Oberlin Executive Functioning Group

So full disclosure I am a converted exercise fan.  I used to hate exercise.  I was overweight and depressed and every time I went to the gym, I felt like a blob, had no idea what I was doing, and could only do so much before I felt like my lungs were burning out of my chest.  And it felt like I had done so little.  It hasn’t been a smooth or even complete journey towards enjoying myself at the gym, but more often than not the thing keeping me from exercising these days is my lack of EF proficiency.  More and more, I’m noticing that going to the gym takes a whole bundle of EF skills! Here are some ways I’ve been training my EF skills along with my body:

I found a reason to go.  Starting, for me at least, is always always always the hardest part.  It took me a lot of reflection and patience with myself before I could get to a place where I wanted to go to the gym.  I think this is different for everyone, but for me, I wanted to reconnect with my body.  For too long, I had felt that my body was completely alien to me, a weight that kept me from doing things and being things that I wanted to do and be.  Going to the gym, for me, started with simple walking meditations around my block at home.  I wasn’t trying to lose weight or get strong.  I just wanted to feel at home in my body.  After three years, I have slowly become a person who genuinely enjoys pushing my body and testing my physicality.  Find what you want out of the gym, not what you think you should want out of the gym.  That’s the first step.  

I rented a locker at the gym.  It took me ages to find out that you could rent a locker at Philips! Just go to the equipment room with 15 dollars and ask for one.  Super painless, and the lock is included.  Keeping all your gym stuff at the actual location of exercise means that you’re cutting out the “gather all the gym stuff in a bag and bring it with you” or “get changed into gym clothes” tasks, and you can also go straight to the gym from class instead of having to return home for your stuff.  I always get stuck procrastinating at home if I go back during the school day, so this works well for me! (Note: Make sure to indicate when you ask for your locker which locker room you want to be in.  I’m in the women’s locker room even tho I’m a man because I’m a soft trans boy who is afraid of cis men.  Also, because the very nice woman the equipment room very much misgendered me.  Do what’s right for you.  There’s always the gender neutral shower/changing rooms.)

I scheduled consistent gym times into my google calendar.  This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s actually a pretty hard thing to do sometimes.  Making a daily/weekly schedule is not a task to be taken lightly.  For me, the key is daily consistency.  The best thing about my gym schedule this semester is that I worked it in to mirror my class schedule.  I have class at 10am MWF and 3pm TR, so I scheduled myself for 3pm gym time MW and 10am gym time TR.  That way, I know that I always have somewhere to be at 10am and at 3pm every weekday.  

I developed an exercise routine.  This was the hardest part of the gym for me.  I would walk in and see all the weights and machines and have no clue how to decide what to do first.  The idea of keeping track of arm days and leg days and what to do if you miss a day seemed like a LOT of work to me.  Instead, I have a consistent exercise plan where I go on the elliptical for 20 minutes and then do a set strength training routine for 20 minutes.  Every person has a different routine that works for them, but make sure you know what you’re going to do before you get to the gym to avoid getting EF overwhelmed.

I gave myself a task buffer. For any task that repeats weekly, I like to give myself a graded scale of acceptable, good, and great.  For going to the gym, one day a week is acceptable.  As long as I’m going one day a week, I know that I am exercising somewhat consistently.  Two or three days a week is good for me.  I might miss one or two scheduled sessions but at least I’m going.  Four is my great.  That’s 100% of scheduled gym time used.  If I don’t make this sliding scale, I tend to shame spiral or feel like a failure just for missing one session.  This way, I know that even if I go once I am doing okay.  (I have separate but related advice about how to know that you’re not doing okay and what to do about it, coming soon.)

I stocked my bag with protein bars and snacks.  I dunno about y’all but I need to eat right after the gym.  The EF struggle around eating is real though.  Even though it’s not actually a meal, a protein bar can provide a really good snack for after the gym, since it supports growth of muscles.  With this in mind, I always keep a couple in my gym locker and a couple in my backpack so no matter what I can always have a post-gym snack.  

I gave myself an incentive to go.  Already, I have an incentive to go to the gym because I know that my muscles will start hurting and my attention will begin to wander and I’ll have trouble sleeping if I don’t keep up my gym habits.  There are serious benefits for me that I see nearly immediately (at least within two weeks, but usually faster).  Still, it isn’t usually enough to make me get sweaty.  As an added incentive, I’ve started putting aside certain audiobooks/television shows that I am NOT allowed to watch if I am not at the gym.  As soon as I enter Phillips, they’re fair game.  As soon as I step out of the building, they don’t exist.  If you don’t listen to audiobooks/watch tv at the gym, you might consider something like treating yourself to a decafe smoothie after a workout or allowing yourself an extra $5 spending money in a week for every time you work out.  Just remember to reward going, not any other goal.  The important thing is getting there.  Don’t rate your workouts too strongly! That brings me to the next thing.

Hi! I’m glad you have found the EF program useful! 

We aren’t quite sure whether EF tutoring will be renewed next year right now.  Because this is a pilot program, the relevant people are going to be reviewing it over the summer to see if it should stay.  

If anyone feels strongly that the program should continue, I encourage y’all to fill out the feedback form linked at the top of the blog.  It’s useful for us to understand what we did right and what we could improve on, but it’s also a numeric indicator of how many people deeply interacted with the program, so it’s a good thing to have responses up going into the review process.  

Thanks for writing us!

As finals approach, I imagine that almost everyone is facing down the barrel of long nights reading, cramming, drafting, and editing.  Here are some clever ways I've picked up to break up, optimize, and fully utilize that five hour study block on your calendar.  

Use the Pomodoro Method.  This method is the most famous way I know to break up a long study session, and I have to include it first.  The basics are as follows: you work for 25 minutes, take a break for 5 minutes, work for 25, break for 5, etc.  Every four cycles (2 hours), you take a 15 minute break to refresh.  A lot of people swear by this method or some adjusted version of it.  I know some people who promise that a 24 min work/6 min break ratio is ideal.  Some insist that 50 min work/10 min break works best.  No ratio is right for everyone, so feel free to try a few out to see what you like.  There are TONS of pomodoro timer apps out there, including ones that block use of your phone during the work time, and you can always pick up a regular kitchen timer as well if you want to stay well and truly off your phone.  I find that the Pomodoro method works well for anyone who a. Doesn't mind working by a timer and b. Wants something simple and customizable that takes little extra thought.  

Use Music Cues.  This one works really well for me, but it's a bit unorthodox.  Basically, you format your study around a certain playlist or set of playlists.  First, take some time to decide the "function" for certain songs; the rules can be broad, like "songs without lyrics are study songs and songs with lyrics are break songs," but I find it more effective when actual specific songs have their own functions.  After all, I like listening to songs without lyrics when not studying, too! For me, there's a certain song ('oranges in winter' by Bassti) that signals to my brain that It Is Study Time.  My study playlist starts with that song, works through around 30 minutes of Study Music, then hits a specific song (like Iron & Wine's awesome version of 'Time After Time') that means it's time for a break.  I break for three songs, and then 'oranges in winter' plays again.  Every time I listen to the playlist, the cues grow stronger.  I recommend this method for anyone who a. Likes listening to music while studying, b. Doesn't like working by a traditional timer, and c. Doesn't mind taking some time to make a study playlist like this.  

Plan Breaks in Advance.  Personally, I hate the feeling of reaching a study break and suddenly having to decide what to do for 5-10 minutes.  Decisions are stressful, and more often than not, I end up spending the whole break thinking up things I could be doing and trying to decide which one I should do OR scrolling something on my phone to avoid the decision, neither of which is a real break.  I've listed some possible break activities on this blog before, so go check those out if you dont know what sort of breaks you want to be taking.  If you do have some idea of how you like to take your study breaks, try listing them out for yourself on paper.  Next time you stare down a long study session, pick a few out and place them in order that you want to do them.  If you keep a study playlist, you could even pick certain break songs that indicate different break activities.  A key is to choose more than one break activity and alternate them.  Your brain thrives on variation!

Spend your First Study Block Planning.  You may have noticed a theme in this list by now.  Breaking up a large block of study into smaller blocks of time is essential.  Unless you manage to tap into your hyper focus (man I wish I could do it on demand), you will need to pace yourself.  Part of pacing yourself is making small, manageable goals that each fit into one study block.  For example, I'm a slow reader, especially when I'm researching for a paper.  My study blocks often say "Read and annotate 25 pages".  Do I have 300 pages to read? Yes I do.  But there's no way I'm getting that done in even ten 30 minute blocks of time if I want a quality annotation list to use for my paper.  It's no use putting down "Read x book," because I'm not going to be able to do that.  If you set down manageable goals for your study blocks ahead of time, you will be able to a. Meet your goals!, b. Feel accomplishment, and c. Know what you're supposed to be doing at every moment of the long study session so you're never left floundering in limbo-zone.  

Be Open to Changing Locations.  Sometimes, staring at the same damn wall for five hours just feels like torture.  It's important that you have several study locations in mind for yourself so that you can refresh your mind, especially if you get stuck or frustrated.  Even just changing which seat you're sitting in at the same table could provide you with a fresh perspective, both literally and mentally.  Bonus points if you manage to sit in every level of Mudd during the same long study session.  (They really do each have their own personality.) Extra bonus points if you get some fresh air while you change locations.  But caution! Make sure you have a few locations in mind BEFORE YOU START.  It's way too easy to end up wandering campus in search of the Perfect Study Spot for hours on end.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  It just has to be new.  

Stock your Backpack.  If you're going to be studying for even a few hours, you're gonna need a snack.  You're gonna need water (and lots of it).  You might want any any point: mouthwash, deodorant, a hairbrush, stim toys, stress balls, extra pens, highlighters, post-its, photos of loved ones, mints, tampons, earbuds, gum, and/or tissues.  A long study session is a marathon, so be prepared! Think I'm being dire? These are ALL examples of real things I have really needed during a study sesh.  Customize the list for your needs. 

Make Yourself at Home.  This is related to the previous point, but it's important to emphasize.  Studying can be really enjoyable (really!) and it can also be really grueling.  Most importantly, it is your own time, and it's important that you make it your own.  Bring pillow and blanket to Mudd.  Erect a shrine in the corner of a lounge.  Do what you need to do to make YOU comfortable.  It is incredible that we are allowed, encouraged, and (yes) essentially forced to spend hours on end learning and growing.  I know those long finals hours can be super stressful and demoralizing.  You might feel like beating yourself up.  "Why didn't I just get this done earlier?!" or "Why am I just not getting this?!" Try not to get sucked into that stuff.  What's passed is passed, and you will have time for reflection later.  When it's study time, you have only the tasks in front of you and the environment around you.  As long as you plan those well and make them as nice as possible, you are on your way.  

Sometimes, that 12 page paper just isn’t done.  And it’s not going to be done.  Not by the due date.  It’s finals, though.  And even the most sympathetic teacher cannot grant and extension, not for any reason.  This, my friends, is emergency incomplete time.  

So here’s the skinny: the college (I’ll get to the conservatory in a sec) provides two options for students who cannot complete their coursework by the end of the school year.  These options are called an “academic incomplete” and an “emergency incomplete.”  The academic incomplete can be for any reason, but you only get two for the duration of your time at Oberlin.  The “emergency incomplete” is unlimited, but an extenuating circumstance must be verified by an outside authority.  

IMPORTANT: Emergency and academic incompletes can only be obtained BEFORE the start time of your final.  (If your final is scheduled for 9am on 5/16, you can obtain an incomplete up until 8:59am on 5/16.)  Make sure to get this moving NOW if you need one! Come to an EF tutoring session if you need support on this.

Step 1: Make a meeting with the AARC.  Donna Russell and Bo Arbogast are going to be your go-to people for this process.  Here is their scheduling link! Donna or Bo will be able to walk you through the process in more detail, so be sure to go see them.  They are very nice, so don’t be afraid.  I’ve worked with Bo before for my own incomplete needs. 

Step 2: Obtain the Paperwork.  Donna or Bo should be able to help you with this, but it can be useful to get all the paperwork signed as quickly as possible, so if you can then print out the paperwork yourself, get it signed, and bring it to the meeting.  The form for an emergency incomplete is available here (along with more information), and it seems that the academic incomplete form (also called “educational incomplete form”) is not available online but must be obtained through Bo or Donna.

Step 3: Get Your Paperwork Signed.  The academic incomplete need only be signed by an instructor.  The emergency incomplete will need special verification.  For my fellow students with mental health issues, the Counseling Center will generally have us covered on emergency incompletes.  As long as you visit the Center once over the semester, my experience is that the therapist you see there will be happy to sign your paperwork once you explain what’s going on.  Even if you do not have a diagnosed mental illness, the Counseling Center can work with you on this.  I stress: No formal diagnosis is required.   A personal tragedy or family issue can also be covered by the Counseling Center here.  If a physical illness has gotten in the way of your schoolwork, any medical professional who has examined you may sign your paperwork for an emergency incomplete.  

Step 4: Negotiate the New Deadline.  After your paperwork is all collected and signed, you are ready to go back to Bo or Donna and hand them in.  The AARC should already have contacted your professor(s) after your first meeting and determined the latest possible deadline that the professor can accommodate.  At this meeting, you will talk through how to meet that new deadline and sign a paper which affirms that you understand that there is a new deadline and when it is.  Make sure to confirm with Bo or Donna HOW you are going to be sending in your incomplete work.  Most likely, you will be emailing it to the professor.

Bonus Step: Extend your Incomplete.  Occasionally, the incomplete can be further extended if you still need more time.  You might have to push the AARC/your professor on this, but it’s simply not always possible.  Send a few emails just in case.  

For Conservatory Classes: Classes taken in the conservatory have a different process (even if you are not a con student).  If you need an incomplete in a con class, reach out to the Associate Dean in the con for that class.  They will be able to guide you through the process.  

It happens to everyone – you get sick, you lose motivation, or something just falls through the cracks.  When you do get behind, it can be very overwhelming to try to do your late assignments on top of your normally scheduled work. It’s okay! The EF team is here to help you get through.  Here are some tactics we have found to be particularly useful for dealing with being behind.

Use Your Support System

Even when you may feel overwhelmed at Oberlin, you are never alone.  If you are behind in a class and you feel that catching up seems hopeless, reach out to the people who can help you find an alternate route forward.  

We highly recommend the Center for Student Success as your go-to place to get support for time management and academic stress! The staff at the CSS can:

Meet with you one on one to discuss your situation and identify solutions that you may or may not know are available to you.  

Speak with professors and administrators on your behalf.  This one is great if you are anxious and/or require support in expressing your needs.  

Validate your needs. It’s hard to remember that you as a student have any existence behind grades and classes.  Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that you are allowed to grow and learn at your own pace and that it’s not always useful to be on a professor’s expected schedule.  CSS staff can help you remember that your own schedule and your own path and your own needs are valid and worth fighting for.

Provide accountability. CSS staff members can help check in with you about your status on certain projects to make sure that you’re staying on track.  This level of accountability can be super helpful, especially when catching up in a class!

In addition to faculty and the Center of Student Success, making an appointment at the Counseling Center or going in to their walk-in hours can really help when you’re feeling overwhelmed.  If you have all three behind you, you’re going to be a lot more prepared to deal with the stress of late work and busy schedules.  

Communicate with Your Professor

If you’re behind in a class, your professor needs to know so they can help you.  It may seem scary, but professors exist to help you learn and succeed! When you feel behind and need support, we recommend you reach out to your professor with:

An acknowledgement that the course is important to you and that you want to do well in it.  Sometimes professors can assume that you’re behind because you don’t care.  Make sure they know that you are interested in their class and what they have to say!

Your current status on all pending assignments.  If you have half of or most of an assignment done, it’s often best to hand that in on the deadline and make a new deadline for when the project will be complete that feels more reasonable for you.  A lot of professors won’t even take off points for lateness if you reach out to them before the deadline hits.

A request for lateness leniency. This could mean an extension on a project or simply a recognition that the assignment will be late due to extraneous factors.  These factors could include family problems, severe stress, sickness/injury, mental health issues, a lost assignment sheet, overlapping assignments from other classes, or any number of things.

Professors cannot make any sort of arrangement for your needs if they do not know what your needs are.  Even if you just send a quick email or drop by office hours in your pajamas (hell yes I’ve done it), you’re well on your way to working with your professor instead of against them.  This will bring down your stress and increase the likelihood that you get the support you need

Make an Emergency Schedule TM

Sure, we all try to have weekly schedules that we want to follow.  The Emergency Schedule is not that.  Usually, when work gets overwhelming, it will require a little more than the usual work plan to get you through.  Try to make an alternate work plan for the next 4-6 days that allows you to focus short-term on getting back on track.

Begin by blocking off these times on your schedule:

Your class-times and important meetings

A reasonable sleep schedule that will allow you to stay healthy and alert

Times to eat – you have to fuel your brain!

Then, make a list of assignments:

Make sure to include your specific readings (Instead of “History Reading,” write “MacDonald p. 33-58” or “Revelations 1-22”)

Break larger assignments like exams and essays into smaller, actionable tasks that can get done in 30min-1hr chunks

Once you have specific tasks that you need to do in the next 4-6 days, place them in specific time slots on your plan:  

Remember to be realistic – if you can’t reasonably do every single task, think seriously about which tasks can be moved to later weeks or abandoned.  

Now, finalize your Emergency Schedule by building in accountability.  Let your friend, advisor, parent, or roommate know exactly what you need to be doing this week and ask them to check in with you so that you know that you need to keep on track.  Hopefully, after you get through this next 4-6 days, you’ll be all caught up and ready to dive back into a more relaxed schedule!

Remember that an EF tutor is more than happy to help you with any of these big get-back-on-track tasks.  Sign up here to schedule a session!