A few weeks ago, I found myself in conversation on some things that my friends and I had found enhanced our academic experience and added some sparkle to our studying. It seems that over my undergrad, I have collected quite a collection of little resources that I would not have gotten this far without. I would rather risk sounding like one long advertisement than not sharing resources that have expanded my learning experience with you.
I see each of these as little specks of glitter that have been shared with me by friends and loved ones, that have changed how I live as a student. I hope you can find at least one that can be of help to you!
First, I want to preface that what I have found most helpful for my studying this year is to post up in a busy-but-not-too-busy space on campus like Common Ground Coffee House (aka Cogro!) or by the Brew in the JDUC with some over the ear headphones. I have found that what has been helpful for my study routines is learning what type of environment makes it easiest for me to focus – which is something deeply personal.
Lately, I have been listening to the Otterspace Lofi YouTube channel while I study, as recommended by a friend of mine! It’s just an adorable little otter in some kind of whimsical scene in the background of your typing. I find it simply perfect and helpful as someone who both finds otters darling and who cannot listen to music with lyrics in the background. (I’m currently listening to “Autumn Cabin Mornings” as I write this!)
As someone whose degree is a double major in Psychology and English, I have found it incredibly important to use resources for studying for my PSYC courses that maximize my time. I started using Quizlet in my second year and found it so helpful that I decided to buy Quizlet+. You don’t need to necessarily use the premium version, but a digitized version of cue cards that I can fill out as I type notes has helped me become more efficient in my learning. This halved my workload when it came to studying for midterms and exams because I had already done most of the heavy lifting of creating the Quizlet beforehand and could focus on rehearsing the information I had already learned more.
Another addition to my study sessions has been Your Focus Friend, Hank Green’s gamified focus timer app. It’s perfectly wholesome and cozy and gives you the opportunity to customize what is essentially a Pomodoro timer. When you focus, your “Bean Friend” (whom you get to name, which is very adorable) will focus and knit socks. If you don’t interrupt them, the number of socks your “Bean Friend” knits will earn you prizes to buy decorations for your “Bean Friend’s” house. And it’s free! I have never been someone who finds using apps like these helpful, but now I find it necessary to use it because if I don’t, how will I make my “Bean Friend” a cute little house?
I also want to highlight SASS’s assignment planners, which were a lifesaver in my first year. They have resources for outlining research essays, literature reviews, standard lab reports, annotated bibliographies, etc. It is incredibly helpful for helping for elaborating what it looks like to write within the margins of guidelines and specific disciplinary expectations in a digestible framework. If you are looking for a jumping off point for literally any kind of paper, SASS’s assignment planners are an incredible resource to keep tucked in your back pocket.
Another resource I am eager to share with you is Notion – which I use as a platform on my laptop for notetaking but also functions as an app on my phone. This is where I take all my notes for class and organize each of their details. I love that if you sign up with your Queens email address, you will benefit from their free student plan so you can have unlimited storage!
Below is an example of how I organize all my courses on a “home page” in a format I made up. They have lots of different templates that are free you can use too!
From my “homepage”, each course is a link to another page. Below is how I have organized all the fundamental information (material and content for each course each week, weekly textbook readings, and due dates) in a table so I can visualize it easier. On the right column, I have organized links to pages that contain a hub for my notes on a weekly basis. This is not necessarily the way to organize your Notion (if this is something you’re interested in), it’s simply what I have found works best for me!
I hope that you feel inspired by these recommendations and take this opportunity to peruse the SASS website further for more resources that would be beneficial to your academic career.
Thanks for reading!