The dawn of
a new university or college term is spilling over us and I’m determined to ace
this fresh opportunity. Now in my second term of university, I’ve begun to
realise what study tips and tricks work well for me in this new academic world,
and I thought I’d share them with you to hopefully make studying a bit less daunting.
Potentially a bit late to the game, but it’s never too late to put an active
and positive spin onto the big pile of work.
1. Have A Plan
I am a big
fan of a POA be that big or small, a plan instantly engages my work energy (even
when that plan is merely to get out of bed and make a cuppa). When it comes to
work and deadlines it’s impossible to keep on top of it all without a bit of a
plan scribbled on a sticky note. Since being at university and needing to
juggle multiple units I’ve found weekly structured planners to be an absolute godsend.
At the beginning of each week I can correlate my weekly work with my lecture
timetable to see what needs to get done when and allocate tasks to specific days
instead of getting overwhelmed with a huge weeklong to-do list (would not recommend).
Tackling a day at a time gives a sense of achievement and ensures the weekly
priorities are being smashed. And for really busy days or deadline periods, a
daily planner can work alongside your weekly one to help prevent a pile up of
daily tasks and really emphasises your little achievements as, let’s face it,
ticking off a to-do list is one of life’s little pleasures.
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| 7 Days a Week: TK Max My Daily Planner: Paperchase |
2. Make Your Notes Yours
Taking
notes in lectures/tutorials/workshops was something that initially scared me. What if I missed information? What if they
turned out all messy and I couldn’t even read them? I tried a LOT of
different methods last term to try and find what suited me: notes on refill
pads, typed notes, colourful notes, different note books for different types of
lesson and this process really helped me see what worked for me. Some people
are content in sticking everything in their laptop, but I found this made me loose
interest and not remember what was said in lectures as I wasn’t properly
processing the information. So, it’s important to find what note taking
techniques are most effective for you. For me, hand writing and scribbling down
bits of information is the best way –
but obviously, this isn’t very neat which brings me nicely onto my next point…
3. Have A System
When in a
lecture being thrown lots of in depth information I find just writing down how
it comes in lists, mind maps or diagrams the best method for remembering and
engaging with the lesson. For this I have a pretty basic hard covered A4 note
book which I take to all my lectures so I don’t have to lug around lots of
heavy books. Back in my own calm study space, I then write the lecture information
up into subject specific A5 notebooks in a more systematic and neater format (i.e.
grouping sections of information, or underling key words). Lots of universities
encourage follow up work after lectures to consolidate the knowledge, and by
neatly writing up the notes this can be done very easily and quickly! It also
makes coming to revise much easier as all the information is in one place and is
actually legible (guilty of the sprawl).
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| A4 notebook: Wilco A5 notebook: Tiger 'Get it Done' sticker: Sighh |
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| Please ignore any bad handwriting/spelling x |
4. Happy Notes = Happy You
With a
system that you work well with in place hopefully the task of note taking will
being to be a bit more enjoyable, or at least not a point of stress. The joy of
university/college is that you can make your study perfectly suited to you and
your needs and with that I’d definitely suggest grabbing some funky note books
to brighten up the weekly grind. These are just some super affordable note
books from Tiger (luv luv luv) which I’ve personalised with some friendly stickers
to bring a little joy to a potentially dreary 9am tutorial. (The smiley plant
pall from Sighh is a personal fave.) These simple personalisation’s have
certainly helped me feel engaged with my work and give a little boast of
motivation which is always welcomed.
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| Written Stickers and Plant Pal: Sighh Others are personal A5 notebooks: Tiger |
5. Stationary To Perk Up Your Day
Pretty stationary
*swoon*. If there’s one think that will
help banish the dull process of note taking it’ll be the sweet curve of a
colourful biro. Finding an array of pretty pens can be both a massive push of
motivation and the biggest source of work related procrastination (guilty). Over
the years I’ve come to pick my favourite styles and brands of stationary that
don’t break the bank, but how am I going to try and avoid the needless ambling
over which pen to use? My general plan of action is to devise a colour system wherein
certain bits of information are written/highlighted in particular colours i.e.
blue = key word. This should hopefully optimise time and ensure my pretty pens
are a help not a hindrance. I also think different types of stationary lend
themselves to different tasks so, here’s my top tips of selection:
- Uni-ball micro liquid ink in black: My go to pen for neat note taking, it writes like an utter dream and soaks into the page quickly to prevent smudging (big yay).
- Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Markers: An amazing range of colours, I use these for making mind maps and flash cards as they’re bold and don’t fade. Would definitely avoid using in a note book as they can spread through the pages. The perfect revision pals.
- Artline 200 0.4 Fine Liner: Now these are a bit of a guilty pleasure luxury buy but oh my they are a wonder to work with. However, for a more basic fine liner I have a pack of 28 rainbow colours from Amazon for a much cheaper everyday use alternative. Great for highlighting important information and sprucing up your notes.
- Paper Mate Ink Joy Biros: The smoothest biros ever with super strong colour. 10/10. Use for everything and anything.
- Bic ‘four-in-one’ Brio: I find this very useful when making notes during lectures for a quick and easy colour change and the ink is free flowing and lasts a long time. Perfect for headers and key information.
- Paper Mate Non-Stop Mechanical Lead Pencil: I’ve used these for years and they are amazing for precise annotation and underlining in texts. My go to pencil.
- Stabilo Greenpoint L0.8 Marker: I adore these pens for a finer alternative to a Sharpie, they’re super long lasting and very pigmented, and have less of a tendency to sink through the page so can be used for headings and important information in notebooks. Also, perfect for mind maps and revision cards.
- Stabilo Boss Pastel Highlighters: The dreamiest of highlighters. They run very smoothly and don’t blot on the page to enable precise highlighting. The colours are gorgeous and make highlighting much less garish. I use them in my notes to highlight key points and titles, and when annotating handouts.
- Washi Tape: A fun little addition to note making I use washi tape to pin up important information to my wall when revising and it comes off much easier than blue tack! Can also be useful in book marking a page of notes by making a little tab on the side of the page.
Stabilo Pastel Highlighters: Ryman (on offer!)
Washi Tape: Tiger
6. The ‘Borings-but-Essentials’
It’s very
easy to get caught up in all the pretty and exciting parts of getting ready for
a new term, but let’s not forget the bread and butter of note making. The
staple items of the desk draw shouldn’t be taken for granted, Tipp-Ex has saved
my ‘can’t-spell-butt’ countless times! Sticky notes are also a student’s best
friend when it comes to making notes of things to remember or a page in a library
book to save. With all this prepped and ready to go it should hopefully make succeeding
in a new academic term a smoother and well organised process.
7. Get To Know Your Tutor
Starting
new units and classes can be a rather daunting experience and it’s impossible
to guess what hurdles you may or may not face along the way. Getting to know
your tutor and when their office hours are can be an invaluable point of
contact because you’ll never know when you might need to make use of their help
and it’s better to be prepared than stuck not knowing how to ask for help. Your
tutors have also been through exactly what you’re doing, so they might have
some helpful tips for studying or resources to use and often they’re very
willing to guide you along the way. They could also have special expertise in a
field you’re interested in so get to know them! It’s also a two-way
relationship, so let them get to know you and any difficulties you face. I for
one find it useful to talk to new tutors about my issues with dyslexia so they
are aware and may be able to offer me support within the class, but without an
open and direct conversation that help may not be given.
8. Slick Study Space
Finally,
with all the other points in place you know have to actually get down to the
work. For effective work aim for a
tidy, light and inviting work space. The emphasis is very heavily placed on the
aim here, as I know this is often difficult to achieve in a small uni room or
busy household. Yet, by simply ensuing you have what you need at hand, maybe organised
into desk draws or in jars on the desk, the processing of de-cluttering can be
a little easier. By giving everything a ‘home’ your study space can have some consistency
which is key to a stress-free tackling of the weekly to-do list. I’d also recommend
making the space around your desk bright and inviting by adding postcards,
pictures, motivational quotes to the area (opportunity to use some funky washi
tape) so that when the work seems tough you can be surrounded by motivational
stimuli.
MacBook Air Skin: Sighh
I hope
these little tips and tricks are useful to you and have maybe inspired you to
try something new to smash the next academic term and that we’ve all got a
pencil case ready to blitz the note taking. This is also serves as a personal
reminder to refer to when the work load can feel disheartening. Happy studying
everyone!
Ps. This post includes a lot of Sighh's products which I think are gorgeous and are wonderfully designed by Polly, not an add (lol) just really like her stuff. Check Sighh out!
Laura x
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