Back To School: 10 Essential Tips & Tricks

Since mostly everyone is back to school now, I thought it would be cool to share some of my favorite hacks, tips, and tricks I use the most to help me be better prepared for school!

1. Use the Pomodoro Technique to make studying and doing homework more bearable!

The Pomodoro Technique is a special way of working that honestly helps you work more efficiently. It makes you more excited to work, it makes the work you do better, and it helps your mind focus.

Here's how it works:

-You set a 20 minute timer and start working. You have to make sure you don't cheat yourself and procrastinate. Those 20 minutes are only for working!

-After that time, you set yourself a five minute timer and you get a break. This can be watching a quick YouTube video, playing a game on your phone, getting a snack, etc.

-The most important thing about this break is that no matter what you are doing when the five minutes are up, you have to go directly back to work. This can be hard at first, but after a few times, you'll get used to it and it will ultimately help you.

-You repeat this 20/5 minute method four times and on the end of the fourth working session, you get to take a 15-20 minute break before starting all over again.

It may seem hard to stick to the timers, but this method has saved me more than once from procrastinating and getting nothing done. I encourage you to at least try and it and see if it works for you!

2. Lay out your clothes the night before.

Now, this hack might seem super obvious or easy, but it's honestly more of a life-saver than you might realize. Take a simple five minutes right before you go to bed to set out your outfit for the next day. While it may seem ridiculous, it actually can be really helpful the next morning when you're rushing to get out the door on time and you don't have the time or brain power to worry about what to wear. This way, you won't end up with the wrong shirt or pants by accident and you can feel confident about what you're wearing!

3. Keep a list of things you need on the back of your front door.

This trick can be super helpful when you get that feeling that you might be forgetting something before you leave for school. All you do is print or write up a list of the things that you need to do/get every morning before you leave for school and tape it to the back of your front door. Before you leave, you can read it through and make sure you're not forgetting anything important you might need. This hack is super helpful and has saved me on more occasions than one. It can also help you feel less stressed in the morning when you're trying to leave on time!

4. Use scholar.google.com

Any student knows that one of the hardest parts of doing research for a paper or project is taking the time to sift through thousands of articles on Google for the credible information you need. Instead, you can use scholar.google.com, which will show you results from more trustworthy websites like universities, and better statistics for you to use in your work. A time saver for sure!

5. Use deepl.com instead of Google Translate!

While Google Translate is a tool that many of us love to use for our everyday translations, it's not as reliable as we think it may be. Google Translate doesn't take the way sentences in some languages are structured, and only translates word for word. Instead, use deepl.com. While it still isn't perfect, deepl is a lot more accurate than Google Translate and is definitely better to use for your translations!

6. Leave space at the beginning of your notebooks for a table of contents.

Before you jump right into writing in your notebooks, leave a few pages blank first. This way, you can go back and add a table of contents, which will make it loads easier to find the information you need on a short notice.

7. Color the tops of your notebooks so it's easier to find each subject.

If you're having trouble finding the right notebook for each subject because they all look the same from the top of your backpack, don't worry! All you have to do is color the top of each notebook with a different colored highlighter for each subject and you'll immediately know which notebook to grab!

8. If you're stuck on a math problem, use Wolfram Alpha to help show you what to do.

This website has so many math problems in the database. All you do is type in the problem, and it'll explain how to solve it step by step if your parents or a tutor is not around.

9. If you're studying for something, try and teach that particular concept to someone.

If you are trying to understand a certain concept or idea and you want to make sure you fully understand it, grab your sibling, friend, or stuffed animal audience and try to teach/explain said concept/idea to them. It is shown that if you can teach something to someone else that you have a good grasp on the information.

10. Keep an emergency kit!

This hack is super important and sooo helpful! All you do is keep a bag or a pocket in your backpack full of some essentials or things you might need throughout the school day. This can include:

-hair ties

-chapstick

-some emergency money

-deodorant (you might think you don't need it...but you do)

-hand sanitizer

-an extra mask (nowadays you should always keep a spare)

-a toothpick (you never know...)

-a miniature hairbrush

These are just a few quick ideas of things you might like to have on hand just in case...we all forget things sometimes!

Hey guys,

Sorry I missed a week last week! School has been keeping me busy and I'm sure you guys are too! I hope these hacks are helpful and you all have an amazing school year! Thanks for supporting the blog and see you next week!

-Lorelei xx