“i think of you from the cozy comfort of my childhood bedroom, i think of you from the starry darkness of my balcony and i think of you from the loneliness of my favorite beach bench. i think of you from a place in this world you might not know of, a part of the world that might not exist to you, i think of you from a town that remains nameless to you, i think of you so as to bring you here, closer to me. i just want you here. would you so kind to come here, please?”

1. Get a planner.- I bought mine this year at Walgreens for around $7 but it has a plastic cover so all paper ones are even cheaper. A planner is good for keeping track of when everything is due. When I get my syllabi for my classes I go through them and write down the due dates of homework, essays, tests, etc, on the day they are due. You can color code your classes or just write the class next to the assignment. This way you can look at a whole week and see everything you have due for all of your classes in one place. It’s also easier to add in things or make changes if your professor decides to due so.
2. Use a white board- I know white boards can be expensive, so if you can’t afford one, expo markers will write on laminated paper which you can get for around $4 on Amazon. I use this to keep on my wall and write the next really important date for each class. So I have all my classes listed on the board and let’s say my next big date in Psych is a test. I’d write that date on the board, then after the test, I’d erase it and write the next important date. These dates should be in your planner as well but it’s nice to have them right in front of you at all times so you don’t turn to the next week in your planner and realize you have a test on Monday. 
3. Buy durable folders- If you’re going to be using your folders all year make sure they’ll last all year. You want to lose any of your assignments. I get plastic folders at Office Depot for $0.39 a piece. I chose a color for each class and write the class at the top in sharpie and I’m good to go!
4. Notebooks too!- You’re going to be taking a lot of notes so make sure to keep a notebook for each class as well. Mine were $3 each at Office Depot but they have a plastic cover so if you need to save some money get the paper covers because you most likely wont reuse a notebook.
5. Get a pack of loose leaf paper- Sometimes you have to turn things in and if you’re like me then you hate tearing it out of your notebook. But if you don’t have a problem with that then don’t worry about it!
6. Use some sort of bag/backpack- This will help you not lose anything plus you can put water, snacks, etc in it as well!

1. Figure out what type of learner you are- This can greatly improve your study skills. There are visual learners; these people learn best with charts, graphs, and anything that show a visual relationship between information. So if you’re this type of person, to help study you could make charts, graphs, tables, draws arrows between points of information, or watch videos. Anything to help you see it. There are also auditory learners; these people learn best when hearing the information. So the best way for these people to study is to recite information out loud, or if your course has an audio book to listen to it. You could also have a friend read information to you and you say it as well. Some people are reading/writing learners; they do best when reading the text and writing down important points/taking notes. This is the type of learner I am so to help me study, I write out my own flashcards, I copy power points into my notes, and as I read my chapters I write the important information.  Something else that is good for these kind of learners is to make little quizzes for yourself. There are also kinesthetic learners; they learn best with more hands on activities. This can be hard to do especially with some subjects. If you can physically do what you’re studying then do it. If not, make a game out of it. For example, ask yourself questions and if you get it right take a shot at a basketball hoop or a soccer goal (if you don’t have these things use a paper ball and your trashcan or anything you can substitute. Figuring out which learner you are will greatly improve how you study.
2. Don’t wait until right before a test- Cramming your brain with all the information a few days before a test will not help you remember and only stress you out. This is called Massed Practice and is proven to be a waste of time and information is not retained well. Study a little everyday or every other day. This is called the Spacing Effect and is proven to improve retention and recall of information. So it is best to do short sessions of study over a long period of time rather than a long session all at once.
3. Find a good place to study- If you like quiet places and your house/dorm is too loud go to a library or outside if it’ s a nice day.  If you like a lot of background noise play some music or go to a coffee shop.

1. Work on what’s due first- Some people think it’s always best to work on the important things first but that’s not always the case. If your essay is due in two weeks and you have an assignment due in a few days then finish the assignment first. You’ll still have plenty of time for your essay. I suggest doing all your work but if something happens to where you just can’t then yes do the more important thing because it’ll be a bigger part of your grade.
2. Writing Centers- A lot of colleges/universities have writing centers.  If you’re not the best at writing or just need some help you can make an appointment at the writing center where someone highly qualified in writing will read your paper/essay and help you with grammar, punctuation, idea flow, overall organization etc. I highly suggest checking to see if your school has one of these.
3. Check your email/Blackboard/whatever your professor uses- This is where they may add extra assignments/ cancel class and not mention it in class. It’s always important to check.
4. Try to relax- I know it can be hard, especially for students with depression, anxiety, and other mental/physical illnesses but it’s important to always take a moment and calm down. Take breaks from your work and do something you enjoy for at least a few minutes everyday. If you need a nap, take a nap. just set an alarm to pick back up on your work later.
5. Don’t worry about being perfect- This is still something I’m working on myself but getting better at. Last semester I got a B for the first time since my sophomore year of high school and it bothered me to no end. But, I told myself I did my best, and as a person with bad social anxiety I’m okay with my B in public speaking. So for anyone else who feels like they have to keep their 4.0 all 4 years, don’ t panic if you don’t. There’s nothing wrong with not being perfect, almost no one graduates college with a 4.0. Always do your best, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I cannot stress this enough.
6. Take classes you enjoy- Hopefully you’re in a major that you enjoy so you wont hate your classes too much but it’s still important to try to take a fun class every once in awhile. If you like art, take an art class. Then, you’re still doing work but also doing something you like.
7. Get a tutor- If you’re not doing as well in a class as you would like, don’t be afraid to get a tutor. Most universities offer tutors who are students that would love to help you and wont be judgmental at all. There’s nothing wrong with getting a little extra help and tutors are often people who have already passed the class with an A so they’ll be very good resources.
8. Take care of yourself- Overall, make sure you’re eating well and drinking water throughout the day. Sometimes it’s impossible, but try to get enough sleep. If you go out to party watch out for yourself and others. Practice self care and if things get too stressful and you need help don’t be afraid to ask.

• choose a topic or field you want to concentrate on
• post an introduction to #30dol 
• define your goals or aspirations
• update daily or weekly, we want to hear from you! ♥
• post a picture, a sketch, or audio, whatever you deem fitting to show us all your progress for the day/week

• bullet journaling (read about it here on @emmastudies, here’s an amazing online course on it) 
• books/reading (if you don’t have a personal to-read list, here is one with the best books of the 20th century, best series with a gay plot/subplot, and books everyone should have read at least once)
• coding (here are some sites to learn html, css, data science, python 3, java, etc.: x x x x)
• design/illustration ( stickers and illustration, character illustration, Ink Illustration, 45 best adobe illustrator tutorials, 
• business/freelance/open your own shop (tips on how to open your own sticker shop, digital skills: web analytics and marketing)
• languages (apps like lingodeer, duolingo, lingvist, busuu, blogs like @lovelybluepanda. there are also so many pdfs and amazing websites out there depending on your target language!)
• online mass education courses (edx, coursera, skillshare, futurelearn where universities and professionals teach you about their subject - be that astronomy, engineering, ancient greek history, artificial intelligence or medicine!)
• social media (learn to take iphone photos for your tumblr or instagram, and here’s a great post by @studyquill on how to start and maintain a studyblr!)
• photography (travel street photography, find photographers you admire like annie leibovitz or henri cartier bresson and read about their path, or browse youtube channels like negative feedback which specialize on photography)
• creative writing (there are tons of workshops online - you could also try to set yourself a piece or word limit similar to nanowrimo) 
• culinary (check recipe websites, or challenge yourself to try one new recipe a day, or dedicate the month to a specific cuisine)
• music (learn music production, andrew huang has also made a video on how to start making music here)
• film and filmmaking (karsten runquist’s channel is wonderful for film analysis,  learn about cinematography basics here and film history here)
• painting (acrylic painting, sketchbook illustration. you could challenge yourself to fill an entire sketchbook/create a piece every day or week, or to improve a specific technique) 

“Find meaning. Distinguish melancholy from sadness. Go out for a walk. It doesn’t have to be a romantic walk in the park, spring at its most spectacular moment, flowers and smells and outstanding poetical imagery smoothly transferring you into another world. It doesn’t have to be a walk during which you’ll have multiple life epiphanies and discover meanings no other brain ever managed to encounter. Do not be afraid of spending quality time by yourself. Find meaning or don’t find meaning but ‘steal’ some time and give it freely and exclusively to your own self. Opt for privacy and solitude. That doesn’t make you antisocial or cause you to reject the rest of the world. But you need to breathe. And you need to be.”

• E-text/online: this is a great option of you have a computer you take with you to class. You can review the chapters and sections that the professor is discussing and many even allow you to annotate and make notes on the text. If you don’t like staring at a screen like me then this type of textbook will be useless to you and make you hate studying. This is a good option if you’re required to bring your textbook to class though because boy let me tell you carrying around a 7lb calculus book to and from class really is not fun.
• Audio book: these will be hard to find for most textbooks. If you’re in English or a major where your textbooks tend to be more like actual books, you’re going to have more luck with finding audio versions of your texts. If you’re dyslexic or have vision problems or just prefer audio books, this is a great option, although many don’t come with outlines allowing you to skip to certain sections. Another downfall to these is that you may need to purchase a physical copy of the text as well to help follow along with spelling, names that are similar, etc. It allows you to access your textbook with your phone and listen to it any time though which is a major plus.
• Hardcover print: this is the most common form of textbook that almost everyone is familiar with. The traditional textbook. This is a great option if you don’t need to carry your books around and prefer a physical text like I do. The hardcover makes it durable and demands a higher sell back price which we will discuss in a minute. They are big and heavy and most aren’t very attractive looking though so these are ones you won’t want to keep most likely. These also tend to cost the most.
• Loose leaf print: this is a version that I only recently fell in love with. It’s basically an unbound, hole punched version of your text book. It allows for more flexibility and customization of your text. You can take out pages that you don’t need to lighten the book as well as split it up if you have a 2 part class like chemistry, calculus, or biology. You will need to buy a large binder to hold it together though but that can help with notes. What I mean by this is you can use a spiral notebook to take notes and place it in your textbook when you take a break. Just snap it in. Another useful thing to these is the ability to cut out sections and move them elsewhere. If you’re no longer needing the first half of your text but something later on refers to a specific part from that half, you can cut it out and move it to the reference to help. The cons to these is that you have to buy a binder as well as the textbook. These versions tend to be cheaper than the hardcover ones though.

1. Read/skim over the slide.
2. Read each bullet point as the professor goes through them.
3. Copy it down if it’s straightforward or write it down in a structure and diction that I understand better (not necessarily in my own words - sometimes it’s just restructuring, e.g. splitting things up or joining different bullet points together).
4. Take note of any other important details the professor says about any particular point unless I think it’s intuitive or common sense.

1. Listen for a cue that tells you what this particular part of the lecture will be about (and write it as a heading).
2. Write down main ideas and their supporting facts/details. If the facts/details come before the main ideas, then I’d usually draw an arrow.
3. Write down ideas and details from readings in their own section/subsection.
4. Sometimes, my professor also shows short clips in class, in which case I’d write down the message that I think the clip was meant to convey, as well as things that the professor points out that I didn’t think of on my own.
5. I’d also look up concepts/ideas/people/events (in real time) that are important to my understanding of the lecture material.

1. If there are any, I import the slides/handout onto OneNote and annotate directly on the slide. If not, I just write down things like definitions, important concepts, and syntax-related things.
2. I focus on understanding what the professor’s doing with the demo or problem.
3. I then summarize the steps they took and
4. Write down comments and points they brought up, e.g. common errors, desirable habits/practices.

1. FIX YOUR SLEEPING SCHEDULE (1-2 months)
2. Try to wake up earlier every day. Like 5 - 10 min earlier than the day before. Until you wake up any time before 8am or so…
3. If you struggle with waking up & snooze button is you bff:
4. Put your alarm clock as far away from the bed as possible.
5. Drink a glass of water right after you wake up.
6. Pour another glass of water on yourself right after you wake up.
7. Prepare some coffee the night before, leave it by your bedside, drink it after you wake up.
8. Have your blinds/curtains open, so that it’s bright after you wake up.
9. Try to go to bed 5-10 min earlier than the night before.
10. Track how many hours of sleep you’re getting. Aim to get at least 7h per day or 49h per week. 
11. Increase your sleeping hours incrementally. Aim to get at least 1h of sleep more than the previous week. For example, if this week you slept for 41hrs, aim to get an extra hour of sleep next week, so it’s 42h.Once you get enough hours of sleep and wake up early-ish.
12. Try to keep your sleeping schedule consistent. It is really important to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.  Even if it’s weekend. Or even if that means, you getting less than 7hrs of sleep that day. I’d say waking up at the same time everyday is the most important step, which will help you the most with fixing your sleeping schedule.
13. START EATING HEALTHY (1-2 months)
14. This step really depends from person to person, but firstly I suggest you take some blood tests to see if you have any deficiencies, etc. Especially, if you struggle with cravings.  
15. Try intermittent fasting, if you struggle with binge eating or overeating. As it will help you to learn to listen to your body better: when it’s hungry, when it’s full, etc. It’s really simple, there are many methods of Intermittent fasting, but I’d suggest 16/8 for the beginners. (Google it for more info)
16. DRINK ALL THE WATER. Again, if you’re not drinking enough water, try to level up your water game incrementally. Download some water tracking app on your phone to help you. Drinking water will make you more energetic, increase your metabolism, and decrease you appetite (among many more benefits).
17. Track what you eating. I would really suggest tracking your meals for around a month. Because, most of the time people have no idea that what they’re eating is unhealthy. Again, download an app to your phone for that.
18. Make your own meals once in a while. Not only this will save you money, but it’ll help you to see what’s really going into your body.
19. Eat less meat and more veggies/fruits. Go to your local market and buy some veggies/fruits, you have never tried before. I’m sure you’ll find your new favs. Eat/buy less meat. Not only it’s good for the environment, but it is good for you, too. Get a veggie burger instead of the beef one, etc.
20. Cut dairy. Find your new favourite milk substitute. Advice: Oat milk is really good with the tea and oatmeal/porridge; hazelnut milk is amazing on it’s own; cashew milk goes well with cereals.
21. Learn more about nutrition in general. It will help you to make better food choices and it will make eating healthy much easier in general, because once you understand all the chemistry behind the food and what it does to your body, you kinda don’t want to make yourself feel worse. Here are some free resources: - Human nutrition course from Alison.com - Crash course Metabolism&Nutrition: Part 1 and Part 2 - The Health Nerd’s YouTube Playlist about nutrition - What I’ve Learnt YouTube Playlist - Human nutrition course from Alison.com - Crash course Metabolism&Nutrition: Part 1 and Part 2 - The Health Nerd’s YouTube Playlist about nutrition - What I’ve Learnt YouTube Playlist
22. GET PHYSICALLY FIT (2-6 months)
23. Define your goals. Do you want to lose weight, do you want to get stronger, gain weight, be able to climb stairs without losing breath, run 5k?
24. Remember - you’re half-way through. Being physically fit has a lot to do with what you put into your body. So, if you fulfilled the previous step of eating healthy - you are half way through!
25. Make a plan. A Reasonable plan. Be honest with yourself.
26. Start small. Like, 5 min exercise in the morning. Or doing 10 sit ups per day. Don’t do anything overwhelming, like running 5k everyday if you haven’t run for the past 5 years.
27. Make sure that you kinda like what you’re doing. If you absolutely hate running - don’t do it. Hate doing sit ups in the morning? Try some yoga instead.
28. Explore until you find what you like. You don’t have to go to gym to get fit, especially if you hate it. Find a type of exercise, which you actually like. Maybe it’s dancing or hiking, taking your dog for a walk. Sign up for several trial lessons of various sport clubs. Ditch ‘em if you have them until you find something that you love. Stick with that.
29. Do the small changes in your everyday life. Stairs>Escalator, Walk>Drive, Do some squats while brushing your teeth, switch from regular desk to standing desk, etc…  Find ways to incorporate being active into your everyday life
30. Track your effort instead of your progress. You cannot really control your progress that much (especially if your goal was to lose weight). However, you can always control your effort. So track it instead. This will leave you more motivated. As you will be able to see that you can do more and more everyday. Whereas, if you tracked your progress, you may not always get the result you hoped for, which might demotivate you and make you upset, wanting to quit.
31. BEAT DEPRESSION
32. Do the previous 3 steps and you’re half way through.
33. See a therapist/doctor. Depression is an illness, requiring medical treatment. So, get it. Remember: there is absolutely no fucking shame in having a mental illness.
34. Get some extra support. Talk to your friends or family. Or maybe someone on the internet.
35. Write it out. If you don’t want to talk - write down your thoughts. It can be just as helpful. It’ll help you to understand yourself better, see problems in your thinking, etc.
36. Distract yourself from yourself. Get someone/something to take care of, so that you can, for a moment, stop thinking about yourself and focus on something else. E.g, get a plant, or a dog, or a fish.
37. Self-care day. Dedicate at least one day per week for self-care. Take yourself out, either to a museum or some fancy cafe, do some stuff you like, whatever your hobbies are, do some physical self care: bath, face mask, manicure, etc., listen to some nice music, watch a film…..
38. STOP PROCRASTINATION
39. Celebrate your victories instead of mourning over your loses.So the only thing you’ve done today was write one sentence for your 20 page essay? Amazing! Buy yourself a candy for that!! I mean, you could’ve done nothing, but you didn’t - you wrote that one sentence and that’s worth celebrating.
40. Do it for only 2 minutes. If there’s an important thing you’ve been putting off for a while, tell yourself that you will only spend 2 minutes on doing it. If after 2 minutes you don’t want to do it anymore, great, stop it. However, after 2min. you actually might want to do more. No pressure either way.
41. Track your productivity. Track how much time you’ve been productive that day. Try to increase that time by a little bit every day.
42. Always forgive yourself. So, it’s been a week and you’ve done nothing? Don’t sweat it. Let it go. Blaming yourself will bring you absolutely nothing. Nothing good will come out of your negativity on yourself. So stop it. Forgive yourself and start again. And again, if you need to. Never stop trying. Always pick yourself after you fall. Beating procrastination and increasing your discipline is a skill. And all skills can be build on. There is nothing in you stopping you from changing. Remember that.
43. LEARN HOW TO DO TAXES (1h - 1 day)
44. Go to google.com.
45. Type in: “How to do taxes *the name of the country you’re living in*”
46. Read the results.
47. GET MENTALLY STRONG ENOUGH TO MAKE PHONE CALLS
48. Remember that just as with beating procrastination, making phone calls is a skill. And, again, skills can be learnt.
49. Get a new SIM card.
50. Top it up.
51. Dial some random numbers and pretend to be a salesman, selling whatever you like.. E.g., trying to sell broadband, cable tv, trying to get people to donate for some charity… Or whatever really… Me and some friends used to pretend we’re selling kittens or wood logs. Alternatively, you can pretend that you dialed a wrong person and talk about whatever, e.g. “Hey, Jess!! You wont believe what I saw today!! *start telling a made-up story*…”
52. If you get uncomfortable - just drop the call. No consequences whatsoever.
53. Repeat until you build up your game and your phone-call anxiety starts to diminish.
54. SLAY THOSE BITCHES Congratulations, now you’re ready to take over the world! Got get ‘em!!