Study tips for someone with dyslexia and/or dysgraphia:

February 25, 2019Leave a comment

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I am dyslexic and I have dysgraphia, but I graduated in English Literature with a 3.4. I’ve talked about majoring in your learning disability before, though it’s been a while. I talked about how learning disabilities are often made out to be an end all be all and discourage people from pushing through them. I also comment on the fact that they are disabilities not differences, because they make it harder to do things and there is no need to sugar coat it. I say that there is no secret and that there isn’t a list of tips that will work for everyone. It’s true, most of pushing through your learning disability is just working through sweat and tears, but I do have some study tips I’ve learned over the years and if you’re facing the same challenges as me you might find them helpful.

Listen to older literature: Especially Shakespeare, he was made to be listened to. Well, he was made to be watched, but many adaptions do different takes on his work, so if you’re looking to do it for an English class it’s best to listen to an audio book so you just get pure dialog. Audio books are amazing for older works. Old English is harder to comprehend, but it’s easier to understand when you hear it. Audio books also remove all the line breaks from works like the Odyssey and rely only on the periods for pauses, which is how it is meant to be read, even though some brains struggle with reading it that way.
Google is better than spellcheck: I could scream this one from the rooftops. I feel like spellcheck is sometimes concerned about me I’m such a poor speller. It just shrugs me off because it honestly doesn’t know what I’m trying to say. Take that jumbled mess of letters and put it into Google search. It can normally figure it out. I am strictly talking about the web search, though, Google Docs doesn’t always get it either.

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Nine ways to beat Procrastination and Improve Productivity:

October 20, 2015October 20, 2015Leave a comment

Give yourself a break every 45 minutes even if it’s just to listen to a song, get a snack, fill up a water bottle, or chat with your co-worker/roommate. That way you’ll check facebook after you work for 45 minutes.
Get rid of email notifications on your phone because you always check them right then and they’re never urgent- and, hey, while your doing that get rid of the junk use this site to see what your subscribed to and simply click one after another to get rid of them for good!
Okay- and instagram, tumblr, and twitter. I mean, have you ever gotten an urgent instagram notification? And don’t you check it enough anyways?
Learn how long it takes you to read 50 pages and give yourself an extra ten minutes. This right here will keep you from waiting till too late, and it will also let you schedule properly around it. Hey- you can do this with more than reading, but always remember to budget extra time in just encase you run into problems.
Make sure your assignments are organized so you don’t miss anything and realize at the last minute. It’ll also keep you from realizing there were two parts to that assignment or that you had a coffee date the night before it was due. See my planner here.
Switch your work up if you feel your brain going numb from too much of one project after 45 minutes or so move to the next one and switch back and forth. You’ll get more done and won’t be redoing work.
Keep snacks ready. When you get back from the store, pour those chips into little ziplocks or keep granola bars in a basket to grab or wash all the grapes at once when you get home. This will keep you from standing in front of the pantry for ages, spending time prepping or portioning, and it’ll keep you from gaining that “whole bag of chips” weight. Never a bad thing.
Have a study/work playlist so you won’t keep switching songs every few seconds. If it has words, make sure you know them all so you won’t focus too hard on hearing them.
Don’t save anything for the next morning unless you plan to give yourself an hour to wake up before. It’s a lie to say you’ll get it done and do a good job. When you acknowledge this you’ll realize that facebook is not more important than an unnecessary six AM wake up followed up by a failing grade. Ouch.

Now get out there and get stuff done!

Tips to Keep College Great: Two Week In

August 29, 2015December 22, 20151 Comment

So you’ve been back to school for a week or two. You’re settled in, hopefully loving it, if not just waiting to find your groove. So, the hard parts mostly over right? The butterflies are dissipating. You think you’ve got it figured out- and your not wrong about it! But here are some things to remember and keep remembering:

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How to Survive Finals:

December 5, 2014September 30, 20151 Comment

Finals are hard for everyone in college, go ahead, just ask us. We thought mid-terms were bad in high school, but they just get worse, don’t they? Well, the week is going to be stressful, there is no way around that. It’s just how it works, but there are a few ways to make them a little more, well, survivable.

Know your sleep schedule: We all know you won’t be getting as much as you need, but still, it’s important to know when you’re at your best. Would it be better for you to stay up into the darkest hours of the night, or should you hit the hay early and wake up at 6am. It’s up to you, and at night, sleep normally seems like the best option, but if you know you hot snooze for three hours, just don’t do it.
Highlight your notes: I actually do this while I’m taking them, but it’s helpful. Once you’re given your study guide, go through your notes and high light everything that’s on it. This way you can be sure not to waste your time with anything that isn’t.
Flag your pages: Page flags, you know what I mean, those little sticky note tags. Tag everything that is relevant to your essays or exams. Read a quote that explains the topic perfectly. Page flag it and keep studying. You can no return to it without the struggle to quote the hell out of it.
Wake up fully: Don’t try to study while sleepy, tired, sure, but make sure there is no way for you to doze off. Get up, pump the music (in your headphones, be respectful kids) and dance your ass of for a couple of minutes, get going splash cold water on you face, then get to work.
Make flashcards: It seems like such a irreverent tip, everyone makes flashcards right? Well, its one of the few ways I can memorize things, and they are so nice in the fact that you can take them with you when you study. Want to work out to relieve stress? Flash cards on the bike machine. It sounds strange, but I’ve done it so many times.
Do find a stress release: I just said mine is working out, but I also need a little bit of time outside, even if it just means a walk around campus for ten minutes. Rewind, dance around, take a shower, but don’t: get on tumblr, pintrest, or other sites like that. Unless you have an hour or so break just don’t do it for a ten minute relaxer, you’ll get sucked in, for sure.
Make a to do list: I don’t care if it’s all in your planner. Make a to do list, make it detailed, check off item by item. Even if you already have the times meorized, it gives you a better idea of how much or how little you have to do, and lets face it, nothing is more rewarding than checking off those little boxes or bullets.