So let’s say you’re in the same boat I am (this is a running theme, have you noticed?) and you’ve just got, like, SO MUCH STUFF that HAS to get done YESTERDAY or you will DIE (or fail/get fired/mope). Everything needs to be done yesterday, you’re sick, and for whatever reason you are focusing on the least important stuff first. What to do!
Take a deep breath, because this is a boot camp in prioritization.
Make a 3 by 4 grid. Make it pretty big. The line above your top row goes like this: Due YESTERDAY - due TOMORROW - due LATER. Along the side, write: Takes 5 min - Takes 30 min - Takes hours - Takes DAYS.
Divide ALL your tasks into one of these squares, based on how much work you still have to do. A thank you note for a present you received two weeks ago? That takes 5 minutes and was due YESTERDAY. Put it in that square. A five page paper that’s due tomorrow? That takes an hour/hours, place it appropriately. Tomorrow’s speech you just need to rehearse? Half an hour, due TOMORROW. Do the same for ALL of your tasks
Your priority goes like this:
5 minutes due YESTERDAY
5 minutes due TOMORROW
Half-hour due YESTERDAY
Half-hour due TOMORROW
Hours due YESTERDAY
Hours due TOMORROW
5 minutes due LATER
Half-hour due LATER
Hours due LATER
DAYS due YESTERDAY
DAYS due TOMORROW
DAYS due LATER
At this point you just go down the list in each section. If something feels especially urgent, for whatever reason - a certain professor is hounding you, you’re especially worried about that speech, whatever - you can bump that up to the top of the entire list. However, going through the list like this is what I find most efficient.
Some people do like to save the 5 minute tasks for kind of a break between longer-running tasks. If that’s what you want to try, go for it! You’re the one studying here.
So that’s how to prioritize. Now, how to actually do shit? That’s where the 20/10 method comes in. It’s simple: do stuff like a stuff-doing FIEND for 20 minutes, then take a ten minute break and do whatever you want. Repeat ad infinitum. It’s how I’ve gotten through my to do list, concussed and everything.
You’ve got this. Get a drink and start - we can do our stuff together!
WOAH THIS SOUNDS HELPFUL. I’M GOING TO TRY THIS IMMEDIATELY. Also, I made a chart for myself, but if anyone else wants it for reference (or if this is wrong and I misread you can tell me) here it is:
Holidays are just that, holidays. However school and university doesn’t always stop for them. Whilst you’re supposed to be relaxing, there is usually a stack of work waiting to be finished before you go back. After a couple of requests, I’ve put together a small guide to setting up (and following) a holiday study schedule. Keep reading to find out more:
Start early - most students (myself included) generally leave all their work until the last few days of the holidays, then they panic about not having enough time. As soon as you’re able, get started with your schedule. The sooner you start, the sooner all your work is done and you’re free to have a study free holiday. Plus starting early means that you will remember things from your last few classes. If you’ve been off for two weeks and not thought about school, you’ll have to review everything you did before school finish in order to jog your memory!
Write down everything that needs to be done - create a list of everything that you need to finish before you go back to school. I find it easiest to write everything in chronological order and separated by subject. For example, I’d write ‘read chapter 2′, then ‘summarises chapter 2′, then ‘complete review questions’. This way you can see everything you need to cover in the study plan.
Decide how long it will take - estimate how much time all your to-dos will take - maybe a day to type up your class notes, an afternoon to write an essay or an hour to finish a worksheet you didn’t complete. Start fitting in each task around your holiday plans. If you have a spare hour, you could draft that essay you need to write. If you’re spending two hours in the car, print your notes and revise them. Before bed, read the flashcards that you made!
Plan it out - using a calendar or excel, make a schedule for your holiday. It could be daily, weekly, or monthly depending on which way you find it best to plan. Include all the tasks you’d want to complete in that time period. If you get bored easily, break it up into small time periods or change subjects after a few hours! Vary the tasks you need to complete. For instance, no-one wants to spend a day writing essay after essay. Spread them out across a few days and add other small, more fun tasks in between. Here is a study schedule I created which you can download and print! Here is an example of how to fill it out. Design it to what suits you the best, illustrate it or highlight it! Make it something you want to follow.
Take charge of improving your productivity - By planning out your time and setting up a schedule you’re attempting to improve your productivity. Since it is the holidays you don’t want to be spending hours on end finishing work or revising. Find ways to keep yourself accountable for your time. Applications such as Forest or RescueTime are great for helping you stay focused. I also created a post with 10 small tips to improve your productivity. Have a read and try to apply some of them to your studying!
Stick with it - the best way to actually follow your study plan is by being motivated to use it. Put it in a place you see often, for instance near your bed or above your desk. Each morning, see what you need to do and try to get it done. Reward yourself for completing the tasks you need to and cross them off your schedule. However, don’t be afraid to make changes to it. If you can get something do sooner, go ahead but if you miss a day, don’t fret. Either reprint or retype your schedule with new plan!
Take time out - remember that it is your holiday and you don’t need to work 24/7. Have a break, have ten. Take a day to binge watch your favourite show or read that book you’ve wanted too. Don’t feel bad about having some down time, you deserve it!
I hope this helps and you have a lovely holiday! Enjoy the printable I added into the post as well. If you use it, please tag me in any photo you upload! x
Hello! A few followers of mine requested a post on my note taking system so here it is.
My notes The above picture is of my Arc Notebook and is a collection of classwork and textbook information! When I’m writing notes I have to always write the date. I always mark down the dates on any worksheets I receive and sometimes add the topic of the class into the calendar on my computer. During classes, I try to pay as much attention as I can. Especially to the information which the teacher emphasises! Class notes are usually really scruffy or I type them and then I will later rewrite/condense and add after class. I find this pretty helpful, however if I miss a day I usually fall behind and end up with a lot more work to do! For rewriting the notes, I look at the syllabus and make sure I write something for each topic. I use colour coding to help too. I refer to the notes from class and other textbooks or the Internet! Having a selection of resources is really useful for understanding your topics. I am also trying to create even simplified topic notes to print later.
My work layout For starters, with a new topic I start on new paper. So I can easily find the one topic without having to make it by a title page or something, like in a regular exercise book! Titles are the sections of the syllabus which my notes relate to. Titles and always in black, underlined and capitalised. My notes are mainly in black and always in dot point form. I prefer having small sections of sentences compared to large chunks of writing. As you can see at points my writing goes in. I measure each time at either 1cm, 2cm or 3cm depending on the indent. Usually these notes are important for the line above, for instance an example or a definition. Also, you can see some sentences with arrows (either green or pink) underneath the sentences, these are just additional information which is relevant for either understanding or just interesting! I also leave one line between each section for easier reference.
My colour coding system I’ve had a lot of messages about this so I thought I should include it! I use the Staedtler Triplus Fineliners for all these notes. I use black as the normal note taking. Red is for the topic of sentence, because I use dot point form the red makes the work stand out so I can quickly refer to that sentence! I don’t use red in every sentence, usually only if I’ve begun talking about something else. I use light blue for terms that I need to remember or are important. I find this useful in all my subjects! Dark blue is for names of people/places/businesses/etc and abbreviations. Orange is for examples and are usually indented by 1cm. I use green for relevant information to help understanding or to clarify and as previously mentioned, I use an arrow and indent at 1cm. I use pink for generally interesting information which isn’t needed but good for showing knowledge. I find colour coding useful, but it makes note taking quite a timely process but it does look pretty!
Overall, my note taking isn’t very complicated and pretty easy to recreate! I hope some of you find this post at least a little helpful. Check out emmastudies.tumblr.com/tagged/me for more. Feel free to message me if theres anything else! :-)
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the day may come when this post crosses my dash and I do not reblog it but friends
today
is not that day
This is a good commercial Everything from the woman pretending to be a WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE MAN to “midnight in a coffin” to “try this new thing called Dog”
Its all good shit
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