posting my grimoire and occasionally others' spells
87 posts
Ladywithglasses - Keep Going! - Tumblr Blog
casting spell of pass your exams for anyone going through exams right now
seeing a black cat is actually good luck because then you get to see a cat
Actually my girlfriend is wizard president so I can do whatever I want forever
Folks with this whole "you're old once you hit 25" mentality are just buying into a repackaged "you need to have your life figured out by 18 and if you're not successful by 22 you're a failure" load of shit. Like....bruh, life doesn't end at 25. Idk how to tell you that the time limit you're silently imposing on yourself and your peers is largely responsible for your dissatisfaction with your life. Stop living your life like happiness has an expiration date. It doesn't.
i really love when ancient natural historians try to explain something when they have no idea what the fuck is going on with it. like aristotle noticed that garden warblers disappear at the same time of year that blackcaps appear and instead of being like 'hm, maybe they migrate at that time!' he instead decided that they transform into each other
“who hurt you?” bro all these assignments
i know i talk CONSTANTLY about how relatable marcus aurelius is but i love this man so much. not only does he constantly have to encourage himself to get out from under his blankets but he also has to tell himself to put away his books and go DO things….it’s the ancient roman equivalent of yelling at yourself to stop bingewatching shows on netflix and get to work and i love him so very dearly
about me
My name is Allison (al-i-suhn)
I'm an 18-year old who's currently in her senior year
I enjoy making art (mostly ceramics), learning about mathematics, and applying philosophy to my life (thanks Marcus Aurelius)
Watching true crime videos, hiking, podcasts, and ice skating are my jams.
if you're also into taking care of plants but are bad at it, don't worry I am too.
I’m also getting into reading more so if you have recommendations send them my way!
goals
Learn javascript, going to get a good structure down, and then focus on individual projects.
Learn Italian and American sign language! you'll most likely be seeing my Italian journal on here.
Implement more structure and wellness habits in my life to truly be content.
Maintaining my expectations with grades! working smarter and harder.
Read more! it's my new favorite hobby.
about this blog
You'll see updates from my academic life among little tidbits.
I'm planning on making master posts along with presentations on advice or facts. Possibly philosophy and study techniques!
Tracking #allisonstudy
I plan on keeping this blog realistic. I don't study for 14 hours straight, not my personal vibe!
I've been lurking for a while, and the push to create this blog is to connect with others! If you share any interests feel free to send a message!
blogs i like
Tagging some studyblrs I like! check them out!
@ndemic @strawberristudi @rylie-studies @alexistudies @studying-engineering @reinestudies @studyblr @florencestudiesstuff @brightstudyblr
vaguely academic things to do to keep yourself entertained
go down a wikipedia research hole by clicking the first term you don’t understand
binge a crashcourse series end to end (personal recs: world history, history of science, big history, philosophy)
find free books on project gutenberg
download some western classics for free
borrow books and audiobooks from the libby app or borrowbox
start a commonplace book
take a khan academy course
browse MIT’s free online course materials
teach yourself to code
go on a google scholar essay dive
try the open access button to avoid some paywalls for academic media, or install unpaywall that does a similar thing
research the history of the place you where you live
tempt the wrath of the duolingo owl and learn a language
search for online streams of the local tv in your target language’s country and use as background noise for immersion points
print and scrapbook favourite poetry and literature quotes
improve your handwriting by doing handwriting exercises
learn philosophy with the philosophize this! podcast. actually just check out all the educational spotify podcasts there are many good ones
start a weekly club with friends to share new and interesting things you’ve learnt that week
clean and reorganise your study space, physical or digital
check out online museums
fave educational youtube channels that I adore: vsauce, crashcourse, smarter every day, kurzgesagt, school of life, tom scott, r. c. waldun, vsauce3, primer, mark rober, veritasium, asapSCIENCE, scishow, TED-ed
hopefully you’ll find something to enjoy! happy learning x
It’s okay to be a beginner at the things you are interested in. There is no reason to feel intimidated by people more advanced than you are, because they too were in your place at one point. Keep learning and growing and expanding in whatever it is that you love and let nothing and no one stop you. You don’t have to be at the same stage as someone else. You can just be at your stage and that one is okay too.
me: i hate math
also me: *solves a difficult problem* i loVE MATH I LOVE MATH I L -
the main piece of advice i have for students is this: learn how to fail and persevere. it is a skill that will help you in life far more than perfect grades. think of failure impersonally. when you fail, you have just eliminated one method that doesn’t work for you, so you need to try a different method in the future. figure out which factors contributed to the undesirable result, and change them. (teachers, advisors, and academic counselors can help you with this if you aren’t sure where to start). i know from personal experience that fear of failure is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, because it leads to self-sabotage. if you can learn not to think of it as an inherent personal flaw, but rather as a strategy that didn’t work for you and can be changed, you will be well-equipped to face the inevitable failures and rejections that are part of life.
listen, the studyblr community can be a wonderful place - but there’s this emphasis on absolute perfection that really doesn’t help a lot of students dealing with other issues on top of their studies. here are five unconventional study tips that might not fit the studyblr aesthetic but have helped me get straight as whilst learning to live with mental health and family problems too!
1. don’t study whilst commuting
i walk to school, so posts about studying on the bus just aren’t helpful - i don’t have the option to do that! even if i’m taking the train somewhere, the last thing on my mind is studying. i’m thinking about my bed and how early it is and whether or not my coffee is cool enough to drink without burning myself yet. not all of us can start working the second we’re awake, and that’s okay!
instead: record your lessons and listen to them as you travel!
even if you’re not paying attention, you’ll remember more than you think! this is especially useful for languages - i recorded myself reading a few essays and listened to them as i walked, which made noticing grammatical errors so much easier!
2. don’t rewrite all your notes
i love the studyblr aesthetic as much as anyone, but i honestly don’t have the time to write out pages and pages of notes in the hope of gaining a few followers. of course it’s nice to have pretty-looking notes, but when you have a huge list of tasks to do, it can become a way of procrastinating work that’s actually needed for a grade.
instead: organise your class notes!
check the material you’ll study before the lesson! if you’re into the brush lettering aesthetic, write out or print titles off ahead of class so you can stick them on your page without having to waste valuable lesson time drawing them. plus, knowing what you’re going to study before you actually come to it means you can prepare a list of questions to ask the teacher and improve your understanding of the subject! this way, you’ll have organised, clear notes from the beginning, so you won’t have to copy anything out at home.
3. don’t buy expensive stationery
i know everyone seems to have those tombow brush pens and leuchtturm journals. as someone who can’t afford them, trust me when i say i get how it feels. but spending money on expensive products (especially ones you don’t know how to use) is just counterproductive - your grades won’t magically go up if you start shopping at muji.
instead: try budget alternatives!
would you buy a £90 contour kit if you’d never used foundation before? the same goes for stationery! substitute for cheaper products from your local stationery stores whilst you get a feel for what’s helpful for you, not what anyone else has. for example, i tried so many types of pens before realising that my writing’s nicest with gel pens, so now i let myself get more expensive ones - but i didn’t waste more than £5 figuring this out because i’m #cheap. this list of popular studyblr dupes is constantly being added to if you really need to try something, but stressing about your stationery is not going to help you in the slightest.
4. don’t worry too much about being organised
look, we’d all like to be organised, but i’m an adult who’s lived with depression since i was thirteen, and i know it’s not always possible to have that pinterest-ready study den. sometimes your homework will be done on a bed that’s not been made in weeks of it’s going to be done at all, and that’s okay.
instead: do what you can.
had a bad day? stick on some guns n roses and do the work later. too exhausted to function? just finish that last maths problem and go to bed. it’s okay to not have a picture perfect lifestyle - most of the people who post those photos don’t have it either. just do what you have to do to get through the week.
5. don’t ignore your mental health
there’s such a weird culture of perfectionism here and it’s so damaging! of course no one has to post about their personal lives on their studyblrs - but please don’t let that lead you to believe it’s not important. this mentality of “everything is fine and i must be perfect” isn’t healthy.
instead: talk about how you feel!
it doesn’t have to be on your studyblr, but if you’re feeling suffocated by pressure to achieve, or you think you’re depressed, or you’re just going through a tough time and need to vent, talk to someone! bottling things up is not a healthy way to live life - believe me, i’ve tried it. it doesn’t work. there are so many young people here and we need to stop acting like our studies are all we can ever be.
i’m not trying to “call out” anyone who finds the minimalist note taking and study devotion helpful - everyone here is different, and i’m glad it works for you! but not all of us can do that, so this is for the people who can’t.
I’m taking the AB Calc AP this year (yikes), so here are some of the resources I’ve found so far! I’ll add more as I find them.
Free Practice Tests & Questions
1969-1988 Multiple Choice Questions
2006 Practice Exams (AB & BC, with answers)
Varsity Tutors
College Board Released FRQs
Peterson’s Practice Test
GetAFive Practice Questions
4Tests Practice
Booooooks
The Princeton Review (3 practice exams)
REA Crash Course (online practice exams)
Barrons (AB & BC, 5 practice exams each)
Kaplan (6 practice exams & 2 diagnostics)
5 Steps to a 5 (3 practice exams)
COW Math (online calculus books)
Peterson’s (online, AB & BC)
Multiple Choice Workbook
Videos
HippoCampus
Khan Academy (so many worked answers)
WOWmath (free response questions)
Other Resources
PDF Reference Sheets (from EE, but here in a handy folder)
Interactive Mathematics Lessons
Visual Calculus (tutorials & drills)
College Board FRQ Index
MIT OpenCourseware Exam Prep
Brightstorm
Mr. Calculus
GetAFive
Paul’s Online Math Notes
Study Guides
Elaine Cheong’s Study Guide
University of Houston Study Guide
Final Review Sheet
Calculus Cheat Sheet
I hope this helps you out! There are more useful posts from my study series here.
2/4/2015 // I love experimenting with pretty, new hand writing styles for my study notes! I made this info-graphic and scanned it in to show you some of the styles I am loving right now.
Fun is something we all need more of when the going gets hard, especially when the notes are long and the subject is hard! Here’s a few tips to help you become more interested in your work & keep on going.
Interactive Study Tools!
Written Kitten: get a kitten/puppy/bunny pic every 100 words
Quizlet: play fun games with your flashcards
Memrise: add custom mnemonics to your vocab terms
Clozemaster: pretend your language learning is a video game
GoConqr: go and make those online mindmaps
Khan Academy: make your learning totally interactive
Online Resources: a masterpost from youtube to history!
Snacks!
101 Study Snacks: (mostly) healthy, fun & easy snacks
Study Foods: a fun & healthy guide to what you should eat
Feed Yo’ Brain: sweet, savoury, or a drink? all covered!
5 Recipes That Make Life Easier: simple & necessary
5 Cheap, Tasty, & Healthy Snacks
Buzzfeed Tasty: simple & delicious video recipes
Playlists!
Study Playlists Masterpost: everything you ever need
Study Playlist Masterpost: aaaand some more! in categories!
Soundtracks for Study: to help you get through that study sesh
& shoutouts to my favourite playlists:
calm down & work
rose redux
mildliners playlists
study nonstop
Study Sounds: not quite playlists, but calm and great for studying
Coffitivity: pretend you’re studying in a coffee shop
Noisli: study in nature rather than your room
Organization!
How to Stay Organized: oodles of helpful tips!
Organization: advice both physical and digital
Organization Methods: a bunch of different strategies
The Organization Guide for Lazy Students
Staying Organized in College: a seven step guide
How to Keep Binders Organized For School
Study Breaks!
Study Break Ideas: bet you hadn’t thought of doing yoga
Energizing Study Break Ideas & What To Avoid
Online Pomodoro Timer: work, break, repeat: all timed
Study Breaks: ideas for those 5 minutes of downtime
Studying 101: The Pomodoro Technique
Non-Studying Things To Do During Your Free Period
Doodles!
How To Illustrate Your Notes: perfect for visual learners
Guide to Pretty Notes: spice up your dull note-taking habits
Fundamentals of Visual Notetaking
Doodle Ideas: an adorable guide from studypetals!
Tumblr’s Bullet Journal Explore Page: for ultimate doodliness
There you have it! Try mixing up all these different strategies for maximum fun while studying.
If you have a way of making studying fun that wasn’t included, please please reply & let everyone know!!
MOTIVATION VS SELF-DISCIPLINE
When studying, most people try to find motivation thinking that this will get them through their study session, or they will see their failure as a result of a lack of motivation. But motivation isn’t always what we need - what do you do on the days you have no motivation? This is why we need self-discipline.
MOTIVATION VS SELF DISCIPLINE
Motivation - a willingness to do something. It is the set of psychological forces that compel you to take action. A goal or reward that you look forward to that will encourage you to study - while this is useful, what happens on a day when you just don’t feel like studying?
Self-Discipline - making yourself do things you know you should do when you don’t want to. Being trained to routinely study regardless of how unmotivated you are - this is what will get you out of bed on a day you don’t feel like studying.
So if motivation is ‘why we should do something’ - self-discipline is more ‘what to do next’.
HOW TO BE SELF-DISCIPLINED
Make a commitment with yourself that you will make studying as your habit. This is super important. Commit yourself to make this as your new habit. Don’t half-ass any of these suggestions or any other suggestions that other people give. Don’t give yourself silly, illegitimate excuses in the process. For this, you can do it by remind yourself on what your long-term goals in life are. Or if they don’t sound rewarding enough, remind yourself what failure feels like/ could feel like.
Set yourself a routine and stick to it
Never have a zero day - try and study every single day - even if you feel absolutely awful - 10 minutes is better than nothing!! Do flashcards from your bed or watch youtube ted talks if you can’t physically study. This will help help develop a routine and make it easier for you to cope. Also, by studying everyday your brain will know that the content you are learning should be stored as long-term information so this will benefit you in the long run!
Avoid long breaks. Unless you know that taking an hour long break means only an hour, then you can ignore this. But fo the majority of us, once we’ve taken a while out of studying it can be hard to get back into it again. One minute you’re taking a 20 minute break for a snack and some phone time and the next thing you know you’re on Youtube and four hours have passed! To avoid this, try stick to shorter breaks - five or ten minutes for a snack break, toilet break and to check any phone messages. A good method to try for this is the Pomodoro Method!
Build on your productivity, not your failures.
If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once. Start things slow and in steps.
Set yourself smaller deadlines for your goals like monthly and weekly deadlines - e.g. if you are doing a project, due 27th June, set personal deadlines, like have the introduction written by the 8th, have your literature review written by the 15th, have project complete by the 25th.
Break down the things that you must do into smaller, concrete activities and put those smaller activities in that to-do list; allocate specific time periods to do each smaller activities and put it the to-do list as well; set an alarm reminder for each smaller activities. Say you have to study for English on Tuesday, because for whatever reasons you just decided to dedicate your time this Tuesday to study English. However, I’d suggest that you break down that specific activity (or “daily goal”) before putting it in your to-do list. So, instead of just putting “study for Physics”, try putting “read and highlight Chapter 9″, because putting very general/broad activity like “study English” can actually make you too confused on where and how to start doing it, and make you very prone to distractions in the process.
Know your limits. Self-discipline isn’t doing as much as you can until you break - it’s about having control, knowing what you can realistically manage and getting that done.
Give yourself rewards! I love to have something to look forward to as I get work done! This means mixing motivation and self-discipline. I tell myself after this lecture I can have an animal crossing break or check some messages etc.
Track your progress – don’t forget to put a checklist on your to-do list after accomplishing a task. It would relieve your stress a bit and motivate you to continue doing the remaining activities on your to-do list.
Remove distractions from your study space! Personally, if my phone is out and I notice a notification…I’m gonna check it. It’s human nature! So to combat this, I use apps like Forest that force me to stay within the app while I study. If I know I might get hungry during a study session I’ll keep a little snack by my desk so I don’t have to get up and somehow find something else to distract me.
Just do it isn’t that easy. I find to get myself in a ‘work boss’ mood I need to feel good about myself so I put on a nice outfit and maybe some eyeliner and hype myself up so I know I can do my tasks and get stuff done! It feels so much better than lazing in my pyjamas trying to study.
Be patient. It’s going to be a rough journey, it’s going to be hard but you’ve got this! Take it one step at a time. Start off by completing one task a day, then move to two, then three, and the next thing you know, you’ll have a regular routine where you will constantly be ticking off your to-do list everyday! But remember to be kind to yourself, know when your body is not in the right state of health to study and don’t force it. Only force yourself to a limit, you’ll know when to stop and that’s okay. Just try again when you feel better! Your health is much more important!
my quick tips for working / studying from home
- get dressed and style your hair as if you’re going to school/work - even use the same perfume/ cologne as you normally do (trick your mind into being motivated)
- plan things out - everything (plan out your week, day, meal, etc. you can make these as specific as you’d like. this will help you stay on top of your work as well as stay healthy, especially if you live alone.)
- make studying/ working the first thing you do each day - best if you can start in the morning (minimize the tendency to procrastinate)
- just start - don’t worry too much about perfecting or finishing anything yet (if you don’t start then there’s nothing for you to perfect or get done. and it will never get done)
- listen to old and simple (aka non-distracting) podcasts, Youtube videos, or café/ chattering white-noise, etc. simply leave them as background noise to create an illusion of being outside your room (bring the presence of people to you. my favorites lately have been slam poems from 2016, Mae Martin’s stages, and Awsten Knight’s crackhead podcasts)
- set timers, for both study sessions and breaks (so that you don’t overwork, burn out, or procrastinate. the Pomodoro technique works great here)
- take advantage of the comfort of your own home (light a candle, have crunchy snacks, play loud music, review notes out loud while pacing around, wrap yourself in a blanket burrito, study on your bed if you can focus there like me, etc. basically anything you can’t do in a classroom, office, or the library)
- if you miss your friends, call/ text/ facetime them, make a study group chat with them, etc. (that is what technology is for)
- choose recreational activities/ self-care for your breaks instead of going on social media (go on walks, make small art, play an instrument, stretch, take a nap, etc. I usually reach for my guitar, brainstorm writing ideas, or sketch very simple line art.)
- if you want to go on social media, do it during meal times - or the 15 minutes after your meals that you can’t work just yet (it also doesn’t make you feel like you’re wasting time)
- study in different rooms for a change of scenery (dining room, living room, the patio, etc. I have an armchair next to the window that I study in whenever I need some sunlight and don’t have to write anything down. however, if you need a designated place to focus on your work, you can also use these alternative spaces as designated “relax” or “creative” place for your breaks)
- use this as an opportunity to take care of yourself (get enough sleep, drink water, exercise, talk to your family, take your meds, be mindful of your mental health, etc.)
Feel free to add your tips. The current situation sure is unpleasant but it is unavoidable. All we can really do now is take care of ourselves, others, and try to make the best out of this.
Good luck to everyone and stay safe! My heart is with you all 💕