Do Yourself A Favor. Learn To Code. Here's How.

hi everyone! since the holidays are over for most of us, i thought i’d make an inspirational and motivational masterpost all about notes! upgrading your notes by changing the layout, adding doodles, banners, using sticky notes, changing your handwriting etc. motivates me personally to study! 

out with the sloppy last minute notes and in with the new!

handwriting

how to write in cursive

some fonts to try out

how to improve your handwriting

note taking systems

study methods summed up

stationery to make it all happen

sticker printables to jazz it up

notes

how to take lecture notes

how to annotate books

taking notes from a textbook - studyign

note taking system - theorganisedstudent

note taking system - emmastudies

another note taking system - academicmind

another note taking system - wonderfullifee

the 2 notebook method

note taking with highlighters and post its

pretty timelines

note taking printables

plot summary with sticky notes

20 uses of sticky notes

colour code your notes

method with columns 

the cornell note taking system

the cornell note taking system using onenote

in class notes

another in class note taking format

what are sketchnotes?

online whiteboard

flashcards

how to make flashcards

another how to make flashcards

an example

another example (with sticky notes)

and another example (biology)

8 ways to improve your flashcards

make  and test flashcards online

alternative to flashcards - studyign

print onto flashcards

mindmaps

how to mindmap (1)

how to mindmap (2)

some examples

apps

notability

banners

simple banner

more banners

it’s a banner party over here

banners (shown how to draw in gifs)

illustrate your notes

how to illustrate your notes - reviseordie

sketchnote tips (banners, lettering, doodles)

more sketchnote tips

even more sketchnote tips

how to make your notes pretty - theorganisedstudent

how to make your notes pretty - studyspoinspo

how to make your notes pretty - booksflowersandtea

what is visual note taking?

a visual alphabet

note taking printables

dot grid 

note outline printables

lined cornell method printable

grid cornell method printable

hope you all had a good rest and are ready for a new year of studying!

xoxo lou

Some ways to motivate and organize yourself to study

Weekly Pastel Planner Printables

Comes in peach, pink, lilac, blue and mint. There are two versions, one with times that are great for scheduling and another for to-dos.

Download from Google drive for free (PDF files)

Week with times (12h clock) 

Week with times (24h clock)

Week with dues/to-dos

Planner Printable // http://ift.tt/1CnsrY0

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”          – Confucius 

A summary on how to take good lecture notes (and get the most out of lectures)

#13 || Link to my study tips series

Hi, everyone!! I’ve had a studyblr for about a week now and have already met so many kind, supportive people. I couldn’t be more thankful. That said, I really wanted to give back to such an amazing community! So here’s my first printable for you! 

It includes:

a 5AM-10PM schedule (for my early hustlers)

‘Top 3 Priorities’ + ‘Can Wait’ categories

a ‘To-Do’ list

Daily Goals, Notes, Doodles

a water tracker (stay hydrated, friends!)

10 Good Things (reflect back on your day and jot down the little things that made you happy even if your day wasn’t the greatest)

They’re available for download in PDF and PNG formats + in pink, blue, yellow, and white! I’ve also made a grid and grid-less version! 

Grid

Blue: pdf / png Pink: pdf / png White: pdf / png Yellow: pdf / png

No Grid

Blue: pdf / png Pink: pdf / png White: pdf / png Yellow: pdf / png

And here’s a link to the entire folder on my DropBox!

Please tag me with #arystudies or mention me if you use these!! I’d love to see them in action. :’) I’m also really curious to see what you all think of them, so please let me know!! 

Happy studying!  

WRITING HELP/CHARACTER

writing a bitchy character (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)

writing a cocky character (1,2,3,4)

writing a emotion character (1,2)

How to play a hippie

Playing the quiet character.

Portraying the shopaholic.

Portraying a mute character.

Portraying a kleptomaniac.

How to play the stalker.

Writing distant, indifferent characters.

How to write a character who stutters.

Writing a character who is sassy.

A guide to playing a southern character.

Portraying characters with crushes.

How to portray a teen mom.

How to play a character who is mean.

How to portray a character high on cocaine.

Writing a character who is high on amphetamines.

Playing an efficient male character.

Portraying the asshole.

Playing a character who suffers from shyness.

How to play a mentally ill/insane character.

Writing a character who self-harms.

Writing a happy character.

Writing a character who suffers from night terrors.

Writing a character with paranoid personality disorder.

How to play a victim of rape.

How to RP a blind character.

Writing a leader.

Writing a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Writing a character with depression.

Writing a character who is homosexual.

Writing a character with schizophrenia.

Playing a fe/male character.

Writing a character with Nymphomania.

How to write a worry wart.

How to write a character with HPD.

How to write a bad ass character.

Playing a pansexual.

Tips on writing a drug addict.

Tips on writing the pregnant female.

Writing insane characters.

Playing a character under the influence of marijuana.

Portraying a character with diabetes.

How to play a prankster.

Playing a character who has been adopted.

Portraying a vampire.

Playing a character with an eating disorder.

Portraying a character who is anti-social.

Portraying a character who is depressed.

How to portray someone with dyslexia.

How to portray a character with bipolar disorder.

Portraying a character with severe depression.

How to play a serial killer.

Writing a tomboy.

Playing a pyromaniac.

How to write a mute character.

How to write a character with an OCD.

How to play a stoner.

How to write an asexual character.

How to play a bitchy/vicious character.

How to play a character with HPD.

Playing a pregnant woman.

Playing the burn-out.

Writing a “nice” character.

How to play a gentleman.

How to play a shy/introvert character.

How to play a naive character.

Playing characters with memory loss.

How to write a character who smokes.

How to write pirates.

How to write characters with PTSD.

How to play a character who isn’t ready for sex.

How to play the geek.

Playing the manipulative character.

Portraying a character with borderline personality disorder.

Playing a character with Orthorexia Nervosa.

Writing a character who lost someone important.

Playing the bullies.

Portraying the drug dealer.

Playing a rebellious character.

How to portray a sociopath.

How to play a swimmer.

Portraying a ballerina.

Playing a promiscuous male.

Playing a character with cancer.

How to portray a bubbly character.

How to portray a power driven character.

How to portray the shy character.

Playing a character under the influence of drugs.

Playing a character who struggles with Bulimia.

Portraying a hippie.

Portraying sexually/emotionally abused characters.

Playing a character with asthma.

Portraying characters who have secrets.

Portraying a recovering alcoholic.

Portraying a sex addict.

How to play someone creepy.

Portraying a foreigner.

Portraying an emotionally detatched character.

How to play a character with social anxiety.

Portraying a character who is high.

How to play a strong, female character.

Writing a character with a hangover.

Playing angry characters.

Playing a character who is smarter than you.

Playing and writing autistic characters.

Portraying a trans character.

How to portray a dominant character.

Playing a character who is faking a disorder.

Playing a prisoner.

Playing the opposite sex.

Portraying a character who has PTSD.

Playing a character who stutters.

Portraying characters with Aspergers Syndrome.

How to play a depressed character who selfharms.

Portraying the “dumb” character.

How to portray a lesbian.

How to play a blind character.

How to play a sexual assault victim.

Writing a compulsive gambler.

Writing a closeted character.

Playing a werewolf.

Writing a character with an addiction to sex.

Writing a character who is drunk.

Portraying a character who is British.

Playing a Brit.

Portraying a character with amnesia.

Playing heroes.

Portraying a witty character.

How to play an INTJ.

How to play a vampire.

How to play a character who is manipulative.

Portraying the natural born leader.

Portraying the character who is flirtatious.

Writing a nice character.

How to portray a character who has asthma.

Playing a character with ADHD.

Writing characters with anxiety.

Amnesia

Children

A Death Scene

Loosing Someone (2)

Old Persons

Physical Injuries (2, 3)

Sexual Abuse (2)

Fight Scenes (2, 3, 4)

Horror

Torture

How to Describe the Body Shape of Female Characters

Character Apperance Help

Words to Describe Voice

Body Language Cheat Sheet

Character Development Exercises

101 Character Development Questions

Art of Character Development

Introducing Characters

Characters You Need to Reinvent

Making Characters Likeable

Heros and Villains

Describing Clothing

Understanding Body Language

100 Positive Traits

Mental Illness in Writing

Conflicts and Characters

JOBS/HOBBIES

Actors

Ballet Dancer (2)

Christianity

Foreigners

Gamblers

Hinduism

Hitmen

Satanism

Smokers

Stoners

Taoism

Journalists

Vegetarians

LOCATIONS

Australia

Boston

California (2, 3)

England/Britain (2, 3, 4, 5)

New York

Prison

London

The South (2)

GENDERS

Females (2)

Males (2)

Transgender People

NAMES

Female Names (2, 3, 4, 5)

Male Names (2, 3, 4, 5) 

Last Names  (2, 3, 4)

QUOTES

Song Lyrics Masterlist

Songs for Biographies

Favorite Quotes: TV and Movies

Favorite Quotes: Notable Authors

Favorite Quotes: Celebrities

Favorite Quotes: Popular Books (2)

Quotes From Songs

Character Quotes

Masterlist of Bio Lyrics

Masterlist of Bio Quotes

Masterlist of Song Lyrics

Biography Lyrics

A Masterlist of Quotes

+130 Quotes

SMUT

Smut Guide: Casual Sex

Smut Guide: For Beginners

How to: Write a First Time Sex Scene Romantically

How to: Smut - The Bare Bones

How to: Smut (For Virgins)

How to: Write Lesbian Smut

How to: Write Smut (2, 3)

How to: Write a Blowjob/Prepping for Smut

Smut Guides of Tumblr

Tips on Writing Sex Scenes

A Guide to Language in Smut

Domination and Submission

Making Love

A Smut Guide

KISSES

How to: Write a Kiss (2)

Different Types of Kisses

Writing Out the First Kiss

GRAMMAR

Placement of Speech Tags

Grammar and Spelling

Grammar Slammer!

American vs. British Grammar

HyperGrammar

Grammar Girl

Punctuating Dialogue

How to Use the Semicolon

Introduction to the Basic Rules of Punctuation

Comma 101

All About Dialouge

11 Grammar Tips

Comma Usage

Correct Use of Apostrophe

Proofreading

Transition Words

40+ Tips to Improve your Grammar and Punctuation

Better Writing: Grammar & Spelling

Semicolons and Colons

Underlining and Italicizing

Dashes and Parentheses

Hyphens

Apostrophes

The Ellipsis

List of 1000+ Adjectives

ART

painting tutorial

colour palette (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

drawing clothe folding

avoiding drawing the same face

draw ice

anatomy help

free drawing program (1) (2)

sai brushes (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

draw hair

drawing ref

dont know what to draw?

draw 3D room tut

drawing eyes

lip tutorial

how to draw jeans

how to draw arms

expression tutorial

drawing hair and fur

drawing cats

pose reference blog [its actually a blog full of references i-]

download photoshop

paint blood

color blender

draw hands

hands 2

photoshop help (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

remove backgrounds from images online

clouds

brush setting ref (SAI)

kissing ref 

how to draw curls

realistic woman body ref

draw knees

draw feet

shadow help

male body

lips ref

contouring and highlighting

draw wings

change images using blur (PS)

gray

hat ref

glowing stuff

pastel colors

draw grass

eyeliner ref

Painting tutorial

Female/male arms

Kneeling + Sitting ref

Dragon head view tutorial

SAI brushes 86786

Drawing expressions

Sai Brushes 1

NGE colour palette 1

100+ colour palletes

Avoiding same face

Face contours/highlighting

free art MyPaint

Body anatomy help 1

How to shift images using blur in PS

Drawing clothe folding

How to draw ice

Colour palette 1

Colour palette 2

SAI brush settings 2

SAI/PS pixel brushes

Warm/Cool gray

Flower crown tutorial

Skin colour palette

Pink colour sheet

How to draw butts&thighs

The male torso

Drawing glowing stuff in SAI

Drawing horse/animal legs on humans

Drawing clouds

Muscular male with bow stock photos

Pastel colours

Drawing grass fields in SAI

Expressions&Legs

All about the human body

20+ colour palettes 

Colour conversion

Kissing ref

Creature design 

Colour meanings

Creating expression

Tutorial masterpost (100+)

Lineart

Canine

How to colour

Pose studies

Feline comparisons

How to draw penis

Leaf pressing

100+ anatomy references 

How to draw folds

SAI brushes 3

Sitting poses

Colour palette 4

Cloud painting

How to draw 3D rooms

Colour info

Colouring ref

Hair tutorial

Clothing ref

Bodies and poses

SAI brushes 5

Colour scheme designer

Folding ref

Heads&Angles 

Paint tool SAI masterpost

Drawing ref masterpost (10+)

Hair+Fur

How to draw faces

SAI brushes 4

Anatomy of mutant humans

What should I draw?

Free art software

pastel colour ref

Mass art ref

Soft SAI brushes

ways to draw stuff

SAI brush settings

baseball cap ref

Penis ref

Drawing human wings

Cool free art software

Huge art ref

Colour blender

2 SAI brushes

Photoshop for free 

MAKEUP

eyeliner

how to apply blush

how to draw eyebrows

ombre eyeliner

lipstick trick

the kitty eye ^.^

nude lips

smokey eye make up

what you need to know about beauty

5 of the best foundations

best powder foundations

quick foundation tip

how to apply liquid foundation

breaking it down

makeup highlights tutorial

blush for your skin tone

how to apply bronzer

how to contour your face

apply blush like a pro

blush according to your face shape

d.i.y. gel liner

get the perfect winged liner

get winged liner using tape

awesome eyeliner tricks

9 different eyeliner looks

different eyeliner styles

guide to applying eyeshadow

suit your eyeshadow to your eyes

glittery smoky eye

get the perfect smoky eye

a shade for every occasion

kool-aid lip stain

best lipsticks for blondes

hot red lips

how to get gradient lips

lipstick shades for fall

how to make any lipstick look matte

get soft kissable lips

long lasting makeup tricks

victoria’s secret model tips

saving face

beginner’s guide

when will it expire?

10 makeup tips from mac

best tips from professionals

18 beauty essentials

basics you should own

make-up brush tutorial

brush tricks

clean your makeup brushes

make-up brush guide

make up hacks

easy make up tips

BODY CARE

the runaway to gorgeous skin

winter dryness

acne foundation routine

wash your face correctly

how to wash your face 101

HAIR

messy bun tutorial

different ways to braid

three-braid updo

waterfall braid

how to fishtail

romantic curls

braid + bun updo

how to do pastel hair

8 ways to wear a bow

4-strand braid

braided bun

braided headband

dutch braid crown

pin curls!

how to contour

everyday makeup routine

lipstick using crayons

eyeliner ref wow

filling in eyebrows

banana facial mask (moisturizes)

strawberry facial mask (acne prone skin)

avocado facial mask (dry skin)

yogurt facial mask (sensitive skin)

list of oils to add to your face masks

already made masterpost :*

OTHER

sleep calculator

survive nature

rain

tumblr music

calming rain

need a hug?

like the sound of a coffee shop?

can’t remember the name of a song?

the thoughts room

how to love yourself

upload anything from your iPhone etc. to your laptop

learn another language

make HUGE unpoppable bubbles

play some piano

draw a stick man and watch the story!

thousands of stars (you can zoom in/out and learn about them)

check if a username is taken (any site! twitter/tumblr, etc)

draws stuff as you move your curser

tell your thoughts to no one

play with cob web

make music with balloons

learn to play the guitar

learn to build a ship in a bottle

learn origami

learn some yoyo tricks

make your own stuffed animals

how to decorate iphone cases

make a candle

important things you should remember

how to kill your anxiety

how to help someone with their anxiety

look for literally any book you want (free)

waterproof your shoes

know what your emotion is

how to love yourself

ultimate writers resources masterpost

learn how to make punk edits without photoshop

dont know what to read?

learn a new habit

how to answer the top 35 asked questions when applying for a job

want to draw?

The quiet place

MOVIES

Giant Movie masterpost

Disney movies masterpost

Superhero movies masterpost

Movies for when you’re sick

Scary movies masterpost

Tumblr dedicated to finding movie links

When to pee during a movie

Check yourself before you wreck yourself!

How I learn languages

So, depending on the level of interest people have in my way of doing things, I might create a more thorough guide in the future. However, in the interest of brevity I will create a very rough step by step guide for people because why not.

1. Pick a language - Pick one you like; don’t worry about it being “practical” or “useful.” If you don’t like the language you’re studying, it’s going to be a miserable experience and learning languages should be fun!

2. Learn IPA - Learning how to read IPA characters (International Phonetic Alphabet) is imperative to being a successful language learner. If you haven’t already, put some time into learning how to read IPA transcriptions because it will save you a lot of time and give you a much better accent when learning the sounds of your target language. Avoid “english-y” transcriptions (e.g. très = TRAY) like the plague. They’re bad and people who make them should feel bad.

3. Learn the alphabet/writing system - Usually it doesn’t take a super long time, and if you’re studying a language like Japanese or Chinese it’s best to get used to using the writing system from the very beginning. You’re gonna have to deal with it eventually so you may as well hop right in. Relying on latin character transcriptions will only put off the inevitable.

4. Learn the pronunciation of your target language - I advocate a pronunciation-first approach. This will be easier or harder depending on how many unfamiliar sounds there are in your TL, but it’s worth going over the phonology (sound system) of your language early and getting used to how its sounds interact. If you don’t learn proper pronunciation in the beginning, you’ll ingrain incorrect pronunciations into your brain which will be hard to undo later on. You don’t have to try to make your accent perfect, accent reduction can come later, but it’s worth spending some time on. This is especially true for language with odd sounds or features (tones, voicing distinctions, etc.)

5. Pick ONE course/book - A problem I see a lot, and one that I have fallen into many times myself, is hording language learning resources. In the beginning, and especially for beginner polyglots, it is better to pick ONE really good course or book to follow, and focus on mastering the material within. If you try to split your time between too many resources or books or websites, you’ll quickly become overwhelmed. Some books/courses/series I recommend that can commonly be found for all languages are: Teach Yourself, Assimil, Duolingo, Linguaphone, and Pimsleur among others. You can always use one of those while you keep searching for more resources, but resist the temptation to dig into multiple books at once.

6. Use an SRS to learn vocabulary/grammar - SRS’s (Spaced Repetition Systems) are my bread and butter when it comes to memorization. Put simply, they are tools for spending your studying time more efficiently, and they warrant an entire post by themselves. Rote memorization is for the birds, so use a spaced repetition system such as Anki, Supermemo, a Leitner Box, or Memrise to avoid wasting your time. (Use Anki. Just use Anki. You’ll thank me later.)

7. Don’t translate - I used to learn vocabulary and grammar using English translations, but you’ll soon find that it’s only useful to an extent as your vocabulary gets bigger and you start running out of unique ways to translate synonyms. A more robust approach to flash card creation can be found in the book “Fluent Forever” by Gabriel Wyner, which I would definitely recommend reading. The short version is: use pictures instead of English translations for picturable words, for more abstract words and grammar concepts, use example sentences with cloze deletion cards (easy to create using Anki. seriously, just use anki.)

8. Speak the language! - Probably the only thing I actually learned from He Who Shall Not Be Named (anyone who’s been in the polyglot community for longer than 30 seconds knows who I’m talking about.) It seems simple but you should really speak the language as much as you can straight from the beginning. “But how can I speak the language if I’m not fluent or if I’ve just started?” Simple, use what you know, and do whatever it takes to make yourself understood. It really doesn’t take much, maybe 100 words or so (a day’s worth of work if you’re dedicated) to start to be able to put sentences together. Learning phrases is even better for this. For this reason, a phrasebook (Lonely Planet is a popular choice) is a worthy investment.

9. Immerse yourself as much as possible! - Watch TV, read books, nespapers, and articles, and listen to music in your TL. Get yourself used to being around the language. Ideally, you’d be able to move to the country or region where the language is spoken and truly immerse yourself, but for many total immersion can be either unrealistic or overwhelming. It’s totally possible to give yourself enough contact with the language and even create a 100% immersion environment all from the comfort of your home. The important thing is to have contact with the language and get used to being around it. This is where you’ll pick up on the rhythms of the language, tonality, intonation, all that good stuff. More importantly, it will get you used to how FAST people talk.

10. Keep looking for things you don’t know. - This is probably the best advice I could give anyone. There are things out there that you don’t even know you don’t know, so the best thing to do is to keep surrounding yourself with new facts, new vocabulary, new grammar structures, etc. If you’re looking for a new course/book, look for one that seems like it has a lot to teach you. Don’t rehash things you already know, it’s a waste of time. This is the basic principle of SRS’s, don’t review until you forget. Going back over concepts you already know is pointless and it contributes to “plateau syndrome” (when it feels like you’re not making any progress in your TL). Review what you need to, when you need to, only so long as you need to. Learning one new concept is worth more than going back over two you’ve already mastered.

11. HAVE FUN - The road to fluency is long. Like super long, I can’t stress this enough. You may not be fluent in 3 months, a year, two years, maybe even 5 years. It all depends on how much time you are willing to spend on the language and to a VERY VERY SMALL DEGREE how talented you are. The important thing is to not rush it and enjoy the experience. If you’re not having fun, modify your goals and your approach until you are.

This is nowhere near everything I have to say, but it’s a start. These are just some things I wish I had known when I started studying languages. So if it helps at least one person well hey that’s enough for me. :D