Outside of Professor Nichols’ office

A few days ago I decided to meet with Professor Nichols for my real time chat. Coincidentally, everyone else had the same idea that day. I was waiting outside of her office for over two hours! However, I didn’t let that time go to waste. I decided to take out my computer and write my FYE blog post for the week, while also getting some research done for my student-led lecture. When it was finally my turn to chat with her, I entered the room with two other students, Harry from my 12:45 class, and, Sean, from the 11:10 class. Since we received less than satisfactory grades on the first exam, we all sat down to discuss some strategies to improve on that unsatisfactory grade.
To start off the meeting, Professor Nichols asked each of us what we did to study for that exam. I responded, saying, I skimmed through all the chapters, read the chapter recaps, and did all the practice quizzes on the websites multiple times each. By doing this, I thought I would be prepared enough for the exam, it turns out, however, I was not. I felt pretty comfortable with most of the multiple choice questions, but when it got to the short answer/essay questions, I blanked. She then gave me a few strategies to improve my study habits. She followed the previous question with another, What did an average day look like for us? I then explained my day: it started at 10:30 or 11, I got a shower and headed to pollock commons to eat, which was around 11:45/12, then I go to class from 12:45 to 3:35. After class, I relax in my room for about half an hour before I go to the gym, then I eat, and then I finish all of my homework afterward. After listening to my average day, Professor Nichols strongly urged me to wake up at an earlier time (8 or 9), go to breakfast, work out, and get some homework done before class, that way, I could have the rest of the day to relax and do whatever I wanted to. On one hand, this idea really appealed to me, because I would have so much time to just do whatever I wanted to do. But on the other hand, I love to sleep, and if I took her suggestion, I would have to wake up much earlier than I am used to. I tried to think of the pros and cons with each, but, ultimately, I think Professor Nichols’ plan is better than my current schedule. So starting next week, I am going to take her advice and wake up early.