs, flow chats and symbols to help visualise the content. This also helps break up large blocks of text which can be boring to read. If you are like me and a bit of perfectionist, do these on a post-it note so it doesn’t have to be perfect or take up a lot of room!

have a small colour coding system - An extensive colour coding system is tricky to use in fast-paced classes where the teacher is quick to move on. Using a mixture of black, blue and red pens can help differentiate parts of your notes without having to change your pen constantly. However, if you’re writing notes that you don’t need to rush, I’d suggest a larger one. My colour coding system can be found here.

make note of what your teacher is saying - They’re knowledgable in your subjects so be sure to pay attention to what is being said and not just what is on the board or powerpoint. You can use small post-it notes for this kind of thing!

add your own personal touch - Draw doodles, acronyms, ribbons and abbreviations in your notes. You can check out this and this as inspiration. Also this masterpost has some links to help illustrate your notes.

You can also check out my note-taking tips Pinterest board! Hope this helps :-) x

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rates of reaction review + pumpkin spice tea 🎃

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08.05.17 // almost forgot to post last week’s spread! i really loved the yellow theme i chose for the last week of july. can’t believe that there’s only one month until school for me, agh. fun fact of this spread: my utter procrastination to make a schedule to stick to for this summer, oops?

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10 • 04 • 2016 || Spanish studying for my last grammar test! After this two more test to go: one on writing and a mini interview.

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🌸  07.27 Goodbye, July.🌸   You’ve been emotionally trying and physically painful. After a medical condition, I’m finally looking forward to better days, colder weather, and long walks. New semester starts next week, too. Here’s to productivity!  on this spread 🌸  ig: sadgirlstudying 🌸

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You have been visited by the Chan of wealth, reblog this and you will have money come to you!