Month: November 2018

After a blissful week full of family, turkey, naps, and shopping, Thanksgiving break has sadly come to an end and classes have resumed with what seems like more assignments and stress than ever before. Whether you have four or seven courses, you probably have found yourself buried under a litany of final projects, papers, and exams to complete before you can be welcomed by the freedom of winter break in just fourteen short days. Some courses may even have a combination of the three for you to complete. While there is no doubt that the next two weeks will be difficult to get through, there are ways to make it easier. Hopefully the tips below will aide you in your studies and help you stay productive for the next couple of weeks.

Eliminate Distractions

As you may know, it’s difficult to be productive when you constantly have objects of focus surrounding you. Oftentimes, these objects are our phones and their access to social media, or simply the environment we choose to study in. While it may seem simple to just turn off your phone or seclude yourself to a quiet study room,  you may still find yourself instinctively reaching to check Instagram, or aimlessly staring at a painting on the wall- anything to keep from studying.

For the technology aspect of this problem, the best way to stop checking your phone is to simply give your phone to a friend or just leave it in your dorm. However, if you must keep your phone so people can contact you, there are less extreme methods. Many app stores today offer plenty of apps geared towards productivity- often times, these have timers so that you know when to start working and when to take a break and check your phone. Also, if you have a more recent iPhone, they now have a screen time feature in settings, which records how long you spend on certain apps. With this feature, you can also set daily app limits, which only allows you to check certain apps for a limited time during a day. There’s also a downtime setting, which shuts down apps on your phone for a scheduled amount of time. During this time, you can choose which apps you would still like access to, but the others you will not be able to open until the time ends.

Focus Your Efforts

While finals are an important component of your overall grade and GPA, not all finals may need to be treated in the same way. Before you open a textbook, be sure to know which courses and topics are your priorities- this will keep you from wasting time studying topics you may already know or that will barely impact your grade.

To know which courses to prioritize, take time to look back at each of your syllabi. Look at the weighting of the final and use your past grades to determine what you would need to get your goal for the class. If you only need a 60% on your Economics final to reach a B+ but need an 80% on your Calculus to get a B-, then you should put more effort into studying Calculus. It’s also important to consider how many credits each course has. Higher credit courses count more to your GPA, so doing well in these courses are slightly more important.

Another tip would be to start studying for your last final first. By the end of finals week, you’ll likely be worn out and won’t want to put in as much effort into last minute studying. If you spread out your studies throughout the next two weeks, you won’t have to worry about cramming the night before your last exam. Spreading out your studies also allows you to look at multiple courses over time. Make a goal to look at one chapter a day for each class, and if you get tired with one class, you can just move on to another course to stay productive.

 

“Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow”

–Anonymous

Week after week, students have been pushing through the same dreadful schedule: waking up early for morning lectures, completing four hour labs, attending dull recitation sessions, and staying up late to make last minute changes to assignments. Now, after three months of this pattern, the students of Penn State have finally reached their winter break. Although the past week seemed as if it would last forever, the excitement for the impending break encouraged students to continue pushing forward and finally, they have reached their reward.

Now that classes have finally concluded for the next week, it feels tempting to forget about all of the stress of final projects and assessments and just enjoy the short span of freedom ahead. After all, there are still two weeks after break to prepare for finals, right? Well, there are two more weeks of classes, meaning two more weeks of homework, last-minute projects, reflections, essays, and thus two more weeks of late night working sessions. With all this scrambling going on, will you really have enough time to properly study for all of your finals?

Although it may seem discouraging now, setting aside time over the break to work ahead will lead to plenty of long term benefits. Beginning your finals studies earlier will allow you to better conceptualize the information you need, leaving you more prepared for your finals. Similarly, working ahead on upcoming assignments will further ease your workload in the upcoming weeks. So, taking simple steps towards being productive now will lead to lower stress levels throughout the rest of the semester.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you must spend your entire week studying. Make plans to go out and see friends and family, do things you normally can’t- you deserve to enjoy yourself. However, during instances where you find yourself without plans, make the choice to be productive rather than to binge watch The Office on Netflix- or, at least attempt to be productive during your binge.

Before you leave for home, quickly make a list of everything you would like to get done over the break and bring home the supplies you need in order to complete this list. It is important to note that you should keep this list long enough so that it will allow you to make a dent in your work load, but also short enough to be realistic. If you set too high goals for yourself, you may be more likely to give up on any progress throughout the week. When choosing what to get done first, think ahead towards the rest of your plans. Will you be busier at the beginning, or the end? Plan ahead so that you can do your easier assignments during times when you are busier. This will give you more time for harder projects and subjects. Plus, there is less to worry about if you are unable to complete simpler assignments.

Whether you devote days or hours towards your studying efforts, any progress you make will help in the upcoming weeks. Plan ahead, work diligently, and, most importantly, get it done.

“Productivity is NEVER an accident, it’s the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort”

–Paul Meyer

Sometimes, when we find ourselves at our lowest, we let our anxiety get the best of us. When everything that could possibly go wrong has, it can be tempting to throw our hands up in the air and surrender to the voice in the back of our heads. In these times we not only listen to the dark thoughts, we believe in them and even add fuel to the fire. Before you know it, one intrusive thought leads to the next, and it’s like a snowball rolling from the top of a snow-covered mountain: initially small and unthreatening, but grows and picks up momentum, becoming an unyielding force of negativity.

It can be tempting to give in to these thoughts- to be the one to first push the snowball down the mountain- and make a small problem much larger than it really is. Obviously, this would be the worst thing you could do for yourself. Although it is healthy to have some form of emotional release every now and then, these kinds of thoughts will only lead towards low self-confidence and unproductivity.

It’s important to recognize when these thoughts begin to take form- when the snowball has yet to be pushed down the mountain- and to stop yourself from taking them any further. Make the conscious decision to stay away from these thoughts, and choose instead to distract yourself through any of the methods described below.

Practice deep breathing. This method is among the most immediately effective in this list. After about two to three minutes of breathing exercises, your heart rate will begin to slow, forcing your body and mind to calm down. Similar to physical exercise, this activity will help you clear your mind and feel more relaxed. Although there are several exercises to choose from, my personal favorites are belly and alternative breathing. You can learn more about these methods in the videos below.

Set long term goals. This is a great way to get yourself out of the present. Whatever may be worrying you now will not last forever, and thinking of the future will help you to realize that. Your goals can focus on whatever you’d like; perhaps the goals can focus around something that makes you happy, or a solution to a problem you are facing now. Whatever you choose, be sure to make your goals realistic and positive- give yourself something to look forward to.

Make lists. If you are a type A person, you may love this option. Again, what these lists are of is to your discretion, however there are some lists that might be more beneficial in certain situations. Say you’re stressed about the amount of work that needs to be done- make a to do list prioritizing what must be done first. If your day was not that great, make a list of everything that went well in the past week. So what if you didn’t do so great on your lab report? At least you got your favorite pasta for lunch! Find all the little things that made your day or week better, and appreciate those moments. Or, list things to look forward to: the next football or hockey game, your favorite club meeting, Thanksgiving break, the new semester. The possibilities are endless, you just need to see them.

“You are more than the mistakes you’ve made. You are the wisdom, love, strength and compassion you’ve gained from all you’ve been through.”

–Karen Salmansohn

In case you may have failed to notice, the weather in State College this week has been nothing short of beautiful! The leaves have fully changed, the breeze has calmed, and the chill has subsided. However, this period of bliss will certainly not last forever, so you must take advantage of it while you can! Chances are, you probably won’t be so eager to venture outside once you see six inches of snow on the ground. So, while it’s nice out now, take some time to explore campus, go on a hike in the arboretum, find an outdoor study spot, or just have fun with friends. Take this opportunity to find any excuse available to escape the concrete walls and fluorescent lights of your dorm while you can.

Of course, this suggestion doesn’t solely stem from the current state of the weather. While it is true that time is running out for students to enjoy the cool and crisp autumn air, there are also plenty of mental and emotional benefits from spending more time outside. For instance, reduced anxiety and depression and enhanced cognitive abilities have all been regular symptoms of increased exposure to nature, as well as a heightened overall quality of life.

According to the article, “The Great Outdoors,” a severe lack of sun exposure may lead to Vitamin D deficiency, a known risk factor for depression and other health issues, such as high blood pressure or weakened bones. However, too much exposure can lead to melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. So, although sunlight may significantly reduce symptoms of depression as well as Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease, it’s important to moderate how much time one spends under the sun.

But perhaps one of the most interesting correlations noted by the article referenced above is the one between time spent outdoors and your brain’s cortisol levels- cortisol being the hormone responsible for creating all of your stress, whether due to an upcoming exam or a paper deadline. This shouldn’t be all too surprising, since hikers often report feeling much more calm and relaxed after returning from an excursion.

But why is this? Perhaps it stems from the unusual sense of peace that a trail in the woods provides, with light birdsong, the scrambling of squirrels in the underbrush, and the crunch of leaves and sticks under your feet. In this place, the problems which troubled you before now begin to seem so distant, so small. Here, so far from every day life, you are able to think more clearly about what worries you, and perhaps are able to find the solution to a dilemma you’ve been facing.

However, don’t feel as though you must venture out into the woods to find this feeling of peace. In truth, any trek you take outside can offer you the same opportunity of self reflection. Whatever path you choose to take will offer a new perspective on the world around you, and will remind you that there is more than what is currently causing you distress. So, while you still can, go outside.

 

“Move the body, still the mind”

–Anonymous