u/Aromatic_Barnacle_85

I can solve 20 problems in a review session, but then a few days later I’ll make the SAME stupid mistake again 💀

So I started keeping my wrong answers and the explanations in one Gemini Notebook.

Instead of just saving the correct solution, I keep track of why I got it wrong — wrong formula, missed a detail, calculation error, or just completely misunderstood the concept.

Now when I have a bad review day, I can actually go back and see what I keep messing up instead of just doing more random problems.

It’s honestly made me realize that reviewing your mistakes can be just as important as learning new stuff.

Anyone else have a “mistakes I keep making” list for their review? 😭

Reviewing for the Civil Engineering Licensure Exam means I have SO many PDFs, reviewers, notes, and practice problems that I sometimes don’t even know where to start.

I started putting my review materials into separate notebooks depending on the topic, then using Gemini to quiz me instead of just asking it to summarize everything.

My favorite prompts so far are basically:

“Quiz me on this topic but don’t give me the answer yet.”

“Explain this problem step-by-step.”

“Based on my notes, what am I struggling with?”

It makes my review sessions feel a little less overwhelming, especially on days when my brain is already fried 😵‍💫

Anyone else using Gemini Notebook for board exam/review prep? What prompts are actually working for you?

I feel like when you first get into UGC, everyone makes it seem like you just need a “good portfolio” and brands will magically start messaging you 🥴

That has NOT been my experience lol.

One thing that helped me was stopping myself from trying to make my portfolio look super professional and instead focusing on making it feel like something a real person would actually watch.

For example, instead of just having pretty product shots, I started thinking about:

• Would I actually stop scrolling for this?
• Does the first 2–3 seconds make me curious?
• Does it sound like something I would genuinely say?
• Am I showing the product solving a problem instead of just showing the product?

I also realized that outreach is a numbers game. Getting ignored doesn’t necessarily mean your content is bad. Sometimes the brand just isn’t looking for creators, they already have someone, or they simply didn’t see the message.

I’m still figuring out the whole UGC thing, but honestly, I think improving the CONTENT itself has helped me way more than obsessing over having the “perfect” portfolio.

how about you guys? what’s one thing you wish someone had told you when you were just starting out with UGC?