No Mess No Stress

I like to think of myself as being very organized. My t-shirts are folded by style and color, and my jeans are stacked from dark wash to light wash, making my wardrobe pleasing to the eye and easily accessible. That's just one part of my life that I like to keep in order. However, when it comes to my school work, not everything is so spick n' span.

Each day when it comes time to start my homework I look at my monthly calendar that I have already written down all my assignments on, and make a list of everything I need or want to accomplish that day. By this time the list is just a compilation of tasks and assignments with no order or structure, so I end up just starting at the top and making my way down. While I may be getting my work done, I am not doing it in the most productive manner. This is why when I heard about the "Ranking Priorities" strategy I knew it was the perfect opportunity to try it.

So, to begin I rewrote all of my assignments for that day on a new sheet of lined paper, and then ranked each of the items on the list based on whether they were A- absolutely essential, B- important, or C- optional, and then put a number next to each letter based on which one I wanted to accomplish first . For example, I wrote A-1 next to my REL191 paper because it was due the next day, therefore it was critical I finished that first. I used due dates as a factor for determining my priorities so I would complete the most important tasks first. Now, instead of having a jumbled list of assignments without any specific order, "Ranking Priorities" was able to solve my problem and I have a list that enables me to identify the tasks that need the most immediate attention and are "absolutely essential".

While I figured out a way to better organize my daily tasks, I realized that I needed help solving an even bigger problem : tackling my WGS101 Take-Home Midterm. On Thursday our Take-Home Midterm was passed out in lecture and I began to have a mild panic attack as I read the assignment. My mind began to race and my heart began to pound, and before I knew it little beads of sweat were forming at the top of my hairline. Some people might find this strange, but for me it's pretty normal. When I see a big assignment I get intimidated and overwhelmed, not knowing how to start or where to begin. Once I realized the stress I was putting myself under, I decided to try out the "Is Versus Wants" strategy to help me reevaluate my current situation and figure out what I need to change to be more successful.

As I filled out the chart I was able to actually ask myself questions that I normally wouldn't, such as "What is the problem I am having now?" "What would I like my situation to be instead?" "What do I need to do in order to accomplish this?" "What exactly am I going to do to accomplish this?" and "How will I know I achieved my desired outcome?". Once I got to the "Action" column, where I had to think about the necessary steps needed to fix my problem, I realized that the "Target Planner" - a task management strategy that my friends had used last week- would be the perfect strategy for me to use. It would let me break up the Midterm into small, manageable sections

with due dates so I could do a little work each night. This way, I am accomplishing my Midterm without feeling the stress of having to finish all of

it at once.

With "Is Versus Wants" I was able to become my own therapist. I had to look at my own situation, acknowledge what was wrong with it, and then figure out on my own how I was going to solve the problem. By working something out on my own, I gained a greater sense of accomplishment at the end once I

had fixed what wasn't working.

Enjoy the Weekend and do your work wisely!!

PROBLEM!!! Way to much make up work!

Whoa boy, how the work just piles on up. This week was as huge struggle for me! Being that I was so sick I missed multiple classes. Meaning I missed all sorts of information in all of my classes and my workload began to grow and grow… Luckily Dr. Blumin introduced the problem solving strategy of ranking my priorities just in time!

This strategy has made my workload fade away like no other! What I did first was make a list of all the things I needed to make up, notes I needed to get, and homework that I needed to do. (I also added cleaning my room to my list of priorities because due to the fact that I haven’t been able to escape it, it has grown into quite the pig pen… whoops!!) Then I looked at my list and decided what was necessary to do right away aka absolutely essential and labeled them with an A. Next I labeled the important tasks that are due next week with a B. The tasks that were considered optional like cleaning my room I labeled with a C. Then finally after breaking the tasks into groups I ranked each section with numbers to signify the order that I should do them in.

The final step in my organization was to create a whole new list. I placed A1 at the top, then A2 and so on with the A numbers. I did the same for list B and C. Also under each “heading” I put what I needed to do in order to accomplish this task and checked each off as I went. Then I went through and used the same colors that I used last week to signify each class on my fritter finder<3 and highlighted the subject by its color (just because I love seeing bright colors on the page.) Because I have memorized that Math is pink, Earth science is orange, CLS is yellow, anthropology is green, and CRS is blue, I am able to look at my priority ranker and automatically say, “Oh I see yellow, make sure you bring your CLS book when you do your homework.”

This priority ranker has lowered my stress level by 10! It helped me see what was urgent to get done and what could wait until I felt a little better. The priority ranker really worked well for me to determine the work I had in ALL my classes!! It isn’t hard to make at all, and makes me ten times more organized! I love it!

I'm Stressed! My Easiest Answer is Always Sleep.

This week I took off from work again, as I felt I had too much studying to do that I wouldn’t be able to complete at the gym. As I was sitting at the library going through all of the different assignments I had coming up, I made a decision. I put it all to the side, went home, and went to bed.

The worst and most stressful weeks are when I have multiple tests to study for as well as projects to work on. Sometimes I am overwhelmed, and my way to solve this problem is to put everything aside for a few hours and simply do nothing. However, this obviously doesn’t always work in my favor. Even though I always end up getting everything done, I end up having to sit in the library past midnight, sometimes for several nights in a row. All to complete everything I tried to brush to the side for a few hours, while I tried to collect myself.

One problem solving strategy that really helped me organize my work based on priorities is the Rank Priorities strategy. I wrote down each assignment, long term and short term that is coming up. I then ordered them by due date, and ranked them based on their importance. As I was able to group the tasks and go through and check off completed tasks, it helped me to visually see all of the due dates in front of me in an ordered list. I was able to see how much time I had, and what needed to be done for me to complete this task by the given due date, before I could move onto the next assignment.

The other problem solving strategy I used was the One Step at a Time strategy. The reason why this strategy helped me so much was because it felt like a follow up to the Ranking Priorities strategy. For my Health and Wellness test, I was so overwhelmed by the amount of studying I had to do for it. I put it off for a few days only to come back to it and realize that now I was even farther behind. Making a list of consequences helped me to see, that by letting my stress get to me I was putting my grade on the line. To see this written out was more beneficial to me rather than just thinking of possible bad outcomes in my head. It also forced me to write down “possible do’s,” which further helped me to split up the assignment so I could work on it over a few days time. This organizational problem solving strategy helped me become a better learner, as I was able to focus on my tasks while seeing the consequences of not starting or finishing my work.

By taking action and using my Ranking of Priorities to see which assignment had to be done first I was able to make much better use of my time.

Being a sophomore in college and having the pressure of balancing my weekend’s drama with my schoolwork can be extremely hard to do. In moments of weakness, it is so much easier to put my work aside and plan to ‘start it later.’ But there are always consequences, which is equally hard to deal with. I don’t like being punished for not being able to complete my work, because school is important to me. I have already started to see improvements in my work habits from these two strategies, and I hope that they will continue to help me to improve my grades.

Fritting out my free time! BY HEATHER!

In order to help my time management skills this week, I used the technique of making a fritter finder that Dr. Blumin taught us. I used this for all of my classes (MAT 284, EAR 105, CLS 105, CRS 325, and ANT 185). The fritter finder allowed me to find free time throughout my schedule where I can do homework and study. I drew a copy of my schedule and color coordinated each class. Out of all the strategies we were taught, I found that this one kept me most organized, and supplied a plan to keep my work on track for the WHOLE semester!

Then I looked at my schedule and found my free time and wrote down times to do homework. I used the same colors that I used to signify each individual class to show what subject I would be working on during my free time. I found this strategy very effective because now I know for example Tuesdays, after I end class I know that I am going to be working on Math and then my CRS homework. This saves me time as well because I don’t have to go through and think, “okay what homework should I do right now?” Instead I just bring my homework to class with me and head straight to goldstein once I am done with class! (I plan to use this same schedule every week).

The trick that really helped me in the fritter finder was using colors to signify each class. On my original fritter finder I just did a simple little sketch with no colors or anything. Once I took the time to actually draw out my schedule and color it with neon colors, I saw all the white space I had on my schedule to do

work. The colors are the KEY! (it makes it more organized)

I found that I have a lot more free time than I thought I did. It also helped me figure out that I had free time, but was not using it as efficiently as I could. I choose this strategy because I know that I like to have things laid out and organized. By using the fritter finder I was able to create a schedule that made me very organized.

The fritter finder actually made me realize that I do procrastinate more than I was aware of! I normally save all my homework for the weekends (Sunday nights most of the time). By using the fritter find I found that I had so much free time throughout the week days that I can get all my work done before the weekend if I use my time wisely. Who would have thought?!

All You Can Eat

Have you ever been to an "All You Can Eat" buffet, stacked your plate so high with food that your hands hurt from carrying your plate because it was so heavy, and then sat down to eat and you could only stomach the first layer? Chances are you are one of those people that have "eyes bigger than your stomach." Usually these people are so hungry that they overestimate how much food it will actually take to suppresstheir hunger. So, rather than grabbing amoderate amount of food and then going back up for seconds if they are still hungry, it ends up being like a competition to see who can fit the most amount of food on one plate.

In a weird way, my studying habits are like an "All You Can Eat" buffet. Instead of dividing my studying up to a little bit each day, I tend to wait until the day before a test to start studying, where it all piles up to one huge mess. Each time I trick myself into believing that I am capable of preparing a study guide, making flashcards, and memorizing the material all in one night. I don't know who I think I am, SuperGirl? Because someone must need superpowers in order to get all of that done, and then do well on the test the next day.

Thankfully Dr. Blumin introduced me to the "20-Minute Test Prep," a strategy for test preparation and a method of time management. I first applied this technique to my NSD225 class, Nutrition in Health. As I copied down not es from the lecture, Professor Short would make it a point to inform us when she was about to give us a question that would be on our next exam. In my notes I put little stars next to these questions so I knew to study them for the test. After class I stopped by the Kimmel Computer Lab because I had to print something for a class later in the day. As I waited for the computer to load (PCs take so long!!!) I realized that I could use that time to do a "20-Minute Test Prep".

I took a few minutes to read over my notes from that day and do a quick review. I also made a few flashcards because that's the way I like to memorize information, so by making a few flashcards now I will be saving myself time later on. Knowing that I already had 3 test questions from class, I divided a sheet of paper into two columns, and on one side wrote "Her Test Questions" and on the other side I wrote "My Test Questions," where I would come up with my own set of potential test questions. By doing a quick review and making a list of potential test questions after each class, the amount of preparation I will need to do before the test will be minimal. This way, instead of needing to relearn all of the old material since I had not looked at it in weeks, I will only need to briefly review my notes and my study guide will already be made from the composite of anticipated test questions. Bye Bye Cramming!

With the success I had from using the "20-Minute Technique" in my NSD225 class, I figured why not apply it to my WGS101 class, Introduction to Women's Studies. NSD225, being a facts-based class, it was easy to come up with potential test questions since the assessments are multiple-choice exams. However, even though WGS101 is also a facts-based class, we are assessed through readings and papers, so creating questions off of notes wouldn't be too helpful for me. Instead, after one of my lectures I sat down and reviewed my notes, and then on a piece of paper I wrote down my thoughts and ideas that I could possibly use in one of my upcoming papers. By doing so I am able to review my notes so I will remember the material for the next class, as well as basically start writing my paper since I will have a lot of my thoughts already down on paper. While I did not follow the "20-Minute Technique" 100% for this class, I adapted it to better suit my needs for the class and way of learning.

In the end, it's not about sticking

to the rules, it's about doing what's right for you in order to better manage your time and tasks. By evaluating yourself and your classes, you will be able to then take action and try out different learning techniques that in the end will help you succeed.

I Can Manage my Time?! News to me..

I used to have too much time. So to solve this problem, and to make some extra pocket money for school, I contacted the Department of Recreation over the summer to ensure I would be hired for the very competitive, "fitness center attendant" job. Don't get me wrong I love working at the gym, but there is no doubt that my gym job exhausts me...given it requires absolutely no physical activity or mental stimulation. This is not a joke. But still after each shift, I am emotionally and mentally drained. When I'm working at Archbold Gym and the radio is non-stop playing jams like Rihanna's, "Cheers to the Freakin Weekend," how exactly am I supposed to sit down and whip out a four page, double spaced paper on the interlocking of systems between racism and gender discrimination in a patriarchal society which has embedded itself deep within our country for my Women and Gender Studies class?! I will point blank say that none of my work gets done when I am working at the gym over at Marshall Square Mall either. When the T.V directly to my left is playing "Toddlers and Tiara's," with subtitles perfect for me to read along with, it will always win over my homework..no matter how degrading and horrible that show is. My excuse at the end of the day is always that I am too tired to do work, and more and more often I say, "I will do that assignment tomorrow." Yeah I say that for a few days...and when you scroll down and see all the free time in my schedule...I actually sound like a complainer.

This Fritter Finder is one of the most amazing strategies I have ever used. And all I had to do was color a few boxes in with a highlighter...It forces me to visually see all of the time that I actually have to do my homework every week. Which by the way ended up being 28 hours of free time, and I had to color in my "Friday," to understand that I actually have all day on Friday. SO, now I use my "yellow" space, and plan out my days in the morning figuring out when I will be going to the library and which books I am going to leave my room with. This week I was successfully able to use it to study for ECN203. Right after ECN, I like to go through the textbook again to fill in my notes and re-write them to help the information stick in head. However, its difficult for me to do this right after class, as I like to prepare for my next three classes of the day in this small break, where I also have toeat lunch. Using the Fritter Finder allowed me to fill in times where I can study for ECN, on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. This helped me become a better learner, as I was able to plan out different times (taking action) to learn the material and therefore become a more efficient student.

Another technique that has been very beneficial for me is setting my notes up to look like Jeopardy. To be completely honest, the first time I learned that this was a strategy we had to

apply to one of our classes, I didn't think it would work. It seemed a bit juvenile, only because it's a game we used to play in middle school to practice for our social studies tests. However, after setting up my notes like this for my MAT121 class, I realized that it actually helped me the most out of all the strategies I had practiced to date. I am able to write notes on the right page during class, and simultaneously write numbered test questions on the page to its left. When it comes to future test, I will already have set up several mini practice questions for myself. This strategy helps me to demonstrate the material in a way that will allow me to become a more successful learner, by simply creating a page set up that looks like a practice test.

Using a Jeopardy setup in my notes challenges me to recall information, and therefore, I will be able to apply it to other math problems once I have the formulas and terminology memorized. I can already notice how much it helps me learn material just after a few days of using it. As I have a test coming up next Wednesday, I will continue to use this strategy, as the statistical terms we are beginning to learn are more and more challenging with each passing class.

But hey, at least I have 28 hours to study for it...who would’ve known??

At the end of every day, I have to understand that everyone has work to do, and eventually all of my friends will have jobs and have to balance everything as well. But the thing I will now remember, is that I actually do have time, and there are many ways for me to spend it using strategies that will help me succeed in all of my classes.

Procrastination At It's Finest

Procrastination, where does someone even begin when it comes to the topic of procrastination? Procrastination is a talent of mine of which I have had many years to perfect. However, I am soon realizing that procrastinating can't happen any longer if I plan on doing anything useful with my life. Surprisingly CLS is one of my most stressful classes, not because of the work load, but because it makes me realize how much work I have and when it's due. CLS forces me to plan out my work load whether I want to or not, which results in me visualizing the amount I actually have which then stresses me out. Without this class I would stick to being clueless when it comes to my homework and simply do it the night before it is due and learn nothing!

In the past couple o

f weeks Dr. Blumin has had the class try out multiple types of task management tricks, as well as procrastination tasks which go hand in hand in my opinion. Yet, the one that worked for me the best was the Fritter Finder. The Fritter Finder helps me to visualize as well as understand how much free time I have that I am frittering away. Every night I look at my schedule and see what classes I have the next morning as well as the day after that.

My schedule has large chunks of time between my classes, so instead of getting coffee with a friend, I go to Bird and do work so that night won't be too stressful for me. My learning style is quite visual which is why the Fritter Finder works so well for me. It shows me how much time I put to waste which I should be using to my advantage instead of wasting away by procrastinating.

Another assignment which helped me control not only my stress level but my task management. The Bull's Eye (Target) where you specifically plan out and pull apart a large project. The Target task is useful to me because when it comes to large assignments they can be stressful and overwhelming.

However this particular approach allows for me to separate it out and know when I should have each part of the project done by a certain date. Therefore I can be more prepared and not be stuck struggling to get it done in one night and have a lousy project or essay. Doing a Target Planner is an easy and realistic way to adjust a project to the speed of which you work so you can actually get it done the right way.

Whether you chose to use the Target Planner or the Fritter Finder they are both do-able tasks on how to handle task management as well as procrastination. Neither of these are time consuming so there is no excuse to not be able to do one, especially when it can have such a large impact on how you handle your work as well as your stress.