just-refuse-to-be-stopped:

Hi guys! So a lot of our classes are starting today, even with the eclipse so I thought I’d share some tips my teacher sent out to help everyone get a better grade in the sciences classes, which may or may not be slightly trickier than others. It’s important to realize that no one can get through all of these, so pick what is most important to you.

1) Put in the time. Using the “three-to-one” rule, three hours of studying outside of class time per one credit hour. If your class is 3 credits, you should be studying independently an additional 9 hours. For 4 credits, 12 hours. Teachers expect you to treat studying as your job (even if you do have an actual job) meaning you should virtually be studying anytime outside of meals, class, sleep, work, etc.
> To clarify, this is per week. Not at all per day. You will never be able to shove an appropriate amount of studying per class into one day. Do not try, it is not healthy.
2) NO cramming. It is MUCH more productive to study a little each day rather than 9 hours the day before a test. You will remember virtually nothing if you do and will not be as happy with the grade you recieve. Taking it in little bits stores it in long term memory and you will actually learn it rather than just regurgitating it onto a test.
3) Time management is crucial. Especially if you are someone who works or has kids or other priorities that also need attention. Make a schedule and. Stick. To. It.
4) Be prepared and organized. Do not be the person who lost their pencil and doesn’t have an extra, forgot a notebook or textbook, keys, etc. Give yourself enough time so you’re not rushing and make sure you have what you need! Your college professors are not here to attend to your personal needs when some of them have 800+ students a semester.
5) Use a calender. Write down your assignments, projects, class times, anything you need to remember. Use it religiously because it will be so much easier than trying to keep it all inside your head and that way you will not forget anything.
6) Use the book AND the notes. Most professors write things in a different way than the book and reading something in multiple different ways will better help you remember the concept rather than the sentence word for word.
7) Read ahead. Doing so helps you prepare for and not be lost in lecture and it will benefit you as well as the teacher.
8) Attend all/as many classes as you can and be an active listener. Sit up straight, face forward, don’t pay attention to what others around you are doing (I sit up front whenever possible). Keep an extra piece of paper near you in case you have questions so you can either ask or go back later and look it up yourself.
9) Take detailed notes. With permission, record the lecture so you can hear it again later, abbreviate whatever you are scribbling down, and then as soon as you can after class, rewrite it in a neater, nicer way and don’t be afraid to word things differently. A review shortly after class is proven to help it convert to long term memory.
10) Keep your phone off in class. I know we all love our phones and class is boring, but it’s also crucial information. We’ve all been through that period of regret where we wished we had paid attention. Don’t let that happen anymore. Use it only for emergencies and recording lectures.
11) Even if you don’t rewrite your notes after class, review them. Make sure to pay attention to anything the teacher may have repeated or any learning objectives they would like for you to know.
12) Study early and often! This goes along with no cramming but the sooner and more repetitively you relay information to your brain, the easier it will be to remember it. If you don’t look at the information for 2 weeks and then suddenly need to remember it all, not only will you be too stressed to retain it, you’ll also be wasting valuable time. Make your own study guides and test questions.
13) Make flashcards. Flashcards are only useful when you a) shuffle them occasionally and b) take the ones you’ve memorized out of the pile but still review them every now and then to make sure you still remember. Put any back in the pile that you missed.
14) Use mnemonic devices for lists of related terms.
15) Type or rewrite your notes. I’d recommend writing them again, because physical writing by hand is another way to help remember it.
16) Consolidate your material. This means: tables, lists, figures, concept maps. Reasonable chucks.
17) Teach it to someone else. The best way to tell if you have mastered something is that you are able to explain it to someone else correctly in a way that makes sense.
18) Pick a good place for effective studying. We all love our study groups, but let’s be honest. At most the first 20 minutes is talking, then 10 minutes of studying before half the group is surfing Tumblr and the other half is complaining they’re hungry. I prefer to study by myself for this reason. Find a quiet place with minimal distractions and get prepared to work your fucking ass off.
19) Get decent rest before the exam and be sure to get there early or on time, unpredictable situations included. Exams are important and your teacher will not care if there was a traffic jam. If you miss the exam, you miss the exam.
20) Learn from your mistakes. Review your incorrect exam answers and figure out why it was wrong and why the correct answer was correct. Talk to your teacher, TA, resource lab, anyone who may help you if you’re stuck.
21) Review the midterm and start preparing for finals. Most of the midterm material should be on the final, so it’s one of your best study guides.
22) Keep your textbooks and notes. I know we’re all broke as fuck and would like to sell them back, but you never know when that information will be useful in another class down the road.
23) Do NOT discuss grades, quizzes, tests, or exams with your class mates. Of course they’ll complain that they didn’t study, that chapter 6 was this, or chapter 8 said that and it was confusing. This type of conversation will only make you nervous so steer clear of all of it.

Edit: I have made an adjustment to #2 to clarify that the 3 hours of studying/1 credit hour for that class should be per week, not per day. 💕

bookmrk:

be brave like a gryffindor. sit in the front row. ask that “stupid” question. choose that bold essay prompt. befriend the new student. join that club you wanted to last year. talk to your instructor. take credit for your work. treat yourself with honor.

be hardworking like a hufflepuff. do the extra reading. rewrite those sloppy notes. go to that morning class. work on understanding that difficult concept. help others understand it, too. make your own study guides. organize your looseleaf papers. keep your planner up to date.

be curious like a ravenclaw. write down anything and everything you’ll want to google later. question why that theorem works. overlearn. ask for help. challenge the textbook sometimes. check sources. use any extra learning resources your teachers have to offer. all of your subjects are interesting if you know where to look.

be ambitious like a slytherin. go after your goals with confidence. cut out the people who question your capability. get what you deserve. don’t settle for mediocre friends. don’t settle for a mediocre education. don’t settle. believe that this will be your year.

finally-a-realistic-studyblr:

There doesn’t seem to be any lists of ADHD studyblrs out there, and I’ve had some people ask me if I know of any. So I’ve decided to create a list of all ADHD studyblrs! Along with a list of blogs that are help and give advice on coping with ADHD.
This list is just the ones I know of, so if you have one and are not on this list please reblog it with your studyblr!

ADHD STUDYBLRS:
@adhdstudying
@adhdstudy
@adhdstudyblr
@adhdscholar
@studyadhd
@adhdstudytips
@finally-a-realistic-studyblr (me!!)

ADHD BLOGS:
@actuallyadhd
@adultadhdlifehacks
@attentiondeficithyperactivedude
@hey-look-a-squirrel
@lifewithadhd
@mentalillnessmouse (not ADHD specific but still a good resource to find help for coping with ADHD)
@adhd-community
@adhighdefinition
@adhd-is

Again I’m sure there are way more blogs than the ones I listed, so if you have one please reblog this!!

saffronian:

as a person with unmedicated ADHD, i struggle a lot with school. and being unmedicated by choice makes getting “official” help a lot harder, but this also applies if you’re someone who can’t afford to get a diagnosis and are medicated for that reason. if you’re like me, things like extended deadlines won’t help you much anyways because the amount of time isn’t the problem

anyways, i thought i’d put together a lot of my coping mechanisms to get decent grades and do my work!! of course these may not help you bc everyone’s brains work differently, even people with the same disabilities, so a lot of these may be completely useless

most of these revolve around MODERATING distractions rather than cutting them out completely

• try to have a determined outlook, especially in the face of huge projects. for example, think about it in terms of “i WILL get this done” “i’m GOING to finish this, because i have to” “it will definitely happen”. 
  
• realize it’s okay to get distracted! it happens, it’s kinda inevitable with this disability honestly. the most valuble thing i’ve learned is how to moderate my distractions. 
• refresh tumblr often! don’t go TOO far back on your dash. the more you refresh the less there will be to see, so the likelihood of getting bored and going back to what you’re working on is higher. 
• if possible, once i’ve refreshed tumblr enough and there’s hardly anything new, i close tumblr. i almost never look at facebook but i treat it the same way as i treat tumblr when i do. generally i keep twitter open bc there’s less i can get hyper-focused on
• do your homework with a friend that’s good at staying focused! generally, they’ll interact with you enough but withdraw enough so you can do your own work
• put on a show that’ll entertain you but you’ve seen before, for me this is generally bob’s burgers or like, archer
• when writing an essay, work on the parts you have ideas for first. transitions are actually easier for me to write after i’ve written about main ideas. if anything’s stopping you from moving forward, come back to it later. it’s a lot less intimidating when you’ve written most of the rest of it
• enlist friends! it doesn’t take too much energy to help someone with adhd pace themselves. if your friends can tell you every 15 minutes or so to write one or two sentences i found it works really well. one or two sentences is unintimidating enough for me to be able to do when someone tells me to do it, and there’s also a pretty big chance i’ll end up writing more than that
• remember, TINY AMOUNTS OF PROGRESS ARE STILL PROGRESS! set small goals, they’re much easier to accomplish
• if you encounter a reading that’s really hard for you to process, ie reading over and over again and not actually processing any of it, try and find a summary online or ask a friend to summarize it
• asking a friend to summarize things is mutually beneficial, bc it’ll help their understanding to try to explain it. this goes for studying too, and having frequent conversations about what you’re studying is a really efficient studying tool! keeping the mood light and joking around is important too
• for really difficult readings, if you have a REALLY dedicated friend, have them read it out loud to you sentence by sentence and summarize/simplify each sentence. it helps to have conversations about the material throughout too, like asking questions and whatnot

but yeah, this is basically how i got through finals and writing 9 final papers in the past two weeks? none of these require particularly great time management either 

this got kinda long but i hope it can help some people!!

EDIT: added a title and fixed some typos

rissaro0o:

some of these i’ve learned on my own, or from family/friends, or reddit/tumblr/pintrest/facebook. but i’ve compiled a list that has helped me remain focused, organized, and not having my mind go all over the place. some of them are just good to know.

1. don’t put it down, put it away (helps immensely with clutter)

2. use a planner for everything, not just school (i use an actual planner because writing it down actually helps me remember it better, but an app can work too)

3. color code class materials, use a different color for each subject (i’m a nursing student and i’m always running around like crazy, my binders, folders, and notebooks for each class each have their own color. ex: bio=green, chem=blue, psych=pink. that way if i’m in a rush, i never grab the wrong stuff.)

4. rewriting class notes, memos, important dates, & anything else worth remembering helps to engrain it in your mind 

5. meal prepping twice every week helps to save time & money & also helps to keep your meals nice and healthy (it also helps me remember to eat because sometimes i have a hard time doing so since my vyvanse suppresses my appetite. it also helps to eat before i take my meds because then i have a more normal appetite and i’m not cranky. i’m also someone who would rather just not eat because i get stressed if i have to cook something, so having something all set and ready to go for each meal is such a huge stress relief)

6. do some sort of exercise for 30 minutes at least 4 times a week because it gets rid of excess energy, helps you to focus, & look & feel great (i do 45 minutes of cardio every other day on the stair-stepper & i’ve just gotten really into weight lifting. cardio definitely helps me A LOT to not be so cranky or all over the place)

7. pick out and get your outfit for the next day, every single night (i pick out EVERYTHING from the actual clothes, to the underwear, socks, bra, shoes, & accessories. this helps because i also have a weird thing about how clothes fit over undergarments & i also have a weird thing about matching clothes with undergarments, socks, & shoes)

8. pack your backpack and whatever else you need the night before (i put all my class materials, snacks & drinks, chargers, gym clothes, etc in my bag every night before i go to bed so i don’t rush or forget anything in the morning)

9. have a bag full of essentials that you take everywhere (i have a purse that i keep my wallet, keys, a protein bar, a water, my iPad, a back up charger, pen, small notebook, planner, gum, & hand sanitizer that i take with me everywhere. everything has it’s own special pocket & i never lose track of the things i need)

10. make lists of “to’s” (to do, to remember, to buy)

11. go from room to room whenever you leave someplace to make sure you haven’t left anything behind 

12. use post-it notes in visible places as reminders

13. set aside one day per week to do stuff you need to get done (cleaning, schoolwork, chores, grocery shopping, etc)

14. have a “time out” for yourself every other day to relax and recharge (i set aside an hour or two every single day to read or watch a tv show or do something that doesn’t require too much thought or energy. i don’t answer calls or texts, and i try not to browse social media. this helps me relax and not feel overwhelmed throughout the day or the week)

15. set alarms for waking up, tasks, & cooking fro better time management (i use a great app called 30/30 thats a great task manager. it lets you set up a list with a set time for each task. the timer starts and you go about your task, once the time is up, it lets you know you should move onto your next task)