A bit of art journaling about my favourite time of the year. ♡
How to Never Fall Behind in Classes
Alternatively titled: How to Use Your Planner or How Organization and Discipline Will Get You Better Grades
This is my full guide on how to use your planner effectively and make sure that you are never missing deadlines or falling behind in classwork and homework. This is definitely more about the university level and works best with a dated planner, rather than a bullet journal. Let’s get started!
- Get all of your syllabi together and write down dates. Go through one class at a time and mark down all of your major tests and assignment due dates. I recommend putting these dates into the monthly and weekly views, and perhaps coming up with a symbol or other indicator that tells you they are of utmost importance.
- Make a weekly schedule of when to complete readings and do a weekly review of notes. Instead of trying to randomly decide when to do these things, assign a date for each task for each class. If you have a tutorial on Tuesday, do the assigned readings for it every Wednesday. I recommend scheduling one to two weekly tasks per day, and to leave a few days open, whether it be weekends or days when you have a lot of classes.
- Make a master list of assignments. I find that sometimes, even having due dates in the calendar view isn’t enough, and they can still sneak up on you. The master list will be a good place to double check if you have any deadlines approaching easily.
- In the week or so before a due date, create a checklist of smaller tasks needed to complete the assignment. Set individual due dates for each smaller task by working backwards from the due date. Smaller tasks may include finding sources, making an outline, writing a rough draft, and editing and adding references to create a final copy. Write the smaller tasks into your daily to-do list.
- You can also do this with studying for tests, but the checklist would look slightly different. You could either sort by study method (first do flashcards, then do essay outlines, etc.) or sort by the topics you need to study.
- Stick to the schedule you have made. Obviously, if something comes up and you need to move your to-do list around, do so! But if you aren’t doing anything and you see readings on your list of daily tasks.. do them. Having the plan set out like this makes it easier for you to remain disciplined.
Why use this method?
- By creating a schedule for repeated weekly tasks like completing readings, you make sure that you can’t repeatedly push off smaller tasks until you are weeks behind. I don’t think it is very reliable to just will yourself to do readings, or to keep up with them without tracking it.
- By writing down all of your due dates, you will never be shocked to find out something is due the night before. You will know and you will be prepared.
- By creating smaller checklists of tasks to complete before a major test or assignment, you will never find yourself in a situation where you have an essay due in a few days and haven’t even started. You will be following a timeline and making sure you don’t have to rush.
I know this system may seem rigorous, but planning is the only way you can keep on top of your workload in university! Falling behind is a lot harder if you are organized and disciplined, and being on top of your workload will help you a lot when it comes to exam times… no cramming and all-nighters if you have been consistent all semester!
Attention all witches and wizards (and muggles): 2018 is finally bringing us a mobile Harry Potter game! An official release date for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is pending but the game will launch in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store (fear not Android devotees).
How to Never Fall Behind in Classes
Alternatively titled: How to Use Your Planner or How Organization and Discipline Will Get You Better Grades
This is my full guide on how to use your planner effectively and make sure that you are never missing deadlines or falling behind in classwork and homework. This is definitely more about the university level and works best with a dated planner, rather than a bullet journal. Let’s get started!
- Get all of your syllabi together and write down dates. Go through one class at a time and mark down all of your major tests and assignment due dates. I recommend putting these dates into the monthly and weekly views, and perhaps coming up with a symbol or other indicator that tells you they are of utmost importance.
- Make a weekly schedule of when to complete readings and do a weekly review of notes. Instead of trying to randomly decide when to do these things, assign a date for each task for each class. If you have a tutorial on Tuesday, do the assigned readings for it every Wednesday. I recommend scheduling one to two weekly tasks per day, and to leave a few days open, whether it be weekends or days when you have a lot of classes.
- Make a master list of assignments. I find that sometimes, even having due dates in the calendar view isn’t enough, and they can still sneak up on you. The master list will be a good place to double check if you have any deadlines approaching easily.
- In the week or so before a due date, create a checklist of smaller tasks needed to complete the assignment. Set individual due dates for each smaller task by working backwards from the due date. Smaller tasks may include finding sources, making an outline, writing a rough draft, and editing and adding references to create a final copy. Write the smaller tasks into your daily to-do list.
- You can also do this with studying for tests, but the checklist would look slightly different. You could either sort by study method (first do flashcards, then do essay outlines, etc.) or sort by the topics you need to study.
- Stick to the schedule you have made. Obviously, if something comes up and you need to move your to-do list around, do so! But if you aren’t doing anything and you see readings on your list of daily tasks.. do them. Having the plan set out like this makes it easier for you to remain disciplined.
Why use this method?
- By creating a schedule for repeated weekly tasks like completing readings, you make sure that you can’t repeatedly push off smaller tasks until you are weeks behind. I don’t think it is very reliable to just will yourself to do readings, or to keep up with them without tracking it.
- By writing down all of your due dates, you will never be shocked to find out something is due the night before. You will know and you will be prepared.
- By creating smaller checklists of tasks to complete before a major test or assignment, you will never find yourself in a situation where you have an essay due in a few days and haven’t even started. You will be following a timeline and making sure you don’t have to rush.
I know this system may seem rigorous, but planning is the only way you can keep on top of your workload in university! Falling behind is a lot harder if you are organized and disciplined, and being on top of your workload will help you a lot when it comes to exam times… no cramming and all-nighters if you have been consistent all semester!
A bit of art journaling about my favourite time of the year. ♡
MASTER POST OF THE EoS WHSMITH EDITION SHORT STORY
First i need to say thank you @paperbackphoenix for sending me these you are a goddess and i love you.
I’m going to tag everyone who wanted to be tagged for the other stories on this one as well. Cheers!
I don’t play PokemonGO but this is just awesome ^^
some guy: instinct just memes around uselessly, i hardly see any of their gyms
me: holds ur face gently listen to me you little shit
SJ Maas is honestly my hero. She has broken so many stereotypes for YA novels and everyday society in general.
Like:
• Strong female characters who literally don’t need men to save them
• REALISTIC ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
• A MALE character who has been sexually abused and assaulted and suffers repercussions from it
• The first guy a girl meets is not her soulmate (i.e. realistic relationships)
• Depictions of both male and female abusers/abusive relationships
• FEMALE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY LOOKING OUT FOR OTHER FEMALE CHARACTERS
• Did I already mention badass women who could kick a man’s ass if she needed to?
This is why SJM is my favorite author.
Inside the marketing strategy that turned Ryan Reynolds’ superhero movie into a game-changing blockbuster.
This is not gonna’ be pretty. We’re talkin’ violence, strong language, adult content…
“Sonia Braga? Rosario Dawson? ‘Nuff said. I’m tuning in,” executive producer and showrunnerCheo Hodari Coker said in a statement on Marvel.com. “When it came to finding someone who was both formidable yet possessed a light touch, Sonia was the perfect choice and has been a Godsend.”
Johnson shares how an episode of depression eventually led him to professional wrestling, and what he learned from the experience.
GIFS VIA.
New Daredevil, The Punisher, Jessica Jones, Deadpool merch for 2016 in Target, Hot Topic, Walmart and more! Here’s a peek.
I’m also on Team “I Stayed Up All Night Finishing Two Books and Now It’s Morning and Now I Hate Everything.”