Never Average

I’m reading Richard Feynman’s autobiography right now, and he’s definitely someone to learn from. 

“In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”

My very favorite part about mondays is sitting down at my desk with a glass of iced coffee to plan my week. It’s so relaxing, and makes me feel like I at least sort of have my life together. Here’s my routine:

I like to do my planning sessions first thing in the morning, but you could do them before bed sunday night if that’s more your speed. Don’t start any other work until you’ve planned your week!

Any events I have coming up are usually already entered in, since I add those as they come up. If not, then I check my monthly view and copy them over to their day.

After that I check my email for any new things that have come up over the weekend – cancelled classes, new meetings, etc.

Then comes the most important part – I go over my class assignment schedules one class at a time. Most of my classes are online, meaning the work isn’t due until sunday, so I divide the assignments evenly over monday-thursday, giving myself friday as a makeup day if I need it. I only enter the assignments in to my to-do list column – I don’t do any hour-by-hour scheduling in advance. 

After that I schedule my day more in advance, and decorate my pages with some washi tape and stickers to brighten it up a bit.

That’s all! It’s pretty simple and quick, but it really helps me fee more prepared for the week. 

This is where my magic happens.

10 Ways to Prepare for a Successful Academic Year

With August’s Back To School Series on Students Toolbox, we are going to present to you a bunch of posts that are going to be very helpful. To start off, here are 10 things that you can, and probably should do (or at least think about) before starting a new school year to get yourself prepared for it.

1. Tidy you books and notes from the previous semester, and Make Your Study Space Clean and Organized.

you may use somestorage boxes to keep them. I put the storage boxes under my bed and in the closet.

you can also just scan them or take pictures of your work/essays and exams

If you don’t have a study space, or you want to recreate one, you should start now.

2. Start your planner, and create your class schedule.

You can also use the daily and weekly printables we have here, which are specifically designed for students. 

Create your own scheme. It can be color-coding, or it can be different symbols. 

Make your planner suitable and accostumed to your own needs.

If you are still at the stage of planning your classes, and struggling on how to prioritise your classes, you may want to read this article on Tips for Choosing Your Classes and Arranging Your Schedule.

3. Contact your advisers and professors.

Send an email to your academic advisory or professor (if you know who is teaching your courses). It is always good to leave a good impression.

4. Check if you have all your school supplies, and build your own organisation plan.

You should think about 

how you would take notes in class, 

what notebook you should use for each class, 

how to store your papers and more 

Hey everyone! A lovely man named Mike Strangstalien, MA, MFT, LPC, NCC decided to compile a list of 8 things successful people do. He has been working on this list since 1994 and continues to update this list as he does more research. I decided to share some of his amazing work here with you all by summarizing his main points. Enjoy and good luck!

1. They raise their hand in class.

Now, this may seem trivial and sometimes you’re left with the question, “How can I speak up in class if I don’t even know what I don’t know?”. However, its been proven that people who raise their hand and ask questions tend to do better. If you are unsure of a question to ask, a good technique is to go home and review the material and the next day at the beginning of class, ask your question. This not only gets you to actively participate in class, but you begin to think about the information you learned and are able to commit it to long term memory.

2. They establish routine and structure.

During the day you should try to complete your homework so that at night you can spend your time studying, reviewing and consolidating. Its been proven that studying something before bed can commit it to long term memory. Doing work at night when you’re tired can lead to poor performance and may not commit things to memory if its the first time you’re seeing the information. 

Also, try to go to bed BEFORE 1:30 am! Why is this important? Your serotonin is used up during the day (about 90%)  and is reassembled if you get to bed by 1:30. If you go to bed past 1:30 twice in a row, you miss your key opportunity to replace it and you’re left with only 10%! Do this again and you’re down to only 1%. This affects your concentration, focus, attention, motivation and memory. 

3. They go to office hours.

Those who go to office hours at least 8 times during the semester yield, on average, 0.5-1.2 grade points HIGHER than their non-attending counter parts. The main reason people don’t go to office hours is a fear of looking “dumb”. However, if you just admit to your professor or TA that you’re completely lost, they can help re-teach. Remember to be honest about your confusion because otherwise they may start their explanation off the assumption that you already know something and you’ll have wasted your time and your professor’s. This can be the difference between a C and an A! 

4. They prepare for each lecture.

Preparation for each lecture is essential. Begin by reviewing any information from the last lecture within 24 hours of first receiving this information, otherwise you lose valuable time to commit it to long term memory. Additionally, quick read assigned readings so that the lecture can consolidate what you read. After the lecture, spend about 5 minutes summarizing the major points and look up any vocabulary you didn’t recognize. This all compiles into the three-read principle. 1. Read the textbook (or other materials) beforehand. 2. Reread after the lecture and try to find the main points in the reading. 3. Reread a third time and write notes as though you plan to teach the information. This means simplifying and not writing down unnecessary information. 

5. They remain actively involved when learning, attending lecture, and while studying. 

I have a post about active studying techniques which you can find here. Active learning requires not only that you consciously try to pay attention, but also that you maintain your motivation to learn the material, the willingness to complete the tasks at hand needed to learn it, and saying to yourself, “I am excited to learn something new and I am thankful that I have the opportunity to do it”. Remember, there are kids in other countries literally dying for the right to an education. Your education is luxury, not a right. Additionally, every 15 minutes, stop and ask yourself, “how does this fit into the main idea,” and “what is it that I just read and how can I form study questions from it?”. 

6. They take responsibility for their learning.

Although your professor is there to provide you with the information, it is not their job to make sure you learn it. Often times students fail because they expect the professor to try hard to help them. This is a harmful way of thinking and it can lead to failed exams. Those who take responsibility will make sure they seek help when they need it and they will make sure they search for resources outside of what is provided. If you’re really struggling with a concept, try Kahn Academy, YouTube or asking a TA. Its up to you to earn the A, not your professor. Also, keep track of your own grades and assignments that you turn in. This way if you need to see someone for help, you’re not disadvantaged because you waited until the grades were updated online after you threw away graded papers. 

7. They understand the work load and are prepared to study 7 days a week.

Not everyone can study for hours on end every day. For this reason, those who are successful make sure they break down their studying into 25 minute intervals. Additionally, make sure you touch on this information every single day to keep your brain ready for the class when it comes time and you can avoid procrastination. You also need to be prepared for repeated exposure. This means reviewing the same material 3-7 times. This highly increases your likelihood to not only learn the information for exam, but not become guilty of the “pump-and-dump”. This is especially helpful for anyone pursuing medical school or graduate school. 

8. They have no use for negative self-talk and they are honest with themselves.

I decided to make a collection of infographics that are related to school & making your school life easier, I hope it helps!

How to get enough sleep

Coping with stress

An overview of mental illness

Psychological Life Hacks

For your crush <3

School grades don’t define your intelligence

We need to talk about mental health.

How to improve your memory

Foods for brain power