It’s a new year, collegiettes! 2016 will be full of fresh starts, new adventures and the success we’ve all dreamed of. The only question is: how do we get all of these wonderful things? If you’re like me, success means finally getting some good grades. Unfortunately, that means a lot more studying…
Photo from hayley-studies
Hayley Jones is a 22-year-old student at Bangor University in Wales. She is working to earn a Master’s degree in linguistics. Hayley and her study blog have been on Tumblr since last July.
Her Campus: What do you love about taking such pretty notes?
Hayley Jones: Having aesthetically pleasing notes really aids the studying process for me. I believe that everyone’s idea of “aesthetically pleasing” is slightly different, but for me having notes that are neat, structured, organised and colour schemed really adds to the whole studying experience and makes it more enjoyable. Studying can be very stressful, particularly if the subject matter is complex, so making my notes aesthetically satisfying adds an element of therapeutic relaxation to it.
HC: What motivates you to study?
HJ: The thing that motivates me to study most is the future, or rather the version of myself that I want to be in the future. Any time I’m struggling to find motivation and/or find myself procrastinating, I look ahead at the person I want to be in a month’s time; in six months’ time; in a year’s time. I don’t want to regret the nights I spent watching six hours of Netflix shows instead of studying for an upcoming test. I want to look back at the nights I spent watching two hours of Netflix shows, and four hours studying and feel fulfilled and proud. I’m constantly looking to learn more, and to improve myself, and it’s that drive that brings me the majority of my motivation. The way I usually explain it to people is with this analogy: “Motivate yourself up this mountain with thoughts of the view from the top.”
HJ: I think that it’s important to find a balance between the time you spend studying and the time you spend decorating your notes. I think there’s huge individual variation in the amount of time one can spend illustrating/decorating one’s notes before it becomes counter-productive. The most important thing is that you know what works for you. If you find that you’re spending more time doodling on your notes and creating typographic titles, then you should consider reducing the amount of effort you put into “prettifying” your notes. The purpose of your notes is to serve your memory and to help you understand the topics you’re trying to learn, and you should prioritize that over the cosmetic side of things.
The most important thing, I think, is that you review your notes regularly. You can spend an entire day trying to memorise your notes, but if you never look at them again then it’s almost all for nothing. In that respect, you can spend as much time as you want on your notes’ aesthetics, so long as you make sure that you review your notes on a regular basis too.
Now you know what to do! So stop procrastinating and start working towards that A!
Check out Hayley’s Tumblr and Instagram for more inpiration!