How Do You Stay Motivated?

People who really know me knows that I process information slowly and forget it very fast as well.

☝🏽👌🏽

“Don’t you dare fucking touch my heart unless you plan to stay.”

— Unknown

Queen of Studies 📚

A small guide to adopt that study queen mindset

Ditch all social media you can. No Instagram account to scroll up endlessly, not checking the Facebook feed, no mindless scrolling, etc. If you use a social media, curate what you read. Declutter the time wasters. Only keep the accounts that genuinely bring you good. Uninstall games and useless apps. You'll use them when you're on vacation. Now it's study time, from the beginning of the semester TO THE END. "But I use them to uncompress!!" Bullshit you can do something more productive like workouts or cleaning your room. It's not an essential need.

For food, focus on meal prep, get 4 Tupperware (or mason pots if you have) and prepare 4-6 meals (2-3 dinners, 2-3 suppers) that contain veggies, proteins, carbs, good stuff that feeds your body and brain. The breakfast is optional, I use my breakfast prepping routine to relax and ground myself before attacking my day. Doing 4 meals at a time is easy and not quite as daunting compared to the traditional 1-week meal prep, and it will stay fresh. You have more time to focus on what matters, you don't waste decision energy on meals and you're less likely to eat junk food.

Impose yourself a "no junkfood" rule in your room or house. You're less likely to spill and eat brain rotting stuff. If you receive sweets as a gift, stick them at the back of the freezer, and only take out ONE at a time. Drink plenty of water. More than you think you need. The body will declutter the excess for you. But never too little water. Prepare some precut veggies and have a stock of your favourite fruit on hand.

Get your sleep together. It helps with memorization and with sufficient sleep, nutrition and water, your brain can heal up and start memorizing efficiently the information you learn. Never neglect sleep. Never do late study sessions, instead planify better your study times.

Cut off people that bring you down. People that always bring you to parties and guilt trip if you don't wanna. They don't care that much about you. Cut off those that aren't serious in their studies, they don't realize the importance of studies and it's lifetime impact. If you can't cut them dry (block and move on), ghost them, don't reply their questions with a question back, be bland to them. A Queen only wants the best around her, and is ruthless in her judgement.

Once you start the semester, study every day, even if you have nothing to do that day (especially at the beginning of the semester). You can even get ahead in your studies and use the class as a refresher for what you did study. You'll feel more comfortable and have some questions prepared too! Figuring things out while it is being taught can be quite stressful. For laboratories, do several weekly hours of self-study, repeating the methods you learned. Use your teachers free hours anytime you have additional questions or need additional explanations, not only right before an exam. Take your time and speed up once you're comfortable. Learn to fail when it doesn't matters so you won't fail when it will matter.

Re-read your notes twice or thrice or four times, annotate them, summarize every paragraph. Write a "fake cheatsheet" that summarizes every step of the semester. Draw some conceptual schemes, make links between concepts. Do all the excercises, and redo the hardest ones before the exam. Do the pratice exams, check the past years exams if they're available. They'll give you an idea of your teacher's exam style.

Studying bit by bit instead of a big rush at the end will help you immensely assimilate correctly the information (less stress = better memorization, and repeated study = the memory is more precise and you have less memory losses).

Doing a cardio workout everyday increases your brain power. It can be a 30 min energetic walk outside, it can be a intensive cardio workout, it can be a 1 hour yoga session. Pair that with a good stretch routine (that back needs stretches sfter that long study session!) and a muscle workout too to tone up your muscles and keep you looking sharp. Excercise helps you relieve your stress, and feel more grounded, and feel more confident. More confidence also means there's less stress, better focus, and better social interactions. Make it a fundamental tool in your study artillery.

Combine several activities at the same time, you can watch movies while you workout instead of sleeping too late. You can study your biology while doing your cardio workout. Listen to audiobooks relevant to your domain while walking outside. Do your mask while you're doing your yoga routine. No wasted time, and no excuses.

This is one of the days when I can't sleep in peace because there's a lot of things in my mind that I can't help but have a conversation with myself.

I know am hurt. I want to be petty and complain.

But I'm also trying to forgive by giving myself reason on why I should.

you know how you can feel yourself starting to develop a crush on someone but it’s still very faint so you kind of feel like an old man standing on a hilltop, sniffing the air like ”ah yes… there might be a storm coming”

Things I Learned In Research

I only finished my first research project out of many, but I already learned some game-changing things that I wish I knew earlier.

1. It’s okay to mess up. In fact, it should be encouraged (within reason). You learn so many more intimate details about your work from mistakes than from successes. PCRs fail even when you’re careful, and animal models don’t behave like they’re supposed to. Undergrad labs can make you feel stupid when your experiment doesn’t work, but in research, mistakes happen all the time. Document them and learn from them. 

2. There’s a lot of waiting around. Experiments can be slow. Progress in your project can be even slower. Manage your time between experiments so that it’s not wasted; read, write a chapter, scribble some ideas, or just close your eyes and think. All time is valuable. 

3. If you can figure out a new way to do something, do it. There might not be a formal protocol you have to follow. If you think of an efficient way to observe something, go for it. Practice thinking outside the box. 

4. There’s a lot less rules than you think there are. Of course, follow lab safety rules. But the lab is a resource- use it. You don’t have to walk on eggshells somewhere you belong. 

5. Stay true to your findings. This isn’t an undergrad laboratory course. You’re looking at novel stuff here. Don’t play up or fake your data to impress your supervisor. That helps no one- tell it like it is. Believe in your work. 

6. Your lab mates are not here to criticize you. They are your colleagues and mentors- ask them for help if you need it. Your work is important to their work too. You matter just as much as them. 

I can’t possibly list all the things I learned, because this research experience has changed how I think in such integral ways, but here are a few anyway. I’m sure this is only the beginning. 

Feel free to add anything that you learned!

Real talk tips for studying

1. Get up early.

I know, it’s easier said than done. But it is going to be hard for the first 15-20 minutes, maybe even the first hour, but make yourself some coffee, and get the fuck out of that bed.

2. Do 3 useful things right after you get up.

This doesn’t have to be ‘cram one lesson’ or ‘take 500 pages of notes’. No. Brush your teeth, make yourself something nice to drink, comb your hair. Wash your face. Literally whatever you find useful, do it. It may take 10 minutes, but you will feel instantly better when you see you’ve done something.

3. Organize your study space.

I don’t mean organize all your highlighters by color. I mean arrange everything so it is within your reach. That means when you sit down to finally study, there won’t be any need for you to get up and get something.

4. Take breaks.

It’s easy to start scrolling through instagram, or facebook when you sit by a 200 page book. Trust me on this. But set an alarm when you plan on taking a break. Make the break your instagram time, or facebook time, or just chill time. Whatever you do, organize your time so you don’t leave anything out.

5. Divide your shit.

So you have a 300 page chapter to read. Or a 30 page paper to write. Divide it into smaller parts. For example, I will read through the first 30 pages and then take a break. Repeat. Or, I will write 3 pages and then relax. Repeat. Literally whatever shit you have, divide it into smaller chunks and then just tackle the chunks.

6. Don’t listen to music with lyrics.

There are a ton of ‘study music’ or ‘motivational music’ playlists on Youtube. Blast that. That way, you won’t find yourself mouthing the perfect lyrics to Shape of you, and not knowing shit about what you’ve been reading. I’ve been there one too many times and it’s just wasting time.

7. Don’t feel bad about not responding to texts, or not hanging out with friends.

There is time to study and time to play. No between. By all means you should go out and have fun. But your work time can only be your work time. That text can wait, that coffee date can wait. During the break you will have more than enough time to catch up. And your friends should understand that, after all, this is important to you so it should be for them too.

8. Drink water! ! !

This is the most used tip, but trust me, you get tired much quicker if you’re not hydrated. Get a nice ass bottle of water and fill that shit up. Everytime you finish a paragraph take a sip. (At least!)

9. Don’t worry too much.

I’ve lost countless hours by panicking and trying to reason with myself why I should just quit. And let me tell you, it’s very easy to get stuck in that vicious circle. But when you begin to worry, take a deep breath, drink some water and just do. Read that sentence. Write the opening line to your paper. Underline that unknown word. Just do. It will not go in vain. No effort is ever useless.

10. Relax.

You are not the first one to have trouble with this. You are not the only one struggling with this material. But you can do it. It is possible. In 10 years you won’t remember that godawful task or chapter. But you will remember taking shit into your hands. And that feeling when you accomplish your goal is going to be worth all the while.

That’s about it, worked for me. Just be real with yourself. Good luck and may the odds be ever in you favor!