Time to Kick Some Task

This is it guys......The last blog post of the semester. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean school is over. We still have a solid week of exams and projects to work through. We've got to finish strong because you don't jog through a finish line, you sprint through it. Put that into perspective as we study and work throughout these last weeks.
That's What I did this week as I did my CLS 105 project. The project contained 5 different approaches to what my major or career could be. I could do research, talk to professors, go to career services, and many other opportunities. BUT HOW WAS I GUNNA MANAGE MY TIME FOR THIS TASK?!?!? It didn't take me long to figure out that I already knew how to solve this problem. I had to use a target planner to plot out all the things I was going to do. The target planner was an obvious choice for me because I am a visual learner.
At the center of the target, I put the due date which was 4/25. From there I surrounded that circle with other circle that represented things I had to do along with a date that I thought I should have the task done by. I made the more important stuff more toward the outside of the planner because I wanted them done sooner and over with.
Another great strategy for visual learners is Post-it Reminders (seen below). I wouldn't say that I am a forgetful person. I like to use the post-its because I can color code them and that makes everything I am doing more organized. I use the Post-Its mostly for my math class to remind me of quizzes and tests that are coming up.
It is a great feeling when you can take down that Post-it and rip it in half because you are done with that task.
Both these strategies are easy to use and I would recommend them to anyone who wants to get organized and turning things in on time

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Divide by Four, You'll get More!

Probably the most difficult task in tackling college homework is actually completing a given task. There is a simple and very effective way to chunk out a given homework assignment that we learned about in CLS class. This method is called: Divide by Four.
The strategy is quite easy to understand and apply to any assignment in any class.
It works like this:
1) Prepare
2) Start
3) Continue
4) Finish
Chunking up your tasks like this can help you eliminate procrastination and stress very easily.
This technique can work for a test preparation, a paper, a project, or even a speech.

I personally used it very effectively for my Presentational Speaking course, CRS 325.
I had to write and then memorize and present my speech that I composed about how Americans should be conscious about our environment and the pollution we are responsible for.
The following image shows how I used all four steps to properly divide my assignment into individual tasks.

I also used this method for my Religion 101 class to help me start and finish my final project:

Since both of the above tasks were very large and time consuming, spacing the individual tasks out like I did with the "Divide by Four" method made finishing each assignment much more feasible and less stressful.

Using a visual aid like this was very helpful for me, as I am a Kinesthetic and Visual learner. This method can be applied to any type of learner though. It can be used in any type of class for any given assignment. I found it very helpful when I used it for my CRS and Religion classes. It helped me manage bigger tasks without getting too stressed or overwhelmed.

Divide by 4

Have you ever had trouble managing a task? I'm sure you have, because it has happened to us all. At the end of the day, when looking back at an assignment I have completed, sometimes I think to myself "Man, I could have done that better!" Well, I now can say goodbye to those days, because the divide by four strategy is one that works great. It helps you break down (or chunk) the task into four simple aspects to complete the assignment.

In the divide by four strategy, you take your task and split it up into four sections. The first section is prepare, the second is start, third is continue, and fourth is to finish the assignment. You can break down any assignment whether it is a paper, project, or even maybe a test.

For me personally, I used the divide by four strategy for my PHI 107 paper. I divided the assignment into four aspects, which you can see in the picture. Breaking down the assignment into four parts made it much easier to go about completing my paper. I wasn't overwhelmed just thinking I had one big paper to do, because I always knew the next step that I needed to complete to write a good paper. The divide by four strategy also helps me avoid procrastination, because this strategy prevent me from sitting down and doing the whole assignment all night right before it is due. And, I think I wrote a very good paper using this strategy.

I am a Kinsethetic and Visual learner, so for me seeing a peice of paper that was telling me how to split up and go about my paper was great. I saw what I had to do, and I did it. I am also a reading / writing learner so writing down how I was going to split up my paper assignment was also helpful.

I highly recommend this strategy for anyone, especially those who feel overwhelmed when having to complete a large assignment. This strategy is also good for procrastinators who think it's OK to do things all in one shot. Trust me, it's way better to avoid procrastination and use this strategy!

Divide by Four

In order to manage your tasks and help your task management use divide by four. This simple but helpful strategy will help you take a task and break it apart to more easily get it done. This task will help eliminate procrastination since it will be broken into smaller more manageable pieces.

What you do to dive by four is split the task into (1) prepare (2) start (3) continue (4) finish. This can be used in any class for anything from papers to projects to studying for tests. I used it for my WGS 203 log and my MAT 122 test.

What I did for my WGS log was first I prepared by reading the article and thinking in my mind ideas that could work for this article. Then I started by writing out an outline for myself. Then to continue I wrote a paragraph at a time for each part of my outline which completed my paper and finally to finish I proof read my paper. This got this paper done very quick and helped me avoid a lot of wasted time I might of procrastinated with.

I also used this for studying for MAT 122. The steps I broke my studying into was (1) I set out all my notes and broke the studying down into chapters and topics (2) I read over the textbook chapter by chapter taking a small 5 minute break after each chapter (3) I continued by doing practice problems from each chapter as well taking little breaks after each section (4) Finally I finished studying by taking a practice test and grading myself to make sure I was prepared.

This is a great strategy for Kinesthetic learners like myself because you can write out and visualize what you need to do. This is also good for visual learners. This is a great strategy that

can help anyone out with managing big tasks that they need to accomplish.

Task Strategies!

Divide By Four

How do you use it?

This can be used on projects, exam preparation, long readings and more. You split an assignment into four parts and try to accomplish each task one at a time. First you prepare for the assignment. Second you begin the assignment at a different time. Third you will continue the assignment at a later date. Finally you finish the project. If you spread these steps out over time it makes it harder to procrastinate!

How did I use it?

I took my two most important assignments and planned them in parts. I took my Phi 107 five page paper and the remaining work I have in REL 120. The first step I chose for writing my paper was choosing a chapter to write about and underlining important parts of the chapter. The second step was writing pages one to three. The third was writing pages four and five. The last step includes proof reading and revising the paper. For religion my first step was to finish reading a novel. The point of the novel was to compare it to two chapters that we have read in Nye, so my second step was to reread these chapters. The third step I took was analyzing and comparing Nye to the novel. The last step includes the study guide that my professor gave me of certain points between the two readings, therefore I will study these points in preparation for the final.

Since I am a visual learner, I always choose to make lists and charts of things I need to do, therefore I made a list for each of the assignments that I based Divide By Four on.

Stress is Just a Mess

STRESS
The most common problem almost every college student inevitably faces during their college experience.

Being stressed is s serious frustration that people face every day. There are many many factors that adjust themselves to fit a person's life no matter how they life it. For us college students these many factors mostly include school work, but we are at a point in our lives where there is so much else going on that piles up and make our stress symptoms even worse and harder to handle.

So, how do we cope with stress and try to eliminate it?!
There are specific strategies that we can try to adapt to our lives and school school work to help us manage our stress and lower it.

I used a strategy I learned in my CLS to try and handle all my stress in my life and my classes.
It is called the A Day at a Time technique. It doesn't specifically adapt to any particular class, but moreso to my overall well being in my college life instead.
It works like this:

Before going to bed at night on a given day, make yourself a physical list of the top five things that are causing you stress. Take a piece of paper and actually write each thing down.
This way someone who is a Kinesthetic or Visual learner can see exactly what it is that is keeping them stressed out and work so that they can eliminate each factor.
Here is my top five list of stress inhibitors:

I keep this list above my bed so that I can see what I need to take care of before I can comfortably get some relaxation and sleep.
I also made a Pie Graph to map out exactly what percentages were being used from my stress to cause me to feel the way I do on the daily. This way, I could visually see which tasks and events were causing me the majority of my stress:

All it takes were these two (or even one) physical graphic organizers to lay out what I had to do before managing my stress levels.
For two classes that I generally struggle managing my work for, I also mapped out the top three things that caused me the most stress in those classes.
In my CRS class I had: 1. A speech to write about pollution, 2. That speech to learn and get ready to present, and 3. Take a quiz online for my textbook.
I wrote these things down in my assignment notebook and crossed each off as I began to work on them. This helped me become much less stressed about my work as a whole.
In my Religion class I had 1. A response to write on the Islam religion, 2. My research and exploration to do for my final project, and 3. My final project to actually conduct and write.
I haven't finished my project yet, but knowing I have to makes the task itself much less stressful, especially when I can see it visually in my assignment notebook.

I found the A Day at a Time strategy to be very helpful. Being a kinesthetic and visual learner, it was nice seeing each assignment that I had to complete. I knew that if I did each individually, I could eventually learn to tackle my stress one step at a time.
Having stress in someone's life is not fun, but it really is also not healthy. It can be dangerous in time, so dealing with it early can really help you to help lead a healthy and stress-free lifestyle.
I recommend this strategy to anyone, whether in college, highschool, a job, a relationship, or anything stressful in this busy modern life.

Taking things and accomplishing them A DAY AT A TIME

We all know what its like to be stressed out. We feel frustrated, anxious, tired, and overwhelmed. If there's someone that's never been stressed out before, well I wish i were them. A strategy that I've been using that helps me releive my stress level and get things done is using the a day at a time strategy.

For each day, you write down a list of 5 things that are stressing you out and things that you need to get done, or would like to. After making this list you can make it a point to accomplish these things and when your done, you cross them out. I do this almost everyday, and man does it feel great crossing something out. What's even better is when you have the whole list crossed out. You feel stress free, and you have this sense of confidence that you can do what you want without their being any consequences. Say goodbye to the feeling of something sitting in the back of your head that bothers you every so often.

For me, I use this stragy often becaue of the level of satisfaction I feel when the list is crossed off. I can put anything on the list too, it doesn't have to be school related.

In regards to Vars, I am a visual and kinsethetic learner and this strategy works for me, because I write out what I need to do and then I have the list that I look at every so often. However, I feel as if this strategy is similiar to the one I had last week where I feel as if any type of learner can use this strategy to relieve stress.

I personally highly recommend this strategy to anyone. There is something about just making a list and getting things done that releives stress, which is the whole point of this weeks blog. I really hope you consider my day at a time strategy because I think it can be very helpful!

Stress Isn't Cool

Stress Management is all about control. As a first year college student, just about everything stresses me out. I'm always worried about what my GPA is, what my parents think, and what assignments I have due soon. These kinds of things cause me to react, depending on my level of stress. This week I used the Stress-O-Meter to record, track, and most importantly, acknowledge my stress. The beauty of this chart is that it is perfect for Visual and Kinesthetic learners like myself because it is hands (and eyes) on.
The chart was pretty simple to make in Word. It made it easy for me to think about that day and check off what my stress level was that day and what was causing it. On Monday and Tuesday I was pretty stressed out because I knew I had to prepare for a MAT 121 test I had. I did terrible on the last one and that caused my stress level to rise. I was becoming anxious and that made me nervous. To break away from it all, I went and played basketball for an hour or so. This made me feel so much more relaxed. I came home, took a shower and got to work. My muscles were tired but my brain was working hard.
Also hanging over me was a six page paper for my ETS 145 class. This stressed me out but not as much as another paper would have because this paper was interesting to write. I had to pick a televison show i enjoyed an write about how someone could be fan of it. Luckily writing about things I am interested in is not difficult. Therefore, my stress level wasn't too high and just watching TV kept me at a normal stress level.
I put this chart right above my desk so I could always see it and remind me that I had to keep my cool when feeling stressed. Stress can quickly turn into anger so managing it is important. I recommend this strategy who anyone who feels overwhelmed with stress. The chart helps you visualize and acknowledge your stress levels making it easier for you to fix it.

A Day at a Time!

How do you use it?

Write a list of up to five sources or stress. Try to focus on each stress causer. Cross out each source once it no longer causing stress. Leave each unsolved source on the list for the next day or days, until it is all solved.

How did I use it?

I chose my top five sources which include Finals for CFS 388, MAT 222 and REL 120, Phi 107 paper, GPA, Getting a job and parents. I wrote these down at the beginning of the week in a list, then by the end of the week I had substantially limited my list. I solved my stress for finals by using the twenty minute test prep for each of the three classes. I began my Philosophy paper, even though I had a few weeks to write it, it just gave me less to worry about. I will always be stressed about my GPA no matter what I do, so as of now, I still have that on my list. I sent out plenty of job applications and have heard back from a few, therefore that lowered my stress in that area. I also called my parents and talked to them about how busy my week was ahead of time so I wouldn’t get any further stress from them and it is always a good way to vent about the week ahead. As of now I still have stress in the area of GPA, but the rest of the stress has been reduced from my life.

Since I am a visual learner, it helps to see the charts and lists drawn out. It is also easy to concentrate on things when a chart shows which is considered he most stressful. This makes it easiest to pick which cause of stress to work on first.

Stress

Stress is something everyone has due to many different things. It is something that can take over and distract you from getting things done. This week we talked about stress management. I used the strategy A Day at a Time to help me reduce stress. This is a strategy that is good for kinesthetic learners like myself and can also work for visual learners. It can work for any class or anything in general.

What you do for a day at a time is before bed at night, list out the 5 items that are causing you stress. The next day, try to address each of these and once you do it cross it out. Things that you do not accomplish keep on the list for the next day.

I used this for my daily activities as well as WGS 203 and MAT 122. At night before bed I wrote out my 5 stress starters. They were finding articles for wgs log, writing a portion of the log, studying for math test, going to math office hours and doing my math homework. The next day when I woke up I started my day with finding articles for wgs and was able to then cross this off of my list. I also attended math office hours did my math homework and reviewed for my test. I was not able to write a portion of my log so I kept that on my list for the next night. I continued this for the entire week until my stress level decreased.

This strategy helped me because I was able to see the factors that were stressing me out and accomplish them so I could eliminate that issue. This is a great strategy for everyone to use because it helps reduce your stress levels greatly.

Sydney's Motivation

Motivation!

What motivates you? What makes you put in the effort to achieve things?

I have never really had much trouble trying to motivate myself to do school work. I am quite lazy and sometimes would prefer to sit on my bed and watch television, but I am sure that this could be said for many people. I may not spend an excessive amount of time on assignments, but I will never skip assignments intentionally or simply not prepare for an exam. I consider myself to be a highly motivated student. I am process-driven in the aspects of organization and study preparation, optimistic, and persistent. I am not too much of a risk taker and I do put in a valid effort to the standards of my ability.

What is an external motivator? It is something other than yourself that motives you.

What is an internal motivator? A motivation that gives you a sense of accomplishment. It would be doing a task for your own personal gain.

What can cause motivation? A consequence or a reward is a good reason to have motivation. If something is very undesirable, most people would give their best effort to be sure it does not happen. For example, I would fail my math class if I don’t get an A on the next exam, the consequence would be my motivation. A reward would be when I was young I got 5 dollars per A on my report card. The reward would be 5 dollars. If someone desires a result, they will usually make sure that it is reached. Simple things can cause such motivation, which causes some to try much harder in school and life.

When I was younger I got good grades because my parents wanted me to and I would get restricted from fun activities if my grades were poor, so I have always found them to be important. I am personally motivated to attend college because I am hoping to pursue a goal for knowledge. I have not chosen a major yet, but I desire to gain as much knowledge as I can about my area of study and help others with the knowledge that I have. I am motivated for internal as well as external reasons. My motivation is simply reward, which could be determined in the future as a goal. I plan to work in either the social sciences, psychology or business. I hope to be able to help others with my work so my motivation is the people’s lives that I can affect and help.

I am motivated for different reasons in each of my classes. Some classes my motivation is to attain a high average, fulfill requirements, personal happiness and to pass a required class. In CLS 105 I am trying to use this class to teach me the skills to raise the grades in my other classes, as well as to get a good grade in the class in order to raise my GPA. I would like a high GPA to be able to get into any major that I desire without difficulty. For CFS 388, I am interested in this area of study so my motivation is to see if this class is something I would be interested in pursuing, which is an internal motivation. MAT 222 is my hardest class and I am doing terribly. I need to pass this class with a decent grade so that I won’t haveto retake it, in hopes of keeping my GPA from being pulled down. I strongly dislike PHI 107, so I will use this to keep my grades up for my GPA and fulfill a requirement. REL 120 is interested but is also motivated by keeping my GPA up at this point. Ski Team is one of my PED classes which I enjoy and I only use it for personal satisfaction. I don’t necessarily desire to be the best skier on the team, but I do enjoy the sport. I am motivated to get a good grade by simply having fun! I am very motivated in my schoolwork and can find many reasons to be motivated for any task.

Get yourself a clean slate, don't procrastinate!

We all have heard the term procrastinate throughout our education many times in our lives. Procrastinating, or waiting until the last minute to do something, is usually an unsuccesfull way to go about doing your work or studying for tests. Often, procrastinating can lead to late, tired, and frustrating nights. It is not good for your health.

I have to admit that I am probably one of the worst procrastinators there is. I have started papers at 1 am in the morning, and the paper is due in that class at 11 that morning, and I will stay up all night trying to finish it. I have done this multiple times. Thanks to C.L.S. I have realized it is time to change my ways. The strategy I have used to do this is REWARDS. The rewards strategy is great for me because If I procrastinate, I will never get my reward, and I usually reallly want that reward. For example take a look at the image to see how I use this strategy.

As you can see I have a sociology paper due, and my reward for getting it done is watching the Knicks game. For me, this strategy works extremely well because I consider myself one of the biggest Knicks fans around. I never miss a game. If i do not get my essay done, I will have to miss the game, as hard as it may be for me. So, this really motivates me to not procrastinate, and get my essay done sooner so I can watch the game. Also, I will get a good nights sleep because I will not be up all night, which is healthier for my body then what I was previously doing. This is important because as someone wise once said "your body is your temple."

Luckily for me, I got my essay done in time to watch the Knicks game, and then I got a good night sleep. The reward strategy worked great for me. I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, and this strategy worked great for me because I had written down what I needed to do and saw it next to me, and completed my essay, even though I feel as if this strategy should work for any type of learner you are.

I hope I helped you out if you suffer from severe procrastination like I used to. It is important however to make sure your rewards are severe enough that if you do not get them, it will bother you, because this will make sure you do not procrastinate. Once again I hope I helped, and GOOD LUCK AVOIDING PROCRASTINATION!

Can't wait, Can't procrastinate!

I think we can all agree that the majority of college students are major procrastinators. We all wait until the very last minute to complete a given assignment. We put off our work to do things we much prefer and intentionally put off our priority of homework until usually the day before it is due.
Procrastinating is almost a lifestyle. It is a horrible habit that is hugely hard to break.
In order to try and see what I could do to try and change my study ways by plotting my homework well before it is due is by using the REWARDS technique.
This method works by having me set up certain benefits for myself if I can successfully complete my homework long before its given due date.
For my Religion 101 class, I have papers due every Monday night. I put the class paper as due on the Friday before that Monday so I would be motivated to finish it then. I promised myself via a chart I made (attached below) that if I finished my paper before Friday night, I would order Jimmy John's for dinner to REWARD myself.
I used this sort of GRAPHIC ORGANIZER to input my data so I could visualize how I needed to space out, chunk, and then finish my work so that I wouldn't procrastinate.
I part tricked myself into thinking the assignment was due before it actually was, and then I had a lot more free time following!

I also used a similar technique for my CRS 365 class, where I had a speech to memorize. Instead of waiting until the last minute to memorize the entire long speech, I recorded myself reading it out loud a week before it was due in class and listened to it on repeat on my iPod.
This really helped my auditory learning skills to ingrain the speech into my head so that I would learn it long before it was really due. I then rewarded myself with a song on Shuffle in my iPod every time I would memorize a new paragraph. This gave me incentive to finish my speech and learn it well

I found this reward method very useful. It is easy to bribe myself with simple desires so that I finish my work earlier than I would have otherwise. I think this method is very helpful and very simple too, because it can easily be applied to anyone's learning habits, preferences, and likings.

Sick of staying up late?...Then don’t procrastinate!

I have always been a procrastinator. I certainly am not a chronic procrastinator, but I do tend to put things off until the last minute. My level of procrastination depends on the assignment and how busy I am that week. I tend to have this cycle that I always repeat. This cycle includes waiting until the last minute, which is usually about 2 a.m. then I begin my homework which leaves me tired the next day, so I take a nap before I begin my work and I click the snooze bar many times and end up starting my work at 2 a.m. the next day also! I procrastinate in every class. I always feel that I cannot complete my assignemtns when I am tired and I sometimes try but end up falling asleep while doing them. I do procrastinate on everything but I always finish my work, therefore I spend some pretty late nights.

Since we have already discussed chunking the task and 10-minute technique, I decided to try a new technique.

I chose to use the Rewards method.

How do you use it?

Choose homework assignments that need to be completed then make a reward for when they are completed. This motivates people considering the reward is desired, It makes the goal seem more achievable, especially when it is split into steps with separate rewards. The reward must be something that you only allow yourself to have if you complete the task, otherwise the method is not working.

How did I use it?

I went to the library three nights in a row to complete two assignments. I used this to write my Phi 107 paper and to write my Human Sexuality (CFS 388) paper which were both due on Thursday. I made a chart and separated my chart into days and the assignments into small chunks and once each was completed I listed a reward that I would do before going back to the next portions of my assignments. I color coordinated the chart to show which class is which. I made charts because I am a visual learner and prefer to see things in this way.

How did I choose my rewards?

I use coffee to keep me focused and I love coffee, therefore it was a legitimate reward choice that I placed early in my evening so it would be desired as well as helpful for the rest of the evening. I go to the library with friends so I try not to get distracted by them, so I set aside some reward time for my friends, as well as the infamous distraction-Facebook! I also enjoy listening to my ipod, so my motivation to complete the entire assignment is to walk home listening to it.

Procrastination

Procrastination is a huge problem that most people have. When you are trying to avoid doing something you will procrastinate and do other tasks first to put off the assignment. The strategy I used to help me with my procrastination was time wasters. I chose this skill because I am a Kinesthetic learner and I was able to make a chart and see what I had to do. This can also work for visual learners.

Time wasters is a way to look at what yo

ur time waster is and the task you are avoiding so you can draw conclusions about what things are making you waste your time. You can use this for any assignment in any course.

I used time wasters for my WGS 203 project and studying for my ECN 203 quiz. What I did was make a chart that on the left column said Time Waster and on the right column said Avoided Task(s). I then went through and wrote out all of the time wasters for my WGS project like going on facebook, talking on the phone, and watching TV. In the next column under Avoided Task I listed out reading the WGS article, typing the essay, studying for econ. I then tried to draw conclusions and realized the reason I was not completing my WGS project was because I was not sure what to do and was not fully clear on the directions. For ECN I realized I was not studying because I was anxious about the qui

z and did not know where to start.

This helped me realize why I was procrastinating and made me take the necessary steps to do the work. I isolated myself from the things that were distracting me and got the help necessary to complete these tasks.

Time wasters is a great strategy for everyone who has problems with procrastination because it will help you get your work done!

Stop making tomorrow the busiest day of the week.

Procrastination gets the best of us. It is all about consequences and becomes a habit. For example, last semester I would put off studying for my History exams until the night/morning of. Though you may think this would prove to be bad news for me, I would often receive an A or a B on the exam. Because I was happy with my grade, I didn't feel like there were any consequences to what I was doing and my 'last minute cram sesh' seemed to work for me. Why would I change?
Then I realized that I hadn't tried it the other way. You know....actually studying. So I decided to try it out.
I have to take about 2 or 3 quizzes on the computer in my Math 121 class. Studying for these quizzes would have been incredibly time consuming if it wasn't for the 10 minute technique. With the 1o minute technique, I broke up how long I would study for the quiz and set up a time I would actually take the exam on iCALANDER on my computer. I set up a series of ten minutes where I would study a section of my notes/book and then spend ten minutes on taking the exam. Within the ten minutes I would knock out a few of the quiz questions. I got to a question where I wasn't sure what I was doing so I took a small break and watched an episode of a TV show I enjoy. After the episode, I finished reviewing the chapter in about 7 minutes. This gave me the perfect amount of time to use the next ten minutes to finish the quiz. I feel that this technique really helped me. I am a Kinesthetic and Visual Learner so drawing up a study schedule really helped me focus and stick to a plan.
Chunking the Task is probably my favorite Anti-Procrastination method. It literally prevents you from procrastination if done correctly. In my religion class (REL 206), there is always a reading assignment for the week. I feel that sometimes I become overwhelmed. When I learned how to "chunk" my tasks, it all became easier. I started separating the amount of pages I would read in a certain setting. Monday night i would read 4 pages, tuseday I would read 4 pages and then wednsday night I would read the last 6 pages and write the one page paper I have to write every week. Breaking my assignment down made it so much easier to get my work done by a certain time.
Both of these strategies work great for people who are tying to get out of their habits of procrastinating.

Try it now....not later.

Motivation!

Academic Fears was a strategy I looked at to help me with motivation. The reason I am either motivated or un-motivated usually comes from fearing the outcome of an assignment. By looking at my academic fears, the outcomes and what I needed to do it helped me get motivated and know what I had to do in order to succeed.

What I did to complete this was look at my math and econ materials. I had test in both of them and needed to get motivated to study for each. I filled out the chart of my academic fears for math which were not understanding the concepts and failing or doing poorly on the exam. The worst outcome for both of these would be getting a bad grade on this test and it hurting my overall grade for the course. The best outcome would be understanding the material to use in the future and doing well on the exam to help my grade and do well. I decided that the action needed to be done was that I would go through all of my lecture notes very carefully, go in for office hours, read the textbook and spend a considerable amount of time doing practice problems. I decided this because all of these things would help me understand the material helping me doing well on the test, accomplishing both of my fears. This got me motivated to start to take these steps on. I day by day did each task by going over each chapter one by one and spending time practicing. I also went into office hours and asked questions and cleared up material I was confused about. This helped me a lot and I went into the test feeling confident.

I also did this for my ECN 203 quiz. My fears for this quiz were similar to my math test. I feared that I would not understand the concepts which were important for not only this test but for the final and doing poorly on this quiz. My worst outcome would be that I did badly on this quiz. The best outcome would be that I understood everything and did well on the quiz. The action that I needed to take in order to accomplish this was to go over the terms day by day and use strategies like LINKS to help me learn these definitions. Once again I was very motivated to get my best outcome possible so I followed the actions I planned out and felt confident going into my quiz at the end of the week.

I think that this is a great strategy for a visual and kinesthetic learner like myself. It lets you write out everything so you have a visual aid to help you know what you need to do in order to do well. This can work in any class with any type of assignment because it helps you get motivated to see what you can really accomplish. I think there are only positives to this strategy and I am going to use it in the future when I need a push to start and do assignments.

Don't wait, Motivate!

MOTIVATION
What about college is motivating?
You're paying over 50,000 dollars a year to be here, you might as well make the most out of your opportunities at school.
Many students do not prioritize doing work and are lazy and unmotivated to achieve good grades in college.
Some students have the attitude that, if they're going to graduate anyways, what is the point of stressing and working hard. College is supposed to be fun.
Other students, take advantage of the privilege of being at school and work their hardest no matter what scenario.

There are two types of motivators in college:
External Motivator VS. Internal Motivator

External Motivation derives from something that is a consequence of doing well outside of how you feel about your achievements.
For example: People are motivated to achieve good grades, because they will be awarded with an achievement of praise from someone else.
Internal Motivation stems from anything that makes a subject feel good about themselves by accomplishing their work or doing well in school.
For example: A student might feel great happiness by doing well on an exam, regardless of what others think or say about the achievement.

My Motivation:
I am almost solely motivated by one goal I have for the school year: to get into Newhouse.
I came to Syracuse with the intentions and dreams of transferring into Newhouse at the end of my Freshman year. To be in Newhouse has been a dream of mine ever since I started thinking about applying to colleges. I have a great passion for filmmaking and plan to, one day, pursue it as my career. I know I will get a wonderful education in Newhouse that will prepare me for a job hopefully in my near future.
Therefore, my motivation stems from the grades I earn in class. Unfortunately, Newhouse acceptance only considers your G.P.A. and nothing else. The only factors they take when admitting students to their school as transfers are what your grade point average was at the end of your Freshman year.
I have challenged myself enough this school year with classes that I thought I would find useful and interesting, but I know that I will not hold back and prioritize thinking just about grades next year when I, G-d willing, am in Newhouse...

I am a Kinesthetic Learner, therefore I prefer to use graphic organizers to see how well my grades will come out IF I achieve a certain grade on a paper or exam. I always anticipate what I will achieve so I know exactly what to expect in my future.

I have specifically motivated myself for two classes individually:
Religion 101 firstly, I am strongly motivated because I find the class to actually be very interesting, and I would be disappointed with myself if I did not achieve as good a grade as I have wanted to for this whole semester. My teacher is very nice and I respect him enough to show that I really care about the class and the taught subject. I am internally motivated to do well for my own self approval.
The other class where I try to motivate myself a lot is CLS 105. This class gives you exactly what you take away from it. I have put enough effort into the assignments that I actually have learned a lot from it already. My motivation to do well in CLS is so that I can actually benefit from its teachings. CLS, in turn, will hopefully also help me raise my GPA in that class and in my others also.

I have never really been pressured to do well in school from my parents, my motivation has always really stemmed from my own awareness and ambition. I am, therefore, almost only internally motivated, not externally. My external motivation is getting into Newhouse.
Because my motivation comes from my GPA, I worry about it constantly. I work my hardest in my classes, but often get overwhelmed with all my work and discouraged when I fail to perform as well as I would have wanted to on a given assignment.
MYSLICE has a great feature: the "GPA Calculator."
You can plug in your already achieved grades and average out your estimated GPA's for your remaining classes of the school year. The system then automatically calculates your total GPA for the year.

I found this 'ultimatum' strategy very helpful. It's almost as if I am threatening myself to do well or else, I will not get into Newhouse or learn things I would never have otherwise...I am always motivated to do well in my classes because of the eventual goal of getting into Newhouse next year.

I have attached pictures to show how IF I achieve the grades I think I am deserving, then what I hope my final GPA will succeed a 3.65 in order to get into Newhouse next year.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

I'm Pretty Much a Motivational Speaker

Motivation. That is one powerful thing. Motivation is the fuel that runs our engines. Without it we would stop moving, roll on our backs and let life pass by. Luckily, motivation is found in practically everybody. In order to look inward and see if you are motivated, you have to think about what motivates you. Motivators can be defined as External or Internal. External motivators are the things that someone else is controlling like your teacher giving you a grade. Internal motivators are more self controlled like the feeling of satisfaction or accomplishment.
Motivation is complicated because it never stays the same. think about the beginning of the semester. I'm sure just like me, you were highly motivated to get killer grades and read all the section your teacher assigns but we quickly lose steam and become less motivated when feeling overwhelmed with work.
I prefer to have a certain goal or reward waiting for me to keep me motivated. It's like tying a carrot to a string an hanging it in front of a horse to go faster. Except in my case the carrot is me transferring into Newhouse which requires a high GPA. This goal has kept me highly motivated throughout the past semester and a half.
Academic fears can be found in unmotivated students who are consumed with fear that sprouts from a specific event like handing in a late assignment or missing too many classes.

My Motivation:
All of my classes are different and with that, my level of motivation in each class is different. They are all motivated by the same goal (to get an A) but with different intensities. I think most of the time it depends on my interest in the material. I have no problems with CFS 388 or ETS 145 because the classes are very interesting to me so I have no problem paying attention. My other classes like REL 206 and MAT 121 require an extra dose of motivation because I have more trouble caring about the material. For some reason, binomial distributions don't really spark my interest as much as watching a movie in ETS 145 does. Lack of motivation can be caused by boredom or lack of interest. Having a good goal can save you from slacking on your motivation. I'm talking about exploring rewards. I had to find a reward powerful enough to motivate me through the stuff I didn't want to do. Making a list of possible rewards can motivate you to get more things done. That's what I did. I feel writing down your goals and putting them a place you look often can make you more and more motivated.
I suggest you all to try it.

Motivation!

Motivation!

What motivates you? What makes you put in the effort to achieve things?

I have never really had much trouble trying to motivate myself to do school work. I am quite lazy and sometimes would prefer to sit on my bed and watch television, but I am sure that this could be said for many people. I may not spend an excessive amount of time on assignments, but I will never skip assignments intentionally or simply not prepare for an exam. I consider myself to be a highly motivated student. I am process-driven in the aspects of organization and study preparation, optimistic, and persistent. I am not too much of a risk taker and I do put in a valid effort to the standards of my ability.

What is an external motivator? It is something other than yourself that motives you.

What is an internal motivator? A motivation that gives you a sense of accomplishment. It would be doing a task for your own personal gain.

What can cause motivation? A consequence or a reward is a good reason to have motivation. If something is very undesirable, most people would give their best effort to be sure it does not happen. For example, I would fail my math class if I don’t get an A on the next exam, the consequence would be my motivation. A reward would be when I was young I got 5 dollars per A on my report card. The reward would be 5 dollars. If someone desires a result, they will usually make sure that it is reached. Simple things can cause such motivation, which causes some to try much harder in school and life.

When I was younger I got good grades because my parents wanted me to and I would get restricted from fun activities if my grades were poor, so I have always found them to be important. I am personally motivated to attend college because I am hoping to pursue a goal for knowledge. I have not chosen a major yet, but I desire to gain as much knowledge as I can about my area of study and help others with the knowledge that I have. I am motivated for internal as well as external reasons. My motivation is simply reward, which could be determined in the future as a goal. I plan to work in either the social sciences, psychology or business. I hope to be able to help others with my work so my motivation is the people’s lives that I can affect and help.

I am motivated for different reasons in each of my classes. Some classes my motivation is to attain a high average, fulfill requirements, personal happiness and to pass a required class. In CLS 105 I am trying to use this class to teach me the skills to raise the grades in my other classes, as well as to get a good grade in the class in order to raise my GPA. I would like a high GPA to be able to get into any major that I desire without difficulty. For CFS 388, I am interested in this area of study so my motivation is to see if this class is something I would be interested in pursuing, which is an internal motivation. MAT 222 is my hardest class and I am doing terribly. I need to pass this class with a decent grade so that I won’t haveto retake it, in hopes of keeping my GPA from being pulled down. I strongly dislike PHI 107, so I will use this to keep my grades up for my GPA and fulfill a requirement. REL 120 is interested but is also motivated by keeping my GPA up at this point. Ski Team is one of my PED classes which I enjoy and I only use it for personal satisfaction. I don’t necessarily desire to be the best skier on the team, but I do enjoy the sport. I am motivated to get a good grade by simply having fun! I am very motivated in my schoolwork and can find many reasons to be motivated for any task.

U.S.A. = Use Some Acronyms

LEARNING and then RETAINING information in courses is essential to gaining useful facts and then succeeding on exams. Why do the methods we use work and how do they get planted in our brains and in our MEMORY?

One method I really found useful for my classes to learn information and memorize it so I could do well on tests, was creating ACRONYMS for things I had to learn and then memorize.

There are several steps in the process of information retention:
1. Memory aids
2. Background knowledge
3. Interest
4. Intention
5. Distribute practice
6. Associate
7. Organize
8. Select
9. Visualize
10. Rehearse
All these combined make up the 'formula' for keeping information in your head for good.

There are also seven essential ways to remember what we learn:
1. Select it (selective about your information)
2. Write it (note-taking, or index cards)
3. Recite it (study groups, reading aloud, taping yourself)
4. Relate it (new information relating to what you already know)
5. Imagine it (mentally visualize your information)
6. Practice it (review material in most helpful way)
7. Anticipate it (anticipating what you'll read or study)

I used ACRONYMS to memorize useful information in my classes. If I make up words to associate key terms in my courses, it is easier to memorize those terms and then learn them in my head. For example, I applied the acronym 'MNEMONIC DEVICE.'
Other mnemonic devices include: acronym sentences, rhymes, link system, method of Loci, and finally visualization.

I created acronyms for my Human Sexuality and my Psychology courses:



AND


This method helps me out a lot because I am a kinesthetic and visual learner. I gain my information through memorization and repetition by associating terms with silly phrases or sentences.
I recommend this method to anyone who wants to gain information and use the learned information in the future or for an exam.

All I had to do was USE study guides to organize my materials and notes in a good format so that I then later could attribute words to the terms in my courses. I thought this was a greatly helpful way to learn new information in organized ways so that I could memorize these details later in my future for my classes.

Save Time and Memorize Things Faster!

I personally hate when it is time to study and I have to really memorize a bunch of terms the test is going to be about. It's very time consuming and theres really no way to get around doing it if you want to get a good grade. A great way to learn informatoin faster is to studying and USE RHYMES

Using rhymes is a great way for me to study epescially because I am a visual and kinesthetic learner. I write down the terms and then create silly rhyes for them so it is easier to memorize the definitions. This always seems to be helpful for me even if the rhyme is stupidly absurd. I learn the material in an easy and faster way, and it pays off on tests. My PSC 121 class is based on a lot of terms that I need to memorize, about 25 in each chapter, and it pays off on the tests.

I would post examples of my rhymes on the blog to show you how I use this strategy but most my rhymes are usually too weird to post (I'm not like a sicko or anything....dont worry) but if you try this startegy for your next quiz or test you will understand what I mean and it will work for you!

Acronyms.

Have you ever used Acronyms?

Have you ever used Acronyms? They are a great way to remember things! If you haven’t tried it, you really should, because it works wonders!

How do you use it?

It is easy! Just make a list of the terms you need to remember, then underline or circle the first letter of each word. Try to arrange these into a word or something you will remember! This is easiest for memorizing things that there are many of and are only one word.

How did I use it?

I used this method in my CFS 388 and my Rel 120 class. This is a great method for me because I am a visual and aural learner. I put the terms in an order that makes the most sense, then I read them out loud until I fully memorized them. This is helpful for the visual aspect because I can picture the terms and the underlined letters in the future. It is also helpful because I read them out loud so this helps the aural aspect. I couldn’t figure out an actual word to fit with the letters I had underlined, so I made one up, but I certainly won’t forget it!

I'm a Poet and I Didn't Even Know it.

The brain is a powerful thing guys and today we will be discussing how to maximize on one of my favorite aspects of the brain.....MEMORY.
It's amazing how much information we can absorb but today we will be practicing a method that will help you absorb the information but also be able to recall it.

I used RHYMES to help me remember.
RHYMES:
Think about how you hear a commercial that has a rhyme or jingle and it just gets stuck in your head. That is what we are going for this week when using the Rhymes strategy.

For my ETS 145 class, there are a lot of terms that we need to know. They seem to be piling on top of one another and I feel overwhelmed. I am a kinesthetic learner so writing down rhymes really works for me. The process itself was really simple. All I had to do was make a little chart with the information I needed to know on one side and then on the other side I would put my rhyme. Simple enough, right?
Suddenly, words like Producerly texts made sense. My rhymes proved be more on the ridiculous side. I feel that it actually helps me remember them better if they are absurd.

I also used this strategy in my MAT 121 class. This might not work for most math classes but because stats has so many definitions and terms in it, this strategy proved to work well.
I took some of the terms I needed to remember like mean, binomial, distribution and I associated them with rhymes that I thought could stick in my brain and I would be able to make the connection when it came time for it.
Think about how you learned the alphabet. You learned it in a song that made it simpler to remember. If you can apply that to your class work, remembering things becomes a whole lot easier. I recommend this strategy for people who are creative because they rhymes should be fun too.