Hi and welcome back to Tiny Sparks!
Phew, what a week this has been. Uni has officially started for me, which ultimately meant one thing: My schedule is way more packed now than a couple of weeks ago. It’s not really stressing me out, but the fact that I could easily fall asleep every day at 8pm shows pretty well, how much energy this switch takes.
So, I’m saying it already now, apologies if the content on this website or in the Tiny Sparks issues seems a little thin – it’s because my priorities have shifted a bit.
But I anticipate that this phase will fade out over the next couple of weeks, as I get more accommodated to the new lifestyle. Luckily, we humans can get used to almost anything.
Now, it’s time to dive into this latest edition of Tiny Sparks – enjoy!
🗓️ Personal Updates
Here’s a quick rundown of the things that happened in the past two weeks:
Obviously, Uni started, and I am now a student, once again. Things are going great so far (apart from the amount of new information I have to process). I’ve met a few nice people and have already learnt a ton. Mostly math stuff, as that is my main focus of this semester.
I also started learning and playing chess again (because of a podcast, lol). So these days, watching videos by Gotham Chess or Anna Cramling has become some sort of wind-down routine for me. Wouldn’t have thought that I would say one day that watching chess videos helps to calm me down. Aaaaanyways – I also play on Lichess from time to time, so if you’re active on there, hit me up and we can play a game!
As I’ve mentioned in the last issue, Zeitlos, my forever Diary, is already in personal use. I’m quite happy with it so far, so my motivation for developing it further has kinda plummeted. But I started with a new little project, that helps me organize my new study life. It’s called Tsugido, a simple daily todo list app with a few twists that will hopefully help you stay focused one day as well. Will let you guys know, when I have something to show :)
Last but not least, here are the blog posts I’ve published since the last newsletter – in case you missed any:
- The After-Run High: An ode to the fantastic feeling you get as a reward for going on a run.
- Life Update: Uni Start: Last week, I also wrote about the start of Uni. So if you want further details on what exactly I study and why I do it, there’s your post.
- My favorite live performances: Three great musicians – three great live performances. Sit back, relax and enjoy.
🔮 Tool Recommendation
If you have looked into the most effective studying techniques, you have most certainly come across the concepts of “active recall” and “spaced repetition”. And if you have looked up the best tools to practice these techniques, you have almost guaranteed seen Anki.
What if I told you, there is a new, even better app than Anki? An app that also lets you practice flashcards in a spaced repetition interval. But these flashcards write themselves because they are just made from your lecture notes.
Sounds great, right? Well, you should check out Remnote, which feels like Notion and Anki had a baby, that allows you to study even more effectively. I’ve kinda used it during my previous studies but with a few improvements over the last couple of months, I have decided to go all in on it and use it heavily for uni.
📚 Content Piece
Math might be a hard subject, but it’s also a fascinating one. Especially if it’s presented in an engaging way.
The channel “Numberphile” never disappoints on that front. And especially Hannah Fry always explains mathematical concepts in a very captivating way.
While not necessarily a mathematical concept per se, in this video, Hannah explains how one graph changed the whole timetable-creation game for railways. And how this invention, that is over one century old, has led to a significant reduction in accidents and casualties.
Definitely worth a watch, even if you’re not interested in maths (you won’t see any numbers, if that helps).
Well, that’s it already, thanks for sticking around. If you have some feedback, a recommendation of your own or just want to say hi, don’t hesitate to reach out! All the contact options are listed over on my /hello page.
And if you enjoyed this particular issue, consider forwarding it to your friends. That would mean a lot.
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See you in two weeks!
Cheers ✌️
Dominik
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