Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Exams, Presentations, Midterms

We are getting close to mid-term and as mid-term approaches stress often goes WAY UP. While it is obviously important to take care of your work, it is just as important to take care of yourself. One of your fellow 1010 students emailed me this link 50 Ways to Destress in College. One thing to keep in mind with these activities is to limit or spread out your personal time. While this may sound counter-intuitive to what I am advocating, it is easy to get sucked into Facebook and use up 4 hours on it. Limit yourself to small doses of fun time - weave it in with your work time. For example, if you study for 3 hours (which research supports as the maximum amount of time for studying without breaks before you lose cognitive retention), then reward yourself with at least 30 minutes of fun time, but no more than 1 hour. This has really worked for me especially as a graduate student where I am juggling a multitude of different things ranging from my own classes to teaching to professionalization.

Does anyone else have any tips for integrating play with work?

19 comments:

  1. That link has a lot of great ideas. I've done quite a few of them, but one I saw that I'll have to try is "watch your favorite scene from your favorite movie." This sounds like a great way to relax without wasting too much time.

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  2. The link has tons of great ideas! Personally, I like to study for about 2 hours then chill and relax for an hour. I truly believe it depends on the individual on how to destress in college.

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  3. In the days leading up to tests, I like to study at Club Willis and bounce between floors. That way I can spend a couple hours in the basement and be fully focused on the task at hand and also go upstairs to the first and second floors where I can find almost always find friends to either talk to or recruit to help quiz me. Either way, it counts as social time in the middle of studying!

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  4. What seems to work well for me is I will finish an assignment for a class, then either check my email, or watch a youtube clip before moving onto my next assignment. I think after finishing anything, you have to wind down for a few minutes before diving into something else.

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  5. I know it's not for everyone, but one thing that helps me de-stress is to make a list of everything I need to accomplish. I usually make mine listed by importance or due dates. I then have a clear-cut idea of what I have to get done. I feel accomplished when I can see just how much I have crossed off and where the light at the end of the tunnel is! I can then integrate fun time in between tasks.

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  6. I agree with what Miriam said. For me it's easiest to make a time chart the night before of all the things that must be done. This way I know exactly what I need to do and I can also make sure I'm making time to relax. Plus seeing how much I can tackle in one day is a good motivator.

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  7. When I have a ton of reading to do I like to reward myself with a 10 minute break after every two or three chapters. If I read much more than that in one sitting, I have a lot more trouble actually paying attention to what I'm reading. It might take me a little longer to study because I stop so frequently, but I feel like I remember the material a lot better.

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  8. I think some ways of having less stress in college is kind of all in the brain, we all here that college is really stressful so it's basically what you expect. But in reality if people stay on top of what they're doing it wont be so stressful and one can still have time for "fun".

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  9. What I always find helpful is if the studying is not too hardcore is to have a friend study with you. This way you can talk it out and not feel so alone. Even if it's not the same subject matter, you can still feed off of one another's energy. However, talking a lot does make studying kind of hard sometimes, so if it's studying for a final, one might one to study by themselves. I'm the type of person that needs some sort of white noise while studying, so I usually turn the TV on quietly or listen to my iPod. Sitting in silence for too long makes me go crazy! But other than that, I think the main thing is to not freak out while studying. It's not the test and it's not life or death, so just don't think about the test when you're studying.

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  10. I always listen to music when I study, especially for tests that involve a lot of memorizing vocabulary words. It's easier for me to associate the words I'm studying with the song that's playing especially when it comes down to test time. I also try to eat snacks too, so that I'm not thinking about being hungry instead of studying. Also, you would be surprised how much you can get done during television commercials, even just reading a few pages of a chapter goes a long way.

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  11. I don't really have any tips that can benefit someone else. How I approach studying; I wouldn't exactly recommend to others. I mean what usually works for me is reviewing right before the exam so I remember better. It usually works out for me in the end, but that may not be the case for others. I say do whatever way works that works for you as long as it helps you pass.

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  12. Depending on whether my studying/homework requires all the time in the world and my full attention I will do things differently. If I need to read, I'll determine a number of pages would be a good amount and get it done asap. If im doing something that doesn't need my full attention I'll go ahead and do my homework in the front room. Since I live with 3 of my best friends, it's easy to do my homework since I'm also being entertained while I'm doing it. Relieves a lot of the stress of doing homework.

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  13. This website is full of many great ideas to not stress out so much! I've never thought of some of these, so I will have to try a few. Also, as Miriam said before, making lists help me tremendously.

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  14. This list has a lot of interesting ways to de-stress, and actually I already do a lot of them. The problem is, I do too many of them in a row and become unproductive. When I need to really study, I make a to do list for the week and determine on which days I'm going to study for which classes, that way one particular day won't be too overwhelming, and if it is, I can mentally prepare myself for it in advance. I also like to study with a friend who I know I won't goof off with. That way we each hold the other one to some level of accountability when studying.

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  15. Integrating play with work is a great way, in my opinion, to prompt someone, even myself to study. Some things that i do is like said above study for a specific amount of time, take a break and then start again. During my break i find fun ways to incorporate what i just studied into either what i am watching or doing. Like if i listen to music then i find certain things in the music that remind me of what i just studied. and then when i go back to study i put the material that i am studying to the tune of that song. Then when i take the test and i sing the song in my head i tend to remember a lot more of what i studied then just reciting it over and over again because even then i tend to forget things. It tends to usually help with me and my studies. And then when i get done studying i always treat myself to shopping the next day or a nice dinner, it helps as an initiative.

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  16. Wow, its obvious that I have clearly been so busy that I have missed some awesome conversations. Yay working, 16 hrs in school and sorority events. Time management at its best! haha

    Play time and school and work... I LIVE by my planner. I literally write everything down and live hour to hour based on what I have written, color coded in my planner. Wow, I sound pretty nerdy saying all this. My "social life" is primarily on the weekends and I dedicated my weekdays M-Th to school and myself, just making sure I get as much done as possible to survive.

    I know that freshman year of college I learned a lot about how to juggle everything. But one lesson that I think everyone should learn is how to say the word "no." Having the ability to prioritize is SO important. Remembering your goals and where you want to end up helps making little decisions SO much easier. I always have the mentality of "what am I doing today that will get me a step closer to where I want to be or WHO I want to be tomorrow, five years from now, 10 years from now".... Writing my goals on my mirrors, doors etc.

    There will be a time where "fun" can be a part of your life. But just remember that college is only 4 years. It goes by fast. So make the right decisions now.

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  17. well is there any way to get motivation to get back to work because every time i take a break after working for a long time i can never get back to work. From where should I draw my motivation to continue working? I feel as though its better to get as much work done before you brain goes to hell.

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  18. For me note cards, note card, note cards. I write each subject down on notecards untill I know everything

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  19. Something that works for me while doing my assignments is between each finished piece of homework, I get on youtube for a bit and listen to some music or get on facebook for a bit. After I've done that for about 45 minutes, i go back to my homework to finish the next assignment. I continue this until all my assignments are finished for the day.

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