December Q&A Answers!

Hello lovely people! It is Akina and Ellie here and we’re am back with the second post of our Winter Fest! The December Q&A answers are here for you, we hope that it will somehow help those who need a way.

Goldie: If this happens to me, my general plan is to study during the day and take time for myself at night. I generally try and keep focused (as much as I can) on university work until around 6 or 7 PM, and then I let myself relax with drawing or any other hobbies of mine.

Ellie: I agree with goldie! I usually work from 9-10 AM to around 4 or 5 PM, and then I try to spend the rest of my evening relaxing or being with my family to help keep my mind off of things.

Goldie: I tend to use loose leaf paper in a huge folder. I have dividers inside it to separate my classes, and notes for every class are colour coded. For example, my notes from a history class could be blue and my notes from a prac class could be orange. That way I know which notes belong to which subject when I put the notes away into my folder.

Madi: honestly, with most things online this year, i’ve been organizing on OneNote and Google Docs for assignments/notes, and Google Calendar to plan classes and important due dates.

Ellie: I’m pretty much solely online, so everything school-related I try to keep on my laptop in folders. I once heard somewhere that you’re either a filer, or a piler, and i’m definitely a filer haha. I have one giant masterfolder with subfolders for different classes, separated into units, etc, and it’s worked pretty well for me! I’ll also color code things if I get the chance.

Akina: back in my bachelor's degree in University I have failed in Italian 3 class and I can say that it is pretty disturbing considering that you are a high grade student. First I didn't know what to do because I have never failed in a class before. Only later I have realized that I have to study more in order to give this class and graduate to achieve my dreams. I felt bad, I felt confused because the fail made me feel not enough but I have learned from my mistake and didn't repeat them again. I think the best thing you can do is a new schedule for the class that you have failed. If the old one didn't work make anyone and try to be consistent with your studies.

Akina:  Well first thing I want to say that I believe considering your study as a waste of time is not really correct behavior towards your work. If the chapter has over 60 pages it is normal for you to spend more time on it. For the shorter study periods, I usually go for reading- writing - revision styled plan. First I read the entire chapter or at least a half of it at one sitting. Then I give a break and when I sit back to my desk I just write down everything that I had in my mind. While writing my notes I don't look at my book again because it may make me put a lot more than I need in my notes. After finishing my notes I do a complete revision of the chapter adding the missing parts to my notes and finalizing the entire structure of the worksheet. This works well for the shorter chapters because with short chapters you keep more in your mind and write your notes a lot better. Unfortunately for the longer chapters you may need to spend more time on them.

Naomi: try reading a summary of the chapter first (both online or in the original source work), and then skim through the text to find what matches up with your summary! summaries usually focus on key-points of the text and are simple to understand, so use them to the best of your abilities. you could make your own summaries by trying to fit in everything from one chapter on one sheet of paper! this forces you to look for important and relevant bits of the text so that you aren't distracted by filler sentences ♡

Akina: What saved me through the initial quarantine of Covid-19 was basically getting into new things. I always wanted to try oil painting and I started doing that I tried to do more journaling, I made different food from world cuisine, I have started doing yoga and pilates at home and after giving years of break I have started running again. I basically held onto things that I had no time to give. It made me feel a lot better through staying at home period (which still continues) because after some time I have started seeing the developments of working out, the developments of writing, the developments of painting more and reading more. Can you have a solid payback from the things that you do, you feel a lot better.

Madi: to be honest, it’s been pretty hard to keep a routine during quarantine. between being stuck in the house, stressful courses, and mental health, motivation doesn’t have much room to shine. however, i set an early alarm every morning (even if i don’t get out of bed, i’m at least awake) and try to get ready for the day. then i do schoolwork, housework, etc. sometimes i’ll go on pinterest and find motivating activities to do like cooking or crafts and try to do them myself! i also enjoy watching videos by Ava Jules as she is really positive and motivating!

Naomi: motivation is a really unreliable source of energy. instead of waiting for that small burst of inspiration to strike you, rely on the idea of discipline instead. do things because you absolutely have to do them, instead of "wanting" to do them. if possible, try getting someone to hold you able! ask them to remind you to do certain tasks and chores everyday, and to check up on you when you need it! this works best (in my experience) with your guardian(s) or friends ♡

Akina: My way to stop feeling bad while I have to cram is basically that I try not to blame myself for not doing it a lot earlier. I just try to focus on what I have to do and I what I need to finish during the studying time and I just get rid of my blaming, angry thoughts and start working on my material. Also I have found out that drinking something warm when you are stressing keeps you more calm rather than just drinking cold coffee or soda. I usually prefer tea during the stressful times of studying and cramming because caffeine doesn't work well with stress and it is bad for my body. Consuming caffeine when you are stressed is not really a good thing to do. So I just try to drink soft herbal tea and or a warm cup of milk.

Ellie: wOOo time crunches are the worst, but when I find myself in one I just try to try and see the bigger picture if that makes sense? Obviously it’s really easier said and done but i’ve saved myself from freaking out over time crunches by constantly reminding myself that I can only do my best in the situation I’m in, and that what happens happens. I’m not making much sense but mentally the biggest thing that’s helped me is just trying my hardest to ground myself.

Naomi: plan, plan, plan! having tons of work to complete can be super overwhelming, so your first priority is to quite literally, prioritise. figure out what takes the most time, how much time it would take, and have specific times by when you need to finish that task by! a lot of the time, we over-estimate the amount of work we can do and fill our days up. try avoiding that to the best of your abilities, and block out some free time for yourself! your health is just as important as your academics and deadlines ♡

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And that’s it from us! Thank you for all of the wonderful questions, and we hope everyone had a wonderful December :) There are more posts to come in the future, so keep an eye out >:)