Don't Divide... Do and Due!

As the semester wraps up and project, test andpaper deadlines creep closer and closer, all of the work can be overwhelming. This past week's topic of task management came at the perfect time. To be totally honest, CLS 105's homework has started to become more and more of a chore. I can respect why it is that we have to do it and try out the strategies, but I just feel like I could be doing something better with my time.

This week I tried out the "divide by 4" task management strategy. I used it to plan out studying for my last NSD 225 exam and writing my PSY 205 term paper. To divide by 4 you must break up the task into: 1) prepare, 2) start, 3) continue, 4) finish.

For my NSD 225 exam I used prepare as my daily things I do to get ready for the exam. That includes 20 minute test prep at the end of each week and preparing and answering test questions. I used start to go through all of the test questions and figure out which ones I don't know. Continue is used to make graphic organizers and other ways to remember the questions I had trouble with. Finally, with finish I re-review all of the test questions.

For the PSY 205 term paper I changed the prepare, start, continue and finish to work for a paper. Using research, outline, first draft and edit as my key steps to completing the work.

To be totally honest, I don't really find this strategy especially helpful. At the beginning of the semester I was a strong supporter of D's Do and Due. To me that made sense. You have a month calendar with major assignments on their due date and then during the weekly calendar they're broken up to tell you what part of the assignment you should be doing each day so the task is MORE MANAGEABLE. Just listing what I should do, and limiting it to four steps doesn't do anything for me. I need the organization of D's Do and Due with the long term and short term assignments listed and organized. I will not be Dividing by 4 again.

Task Management

So, this being the final week of classes, and we are nearing the end of the year. Which seems so crazy to me, being a freshman, I feel like, I was just moving in, not knowing anyone, and now its the end. Next year will be so different, and it is a bittersweet feeling, nobody likes change, but it will be nice to meet a whole new group of friends and people in a new building. However, even though this ending is coming upon us sooner than ever, I still have so much work to focus on before we all get to these sad endings.

Task management has been a huge issue for me, since before I can remember. I usually like to do projects and assignments all in one night. Once I sit down and start to work, I like to complete the work within that siting. By doing this, it makes me feel accomplished and like I was able to get one item knocked off my list of things to do. For example, this blog, once I am finished I am going to go work out and feel good about doing it because I will have rewarded myself with a nice work out. The reward system works really well for me, because I usually need a little extra push to start something, like if there is a time frame that the assignment needs to be done for then this will help me start because I know if I don't finish it, I won't be able to do the activity that comes after it.

Also, I decided to divide by four for my recent time arts project. Because I am in VPA and a lot of the time we assignment a project to complete each week, it is easy to just forget about it and then last minute the night before, I stay up all night working on it. This way of doing things is just not helpful for so many reasons, besides lack of sleep, the quality of the project is immediately lessened. So, by dividing into four, it helps me get each small aspect of the project to come together at the and create the finished piece. At first, I went and sat in Starbucks and made a map of all the noises I heard for the next hour and where there were around me. Then second, I had to come back to my computer and use a site to download sounds that were similar (but not the same) to those that I heard in Starbucks. Third, I edited the noises in Audacity to form a single sound for approximately a minute. This brings me to the fourth step, where I presented the final project to my class on our blog.

http://thursdaymorningtimeart.blogspot.com/2011/04/soundscape-by-natalie.html

Getting on Task

Task Management is extremely important now that finals are approaching. Before I can even think about finals, I have a paper in PSY 205 due and also my BIO 124 lab practical next Wednesday. I have been stressing about these two for a while now and procrastination hasn't helped that stress one bit. So, it's time for me to buckle down and to finish this year off right.

To lessen the stress of these couple weeks I have made it a point to list all my priorities, from the big assignments to the little ones. It is a great tool for task management because when starting tasks you want already know what is at the top of your list. For right now, my BIO lab practical is at the top of my list. With my excitement that I'll be done with general BIO fo

rever gives me a little motivation to ace the

With these strategies I can stay more on task and avoid the temptation to procrastinate (which I've done enough of). The thought of me being completely done with my Freshman year in 16 days is crazy to think about, but it's an even better motivator.practical and leave on a good note. The practical is treated as a final for BIO 124 and includes 24 stations, each listing a few questions. Questions include anything from photosynthesis to where the kidneys are located in a fetal pig. Starting to study for this exam has been harder than any other exam I have studied for, because my TA left us in the dark; leaving it to us to study all 11 labs we have done without providing us with any outline. That leaves me to use the Exam Experiment techniques: Topic/Source Outlines, Study Sheets, Test Questions, and Study Schedule. These techniques will all be very helpful my task management because when

it comes time to review all my study sheets, I like to put post-it notes on my desk to k

eep reminding me of different concepts and diagrams, and most importantly to keep my focus on the practical. I use post-it notes a lot because they're great for everyone of my courses. Reminders of CLS journals, Chemistry equations, Biology definitions, etc.

With these strategies I can stay more on task and avoid the temptation to procrastinate (which I've done enough of). The thought of me being completely done with my Freshman year in 16 days is crazy to think about, but it's an even better motivator.

Task Management!

People are so busy these days that it can be hard to keep track of all of the tasks one needs to accomplish. I know this is true for me. There are many times I find myself confused about what work is due in which of my classes. Especially with the year coming to an end I feel like I have so many things being thrown at me (papers, tests, homework, etc.) that if I don't have the skill of task management than I am going to be in BIG trouble. As if it's not hard enough to prioritize my school work, one must also prioritize personal things outside of schoolwork, such as being in a sorority for me. There are so many events one must attend if part of a sorority, and I love going to them, but at the same time I know it gets in the way of my school work. I really looked forward to this week and learning about task management because I knew its something I struggle with, and with practice, a skill I could really benefit having.

As I looked at my work for the week, I decided the two classes I had the most work in were PSY 205 and CLS 105. Because I have used it in the past and found it very helpful to me by executing my work in an organized manner, I used the "Target Planner" strategy for CLS 105. In PSY 205, I used the strategy "Divide By 4" because I have an exam coming up this week and foundthat the layout of "Divide By 4" was a perfect way to begin my prep for my exam. Also, I have always been a fan of "Post It Reminders" and used them throughout the week, as I do every week.

Tomorrow in CLS 105, I have a huge project due: The Major/Career Exploration. I was very proud of myself because I got started on this project early on, and was done with most of it at the start of last week. But as I said a few weeks ago, I really struggle with procrastination, and I could feel myself putting off the rest of the project because I had accomplished so much already so early. So to get my priorities straight and figure out exactly what had to be done and when, I created a Target planner. We have used the Target planner in CLS before, and it had worked great for me so I decided to try it again. I am a

visual learner so it is very important for me to see what I have to do. This strategy is great because it is a visual reminder of what has to be done. I took the Major/CareerExploration Project and broke it up into the different sections of it. I then created a bullseye and added each task of the project and when it is due. Having this very visual reminder of my project not only kept me from procrastinating, but also helped me finish all of my work by the date I had specified. I am also a kinesthetic learner, so the actually making of the target planner also engrained the tasks and dates into my head. I would definitely recommend using a Target planner, but probably only for big projects, or project with multiple parts and due dates.

This Friday I have my last PSY 205 recitation quiz. These quizzes are really important because they can help save your grade if you do not test well (which is me!) I de

cided to use the strategy "Divide by 4." The four steps are prepare,start, continue, and finish. Here is what I did:

1. PREPARE: In order to prepare for my quiz coming up, the first thing I had to do was gather all my notes and make sure I wasn't missing any lectures. I have missed a few classes which meant part of my preparation was going online and copying the PowerPoints I had missed into my notebook. I also went to the bookstore and picked up notecards. I did all of this on 4/20.
2. START: I decided I wanted to start prepping for the exam the next day (4/21). I started with the 20 minute test prep. Since I didn't have class on Thursday, I went to my last set of notes (from Tuesday) and reviewed them. After this, I spent about 10 minutes on each week of notes I had, highlighting this I was unsure or had questions about.
3. CONTINUE: I continued with the 20 minute test prep by creating test questions at the end of each week's lecture. I aimed for about 5-8 questions per week. I also noticed that I felt myself beginning to stress, so I used a strategy from last week, "10 Minute Vacation," to help calm myself down, and refocus.
4. FINISH: To finish, I began copying all of the test questions I created to notecards. I have used flash cards all of my life and they really help me preparefor exams. I also went through the text book and clarified anything I was unsure about. I am planning on creating a topic outline as well after our last PSY class before our quiz, which is on Tuesday.

"Divide By 4" made me realize something very important. Organization is KEY in task management. If you do not have a plan of execution, or a break down of what you must accomplish, it is never going to get done. I found "Divide By 4" to be extremely helpful and would recommend it to my peers for any type of work. Whether it be a big project or one homework assignment, being able to break up your work really helps keep you on track and organized. It also kept me from stressing out.

Both "Divide By 4" and "Target Planner" laid out an organized plan of what I had to do for each of my classes. Like I said earlier, as a kinesthetic and visual learner I learn best when I can see and do, and both of these strategies combine a visual aspect with an active aspect (active being the actually creating of test questions, note cards, the target planner, etc.) I think both of these strategies work, and I look forward to using them these last few weeks of school as we prepare for finals!

Get a Grasp on the Task!

Task management is a very helpful ability to possess as an individual as well as a student. There are so many tasks people need to complete each day and at times we need to sit down and figure out which task is most important and prioritize from there. Not only is it difficult as a student to prioritize the several academic assignments and accomplish them all without feeling out of time or overwhelmed, but also it is also just as important to prioritize and manage activities and personal things outside of schoolwork. My hardest struggle and fear is not being able to manage and finish my academic work load combined with everything else I would like to do or am obligated to do. Therefore, I used some helpful strategies from our CLS textbook and chose some task strategies. This week I put to use the “Divide by Four” method and then I utilized the “Post-It Reminders” as a second strategy.

I utilized these two strategies in two of my classes. I used the “DivideBy Four” for CLS 105 to organize my last project and then I used “Post-It Reminders” for my Psych 205 class and everyday life in general. For CLS 105 our last project has finally arrived and I knew that I had to get a jump-start on it and be able to finish the last portion of it by Monday. Since this CLS project is a major career exploration assignment it was broken up into three different parts. The first part was to create a proposal where I stated how I was going to go about seeking a potential career and such. I wrote a proposal and discussed the ways I would collect documentation to help me make up my mind even further. I came to the conclusion that I would need to gather six different forms of documentation ranging from picking my classes on myslice for next semester and then to looking into internships and studying abroad flyers. However, the last portion of the project is a three -page reflection paper. I went about organizing my paper into four paragraphs and deciding what I was going to write about in each paragraph as well. I really enjoyed using this strategy because I like dividing things up and visually being able to see what needs to be written in each paragraph as well as mapping it out kinesthetically at the same time. I prepared this assignment by writing the proposal, then I started to collect documentation and speak with advisors, I continued to seek out my interests so by the end of the project I can have a relaxed feeling of accomplishment and finish not only the assignment but clear up my thoughts and actually have a sense of direction for my future.

The second task management strategy I found to be a personal favorite was the “Post-It Reminders” technique. I have used post-its in the past, but once I read about this strategy and actually started using it for academic assignments and not just little reminders or having phone numbers stuck on a sticky note and e-mail addresses, it changed my outlook on the schoolwork side. I utilized this strategy with Psych 205 because I have so many assignments due within the next couple weeks that I wrote them all down on sticky notes and as I complete each little assignment I can rip off the sticky note in the process. I wrote a few sticky notes at a time so I don’t become too overwhelmed, so for example I wrote down that I need to complete my “SONA” studies and start to outline my paper. Then, on the sticky notes next to those I wrote that I need to start typing my paper next week and that I have a quiz next week as well. Lastly, the final sticky note said that my Psych 205 exam will be on May 3^rd and that is the same day I must turn in my paper. Just sitting at my desk and being able to see what I need to accomplish is so helpful because that way I am always thinking ahead. I love the “Post-It Reminders” task management technique and I would highly recommend it. I write down practically my life on sticky notes and they have never failed me. So go out and purchase a huge multi-colored pack, they’ll last you the whole year and nothing can replace the feeling of ripping one off and crumbling it while you shoot for the trash can!

Stress OVERLOAD

Most of the time I am stressed. Not only with school work, but there are so many other aspects of life that can leave a person stressed. Like today, I woke up and realized I had so many errands to run and things to buy before I go back to school on Tuesday. I have to do my laundry, clean my room, go to CVS, buy more suitcases and ect. the list goes on. I also, have 2D homework, time arts homework, and CLS! Where do I even begin?!

So, I sat down and made a chart, the Stress Diagram, and it showed what my biggest stresses where down to my, not so stressful but still in the back of my head, stresses. Then I put it into a pie chart to express what needed more attention. This worked because I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, so drawing out what stressed me out, really showed me what I needed to work on and in what order.

After doing this, it made me feeling better about organizing what work I should look at first and get accomplished, vs. what work I could leave for a little later. This brought me to make a Stress Reduction Plan because I would reward myself with one of these activities when I finished a task that was very stressful.

I wrote out five things that I could treat myself to when I got to stressed with work. This helped because it gave me first, an incentive to finish some of my work, and then also, in doing this activity, it let me relax a little and not think so much about what I had to do but just have some fun.

I will totally continue to use these helpful charts in the future because they have made me realize that there are ways to de-stress, and that you don't always have to be caught up in the middle of it.

Managing That Thing Called Stress

Being a Freshman in college, there are so many things to worry about. But transitioning from the work in High School to the work in College can be a very big step. The workload jump for me was very hard to overcome. This can put major stress onany student. There are many ways to manage stress but the first thing to figure out is what causes it in the first place. I am a Linear learner so the stress diagram was perfect for me. I chose the top five things that gave me stress then split them up in a pie chart. I love my girlfriend to death but she does stress me out sometimes and being three hours away doesn't really help. When we are in a fight its hard to think about anything else, especially getting motivated to do my work. Others in my top five stressors include my grades, my family, lacrosse, and my friends in that order. Grades for me are very big deal. I may not show it sometimes but I hate getting back bad grades. Succeeding in school is a very big stressor for me. My next is my family. There are always so many things going on and so many people to make happy it can get very stressful. This is wheretaking a nice break from them can help so much. Lacrosse has always been stressful for me. I love the sport and I want to succeed playing it. Having to perform each day at practice when your starting position is on the line while thinking about school and a girlfriend can be so stressful. My last major stressor is my friends. Keeping up with everything that is going on at school and keeping promises with them stresses me out. I sometimes forget about things that I said I was going to do and that makes people not happy with me. This is the diagram I whipped up in Photoshop. I then created a Stress Reduction Plan to combat these stressful things. This is a list in order that I can look at if I become too stressed. I can go down the list and find something that will take my mind off whatever I am stressed about.

My first is of course riding snowmobile. There is really nothing like it. When I'm out riding, nothing else matters. My head is clear and I can take out my frustrations on the snow or jumps. It is such a calming experience for me. The only thing with this choice is that it can only be done in the winter. While in CNY it seems like its winter all the time, there are some times where there is no snow so that choice cannot be done. So my next is working out. It is very calming to get a really good workout in. My next one is to do some design work. When I'm doing photoshop or anything like that I am in my own little world and nothing can touch me. Working in the shop can relieve my stress just as good as anything. Pounding metal with a hammer can take away frustrations like nothing else. Taking a nap is always a way to disconnect from the world and calm down. When I was feeling stressed this week I went down to the basement and worked out until I felt better. I will continue to use these strategies as long as I have stress.s

All in all, once one figures out what is causing them stress, they can create a plan to combat that stress. Since stress is always changing, it is most productive to make a stress diagram every few weeks or even every week. The Stress Reduction Plan can also be updated when one finds a new activity to do to keep their mind at ease.

Stress

Stress is something that all college students deal with. For me, it has become a part of my everyday life. There are many things in my life that cause me stress. So since this weeks topic was stress, I thought it might help to first identify the top 3 things in my life that cause me it. My list is as follows:
1. School/Grades/HW/Test
With the school year coming to end, I feel like all of my classes are getting tougher. Final projects and such are getting thrown at me in every class and I get SO stressed out when I feel overwhelmed.
2. Being in a sorority
Being in a sorority is extremely time consuming. I am always stressed out by all of the events we have to attend, and time we must spend at the house. I love being in a house, but it just gets stressful when you always have things to do on top of school.
3. My future
I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Especially with the Career/Major exploration project happening, I have realized that I'm still undecided and need to start seriously focusing on what I want to do.

So the strategy I tried this week was "10 Minute Vacation". I have a very short attention span, so I have found that strategies that include chunks or breaks are very beneficial to me. This week in PSY 205, I had a powerpoint presentation and outline due. I started with the powerpoint presentation. I would create two slides, and then take a 10 minute vacation. During this first break, I went to youtube.com and checked out some funny videos. This was really helpful because it took my mind off all of the work I still had to do. I worked hard, and then got to treat myself. Then after the 10 minutes was up, I went back to working on my powerpoint for another two slides, and repeated these steps till my work was finished! Since I am a visual learner, I really enjoyed the 10 minute breaks because I got to take my mind off my work and focus on something visually appealing. I finished my outline in the exact same way. I would work out a paragraph or two, then take a 10 minute vacation on one of the websites. Youtube was my favorite because I find it the most entertaining.

Because I found the 10 minute vacation so useful, I decided to try it in MAT 121 as well. We had an exam on Tuesday, and I really needed to spend a lot of time studying for it. I would study for an hour, and then treat myself with a 10 minute vacation to youtube again. I found my stress level was greatly reduced by doing this because I would be so focused on my work, and then I would get to have a brainless 10 minutes where I had nothing to focus on but funny videos. I am definitely going to keep up with this strategy for the remainder of the year.

I learned a lot of great ways to relieve stress this week. My stress level has gone down immensely, and I hope it stays that way. If I just remember to breathe, and use the strategies we learned in class, then I know I'll be living a stress free life in no time!

Who isn't stressed?

I don't know one person who isn't stressed right now. With the year coming to a close, everyone's trying to squeeze in time with friends and having fun before we all leave behind our first year of college. Oh, and on top of all that fun, comes a price, finals. We're only two weeks away from finals and the end is coming fast. It's easy to look forward to events such as MayFest and Block Party, but the only thing I'm focusing on right now is acing my finals...and that's where the stress comes in.


I could rant all day about the amount of stress I have, but 1. that
would be whining and 2. every college student is under stress. So, to calm myself down and keep sane these last couple weeks, I've adapted a few strategies to manage my stress. The first is A Day at a Time. How it works is before you crawl into bed every night, write down on a post-it note, or even just a piece of plain paper, 5 things (or more) that are stressing you out (It doesn't have to be academic related, although I guarantee at least one of your five will be school related). Writing these stressors will not only make you feel just a little bit better, but it will also organize your priorities. For me, eliminating stress is my number one priority. For my Day at a Time sheet, I pretty much ranked what was making me most stressed (1-5). My chemistry exam is Wednesday and that course as a whole stresses me out, so that being said, it is listed as my #1 stressor; then CLS project, finals, summer job, and my GPA follow.


As Dr. Blumin said in class, you're always going to have stress, but you need a way to deal with it. There are many ways to deal with stress and the Stress Reduction Plan is one of many ways to cope with stress. What this plan entails are activities that you can resort to when your overly stressed. There are many options under this plan including:

Physical Activity
Pamper Yourself
Change Environment
Share It
Enjoy
Get Help

The two categories that I find most helpful is Physical Activity (running) and Enjoy (watching a movie). These two activities help me regain my focus and calm me down after a long day. Also, listening to music is another great way to unwind (especially after an exam).

Identifying and directing your stress in a positive fashion is the only way I can deal with stress that comes along with everyday life. A little motivation doesn't hurt either.

The Dreaded and Feared Stress!

In CLS this week our class studied and learned plenty about the dreaded and feared word of stress. Not only is stress a word most people do not like to hear constantly, but it tends to be a daily feeling and behavior as well. As a college student stress is a typical struggle and extremely common. Personally, I found the entire first year of freshman year highly stressful with the fact that everything is new and paving a new path is always tough to come by at first. I came to Syracuse at the beginning of the year with an open slate and far from home, and I still feel like I am so stressed out all the time trying to juggle academics, friends, clubs, and the simple things that I want to do. Even though I am stressed about the mass amounts that college brings to my life, what stresses me out the most is ironically the fact that I am constantly stressed…making everything worse all the time. Thankfully this week CLS taught me several techniques to use when I am stressed out how to manage my stress.

Most of my stresses come from my academics and the fact that I never know where I am going in life. Considering I am undecided at SU a lot of what I do depends on my grades and figuring out what interests me. Since I applied to Newhouse I get stressed out about my current courses because I want the best grades I can get in order to be accepted into Newhouse. However, at the same time since I am so undecided about my interests and my future I stress out so much about my grades and getting assignments completed to the best of my ability and I reflect if all the stress is really worth it. There are stress management strategies that I used and those were mainly for everyday life as well as courses such as CLS and Psych 205.

This course of CLS has a huge amount of busy work and assignments constantly going on, which at times gets rather stressful, therefore I approached this week with the strategy at a time technique. Towards the beginning of my days I will sit down and think about everything I need to accomplish for that day and even more throughout the week. The technique is called “A Day at a Time” and I create pretty much a to-do list at the beginning of my first class that I have that day. For example, on Monday I created “A Day at a Time” schedule and started off writing down the classes I had that day. After my first class and in between my second class I wrote that I need to go to the library and work on homework. So therefore I wrote class, library, class…then since I have a generous gap from about 2 pm until 6 pm I wrote down all of the assignments I would need to complete for that day and into the week. I wrote down that I needed to finish all of my CLS homework for Wednesday including my journal and extra assignments. I even needed to start thinking about the last project which is the career project and I need to travel to locations in order to gather documentation for that assignment, which I find stressful. I also wrote that I would prepare for my night class on Mondays and study the material. “A Day at a Time” allows me to visually see what I need to get done, and this helps because I am a visual learner. Then, after

I write down my tasks I need to physically do the task, furthermore supporting that I am a kinesthetic learner. Not only does “A Day at a Time” help tremendously with accomplishing schoolwork for the day and week ahead but I always make lists even when I don’t have classes because there are so many things I need to get done in one day that it helps me stay focused and in line. I feel more than productive enough with a technique like this and I recommend this strategy to anyone during anytime.

The second strategy that I used was creating a stress diagram. This strategy is used for more of gathering all the tasks in my life together and being able to see what needs to be juggled and what is most important to me. However, before I discuss how a stress diagram is awesome for every aspect of my current life, I used this for my Psych 205 class. Since Psych 205 requires plenty of assignments I needed to see which assignments were causing me the most stress and what is my first pri

ority and so on. The assignments for that class usually fall on the same day or within the same week. I needed to go out of my way and complete psychology experiments by the end of the class, I have homework assignments due, and then furthermore I have an exam during the week and then a quiz following two days later. On top of that, since the exams are very difficult I like to complete as much extra credit as I can and this puts an even larger load on my plate. I created a circle and figured that the exams are the most important so I divided the largest piece and labeled that “Exam.” Then, the second largest task is the homework assignment followed up by the quiz. The smallest portion was the “SONA” psychology studies because I recently completed the required amount.

The stress diagram is a great way to divide up my life because at first I bullet point what I find most stressful in my life and then I divide up my circle pie chart into categories and which has the highest stress level. The most stressful aspects of my life right now are as follows: my major/academics, a summer job, papers/end of the year projects, and sorority/social activities. I drew my circled stress diagram and the largest portion which takes up half is my major and academics. I am putting this first because as I wrote in the beginning of the blog I am undecided and choosing classes for next Fall is difficult for me because I do not even know if I will still be in Arts and Sciences or Newhouse…therefore my ways of thinking academic wise are always changing. The second largest portion of my diagram is papers and end of the year projects. I am so overloaded with around two papers and two projects that it is stressful to complete everything at the same time. Another large portion within my diagram is a summer job, I am not sure where I will be working yet this summer but I do have ideas so that is a work in progress. About even with my summer job is social activities and sorority business because that takes up substantial time and effort and always doing tasks and activities is stressful and tough.

DeSTRESSing

College can be a very stressful time. With the semester coming to an end and final exams and papers quickly approaching, I know that I can feel my stress levels slowly starting to rise.

The first step to me combatting the stress before

it gets too overwhelming is to make a Stress Diagram. First, I list all of the things that I am worried about: school related, family related, or anything else. Once I've listed those I make a pie chart. In the pie chart I divide up the space and give each stressor a specific amount of space. The more space a stressor takes up, the more

stressful that situation is to me. After everything is placed in the pie chart I can see which stressors need more attention and which ones I should try to take care of first- if possible. In my

case, my uncertain future and my GPA/ Newhouse are my biggest stressors. There's not a lot that I can do about my uncertain future right now and same with my GPA/Newhouse. The next largest stressors are COM 107 and my summer jobs (or lack thereof). These two are much more manageable. I was able to make a plan to get help with COM 107 and also make a list for possible summer jobs. As somewhat of a visual learner, seeing just how much something is bothering me is a helpful way to figure out what to do. My first instinct would be to take care of the little, small things, that really aren't that big of stressors to me. I will definitely continue to make the Stress Diagram because it helps me to prioritize.

Stress is inevitable. What helps is knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Having a Stress Reduction Plan is a good way to remind yourself of that light. I know that sometimes when I have two or three exams to study for I can get overwhelmed and feel like that's all there is going on. I know that I need to take "study breaks" to remind myself that there are other things going on and yes those exams are important, but I need to take care of myself too. The best cure to clear my head is to go for a run outside or play fieldhockey. Those activities take my mind off of my stressors and let me just escape for a little bit. If I can't get outside sometimes it's just helpful to talk to my mom or my boyfriend. They're good people to bounce ideas off of and also to distract me for a while. If I only have a little time to try and de-stress buying a new song on iTunes is one of the best two second things. It's amazing how one song can change someones mood. I love plans and the Stress Reduction Plan will definitely continue to be used. It's a great reminder during those stressful times that you need to just take a few seconds of every so often and clear your head.

There's less than a month left in the semester and yes I am a little stressed with classes wrapping up and deadlines approaching, but with the two tools I mentioned above, I know I'm prepared to handle the stress to come.

Procrastination at its Best

I am a procrastinator, who isn't? I feel like the whole world has a little bit of the procrastination bug in them, somewhere. When I was listening to the lecture this week, I realized that I didn't really fit in with the categories but that some of the stuff Dr. Blumin was saying, I could totally relate too. I am not one to sit around and do nothing, or find things that I have to do before I sit down and work. I just choose to not even open my work till the very last minute I need too. Like I will not sit down, look over what needs to be done for the weekend, and then get back to it. If I take out my work, it is because I need to take it out and do it. And I will. But that just never actually happens. I think it is because I feel like, once I have been to the class and showed up, that that was a lot of work in itself.

This needs to change though, so this week I made a list of things to do, and then I gave myself a reward, for what I would do when I accomplished all of the things on my list.

I had to go my blog for CLS, and then read for my Design History class, before the lecture. And since this her class is just reiterating the textbook, reading before hand comes in handy for the class. Then, lastly, for my major, interior design, I have to know a lot about adobe, and maybe of the kids know all about it, so it can really help me to know more about it. So, I sat down and played with it for a few hours, so I could get the hang of it. My 2D assignment, uses adobe, and then I was able to go and quickly get that project done as well. My reward for all of this was giving myself an online shopping date, because I have been looking for a cute watch for a while now.

Also, I made a list of my time wasters, and what tasters I avoid to make it easier for me to get my work done. By doing this, instead of going on facebook, yahoo, and stumble apon, I turned the internet off, and just used Word, and Abode. This helped me get my work done quicker without those extra distractions.

Overall, because I am a visual learner, making a list of what I need to do and writing it out, really worked for me, and I think I will continue to use these strategies in the future.

Now or Later? The Art of Procrastination

I used to think that I was a chronic procrastinator, until Wednesday's class when Dr. Bulmin described the various characteristics of a chronic procrastinator. Now, I may not be a chronic procrastinator, but I definitely have learned the art of procrastinating.

In high school I could get away with it. The assignments we had were relatively short and there weren't that many of them. Unfortunately, college makes this routine a little difficult. First semester I took three writing intense courses that were all on the same paper schedul

e. This meant that every five weeks I had three major papers due. I never spread the work out and I was always cramming my writing in until minutes before the papers were due. After spending the past semester in College Learning Strategies I have learned how muc

h easier it can be to break up and spread out the work over a week or two. It really pays to not procrastinate.

One method I found particularly helpful was chunking the task. Often times the assignments we get in college aren't just a worksheet, they're papers or 30 page readings or exams on five chapters.With such large or long assignments, it's easy to get overwhelmed, and in my case to procrastinate until I have no choice but to tackle it all at once. Chunking the task makes it much easier to approach. Even before starting to study, read or write, you look at the task as a whole and divide it into smaller more manageable, less intimidating tasks. As someone who loves to make lists and check things off this is perfect. I can make lots of small tasks to accomplish and then slowly start to check them off. I am currently using chunking the task for my COM 107 research paper and it has really made the whole process fly by. I will definitely continue to chunk the task.

Last week we talked about motivation. I feel that motivation and procrastination really go hand in hand. You need to be motivated not to procrastinate. I tried the time waster chart earlier in the week. This chart helped me to see what I could use as motivation, or rewards for not procrastinating. In the chart on the left hand side I listed all of the things I do when I'm procrastinating and in the right hand side I listed all of the things I avoided doing like studying and other work. This is a good method for figuring out where you're wasting time and possible rewards, but I'm not sure how helpful it was at preventing procrastination. I know that even if I don't study for my NSD 225 exam, I'm still gonna Skype my boyfriend or go on Facebook. This method is probably best for the occasional procrastinator who has the will power and determination to stay away from Facebook or the television.

The year is almost over and I'm hoping I can hold off on procrastinating long enough to get through my finals.

My Worst Enemy

All through high school I was the biggest procrastinator. I would wait until the very last minute to get everything done. I would be up at 12:30 still not finished with a project the night before its due swearing to my self I wouldn't let this happen again. Sure enough I was right there again on the very next project. While I was able to succeed in high school doing this routine, college posed a bit more of a challenge. I was keeping this same habit for each project paper or homework that I needed to complete. I was able to maintain a decent schedule for myself but I could still be doing better. When I heard this week was about procrastination, I was looking forward to ways I could improve my work and the timeline that I completed it in. I am a linear learner so I like things to be laid out in front of me. Since I had two full drawings to complete for my Friday morning Foundation Drawing class I decided this was a perfect opportunity to use these strategies. On Tuesday I went home to get some inspiration for my drawings in the shop. So instead of waiting until Thursday night like I usually would, I started my drawing Tuesday at the shop. I brought out the chunking the task strategy to help with this large drawing. I split the drawing in half to help finish it. I completed the first half back at my house on Tuesday. I then finished the rest of it on Thursday. This is the completed drawing. I still had my other drawing to complete also. I had already done half of it in class so I only had the other half to complete on Thursday. I decided to use the Time Wasters strategy. I identified my Time Wasters as my T.V., texting my girlfriend, and visiting with my friends on my floor. So combat these I turned my T.V. off and moved the remote across the room, I told my girlfriend I had to complete this project for tomorrow so she wouldn't text me and I told all my friends on the floor that I needed to finish this drawing. This would leave me in my own element with little to no distractions. I was able to finish both drawings with enough time to watch a T.V. show before I went to bed. It felt very good not to be rushing at the last minute. Even though I enjoyed the feeling of having some free time, I still like the way I do things. I have done them for so long that it is just how I get things done. As an art student, I feel as though I do my best work under pressure. People may not agree with this statement but it has worked for me in the past and hopefully will continue to work.

Procrastination

20% of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators, and I am certainly one of those people. In fact, I have been putting off submitting my blog all day! It's not because I wasn't prepared to write it, or I didn't want to, but it's because I want to do other things. I would rather nap, catch up on TV, or hang with my friends than do school work. But this is very common for college students. For me, procrastination really is something that I struggle with. I mean I always get all my work done, but I always wait until the last minute to do this. When it comes to procrastination, there are some assignments or tasks that I feel like putting off because they are challenging or I just do not want to do them and have no interest in doing them. But thankfully,CLS 105 has really helped me start to break this bad habit, but I still have a long way to go.

There are three categories of procrastinators:

• arousal/thrill seekers
• avoiders
• decisional I best fit into the avoiders and arousal/thrill seekers group. I love to have fun, so I am always looking for new things to do. This is one of the reasons I put off my homework. I think these two go hand in hand for me. I am an avoider because I love to seek thrill and arousal. I would rather be outside playing, or hanging with my friends, than be inside working on a boring paper. I realized that because I am always on the go and putting things (homework) off, I need a way to be more organized. Since I am a visual learner, it really benefits me when I am able to see what I am have to do. So this week I decided to try “Schedule a Day at a Time.” When we went over it in class, it just clicked with me because I am a visual and kinesthetic learner and this strategy meets both of my learning needs (actively writing out what needs to be done, and later hanging it somewhere I can see what has to be done).

I used this strategy in PSY 205 and CLS 105. Like I said earlier, this strategy just clicked with me and it was almost like second nature for me to make a to-do list (though usually I only create it and never follow through with it). First I wrote down all of the things that I HAD to do, this means class, homework, appointments, etc. Then I thought about things I may have been putting off (such as future assignments) and added those into my schedule. Lastly, I thought if there was any other task I've been wanting to do but ha

ven't, and if I had time would like to do (such as skyping with my parents) and then added those in. So in CLS 105, I had a lot of work this week that I broke up into time slots. If and when I finished something on my list, I would check it off. This is much different than my PSY 205 class because I didn't have much work to do, so my schedule was a lot less intense. I suggest using this strategy in classes that tend to be overwhelming because for a visual learner like me it really helped me see exactly what had to be done. Overall, I felt very productive when I scheduled a day at a time because I can see my agenda and becomes instilled in my brain so as I go from class to class. I found my self worrying less about what assignments where do, and when I was expected to do them. I recommend this strategy because it helps people like me stay on task and feel very productive by the end of the day.

Procrastination can be a deadly in a student’s life and I think people need to learn more about procrastination techniques because it is something everyone struggles with at one point or another. I am going to keep up with this strategy because I can already tell it has helped me start to quit my procrastination ways.

Freshmanitis?

This weekend we finally got a glimpse of the sun in Syracuse and oh was it a great site. Unfortunately, it was so great that I've put off all the work I've had to do until today, Sunday. Not the best thinking on my part I'll admit, but the weather was too nice to pass up, I had to enjoy it. Also, the avoidance of being stuck inside doing work elevated the procrastinator in me even more. So, today is that time to buckle down and get some (...well a lot of) work done. Usually on days like today when I have only so much time to do all of my work for the weekend, I usually plan out my day, hour-by-hour, to make sure I've completed all my tasks. Seeing how I have a BIO 123 exam tomorrow, studying for that was first on my list. After that came CLS work, a NSD project, and then back to BIO.

The reason BIO is first on my list because:
1. Acing that test is my top priority
2. My brain is more fresh when I being studying rather than studying after I do all of my other work first
3. I find that doing my tougher assignments before easier ones is more successful for me.

This morning, before I even touched my textbook, I took out a piece of paper and starting mapping out my day then put it on iCal to make it even more organized. This is called the Fritter Finder and because I don't have all day to study due to a lacrosse game, this method makes it easy to find time. With the pressure of getting work done (like this blog) before my other commitments, I needed to make my time frames realistic so I wouldn't be overwhelmed if I didn't get something done in time. The Fritter Finder makes my days much more organized and motivated to get my work done on time so I have a little time to relax. This method is great for all my classes, especially finding time to study for BIO and getting my CLS blog done before the 5pm deadline.


Procrastination is at a all time high now with the nice weather approaching and the Fritter Finder will really allow me to have guilt-free fun. =)

Procrastination: Not the nation to be in

The topic of focus this week was procrastination. As learned in class, 20% of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. For certain individuals, procrastination is a lifestyle and can be a very serious problem in everyday life. Thankfully, I do not consider myself a procrastinator and I never have been. There are some assignments or tasks that I feel like putting off simply because they are difficult for me or I do not have any interest in them, but I seem to get things done before deadlines or at least at a reasonable time. I understand procrastinators fully though, even though I do not wish to be one ever, those who procrastinate we also learned to be made and not born that way. Procrastination can be a form of rebellion, they tend to tell themselves lies, continuously they search for distractions, and they have higher levels of alcohol consumption alone with difficulties controlling their behavior.

As I said previously, I am not a procrastinator, however there are three categories of procrastinators. Individuals are either arousal or thrill seekers, avoiders, or decisional procrastinators. If I had to pick one of the three types, I would best fit into the decisional procrastinator category. I am a terrible decision maker and I am extremely indecisive, I also tend to blame my problems on something or someone else other than myself if things do not go the way as planned. This type of procrastinator may go along with the type of learner I am, which his a visual and kinesthetic learner. Everyday I kinesthetically write down what I have to do that day, and take note of my assignments and schoolwork for the day and weeks at a time, so I can visually see what needs to be done. Sometimes after I write down my agenda and assignments I become highly overwhelmed with everything I need to accomplish, therefore I take a step back and can’t make a decision what to start first or complete so I give up and wait until times become crucial because I don’t know how to handle it. On the other hand, I know I have to carry out the mechanism of “LAME” so action must be taken. I usually look at my planner and tackle the easiest assignment first that I will be able to finish fast and efficiently so therefore I get in a groove and am able to start working on the following assignments that I need to eventually get done.

With the topic of procrastination I learned more than enough strategies to help me deal with the awful disease of procrastination-nation. I used procrastination techniques in two of my classes this past week. The usual courses were used, including Spanish 201 and actually CLS 105. For Spanish 201 I applied the study partner technique. I had an exam and instead of procrastinating and getting distracted in my room by myself and sitting at my desk looking around for things to catch my mind other than Spanish material, I called up a friend who is also in the same class and we studied together. I find this strategy very helpful because it forces me to study because I am with someone else and it is beneficial for me to learn what the partner knows and it is unfair for me to not try and study the material with the other student also. Instead of just walking around and visiting another person in my dorm who take Spanish 201, I called up someone in my class who studies hard and takes the class seriously. I knew that if I just walked into my close friends room and attempted studying Spanish the topics of studying or discussion would quickly transform into blabbing about something not Spanish related at all. This strategy works well because peer pressure is involved and I never want to upset or have my peers suffer from my doings. I would recommend this technique and especially reach out to someone who may not be your best friend, because they may be great at learning material and going over it with you in the end.

For CLS 105, I used the strategy of “Schedule a Day at a Time.” Even though this strategy is in our CLS books and we went over it in class, I have actually been using this strategy for a while now and I didn’t even realize it at first. It was always second nature for me to make a to-do list everyday or create a schedule for myself and write it down. I love writing down all of the classes I have each day and then writing in tasks I need to complete, extra stuff, and the homework that needs to be completed that day. I feel so productive when I schedule a day at a time because I can see my agenda and soon it becomes imprinted in my brain so as I go from class to class I think of the things I need to do after. Especially with this technique, I write down what I need to finish for the weekends, and I know I have a blog due every Sunday, therefore on Thursday I write down that I should write my blog in between my two classes on Thursday morning. This is the furthest action from procrastination; I complete my blogs on Thursday mornings so I only need to post it when the weekend comes around. I recommend “schedule a day at a time” because it helps people like me stay on task and feel very productive by the end of the day. I write down my classes in order, and then in between my classes if I have time I write that I need to go to the library and complete certain assignments. Then, after my classes I write the times and when I should go back up to my dorm and work on some homework due the next day, work out, call my parents, plan ahead and try and get ahead with my life in general. Crossing the tasks off of the list is also a rewarding feeling, so hop on the to-do list bandwagon!

Procrastination can be a deadly sin in a student’s life and I think people would be happier as a whole utilizing strategies for procrastination that allow them to be more productive on a day to day basis. The feeling of accomplishment in the end is satisfying and this leaves time for yourself to do what you really want to do outside of homework and hectic schoolwork.

My Motivation

I am sure everyone in VPA, who is currently enrolled in design history will be blogging about just how they motivated themselves to study for this GIGANTIC test. So, I am going to be another one of those people, and tell you that I had to REALLY motivate myself because to be honest, studying for this test is the last thing I want to do on this beautiful weekend!

It is hard to look at all of the stuff you need to memorize and know and even being to start. So, I thought that I would say, if I get through the first set of slide sheets, then I can take a break and watch the next Gossip Girl episode (because I am so behind). This worked for a little bit, but then I realized that Gossip Girl was way to long to waste that much time when I should be studying. Instead, I started to go through each image, look it up in the book and use the slide sheets so write down all the possible information about each picture. This took so much time. I don't think I have ever looked at more, chairs, rooms, rugs, lamps, in one sitting. The problem with these tests is that, the professor doesn't give you facts that you just are supposed to memorize and know for the day. She really wants you to dig deep into the information and figure out all about the time period and era that this product was produced. Which basically makes the information you need to know seem endless.

After writing out all information on the back of the slide sheets, I wrote it out in my notebook so that I could easily organize it into the format of the test. I wrote down the designer, the title, the year it was made, the era is was produced in, and the key reasons why it is important to design history.

I have yet to finish all this work, but when I am done writing everything out, I am going to put them all on flashcards and hopefully be able to look through all of the information over and over again. Because I am visual learner, flashcards have really proven to be helpful to me, and writing the information out repetitively is useful for engraving the material in my head. This is a ton of work! Hopefully I won't be up till all hours trying to perfect all of information!

Motivation

Motivation has never been a struggle from me until I came to college. In high school, it was easy to find reasons to do well. But college is so much different. I feel like I am constantly on the go, and there is always something to do. In the beginning of the year, I felt more motivated to complete my assignments, probably because I had more free time. But second semester has been harder because I joined a sorority, which takes up SO much of my time. I think that I fit most of the five aspects of the motivated peer, but not necessarily when it comes to school work. They are optimistic, being process-driven, having persistence, taking more risks, and putting in all the effort an individual a based off their realistic abilities.

Since I have been struggling with motivation, I decided that last week I was going to find a reason to be motivated in two of my classes. I had a PSY 205 test on Tuesday that I was REALLY freaking out about because I always feel so unprepared no matter how hard I study. The material is just very tough to understand sometimes, not to mention I am also a horrible test taker. So in PSY 205, I used the test as my motivation to study. So what did I do? Since I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, I need to have a hands on way of studying the material. I created flash cards by chapter that I went through probably 100 times. I also used acronyms to help me remember the information, which was EXTREMELY helpful especially because there was a lot of lists I had to memorize for my PSY exam.I also made it visually pleasing because I learn best when I can see the material, and it catches my attention.

In HTW 318, I did the same thing. I would go through my notes and see which information I could create acronyms for. I would then play around with the letters that were going to be used until I found an acronyms for it that made sense. I would also try to incorporate the link method into this by creating acronyms that had to do with people I knew, things I love, etc. Doing this really helped motivate me to keep studying and doing well in both of these classes because let's be honest, everyone likes to do well on test, though some (as I) just have trouble making my self prepare for them.

By the time I was doing prepping for both of these classes, I felt a motivation I haven't in a while. It really does help to set a goal for a class, and use parts of that class (such as homework or tests) to motivate you to do well. I really hope that I can continue to work on my motivation skills until I reach a point that I don't have to go out of my way to be motivated, I just am.

She's My Motivation

The trip from Syracuse to Potsdam is a good three hours no matter which roads you take or what time it is. This is a big chunk out of my day to go see my girlfriend. While its totally worth the drive, it gets in the way of my work sometimes. This forces me to complete my work before friday when I want to leave. This doesn't always work out and my work gets put on the back burner. This week when I found out our tech assignment was about motivation, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try these strategies since I was planning on surprising herthis weekend by coming up. Since I am a linear learner, I like things to be laid out in front of me. Since I've missed the previous two Fnd Drawing classes due to spring break and sickness, I was pretty far behind the rest of the class. During my class I went up to the professor and asked her exactly what needed to be done for next weeks class so I could be caught up. I needed tofinish two full drawings by next week while the rest of the class needed to complete one. Since I needed to do one of the drawings at home, I told myself I needed to get at least half of the first drawing done before I left for Potsdam.

As you can see I got that part of my plan done. This was half of what I needed to do before I left for Potsdam. The other half of my task to get my reward has to do with my HUGE Design History test on Monday. I wanted to get a good amount of studying done before I left so I could enjoy myself without having to worry about it. I used the Link method to associate words for some designers that I needed to study.

This system is very helpful when memorizing a big list of things. Since I got both of those things done by Friday after my drawing class, it was time for my reward. I packed up my bag and headed up to Potsdam. I am sitting with her at this moment knowing I got done what I needed to before I left. This is such a great feeling and it makes for a no stress weekend. I will apply this strategy every time I am planning on going up to visit her.

Time For Some R&R

A lot of things motivate me, but there's one that I seem to want after a long week and that is Relaxation. Just to be able to get away from studying is what I crave on a Monday night where I'm knee-deep in work. First of all, I haveto define relaxation because sometimes when a person reads the word relaxation from a college student it instantly means partying. Well sometimes, yes, partying is in the equation, but just to get away from studying and be in a worry-free state of mind is the absolute best reward. This weekend, instead of having fun oncampus,my getaway was a lacrosse tournament at West Point, on Army's campus (more beautiful than SU's I must say). I wouldn't have been able to go if my motivation wasn't at the right level to get my work done. So, to better explain how I got the chance to get away from doing work, I'll take you back to the events leading up to my reward...

On Sunday night, I thought I was doomed for all eternity aka my normal anxiety kicked in. I had a test on Tuesday morning for PSY 205 and another exam Wednesday, which was CHE 116 (the class I have been struggling the most in). I kept thinking that I should have studied more for each even though I had been since all the way back to the previous week. With there being much information and especially many experimenters that we needed to know for the PSY 205 exam I knew that I had to do something to remember them all. So, to keep my motivation up and my hopes, I used what Dr. B had taught us in class the week before (Link System). I started picking apart the experimenter's names and then pairing them with what they were famous for. For example, E.C. Tolman was known for his contributions in Latent Learning. So, what I did to remember the link between Tolman and Latent Learning was I told myself that "Tents are tall" or in this case "Tol". Using this method for psych lowered my frustration and actually made it fun to use my own imagination to link people to what their known for. I was getting closer to "worry-free" I could just feel it.

When I was through with my Psych exam Tuesday morning, I switched into Chemistry mode. This class has caused me more stress than I've ever experienced, especially my first exam grade, which was not pretty. My professor even expressed concern on my mid-semester report:

His concern was something that wasn't a surprise to me. I know my status in that class is not well and the fact that I haven't done all that I can to succeed in that class is something that I'm trying to change. When I received my midsemester report, I wanted to show my professor that I was concerned with my success as well, and that's why I made it a point to also make an internal motivator last week: I wanted to prove to myself that I can do well in Chemistry. So I did what I've avoided all semester, I went to my Chemistry professor's office hours a week before the test and wouldn't you know I LOVED IT! After the first fifteen minutes doing practice problems, my confidence in that class shot up about ten points. I then proceeded to go Monday and Tuesday the week of the test to get in a little extra study time. I also studied on my own and practiced problems nonstop for the test. It all paid off because I exceeded my expectations in that class and got a grade above from what I was hoping for. Receiving that reward of confidence even before the exam has made my internal motivator even stronger than it was before; but I must say, the grade a damn good reward, too.

With that all said, the rest of the week was a piece of cake, once I got all that stress behind me and focused on my worry-free time and relaxation. Thank God for that motivation.

Rest and Relaxation: The Perks of Being Motivated

This week was a little more than hectic. I had tw

o MAJOR exams Tuesday and Wednesday and I had kinda flaked on the studying until Sunday. Instead of freaking out like I would normally do, I put most of the methods I used in my Exam Experiment to use and buckled down through Wednesday at 8 am.

In class on Wednesday we learned about the motivated peer. The motivated peer is one who is optimistic, focuses on the process of learning, persistent, a risk-taker, and someone who believes that effort pays off. Just by looking at the list I knew I qualified as the motivated peer.

That being said, every motivated peer needs rewards. I'm not promoting all play, no work, although that does sounds nice I'm just suggesting that there's something to be said for working hard first and then partying.

So, during my IC this week I met with Wendy and we discussed what I had done during the week that I felt motivated to do. I studied for PSY205 and COM 107 from Sunday at around 2 pm through Wednesday at 8 am. I organized my notes and such from each class. After that I went through each study guide that I had and made sure I knew all of the terms. After familiarizing myself with each course I went back and tested myself on the connections between the terms. As I walked into each exam I was confident and sure that I was well prepared. Walking out of the exams I couldn't believe how relieved I felt. It was reassuring to know that the methods I had tried for the Exam Experiment (because I had to) really worked.

After completing all of that, I decided that I deserved a reward. Now, for homework we had to make a list of no, low and high cost rewards. As a college student and a person who mostly relies on internal motivation, the high cost rewards are out of the picture unless my mom surprises me. That being said, I have a lot of no and low cost rewards that I really like. After three days of intense studying, I felt that a night off from doing work was an appropriate reward. So, Wednesday night after CFS 388, I went back to my dorm, hung out with some friends for a little bit and then watched The Real World and went to sleep early. I realize that's not the most exciting night, but it was a good reward for me at the time.

After seeing how much my motivation pays off and the fun rewards I have for it, I will definitely use the same strategies as finals approach.