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Studytips - Blog Posts
Start Studying For Finals NOW
The semester has hardly started and you think it's already a good idea to start studying for finals?
I think its a good idea to avoid the panic looming at the end of the semester. I don't need a crystal ball to predict the posts on Facetumblinstatwitter - students stressing about what grade they need on the final to pass their class rather than actually studying. In attempt to snuff this distress I have a few proven habits if used throughout the whole semester will make finals week more zen.
1) Office Hours
As intimidating as the master behind your grade may seem the value of visiting your professor during office hours well outweighs the fear. Sometime not even the internet has the answer to your problems. After exhausting the knowledge of your friends, teaching assistant, and solutions manual studying can feel hopeless. Professors can often detect when your thinking is heading in the right direction and how to help you out if you are completely lost. Remember that they want you to succeed as long as you are willing to put in the effort.You can get the most out of office hours by trying the problem first, and coming up with question beyond "I don't get it". It is obvious when you are putting forth your best verses just fishing for an answer.
2) Optional Homework Is Mandatory Homework
Don't be fooled by a professor's modern teaching ideologies of "graded homework is a waste of time". Even if the professor assigns optional practice problems for your success in the class "optional" in professor speak means"mandatory". Why not become as comfortable with the material as possible? Understanding concepts a little at a time is much more manageable then cramming at the end of the semester.
3) Allocate Study time
Studying for courses between classes and attending your weekly study group may seem like enough time was dedicated. After recollecting the number of times you checked twitter you realize not a lot of studying went on. Printing out a copy of your class schedule and blocking out time strictly for studying will help you visualize how much time is needed. Two hours of study time should be dedicated for every credit you have per week. As a full time student of 12 hours that would be 24 hours of studying a week. As an engineering student with a 12 hour course load you square it and get 144 hours of studying (just kidding). If focusing for longer than the duration of a Spongebob episode is difficult for you consider using the 50/10 study rule. Study for a solid 50 minutes and then take a 10 minute break (not the other way around).
4) Take Useful notes
While attending lectures (and not sleeping in) be mindful of what you jot down. Will you be able to decipher your chicken scratch by finals week? Reconsider what will be useful to write down as a homework reference and what to underline for review during finals. Take advantage of presentations and notes professors posts online so you can record only what's most important to you. As the only person in your study group with legible notes you have rights to charge a Chipotle burrito tax every time they want to copy them.
I use paperclip to keep my notes together (because it is to heavy to take every binder with me) and they are really helpful, even if l always loose them in my bag. Hope those pictures can inspire you. So don't throw your empty tea's box. You can always store something in them ;)
I’d appreciate it if you could take a look at my blog!
things to do on sundays to recharge and make the upcoming week awesome
• clean ya room (just do it). also, check those pinterest boards you save for “one day” and actually go through them and draw some inspiration, even if you just end up rearranging the books on your bookshelf or putting some flowers from your garden in a mason jar on your desk. this is your home, make it feel like it is.
• do your laundry (also, don’t forget your bed sheets). if you’re in the mood, look at next week’s weather forecast and think about what you’re going to wear. go through your drawers, check the back of your closet. that hat you bought some time ago and forgot about because you didn’t dare to wear it? well… new week, new you, right?
• call a friend/family member you haven’t talked to in a while, tell them you miss them. tell them you love them. remember and appreciate that they are a part of your life even if it doesn’t feel like it all the time.
• draw, paint, journal, write or make some music. something you know you love doing but “never find the time”. sunday is “finding-the-time day”. if you’re not feeling creative, read a book or watch your favorite show. or watch a new show. a scary show. a funny show. laugh as loud as you want. listen to music. listen to your favorite songs, or listen to new songs. even a new genre if you dare. turn the volume all the way up. take a second to consciously feel the music. you can always get up and dance. or sing. or both.
• the great, but still really effective classic: take a bath or a really long shower. if you have this special face or hair mask you’re saving up for a special occasion: congrats, you’re the special occasion today. use it. also, body lotion. we all know you’re going to be running late during the week and skip it one too many times. make yourself feel like the goddess you are.
• sit in silence for a few moments. listen to your breath. listen to your heartbeat. for the love of god PLEASE listen to your thoughts for once in your life. don’t make them feel like they are wrong. or bothersome. they too just want to be heard once in a while. what are they trying to tell you? what could be soothing for them? be compassionate to yourself. it’s okay. you are okay. you are okay.
• think about things you can be grateful for next week. even if you feel like your life sucks atm, think about the small things you take for granted in a different way. for example: “next week, i will have access to clean water. CLEAN. WATER. 844 million people don’t have that.” or “next week, my legs will take me wherever i want to go. not everybody has two fully functioning legs, so i’m lucky in that way.” you’re allowed to feel bad about your life, but you’re also allowed to feel good about things.
• if you’ve stayed home most of the week, go out. go for a walk. go swimming. go to a party or dinner with friends. even if you feel like you don’t need to see the outside world, chances are you’ll feel great after you do. if you feel like you’ve been running around all week, maybe you’d like to stay home today. put on your ugliest sweater, comfiest leggings, and fluffiest socks and curl up under a thousand blankets. you a sloth today and it’s okay.
• eat. i mean honestly: eat THE THING. i don’t care if you’re on a diet. if there’s something you’ve been craving all week that has turned you into the veiny-neck-dude meme just trying to resist it: EAT IT. you deserve it. not because you worked out or ate salads or did well in school, but just because you’re a human and you love to eat and life is short and you should be allowed to eat yummy things. it’s okay. you won’t gain 5 pounds or lose your brain cells no matter how unhealthy it is, i promise.
• plan plan plan yo week. it doesn’t matter if you use a planner, bullet journal, the calendar on your phone or the notes app: write everything down you have going on next week. appointments. events. coffee-dates. when are you going to the gym? what are you going to eat? (meal prep if necessary) also, create reminders on your phone for everything. “i won’t forget it!” is a sweet thought, but oh honey you will. schedule reminders for every event. let your phone remind you that you need to buy toilet paper when the store is nearby. schedule daily reminders for your medications. (once you’ve done this it honestly feels like you just cleaned out 38GB of your brain, you simply don’t have to worry about that anymore, space for more important info, like your new favorite pun to annoy everyone with)
• most importantly: listen to what your mind and your body need today and next week. daily life is so full of “should-do”s that it’s important to find a healthy balance between the “should”s and the “need”s. you will be much more productive, healthy and happy that way. nobody knows you better than you do, take advantage of that and plan accordingly.
A study tip:
This has been said before, but I feel it needs emphasising because it’s something I repeat to myself several times a day if I’m feeling overwhelmed.
The only way things will get done is if you start. The only way it will get easier is if you do it. The only way you will improve is if you accept that you do not yet know everything.
I’m a perfectionist and a procrastinator, so it’s hard for me to start if I feel I might not be perfect. If I tell myself this, it’s easier to pick up the pen and actually do something.
I needed this
✧˖° how to stop self-sabotaging your success (and finally commit to doing the work)
post 1 post 2
hi angel, mindy here. let’s talk. because i know you want this. you want to be that student who shows up for herself/himself. you want to stop making excuses. you want to feel proud of yourself when this is all over. so why do you keep putting up roadblocks in your own way? why do you keep pulling yourself away from the very thing you know you need to do?
self-sabotage is not laziness. it’s fear, it’s perfectionism, it’s comfort, it’s this deep, quiet resistance that whispers, what if i try and fail? so you never fully try.
but guess what? we’re breaking that cycle today. right now.
✧˖° the illusion of "i’ll do it later"
procrastination is a liar with a pretty voice. it tells you that you’ll do it when you feel more ready, when you’re in a better mood, when the circumstances are just right. but the truth? later is just a hiding place.
so next time you catch yourself saying “i’ll do it tonight” or “tomorrow is better,” stop. ask yourself: what makes later better than now? if you don’t have a solid answer, it’s just fear talking.
✧˖° you’re scared of what happens when you actually succeed
self-sabotage isn’t just about the fear of failure. sometimes, it’s the fear of what happens when you actually get what you’ve been working toward.
because success? means expectations. it means proving that you can do it again. it means stepping into a version of yourself that no longer has excuses. and that can be terrifying.
but here’s the truth: the version of you that’s waiting on the other side of this work? she’s not a stranger. she’s still you, just with more proof of what you’re capable of.
✧˖° your study habits are built around guilt, not discipline
if studying always feels like punishment, if your entire academic routine is built around the feeling of “i should be doing more,” of course you’re going to resist it.
so let’s shift this. instead of studying because you have to, start studying because you deserve to succeed. because you want to feel prepared. because the version of you who walks into that exam room with confidence? deserves to exist.
make studying feel like an investment, not a punishment. romanticize it. find ways to make it an experience you don’t want to run from. pinterest is your best friend, studytok is your motivator and me (@glowettee is your mentor 😉)
✧˖° you wait for motivation instead of creating discipline
motivation is like a guest who shows up unannounced. sometimes, she arrives when you least expect it, and sometimes, she ghosts you for weeks.
discipline, though? discipline is the friend who always shows up. she’s reliable. she doesn’t wait until she “feels like it.” she just does it, because that’s who she is.
so stop waiting for motivation to hit like some kind of magical burst of energy. instead, set up routines that make studying non-negotiable. that make it feel natural. like brushing your teeth, like making your bed, like second nature.
✧˖° self-sabotage is a pattern. patterns can be broken.
if you’ve spent years avoiding hard work, of course your brain is going to resist when you suddenly decide to commit. your instincts are wired to avoid discomfort.
but the good news? self-sabotage is a learned habit. which means you can unlearn it. every time you choose to sit down and do the work, even when you don’t want to, you are rewriting your patterns. you are proving to yourself that you are not the same person who gives up.
and eventually? showing up for yourself won’t feel like a battle anymore. it will feel normal. it will feel like who you are.
✧˖° this is the moment you choose differently
look, you can close this post and keep doing what you’ve always done. you can keep waiting for some magical day when it all feels easy. or you can make a decision, right here, right now.
you can decide that you are done getting in your own way. that you are done letting fear win. that you are done delaying your own success.
because the version of you who is already succeeding? she is not far away. she is right there, waiting for you to step into her shoes.
it’s time, angel. show up.
love you all sooo much <3 i hope this post can help you understand; self-discipline > motivation
with love, mindy
Study Tip for #STEMists 💡 #GroovySparks 💡 https://www.groovylabinabox.com/remember-something-you-wrote/ #StudyTip #StudyHack #Teacher #Kids #parenting #education #studymode #studytips #studystem #remember #somethingtoremember https://www.instagram.com/p/B2gNKpJBec4/?igshid=1lp4rbmslhrdu
Bujo trackers for getting your shit together
I typed a super long ass post about this and the accidentally deleted it before saving and now I’m lying on the cold hard ground
Yohoo potatoes, I’m back with another *whips out a megaphone out of nowhere* “long ass post” (is that my patent now?) for you guys! This one could help out with your studyjo/bujo (if you don’t know what a studyjo is don’t worry I’ll link it later) and organising that potato life to make the most of it!
Why should I use a bullet journal?
You’s a student
You’s busy
You’s got life you can’t handle sometimes
You will 120% forget about tat assignment deadline unless you’re reminded of it
You get to laugh at your past self after 20 years or so
It’s therapeutic and all that ish
You’ll like it because it’s being productive while actually kinda procrastinating (aren’t we bosses at procrastinating?)
Memories :)
Bolded ones are the trackers I am using and are potato proofed
1. Study related :
SYLLABUS TRACKER : finals can go a little smoothly if you have it all at one place
PROJECT PLANNER/TRACKER : deadlines + road map of how you’re gonna ace that project
STUDY SESSION TRACKER : time, date, subject and rating your session
GOALS TRACKER : realistic ones, like score 75% or more in this test, or master the concept of integration (ughh). Philosophy ones come later ;)
EXAM PLANNER : plan something for each day a week before your exam and see the magic
For solving based subjects :
PROBLEM TRACKER : shade the box every day you solve “x” number of sums
FORMULA QUIZ : the most difficult ones which you’ll never remember unless they’re carved on your ribs
Theory based subjects :
CONCEPT PLANNER : shade the box every day you learn “x” concept nicely
RANDOM CONCEPTS TO REVISE LIST : super helpful when you’re procrastinating and don’t know what to study - refer to this list and do you ish
READINGS LIST : shade the box every day when you read “x” number of paragraphs from textbooks/notes/books
Language based subjects :
WORD OF THE DAY PAGE : one word every day
PASSAGE OF THE MONTH : sort of like a journal but in your target language
FAVOURITE SENTENCES/QUOTES /SONGS/ETC IN *TARGET LANGUAGE* PAGE - similar to a journal thing, make it all aesthetic and cool so you’ll want to fill it in more
2. Entertainment related stuff :
MOVIES WATCHED SO FAR - all the movies, maybe stash a ticket or smthn?
MOVIE OF THE MONTH - can pick any one tbh
APPRECIATION PAGE FOR *FAV ACTOR/ACTRESS* - can you guess who’s appreciated by this potato?
SONG OF THE MONTH - only pick one and trust me that is very difficult
APPRECIATION PAGE FOR *FAV SINGER* - guess mine again?
PLAYLIST OF THE MONTH - best songs only
MIX TAPE FOR *FAV PERSON* - you can actually even make a real one and give it to someone you really like ;)
SERIES TRACKER - episodes/seasons number, shade the box as you finish it
REVIEW PAGE - review some movies/TV show you just saw
FAVOURITE MOVIE QUOTES PAGE - “you’re a wizard, Harry”
3. Mind related stuff :
QUOTES PAGE - motivational, sentimental stuff
MEDITATION TRACKER - this potato might try it
CROSSWORD TRACKER - shade the box every time you successfully solve an entire crossword/puzzle
RIDDLE TRACKER - shade the box every day if you solved 1 riddle
CREATIVITY PAGE - doodles, ugly poetry, cringy picky up limes, whatever floats your goat
BRAIN DUMP PAGE - every single thing on your mind transferred on this page. Suggested before sleeping so that you’re light headed and stress-free
IDEAS ORGANISER PAGE - give form to those abstract plots and connect all ideas to make a bigger one
PERSONAL PROJECT PLANNER - like maybe that book you always wanted to write
LIFE IN PIXELS - mad, sad or smad?
4. Health related stuff :
EXERCISE TRACKER - shade the box every day if you did “x” duration/amount of exercise
FOOD TRACKER - keep record of what junk you munched on today and try to avoid it sometimes
WATER TRACKER - ughh so important
CARBS TRACKER - kill a puppy next time you overeat
MOOD TRACKER - graphs look fancy tbh
ROLE MODEL’S PAGE - everything hermione granger does/says
5. Money related stuff :
BUDGET TRACKER - note down every little thing you spent on, figure out where you can save up
SAVINGS TRACKER - fill that little jar and buy those pens you always wanted to
Aaand that’s about it for now! I’ll be back with another long ass post so have fun bullet journaling till then!
Feel free to hmu if you aren’t clear about how to use a certain tracker!
Etudaire ~
Hi ! Since a friend asked me for some tips to study better, I thought that it would be a good idea to share them with you all !
First of all, I started to have really good grades only once I started to apply exactly what is on this list ! On the beginning of the last year I had grades that went around 15/20 (French scholar system works with grades on 20, not on 100), which was good but I wasn’t the first of my class at all, and then in the end of the year and even right now, I have an average of 17/20 (without P.E obviously lmao), which is considered extremely good as a scientific senior student here !
Anyway I think that most of those tips are already well known but maybe you’ll find things that you didn’t think would work but actually do !
1- Do all of your homework (if possible)
This is some basic tip but God knows that it is the most important thing ever. Practice makes perfect, and I KNOW that sometimes you’ll be too tired to calculate the weight of a satellite which turns around the Earth in 239 days but even if you don’t feel like writing it down, just try to think about it, to find the methodology to do this exercise, because you have high chances to have this exercise again during your test ! Which lead us to the next advice…
2- Always write down the correction of your exercises when your teacher corrects them in class
Well I do think that it is the most important thing that I didn’t do last year and that I do now and it helps me so much. Like I said earlier, in maths, physics, literature and so on, there’s always a methodology that works almost universally for each type of exercise. So you have to listen carefully in class and take notes in case you didn’t understand something that might be important, and even after writing the methods and the corrections you don’t know what to do…
3- Ask a professor or a friend, or check videos on YouTube if this is still blurry in your mind
WE DON’T REPEAT THIS OFTEN ENOUGH BUT YOUR PROFESSORS ARE HERE AND PAID TO HELP YOU ! Even if you don’t like them, if you want to understand a subject you have to ask someone who could explain it to you ! If you’re in college and asking a teacher is not possible, then ask a friend you know they can explain it to you ! Don’t be ashamed of not understanding, this is absolutely natural. Then, if you still don’t understand, maybe you’ll find the answer to your question at our dear friend Google or even better, on YouTube ! Personally I think that Khan Academy is absolutely great for sciences ! Also I don’t really know about american YouTube channels that focus on school, so it’s up to you to find a channel that suits you ! (For my frenchies passant par là Les bons profs et Yvan Monka mes sauveurs).
4- Do not spend time uselessly !!!
Dear God how much time I spent on Twitter and YouTube just REFRESHING FOR NOTHING knowing that I have a test the next day 😭 I realized how much time Twitter would take me each day during the summer holidays so I decided to « delete » my account (I just log in once in a while so my tweets stay here, I don’t want to loose my threads on the Attack Titan and Hanji Zoe).
I also decided this year that once I’m home after school, I’ll just use my phone while I’m eating something and then leave it in the kitchen, and NOT USE IT until I finished all of my homework, even if it’s 10pm and half of my friends sent me a text about interesting things ! Also OBVIOUSLY no Netflix and series and anime once I’m done, but…
5- Don’t overwork yourself
If your studies are your priority like me, then you’ll put your homework before your activities, or even your sleep, because you’d feel guilty or even more stressed because you didn’t learn everything you had to and your test is the next day. Until now I can sleep at 1am and wake up the next day at 6 if I didn’t learn everything, and do that all the week until I have nothing to learn (this is an extremely rare case).
DO NOT DO THAT ALL THE TIME
You can allow you to do that when it’s a really important test, but if this is a really quick vocabulary test, then you should prioritize your sleep ! Then, if you’re really in deep shit you can learn on your way to school (flashcards yayy)! Sometimes when you’re really in a hurry your brain can memorize things so much faster I swear ! But of course, if you want to not do that all the time you have to be really organized, so next tip is…
6- Organize your week if you can !
This is so important to do that omg ! This is the newest thing I’ve been doing and it helps me sooooooooooo much omg ! Personally I have a bullet journal in which I organize what I’ll do each day, and (evenifthosedaysicompletelylostmybalance) now I can find some time for me to draw or just to sleep a bit more lol.
Make To-Do lists, have your own Bujo, just write down everything you have to do this week on your phone, at least you know you won’t miss something that might be important, and in the long run, you’ll find more time to learn your lessons and to do more exercises, and at the end of the semester you’ll have better grades ! But of course this is a question of MOTIVATION !
7- Last but not least, find a way to motivate you !
I think that if you want better grades, that’s for a reason after all ! Then if you’re feeling too lazy to work, just think about the reason that motivates you to go to class and to learn your lessons !
Making your parents proud, doing the job of your dreams, having a lot of money maybe, I don’t know what motivated you to read this post so far but just think about the pride you’ll have when receiving a 98/100! Then you’ll be able to help your friends with the subject you used to struggle with, and btw this is truly a wonderful feeling to graduate with all of your friends ! After that, the reward of holidays will be such a delightful thing 💕
This is all for now ! I might update this post if I remember something that I missed ! Also I’m really sorry if my English is awful, it’s been a while since I truly practiced it !
Just remember that even if you are in the top, intelligence doesn’t do all of the work and this is a progressive work that will help you getting even better results !
Edit: omgggg thank you so much for all those notes💕💕💕 ! I’d never imagine that this post would be this helpful !! I’m kind of curious about how much those tips helped you during the semester ! So if you think you see a progression do not hesitate to hit me up or leave a comment !
A Guide to Planning Systems
It’s important to have a system of getting things done, whether it’s tackling tasks as the day progresses or having a carefully planned schedule for every single hour of the week. How can you create an effective personal planning system that suits your needs and preferences?
Mentioned in this post:
Attention Management: How to Take Control and Live Intentionally
Energy Management: A Human-Based Organization Method
Flexible Time-Blocking: A More Breathable Way to Get Things Done
The ABCDE Method: Accomplish Tasks More Efficiently
My other posts
N.B. some categories include a few examples but they are no means limited to the ones listed here, e.g. there may be methods of organizing tasks other than the five listed here.
How to Finish
I drew this poster for Jon Acuff and his FINISH book tour. Big thanks to Jon for this collaboration, his book has some great ideas about how to complete creative and life goals.
Learning to like Physics
I actually cannot believe how much I used to hate Physics until last year, but then I actually took the time and effort to understand it and?? it’s so cool and fun and easy?? unreal.
It literally seemed impossible for me and I legit thought I wouldn’t be able to graduate because I was never gonna pass Physics (I’m a Math major so we actually have 4 required Physics courses). I don’t know what the point of this is but, don’t be afraid of Physics guys!! (or any other subject!!) yes it’s frustrating as hell and you feel dumb for not having a clue about what is happening or how to work out the problems but I swear once it clicks for you (and it will) it’s gonna be great.
So if anyone needs a step by step (for college/uni), here’s one:
Google is your best friend, the internet has plenty of videos/papers/worked out problems for you to check out. The most important thing to look for is drawings and videos that help you visualize what’s going on. In most of general physics, the key is to see what forces are acting, and from that follows everything else.
Know your core equations. Honestly it’s always the same ones in the end.
For mechanics: you absolutely gotta know Newton’s Laws, Work and its relation to Kinetic/Potential Energy. Momentum is also important.
For thermodynamics: pV = nRT, Boyle/Gay Lussac etc (note that they’re all connected), Carnot’s Cycle.
For electromagnetism: Maxwell’s equations. This is as far as I’ve gotten in my studies.
Understand where the formulas come from, rather than learning them by heart. For me, this was necessary because my memory is absolutely shit so there was no way I could remember every variation. But most of the formulas actually do make sense, and once you’ve drawn out a diagram of what’s happening, you can work them out yourself.
For the previous point, I suggest you watch and rewatch your professor’s explanation until you get the gist. Don’t get discouraged if it’s not immediately crystal clear, seek out other explanations if you need to. Then try to do it yourself.
ASK. FOR. HELP. I cannot stress this enough, do not feel ashamed about asking questions in class or during office hours. There are no stupid questions, and you’re paying thousands every year for people to teach you. Also physics is hard, so you’re pretty much expected to not understand immediately. Moreover, I can guarantee there’s at least one other person in the room with the same question who’s too afraid to ask. I was that person, and I failed the class because of it. Don’t be me.
Practice until you’re able to do most variations of standard problems. Once you’re able to do a certain problem, try to change it and see what happens. You don’t have to crunch the numbers all over again, go with your intuition first. Then you can calculate everything and see if you were correct.
This is all I’ve got at the moment. It applies to General Physics because I’m still pretty shit at Mathematical Physics (Rational Mechanics?) lmao, which is why I don’t talk about Lagrangians and such here.
If anyone has any other tips (for Mathematical Physics as well!) , please feel free to add them. Note that I’m from Italy, and this is what it was like for me. Other countries might have different ways of testing or focus on some formulas that I haven’t included. Do what works for you, obviously.
Good luck STEM students, I know it’s hard, but hopefully worth it in the long run :)
Jan 9, 2021
It wasn't a great week. But I did more than I thought I could. Importantly, I completed a difficult internship application. After a full burnout from last semester, I guess this was a good start. A lot of stuff that happened this week was revision of previous concept and I hope it won't be much difficult to catch up.
problem solving tips that actually worked for me
Hey there!
If you have a math, or science related subject (like I always do), you’ll find that you really can’t escape analysis and problem solving, especially if you’re majoring in something science or maths related. So I am here to share some tips that actually made studying technical subjects a little bit easier and manageable for me in college:
Practice solving. If you have a subject that requires you to solve, you really have to practice solving, there is no easy way out of this one. This allows you to develop your own technique in solving the problem. You can start by doing the problems you did in class, then venture out to some examples in textbooks, then further into the problems in the textbooks until you get the hang of how the concepts and theories are applied.
Listen during class. I know, it’s boring. But you have to do this. This way, you’ll be able to understand the topic once it is presented to you. In my opinion, it’s better if you let an expert explain it because they know the important bits in the lesson. Then study it afterwards on your own to develop your own techniques.
Ask your professors. Don’t be afraid to ask questions in class. Or if you’re shy, you can ask them after the class. However, it’s important that you ask them about the lesson when you already did your part; meaning: you already studied the material/solution over and over again but there’s just something that you can’t seem to grasp.
Study before the class. Studying the lesson in advance doesn’t hurt. Plus, it works because you already have an idea about it. However, I don’t do it usually. What I do is that prior the discussion, I study the lessons that are going to be essential to the next topic. Example: Say that our topic later will be about introduction to thermodynamics (which includes derivation of various thermodynamic formulas); what I’m going to study instead is the different integration and derivation techniques, and different basic thermodynamics concepts like laws of thermodynamics. This ensures me that I know the prerequisite lessons of the next topic in class.
Absorb the conceptual parts of the topic first. Before diving into the problems itself, try to digest the concepts or theories behind it first. This way, you can understand which information is important and easily think of a solution because you know the problem’s framework. Even when your professor gives you a problem that seems different from your other sample problems, the concepts will still be the same throughout.
Reverse engineer the solution. Reverse engineering is reading and understanding your solution from bottom to top. I do this to make connections while going through the solution. I usually ask myself “‘where did this come from?’, ‘why did this happen?’, or ‘why is the answer like this?’” It allows me to look into the parts that I missed which are usually concepts or theories that I forgot to apply in solving the problem.
Look for key terms or phrases. There are some problems that put in information that may seem unimportant, but actually is really important. Examples such as the phrases constant velocity, constant acceleration, starting from rest, accelerate uniformly, reversible isothermal, adiabatic conditions, isobaric/isochoric compression/expansion, etc., are easy to miss but actually gives you vital information especially when solving a problem.
Try to ask yourself how or why it happened in every step of the solution. You can do this to gauge your mastery of the lesson. If you can answer yourself confidently, then you’ve studied well enough. But, if you can’t or if you feel that it’s not enough, then you better get your pen, paper, and calculator to practice some more.
If you have to draw it, draw it. Some problems need the use of your imagination, and these problems are the ones that get tricky most of the time. It’s easier to draw each of the time frames that are important so you get the sense of what’s going on between these pictures. This way, you’ll know which information you’re missing and which ones are you failing to take into account.
It’s okay to be messy and slow while practicing. Not all of time you can solve in a tumblr-esque manner because, dude, tumblr notes or solutions are soooo pretty to look at, BUT, what’s more important is that you understand each step of the solution and how the answer came to be 8.0658 m/s directed 32° south of west. So it’s okay to have dashes, strikethroughs, and crosses on your scratch paper, as long as you’re learning, a messy solution on a paper you’re not going to submit to your professor is fine.
IF YOU’VE REALLY GOTTEN THE HANG OF SOLVING IT, try to solve a fresh set of problems as fast and accurately as you can. Try to solve as if you’re in an exam. This is also to gauge how well you’re prepared for it, but you need to do this accurately. I repeat, accurately. It doesn’t work if you’ve finished it in less than an hour but all of your answers are wrong.
Rest. If you know that you’ve done a good job, then take your mind off of everything first and let it wander to wherever it wants to wander. You deserve it ✨