5 BEST Study Apps for humans who procrastinate

As a full-time student, I understand. I know how things happen and suddenly you realize there’s a 15-page paper due the next day that you haven’t even started. Why? Because this is the way you prefer to work. I have also been a self-identifying procrastinator in past years so I have found ways to minimize wasted time. I’m not a master yet, but an improving grasshopper at time management. Here are some applications I find useful:

1. Google Calendar – Guarantees it works on all your devices (laptop, mobile device) and syncs your data. I find it really helps when tracking tasks that must be done and I schedule all my activities. With the spaces left in my calendar, I use it as a break time or a time for catching up.
2. Pomodoro – This is a technique that was developed by Francesco Cirillo back in the 80’s. It forces you to study in 25-minute intervals with a rewarding break period after. I find it really useful when trying to get a chunk of studying done in an efficient manner to meet my productivity goals.
3. Memrise – One of my most favourite apps for the past few months, it helps users build skills easily. I use this app to practice language and conversation skills and if you’re taking any language courses, this is a must! (The graphics are extremely beautiful as well).
4. Microsoft One Note – This is famous in the world of university students. I’m sure you’ve all heard of this one! One Note is, in my opinion, an amazing creation. One time when I realized I forgot to bring my laptop with important notes written in it, I was able to log in on my phone and access it because of the amazing sync-power of One Note.
5. Cold Turkey – Lastly, a blocker is always necessary when trying to focus on studying for an exam. Procrastinators are procrastinators because they can get easily distracted by other things happening – social media, the latest current events, food photos. This blocks distractions so that procrastinators can get work done in one sitting.

French: It’s not just an Obsession

I am truly obsessed with something. It’s not a product, it’s not a journal (surprisingly), it’s not a picture of a cute dog. It’s a language.

I have been and I am and I will be obsessed with French. Back in my kindergarten days, I have vivid memories of learning colours and numbers in French. When I transitioned into middle school and French was a mandatory part of our education system, my interest in the language grew as my teacher conducted our class as we sang French songs and as she included games such as the famous Bingo in French. However, once I reached high school, my poor planning combined with the craziness of other language options spiralled me away from French. Therefore, throughout my high school years I did not take one French class.

Fast forward into my University career and I came to realize that not taking French in high school may have been a good move because I chose to take introductory French in University and boy, was it a smart choice. I went back to the basics of French but I sped through the chapters because I remembered most of the introductory basics – colours, numbers, weeks, months. Unsurprisingly, French became one of my favourite courses in university and it showed through my grades.

So there you have it, I’m a little obsessed but it’s more of a passion and love for everything French. My laptop wallpaper may always be the Eiffel Tower, my walls may boast posters of the Eiffel Tower and the French scenery, and I may say that Ratatouille is my all-time favourite movie – but it’s because like I said, it’s not just an obsession. It’s more. ❣

I can’t wait for the day I will finally get to visit the lovely France and practice my French. Je veux aller au France.

I would love to hear where or what you guys may be a little obsessed with in your lives! Or if you plan on travelling somewhere this summer, I’d love to hear about it. ☀

 

With Love,

 

 

Bullet Journal and Writing: A Short Background

It seems that the Bullet Journal/Productivity/Organization/Journal trend is in full swing nowadays and this makes me more excited to share my own thoughts on everything.
I have loved writing and reading since I was teeny tiny small. Many people may make judgements that writers and avid readers have brains full of a million ideas, stories, fairytales – this is all true, of course. However, I can also boldly state that many of us book-lovers have a thing for being organized.

I have kept so many journals throughout my childhood (I still do today), where I wrote down my ideas, stories, daily diary entries, everything I wanted to remember before I would forget these things. And so my drawers were full of countless journals which I now humorously look back on to observe how my writing style changed over the years. It’s so amazing to see how one’s writing changes. I know some of you will have similar memories of writing in bubbly-cute font, switching to cursive writing style somewhere during elementary school, and developing a personal writing font before middle school in hopes that it would look more “mature” and “teacher-like.” That was me.

Sometimes I have absolutely no ideas flowing in my head, but sometimes I am astonished by how many ideas come flying at me. It is at these times that I like to have a journal by my side to keep track of everything so I don’t forget it (I forget things often).

As I grew up, I found that although I liked having more than 10 journals strewn across my desk, it wasted more of my time and resources. This is why I like the idea of the bullet journal and having one personal journal that locks all my memories, thoughts, and ideas together. For those of you who have not heard of this amazing journal idea yet, I will briefly describe it to you.

Bullet Journal: a customizable and multi-tasking productivity and organization system that can act as a diary, idea-page, daily to-do list, monthly to-do list, plain notebook, sketchbook, anything you want it to be.
To learn more details, check out the benefits of journaling which can hopefully guide you in taking the first steps.

My love for writing and reading and my ability to forget things easily has been combined into one solution: having a journal. This is how I began many years ago and I know I will continue to keep my trustworthy friend with me wherever I go.

With Love,

Call me ‘Beginning’

Hello everyone!

This is the first official post on theviinnie. Days, months, years from now I hope to look back on this post and be truly grateful about how much I have improved.
Surprise! I am not new to blogging – I have been an avid writer of a personal blog since 2013 and am very content to have my stories and memories locked away in there. However, I have decided that I want to take a step to create a new blog and combine my love for writing, blogging, journaling, studying (if you want to know more about myself, take a look here) with my passion to socialize with and add my value to the community.

I have those days when I feel like I’m falling behind – too much to do, too much to look at, too much to be aware of. This blog was created with the purpose of taking away some of that burden I am sure many of you face in today’s fast-paced world. I believe that sometimes, we just need a place where we can be ourselves and take a few deep breaths. This is that place.

I hope that together we can grow a community of individuals who are still finding their way through life because that is what I am still in the process of doing. I hope to do this by sharing my study tips for students, posting about my lifestyle & travel, and tracking my bullet journal progress.

And so, theviinnie was born on a warm spring day in April.

With love,