How I'm using Study Hall to build confidence

Hi! I’ve missed y’all! I took a brief break from the newsletter to ease into the new year, avoid burnout, and focus on freelance projects. So far, this year feels like living in the Twilight Zone. You know what I mean if you’ve caught even a glimpse of the news.

I hope you’re taking care of yourself, regulating your nervous system, and avoiding whichever flu is going around.

💌 In this issue:

• My 2025 theme and vision board

• How to plan a personal Study Hall (+ a free Notion template!)

• Book, film, and show recommendations

• A roundup of joy

Before anything else, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the devastating LA fires. Even though I live in Houston now, LA will always feel like home to me, and I hope to return someday. Watching the destruction, loss, and heartbreak from afar was very scary and sad, but to curb my doomscrolling, I turned my attention to the beautiful moments of community in action. Neighbors, organizations, and donors quickly came together to provide mutual aid, pro bono therapy, and fundraisers for those displaced, especially underserved communities. If you’ve been impacted, I hope you’re safe and have the support you need to rebuild. ❤️‍🩹 

One of the best lessons I’ve learned in the past five years is that confidence comes from being willing to be bad at something new and learning from the experience. It comes from pushing past self-doubt and letting go of ego. It comes from not taking yourself too seriously and having fun.

I’ve repeated this lesson many times. When my husband Vadym taught me to ride a bike in my late 20s. When I pivoted my career at 30. When last year, I trained for a 5K, took a pottery class, learned crochet, and tried archery. For the latter, it took six years of me watching my mom and Vadym shoot arrows at an indoor range to finally go from spectator to participant. And to no one’s surprise, I enjoyed it and felt silly for being afraid and waiting so long to try.

Feeling hesitation, fear, and self-doubt is normal when we're new to something. Not having enough knowledge or experience can often make us second-guess ourselves or prematurely quit before we’ve had the chance to improve. This is the discomfort of being a beginner. The wonderful thing is that the more we grow through experiences, the more our confidence blossoms, helping us trust our abilities and make decisions.

With this in mind, instead of picking a word of the year, I chose a theme to anchor me: I will gain confidence by learning and practicing.

When cruel insecurity and fear of failure creep in, I say this mantra:

I learn, and I practice.
I learn, and I practice.
I learn, and I practice. 

Repeating these words reminds me that I’m a lifelong learner. I’d rather enjoy the process of learning than sit in those icky “not good enough” feelings.

That’s why I’ve planned a personal Study Hall. 

What is Study Hall?

Traditionally, it’s a period in school for getting homework done. But for those of us who haven’t been in a classroom in years, I’m creating a version of it for home.

How I define Study Hall: dedicated time for learning and practicing something you’re curious about. It doesn’t have to be an academic topic. It can be any subject or activity you’ve been wanting to learn.

Calling it “Study Hall” puts me in a mindset that makes learning feel intentional, somewhat structured, and, most importantly, fun.

Choosing an area of study

Ask yourself:

• What excites you?

• What have you always wanted to learn but felt intimidated by?

• Is there something you weren’t allowed to do as a kid?

• What skills could help you in your career?

• What would make your life more fun, interesting, or fulfilling? 

Nothing is off-limits. You could immerse yourself in film history, learn a new language, get better at taking photos, understand personal finance beyond the basics, or master advanced yoga poses. 

Write it all down and pick what to start with. 

Now, this part can be tricky if you’re like me—someone who is multi-passionate and wishes they could learn everything simultaneously. Unfortunately, studying five things at once can be overwhelming. Focus on one or two subjects for now, and if you get bored, switch to another subject from your list.

My curriculum for the year:

• Fiction writing

• The elements of good cooking

• Mobility exercises

• Basic Italian (for my upcoming trip!)

Creating a study plan

Your Study Hall, your rules. This isn’t high school, where you had to sit through classes you didn’t care about. Think of it as an opportunity to follow through on something just because you want to. Creating a study plan that fits into your life increases the chances of that. And remember—it should be fun! Otherwise, what’s the point?

1. Select your study materials. Will you learn through books, YouTube videos, podcasts, blogs, documentaries, or maybe an actual class? Pick material that will keep you engaged. 

2. Set your weekly lesson goal. Three videos? A couple of chapters or podcast episodes? One workshop? I find that it’s helpful to know how much material I want to get through each week.

3. Schedule your study hours. Keep it flexible by picking a general day(s) of the week and time of day, or block out time in your calendar—even 15 minutes a day or one hour a week counts. If your study hours aren’t working for you, experiment with new ones.

4. Choose how you’ll take notes. Pen and paper? Digital notes? A journal where you reflect on your experience? I do a mix of all three, depending on what I’m studying. If you prefer digital note-taking, grab my free Notion template! It’s a simple space to type and organize your study notes so you can easily revisit what you’re learning.

If you happen to fall “behind” one week, don’t waste energy beating yourself up. Instead, take a moment to reflect on why it happened and keep going. You might realize you overestimated how much time you could dedicate, or maybe you’ll discover you have a bit more time to spare. 

My current studies

✸ Creative Recovery

📚 Study Material: The Artist’s Way (book)
🎯 Lesson Goal: One chapter per week
📝 Note-taking Style: Highlighting, pen & paper, digital notes
⏳ Study Hours:

• Every morning: Morning pages (~30 minutes)

• Monday: Read a chapter (~20 minutes)

• Thursday: Complete chapter tasks (varies! )

• Sunday: Journal check-in (~10 minutes)

✸ Fiction Writing

📚 Study Material*: Brandon Sanderson’s Writing Lecture (YouTube)
🎯 Lesson Goal: One lecture per week
⏳ Study Hours: Saturday or Sunday (~1.5 hours)
📝 Note-taking Style: Digital notes

*I’m also reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, but my reading will be sporadic since I'm using it as a guide while I write a book for the first time.

✸ Basic Italian

📚 Study Material: Duolingo (app)
🎯 Lesson Goal: 2-4 lessons/day
⏳ Study Hours: Every day  (~10 minutes)
📝 Note-taking Style: None!

What could get in the way?

Life happens. Your schedule fills up, unexpected things pop up, and Study Hall gets pushed down your list of priorities. Then there’s scrolling social media when you meant to start reading, feeling too tired to focus, or realizing your study space isn’t comfortable. And let’s not forget the self-doubt devil sitting on your shoulder whispering, “Why bother?” into your ear.

But if learning new things and building confidence matter to you, remind yourself why. You’ll find a way to make Study Hall a natural part of your life.