How To Finish

Asperitas and Mammatus

Well-defined, wave-like structures in the underside of the cloud; more chaotic and with less horizontal organization than the variety undulatus. Asperitas is characterized by localized waves in the cloud base, either smooth or dappled with smaller features, sometimes descending into sharp points, as if viewing a roughened sea surface from below. Varying levels of illumination and thickness of the cloud can lead to dramatic visual effects.

Occurs mostly with Stratocumulus and Altocumulus

Mammatus is a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud, typically cumulonimbus rainclouds, although they may be attached to other classes of parent clouds.

source | source | images: x, x, x, x, x, x, x

Romanticize your education

the midday stillness of a library

coursework sprawled on top of a desk

notes on the margins of a textbook

tracing names carved into an armchair

the inherent eroticism of the library after dark

a note falling out of a battered book

reminders scrawled across your hands

cursive handwriting

whispers cutting through the silence of the dormitory

the cold glow of a laptop screen in a dark room

ink stains

notebooks with half the pages crossed out

passing notes during lecture

getting up at 3 am to google something

leatherbound books with gold lining

crisp white paper

the smell of new books

School, Studying, and Learning Masterpost!!!

[id: an animated black and white gif of a person tapping a pencil on a blank sheet of notebook paper. /end id]

Dividers used are by @firefly-graphics and their IDs are in the alt text!

Tips for school in general

General school tips, dealing with online class, strategies for school in general, etc

Attention and Concentration

How to pay better attention in online classes | another

Strategies to improve concentration

How to stick to your plans

Schoolwork and Tasks

Review Tips and Presentation Advice

Dealing with executive dysfunction masterpost

How to use google search like a unicorn

How to annotate a text

General Tips

For the lazy night owl (masterpost)

University tips and advice

Avoiding burnout (tips + resources)

Dealing with impostor syndrome

Good emotional skills to know for college but also for life in general

Grad school advice

Studying

Study Strategies and other study advice things

Studying general

For neurodiverse students (masterpost)

Studying with ADHD (the actual post is a joke about but check the notes - they have actual advice there)

How to study for an exam in a really short time (masterpost)

Scheduling studying + other productivity tips (masterpost)

Studying effectively

Lazy Study Tips

Study tips from a Psychology Prof

Studying with a study buddy

Study Breaks

On productive breaks

Types of study breaks

How to deal with mental fatigue

Note taking

Hybrid note taking nethod

Note taking guide

Upgrade your notes resources masterpost

Using google docs to take notes

Resources

Resources that could be useful for school and academics

Self study

Self study resources (masterpost)

Learn things for free (masterpost)

Textbooks | more textbooks

Sites to download literature masterpost

Free online courses

Technology and Apps

Asmr ambiences (masterpost)

Productivity apps and extensions (masterpost)

Wallpapers screensavers and apps

Productivity apps masterpost

Specific Subjects

Resources and Tips on specific subjects

Language Related

Languages and linguistics of africa

75 free language learning resources

American Sign Language

Mandarin learning resources

Classical language learning

Arts

Course on reading poetry

Cultural quarantine masterpost

Sewing resources

Misc

Video essays | Essays/Food for thought

Computer science and engineering masterpost

IB Psychology Study Tips

How to study for mathematics

Study tips for accounting students

Black History Library

Other Studyblr and Academic Stuff

Not much school related but I included because they could be useful

Journaling/Bujo

Journal prompts

How to fill your empty notebooks (masterpost)

Studyblr

Dividers graphics for posts

How to start a studyblr | another post

Misc

Master the art of napping

Job interview tips + masterpost

Use firefox instead of chrome

Actual frugal recipes (lots of helpful websites and links)

Achievements of 2021 (both academic and non-academic)

I'm still very much on break (basically just eating, sleeping, reading and swimming, it's delightful), but I want to sum up this year. It's been a fucking rollercoaster of a year and I still can't believe like half of the things that happened, both good and bad. Nevertheless, I want to focus on the positive ones to kickstart the new year in the most uplifting manner I'm able to pull off. Which is not very optimistic nor uplifting, but I can be at least not full of doom, haha.

I want to do this chronologically, just because I tend to forget the good stuff that happened more than two months ago.

Let's wrap this up!

Academic Achievements of 2021

presented at my first international conference (February)

prepped two PhD dissertation projects (April) and successfully defended them during the PhD programs interview (June)

wrote my diploma thesis while cooperating with the best mentor ever (January till June)

got accepted to two PhD programs and currently doing both of them! (June)

co-written three papers over the summer - two already published, one under a promising peer review (June-September)

defended my thesis and passed my state exams with straight As, meaning I got my master's degree! (September)

wrote a book chapter that got accepted (November)

Non-Academic Achievements of 2021

quit the job I hated (January)

got rid off so much stuff I didn't need (mostly July, August)

read 130 books, yaaay

stopped saying yes to meetings with acquaintances just because I felt like I should see them (big one!)

found a functioning skincare routine (September)

started swimming again (and loving it) (September)

A lot of this year has been mostly about surviving, to be honest. I was battling a lot of anxiety and depression, I was extremely stressed at times and couldn't sleep. Swimming and taking proper days off helps, close friends help. I'm gonna do a post with some goals for 2022, so I won't spoil here that, haha.

It was a good year after all.

Take care!

M.

“Saturn in the twelve Signs of the Zodiac.” Clipped from a celestial atlas by Alexander Jamieson, 1822.

winter dark academia

- waking up to cold mornings and condensation on your windows

- brewing a cup of hot coffee while reading a book

- wearing cozy sweaters and cardigans to stay warm

- draping your favorite long coat over your shoulders to create a mysterious silhouette

- stepping through heavy, packed snow as you walk to your morning class

- watching the glistening trees, pausing your podcast to admire them in their full glory

- combing your fingers through your hair to remove the falling snowflakes

- sipping hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire, turning the pages in your book leisurely

- stringing fairy lights to brighten up a dark room

- practicing your instrument in the evening, pretending to play at night - but the sun just sets early, but that’s not important

- relishing the long, dark hours to keep focused on your work

- listening to the quiet tones of claire de lune as you scribble through your essay

100 days of productivity

starting 25th October 2023 ending 2nd February 2024

Rules

Success or failure -- just show up

No #ZeroDays -- No matter how hard it feels, do a little thing, a bare minimum. Don't let any day become a zero day

Do at least one PhD-related task everyday

Read a journal article everyday. Skim, AIC, full workout - anything

Weekends are excluded, but counted -- because rest is productive

Learn & practice mindfulness

Take two pictures everyday to represent the day (post them here)

Accountability

Daily update of task list here. Perfection is the enemy of done. So don't overthink, just post - even if it feels half-baked.

-----

I’m currently in the final quarter of my PhD. I feel quite demotivated and I find it hard to gain momentum. So I thought I'll take up an accountability challenge to help me stay motivated and eventually build a routine.

If you are already doing a 100 days of productivity challenge, or would like to take on one, please do comment/like this post. I'd love to have some company and inspiration! Please help me find similar accounts! <3

The holy grail of searching through academic literature is coming across a string of publications that are like:

Here’s An Idea. Smith et al. 2016

Terrible Idea; a comment on Smith et al. 2016. Johnson 2016.

You’re Wrong Too; a response to Johnson 2016. Nelson 2016.

Guys Just Stop Fighting, None Of Us Know What’s Going On; a Review of the Current Literature. McBrien 2017.

Fantasy Sociology (what would it do to agriculture if there was dragons)

Fantasy Psychology (the mental effects of having certain patterns of thoughts that generate fireballs)

Fantasy Biology (what if u had lighting sacks in yr cheeks)

Fantasy Chemistry (these r the elements and what u can do with them)

Fantasy Physics (orbital mechanics and magical floating rocks: a guide)

Fantasy Mathematics (its just normal mathematics)