As someone who
writes a blog (this blog, in fact) about online culture and fandom, I often use it as a way of justify the ridiculous amount of time I spend online.
“Oh, what are you doing, Kara?” A friend or classmate may politely enquire.
“Just research for my next blog post!” I will usually enthusiastically respond.
Little do they know that I’m actually just scrolling through pages upon pages of Tumblr in the hope that I will find a post or GIF that will inspire or amuse me.
Either that or I’m just blatantly wasting time and avoiding doing actual other things, like working on uni assignments or doing my laundry.
Writing Fangirl Correspondent is one of the highlights of my week, but I find myself procrastinating even from that, sometimes.
So, in honour of what I’ve dubbed the Assessment Season (the period at the end of each semester that most university students spend in a sleep deprived haze as they try to conquer the assessment mountain. It's like the holiday season but with less presents.), today’s Fangirl Correspondent will be fangirling over fun things online that can help you study.
YAAAAAAY!
1. Head over to the RMIT Library’s website and make use of their assignment planner. Not only does it come complete with a cute picture of a robot, it actually puts together a nice detailed plan of how you should devote your time to a particular
assignment. I find it works really well with essay writing.
2. If you’re a visual learner but want your mindmaps on your computer, why not make them online? Have a go with this website. Or, you know, Microsoft Word. Whatever floats your boat, really.
3. For those of you who like to study using flashcards, check this out. With the option to add music and images to your cards, connect automatically with online materials and also a mobile app that enables you to study on-the-go (because let’s face it, who doesn’t want to do that?!), it’s pretty cool.
4. You probably already know this, but Facebook groups and Google Docs are really handy for group assignments. Get on it.
5. As helpful as Facebook can be, it can also be massively distracting. If you’re one of those people (and I am yet to meet someone at uni who is not) who gets easily distracted by social media, maybe you should think about using a website blocker to get you through at least a few hours of decent study. Get a friend, sibling or parent you trust to set the password and enjoy an afternoon free of social media and full of productive study (just make sure they're around to let you back on, eventually).
6. Also, you can find a whole bunch of academic references online. Try your library’s online database, or Google Scholar. (Sorry, but Wikipedia does not count.)
It’s OK to procrastinate. Even Charlie does it.
But then again, passing your subjects is probably a good idea, too.
Best of luck with those exams and assignments. After successfully procrastinating from mine by working on this post, I feel both accomplished and mildly panicked due to the mountain of academic work I have to do, but oh well.
You can’t say I’m not dedicated to making your life easier and full of cheerful fangirl-ness.
It’s OK. You can do it. Close the tab, step away from the browser, open up the Word document, start writing the essay.
Or studying for the exam.
Or training for the marathon.
I believe in you. Even Jack has some words of encouragement to share:
(It's probably time I took some of my own advice. Happy studying!)
Kara Gibbons
ht=”30″ />