Posted on by Cesar

What Helped Me Stay Organized as a Student at UW-Bothell

 My time here at UW-Bothell has been quite the journey. I developed many new skills and experiences as I embraced coming and dorming here from my hometown. To me, it is still unbelievable that I will be graduating this spring quarter! Time goes by fast and each time I think of this, I still remember the chaos of my high school graduation and senior night. I knew that participating in the Running Start program at my community college would set me up for the ability to advance in college credits so that I would be able to graduate early. However, it is still shocking to see that in a couple of weeks, I will be walking across the stage. 

 This past academic year has proved to me that time goes by fast and that it is important to take advantage of each given moment. With this being my last quarter here at UW-Bothell, I wanted to share some of my skills and tips that I have developed and embraced throughout my two years of being here. 

Something that I used each day during high school that has stuck by me to this very day is: a planner. I find that by having a planner, it makes everything a lot easier. Not to mention that it can also help you develop other skills like organization, time-management and reduced stress/ procrastination. This can certainly help especially if you are a college student with a hectic schedule filled with demanding homework deadlines. 

When it comes to using a physical or an electronic planner, I personally enjoy a physical one. I like to have the physical copy of my planner so that I can customize it to my liking and so that when I do check things off, it feels more of an accomplishment. Not to mention that for me, having a physical planner is more aesthetically pleasing to have and it keeps me accountable for being consistent with planning out my weekly schedules. 

 

Weekly Planning For Beginners And Pros - Bordio
Image Captured from Bordio.com

Let me take you through my process when it comes to using my planner. To start, I enjoy planning my week every Sunday. This is so that I am aware of what is happening throughout the week ahead of me and so that I’m able to see what I have to get done for that given week. I am also able to prioritize my assignments to see which things require more attention. 

Every day, I like to start the day off by going to the gym. Incorporating weight training into my schedule is a way for me to take time for myself and for my health. I like to set aside about two hours of my morning that is dedicated to this. Within my planner, I write down “Gym @ 8am” for each day, Monday-Friday. This helps me be accountable for getting up in the morning and tackling the day with a good workout. 

Next, I like to write down my scheduled times for my job and for any lectures. With this, and the gym, I like to do a check box on the left-hand side so that once I finish this task, I can sigh relief after I have checked it off. When it comes to class assignments, I like to write them down on the days that they are due during the week, along with the times as well. I find that having Canvas opened to the monthly setting helps me get a clearer picture of how many things I have to do. It also gives me the ability to have some insight the week after to see if there are any important exams, projects, events, etc., need to prepare well in advance. 

Due to the majority of my coursework having deadlines on Sundays @ 11:59 pm, I’ve noticed that the Sunday box within my planner usually has more writing within it. To help manage my time with my classes, and with what I have assigned, I like to color coordinate my classes and assignments. What is nifty about this is that it makes my planner more organized and appealing to the eye. 

Whenever I have additional things that occur during the week, I also like to write them down so that I do not forget. This usually includes any scheduled times that an event or a meeting will happen. As a busy college student, having things written down is important because it helps me manage my time and priorities better. 

 

Photo of my planner for the week of May 20th – May 26th

Having a planner with everything laid out helps me with my routine. I am very routine-oriented, and I like to know what has to get done during the week so that I don’t rush or procrastinate at the last minute. I carry this around with me in my backpack so if there is anything I need to check off or update, I can do so.

Reflecting on how my planner has helped me throughout college, I developed new skills and strengthened some of the skills that I currently have. A new skill I developed is multitasking, and a couple that I have strengthened are prioritizing my objectives, organization, and time management. Some of the skills were ones that I already have, but with the help of a planner, I’ve noticed how it has helped me strengthen my skills because I can get a head start for the week and see which assignment deadlines were high and low-stakes. 

Learning these skills is something that I didn’t adapt to easily. If I were to pull out my previous planner, the resemblance would be apparent as it has taken me time and effort to implement exactly what I was looking for in terms of developing a routine, planning, and organizing. I think we underestimate the power of the planner. It is such a prime way to stay organized and consistent. The nice thing about a planner is that it only suits you and you. It contains your work, schedule, meetings, appointments, etc. A glimpse into your life on paper is the way that I like to think of it.

Looking at the planner example below, one thing that stood out to me was that the creator included a “Rest Day!” on a weekend day. I think this is something that I could see myself doing for the future of my planner because it’s such a great written reminder to prioritize ourselves at the end of a crazy and busy week. 

Some of these techniques were effective for me when it came to using my planner and I hope this blog post can inspire and help any new and current students who are thinking about using a planner or need some guidance to get started. 

Happy planning! 

 

Image Captured from Korrashay.com

 

Resources to help you get started on your planning journey:

Resources for UW-Bothell Students: 

Resources for Cascadia College Students: 

Posted on by cvera2

How to Stay Organized as a College Student

The transition from high school to college introduces independence and accountability into our lives. You are responsible for attending your lectures, choosing your class times, and for many of us, paying room and board. These responsibilities can be overwhelming, especially staying on top of your assignments, completing personal tasks, and including time for socialization and self-care. It might feel as though you have to neglect certain parts of your life in order to be successful as a student, but that isn’t always true, this post includes tools you can use to give you peace of mind and structure in your life.

Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace that allows you to keep your life organized and gives creative freedom on what you want to create. There are endless possibilities on what you can create, such as finances trackers, vacation planning, habit trackers, and most importantly assignment trackers. This is the platform that I have used since my freshman year of college and I believe it is the reason I have been able to be successful and stay on top of my coursework.

Before using Notion, I had been overwhelmed with the daily tasks of being a college student. I remember asking myself, how do I stay on top of class, complete extracurricular activities, work on side projects, have a job, stay on top of finances and bills, have time for social activities, and have time for self-care? When you list these things out, it sounds extremely overwhelming, and can cause of sense of doubt. Since you’re stressed out about what you have to do, many times we procrastinate and prevent ourselves from achieving what we are capable of. In reality, it all comes down to how well you organize and structure these activities.

Assignment Tracker

An assignment tracker is a great way to start your journey with Notion. I start off my pages with a cover, which I usually download from Pinterest or choose from the built in options on Notion. I then choose an icon to be at the top of the page to be the page identifier on the sidebar view. I then insert a table and put in my school schedule with course number and class times, including an estimated study time depending on the day. Under this schedule is where I insert a call out, where I include my reminders. Lastly, I include a table view with my assignments! I include the class name, my status on the assignment, the date I want to start working on it, then the due date.

Here is an example assignment page that I use!

It may be difficult to get started on Notion and learn all of its functionalities, there are guides available to help you get started with creating your online workspace! Additionally, if you are stuck on how you want to customize your pages, there are free templates available that you can import into your Notion page that has everything all done for you! These include templates such as study pages, travel planners, investment planners and more.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is an online calendar that allows you to plan your daily tasks in an organized manner. I have tried numerous online calendars and highly prefer using Google Calendar to plan my day because of the color customization and overall visual aspects of the calendar.

A tip I have as a college student is to plan your days one at a time, this means setting apart 20 minutes at the end of each day to plan how you want the next day to be structured. When you do this, you are most likely to stick to your plan and not set unrealistic goals for yourself as you might do when planning an entire month out at once. Knowing this, it is still good practice to note down any special dates such as meetings, appointments, or any future commitments so you don’t forget.

I recommend planning absolutely everything, especially if you are someone that struggles with productivity. This means planning the time you will wake up, time to get ready, time to get to a certain destination etc. Of course, life happens and it may not always go as planned, but knowing an idea of how your day will look like helps bring a sense of peace to our already busy lives. 

Here is an example of how your Google Calendar may look like:

To customize the colors and make your calendar look aesthetically pleasing, there are multiple online tutorials to help you get started.

Do I Need Anything Else?

It is a common belief that to be productive we need to purchase extra tools such as a nice laptop, an iPad, or digital journals. If these are tools that actually do help, that’s great! However, many times these are unnecessary purchases that may not help at all or be useful to you. Productivity comes down to you and how you utilize your time. I realized that all I need to be successful is my laptop and nothing else. I was someone who was influenced to buy an iPad due to the belief that it would boost my productivity, sometimes I write some notes on it, but there are times where I go months without touching it. Don’t feel like you need fancy materials to be productive. You are capable of achieving your goals by your determination and willingness to try out new tools such as Notion or Google Calendar.

Good luck on your academic journey!

 

Posted on by dilark

How I Learned My Parent’s Language (and how you can learn another language, too)

At the age of 17, my parents had me participate in a Turkish band because they wanted to help me get to know my culture. But as a Turkish American who grew up very divorced from her culture overall, it was a weird experience. When we tried to sing a Turkish song by the name of Cambaz (which means acrobat in English), it became incredibly apparent that I was not raised speaking the language like my other Turkish peers. When I tried to sing the chorus of the song, I was mocked for mispronouncing a word by one of my band members, with the band director lightly joking that I should sing in English. It made me feel like there was no hope for me to ever learn my heritage language or connect with my culture simply because I grew up so divorced from it. My parents chose to not teach me Turkish because after I received my autism diagnosis, they wanted to make sure I assimilated into American culture as much as possible to make up for the differences that my autism would cause. However, having a name like Dilara would give my teachers and classmates a run for their money as they would try to pronounce or spell it and my physical appearance would pique questions from others about where I was from. It’s safe to say that despite my parent’s efforts to help me assimilate, I proceeded to grow up not knowing the culture of my heritage while also feeling like a stranger in the country I was born and raised in. After my failed attempt to learn Turkish with Rosetta Stone at the age of 7, I thought that acquiring the language as an adult would be impossible, but I decided to go for it anyway. And the results I achieved genuinely surprised me. In this article I’m going to go over methods I used to learn my parent’s language and what I would recommend to you if you are trying to learn a second language yourself. 

I started with Duolingo last September because that seemed like the most common sense thing to do since it advertised everywhere. A couple of weeks of practice helped me review the occasional phrases I’ve picked up from the house along with teaching me some basic grammar points. I had heard phrases like “merhaba” (hello) and “iyi geceler” (good night) for a good majority of my life but this was the first time I was learning how to spell them. This seemed to suffice for the first couple of weeks to a month because I was getting a foundation in the language and reviewing what I had learned before. But it eventually showed to not be enough. This is when I started to consult my aunt over the phone to learn more basic phrases that Duolingo wouldn’t teach and even started doing a little reading practice with her. As I was, and am currently living with my parents who are native speakers of the language, I could ask them questions related to grammar or certain words. I would try speaking here and there, but it was clear that I didn’t have enough vocabulary to hold a decent conversation yet. But as I continued to learn the language, a strength of mine that came from having heard the language in bits and pieces started to emerge: pronunciation. Even if I didn’t get enough exposure to the language as a kid to understand it or speak it, I was very familiar with the sounds, and using what I committed to memory came with ease for the most part. This showed up especially when I would read with my aunt over the phone. 

From this point on, I became very interested in second language acquisition. This was when I first heard about a theory called comprehensible input. This theory was founded by Steven Krashen in the 1980s and states that the main way people acquire language is by consuming input that they can comprehend. Any shows you watch and readings you do at your current level can help you grow your language skills. While it’s been a long time since this theory was published and a lot of misinformation about it on the internet, there was a certain part of it that rang true for me as I was going about studying Turkish. If you’re looking to self-study a language and don’t know where to start, I would strongly recommend that this is one of the first steps you take.

Starting off fresh in a language, you won’t be able to consume media for native speakers. Even children’s content can be a little bit hard at first because of the nonsensical plots the shows often contain. But if you go onto YouTube and search [target language] comprehensible input, you will be able to find a variety of videos targeted at beginners in the language of your choice. These videos will usually contain audio visual content where the speaker uses very simple language to explain what simple things are like holding up a toy car and saying “this is a car” in the target language. This is very helpful because it allows you to start making associations to things in the language rather than just translating words to their native language equivalent. It won’t get rid of the process you will undergo of translating things in your head fully, but it will be a very good start at fossilizing the language in your brain in the long run. Keep in mind that as you are working with immersion materials, you can use outside sources to make things more comprehensible if the language material is a little bit beyond your level such as using target language subtitles or an extension called Language Reactor that allows you to see Target Language subtitles and subtitles in your native language to make understanding easier. Along with that, the extension allows you to hover over words to learn their meanings. You can watch videos with native language subtitles as well but I don’t recommend that as much as I recommend the other two things I suggested because target language subtitles allow you to learn how words are spelled and look words up so you can write them down and make flashcards. 

While immersion material in a target language is very important, some deliberate studying is necessary to get the finer points of grammar in the beginning. The more learning materials you go through, be it books or videos, you will start to learn the language more and more, but there are some things that will be a struggle. Such as memorizing vocabulary or grammar. This is where skill building comes in. When you watch a video with target language subtitles and there’s a word you want to remember, it is incredibly important to write it down and review it on a consistent basis to put it in your long term memory. This is the whole idea of a Spaced Repetition System and there are many ways to use one. You could use a notebook or any flashcard system, but one I personally recommend is Anki. It’s a little hard to use at first but it’s really good for reviewing words. The simplest way to make a flashcard is to write down the word on one side and the meaning using a picture or your native language on the other. Either way works. And it’s nice to be reviewing a couple words a day. Mainly adding 10 or less at a time to not overwhelm your brain. In regards to grammar, to learn the finer points of that, you can look up videos, internet articles, and purchase grammar books online to study from.  I personally recommend a mix of all three depending on your learning style but buying a book at some point can be incredibly helpful since there are things you won’t learn from the internet alone. I also recommend talking to native speakers of the language to gain an understanding of the finer points of grammar if you have any questions. Living at home, I can easily ask my parents but if you don’t have access to native speakers in your vicinity, you can find them through apps such as HelloTalk and Italki in which you can contact teachers who speak the language or language exchange partners. 

After about two months of using Duolingo, I decided to quit because I found the repetitive exercises weren’t really adding to my Turkish and I found it to be a bit of an annoyance. From here, I spent my time engaging with immersion materials and skill building. Along with watching videos of comprehensible input, I dove into learning songs as well. This worked for me because I’m a musician and I find songs work incredibly well for me to learn anything, and I found myself acquiring a lot of new vocabulary this way. The only thing that I would caution to anyone trying to learn using this method is that the language used in songs doesn’t always grammatically resemble how the language is spoken as song lyrics use plays on words, sentence structure, and dramatic imagery. But reading and taking apart song lyrics is incredibly useful otherwise. In tandem with this, I would try to contact my aunt to read almost anything I could. We worked with online materials and graded readers in the beginning. I think reading is very important in second language acquisition because when we read, we have to use our imagination to think up the situation that is being described in the text. This can help create associations with new vocabulary words and grammar. All of this will make it easier for you to not translate in your head as much. 

After about three or four months, I was able to start having simple conversations with my parents around the house. It was incredibly hard at first because while I had learned a lot of vocabulary, I hadn’t grasped how to think in the language on the fly yet. But trying to converse in tandem with immersion materials and skill building made it easier for me to think in the language on the fly. I still have to translate in my head sometimes when thinking up longer sentences but when it comes to thinking simple sentences or thoughts, it’s mostly second nature to me. When you start conversing, translating in your head will be an inevitable part of the process, but the more you engage with immersion materials (especially reading), it will become easier. At least, that’s how it’s been for me so far. You want to get the language in your brain as much as possible to the point where you can start thinking in that language. One way of doing that is to watch the same video, episode of a show, or movie, or read a certain text a ton of times. This way, the language presented to you naturally sinks in your brain and you can use it as a spaced repetition system in a way, looking up vocabulary words and grammar structures you hadn’t noticed before on each viewing or reading. 

I wanted to touch on one more point specifically for heritage speakers looking to learn their parent’s language. It is very normal in the beginning to feel a sense of shame related to your abilities in the language. You might be able to understand it but not be able to speak it very well or you might know a couple throwaway phrases like I did. It’s going to hurt in the beginning because connecting to your cultural background is an incredibly difficult process but it can also be very healing. You might feel a sense of guilt for not taking the leap of connecting with your parents culture and choosing to assimilate instead. But it’s never too late to start. And learning your parents language is an important part of that because language is so intertwined with culture. It’s going to feel difficult at first, but it gets better. In the end, you’re not just your parents’ culture or where you grew up, you are you. And you have your own unique experiences and perspective to offer in this world so you shouldn’t feel any pressure to fit into a box. I struggle with not feeling Turkish enough or not feeling American enough, but the best thing I’ve done is to keep going regardless of my insecurities. 

My journey with learning my parents language has been an incredibly complicated one and I’m constantly learning new things day by day. My experiences have taught me not just how to learn a language but how to learn in general. Things like spaced repetition systems and persistence are things that can be applied to learning any topic. The best thing you can do to learn a language is to soak up as much information regarding the language as possible. A mix of immersion and skill building through vocabulary and grammar drills will both take you a very long way. But the most important lesson of all is to never give up. Even when you still find yourself having to translate in your head. Or even when you feel like you just won’t be able to use a certain grammatical structure, it will all pay off in the end. I’m very new to the field of second language acquisition and language learning but it fascinates me as a whole. Once my Turkish gets better, I’m open to learning another language. Potentially Japanese? I do watch a lot of anime. And going to Japan is definitely on my bucket list.

If you are interested in linguistics or language learning yourself and want to go down the massive rabbit hole I went down, here are some resources about second language acquisition and discovering other cultures. 

Some interesting tidbits:

NPR Life Kit, How To Learn A Heritage Language

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/25/1101187823/how-to-learn-a-heritage-language

What I’ve Learned, How To Learn A Language: Input (Why most methods don’t work) 

Duration (minutes): 13:57 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_EQDtpYSNM

Days And Words, Why Language Learners Hate Anki

Duration (minutes): 9:59

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzNizwynP3o

Norwegian With Ilys, How I Learnt Norwegian On My Own

Duration (minutes): 23:04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWQYqcFX8JE

Posted on by Jolene Truong

Effective ways to stay attentive and productive throughout the day

I definitely struggle to stay awake during lectures and motivated to complete everything I planned out for the day. Every now and then, I treat myself to a Starbucks coffee when I feel like I have a long day ahead of me. Here are some other ways to help you stay awake and alert throughout the day:

  • Caffeine

    • Coffee
      • Like I mentioned above, coffee is my go-to drink for when I’m feeling drowsy. My usual coffee order is a caramel macchiato with an extra espresso shot. That roughly equates to 150mg of caffeine. Over my years of being a sleep-deprived student, I’ve found that I’m quite susceptible to caffeine so I used a caffeine calculator to make sure that I don’t consume above my limit. Consuming too much caffeine may result in dizziness, headache, insomnia, other symptoms, and should not be a replacement to natural rest.
    • Tea
      • If you’re not into coffee, many teas have caffeine as well! Black tea contains 60-75mg of caffeine per cup. The amount of caffeine is also dependent on how long you steep the tea so steep longer for more caffeine. Drinking tea also has some health benefits like lowering the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and overall calmness. My usual cup of tea consists of green tea with a little bit of honey.

infographic_caffeine
– Image found here

  • What you can eat

    • Start the day with a balanced breakfast
      • Surprisingly, to help you stay awake throughout the day, waking up early and giving yourself adequate time to get ready can help you in the long run. Common breakfast foods like eggs, oatmeal, and yogurt are full of nutrients and vitamins to start the day. Although grabbing a quick cup of coffee or a sugary pastry saves time, it might make you crash earlier in the day if you do it too often. Building this habit will help you approach the day with a better mindset.
    • Carry snacks
      • Speaking from personal experience, getting hungry in the middle of the day can definitely throw off your focus and make you lose motivation! Most of the time, it’s because we are running low on energy. I find a banana, sliced fruit, and carrots with hummus to be good pick-me-ups throughout the day. Also, granola bars, trail mix, and fruit snacks are some of the best snacks to have with you at all times because they’re non-perishable and are still okay after being smacked around the bottom of a backpack or bag.
    • Stay hydrated
      • This is so important! Drinking enough water throughout the day really does wonders. A symptom of dehydration is lack of energy, which can lead to sleepiness. Definitely something you do not want to feel in the middle of the day. Although this amount is different for each person, a good guideline is for adults to drink 8 ounces of water 8 times a day. This can easily remembered by the “8 by 8” rule.
      • Be eco-friendly and carry a refillable water bottle when you’re out on walks and running errands!
    • Lifesum
      • I use a free app called Lifesum to track my meals/snacks, water, and exercise. I really like how it’s easy to use and the user interface is really appealing! You can also sync the app with your mobile device so that it can track your steps. By using Lifesum, I was able to manage my diet and make sure that I build a habit of keeping my energy up throughout the day. Lifesum is available on iOS and and Android to download.

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– .gif found here

  • Lifestyle Changes

    • Optimal sleep and nap time
      • Sleep plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy life. It is recommended that adults get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Here are some of the things that happen during a sleep cycle:
        • Tissue growth and repair
        • Energy restoration to the brain and body
        • Growth hormones essential for development are released
        • Support for daytime performance
      • Naps can reduce feelings of sleepiness, but be careful not to overdo it. An ideal nap duration is 10 to 30 minutes. You should consider other factors when deciding to take a nap, such as not napping for too long or too close to your bedtime. These will impact your regular sleep schedule and how you’ll feel after the nap.
    • Mindfulness Techniques
      • What exactly are mindfulness techniques? They are simple practices you can do to focus on what your body is feeling and sensing in the current moment by doing simple breaths and stretches. According to the Mayo Clinic, these techniques can benefit you by reducing stress, pain, insomnia, and other conditions discussed on their website.
      • This video, “5-Minute Meditation You Can Do Anywhere” by Goodful is quick and easy to help yourself reset and destress.
    •  Exercise
      • There are many benefits to exercising including improvements in your physical and mental health. By including daily exercise into your schedule, it will greatly improve how you go about your day.
      • Morning workouts: Exercising in the mornings sound dreadful, but once you build the habit it can help you establish a routine. Just the fact that you took the time before your usual schedule to exercise gives you a sense of achievement and with this mindset, it will motivate you to tackle your day of to-do’s. Morning workouts will also force you out of bed so that you do not oversleep and feel groggy.
      • Evening workouts: This is my preferred time to exercise because it is the last thing I do before I get to go home and relax! I get to exercise the built up stress from the day away and have some self-reflection time while I’m running on the treadmill. Exercising at this time is great for night owls, like myself, who have trouble sleeping at night because it’ll tire you out just enough that you’ll fall asleep easier.

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– .gif found here

These are just some of the things you can do to stay attentive throughout your day, but more importantly, it is dependent on how you set yourself up before the day even starts by building healthy habits and doing things in moderation. Hopefully the content I’ve written above helps you get through the day in a healthy and productive way.

Posted on by Jolene Truong

Different Study Environments

Throughout the school year, you can often find me and other students on campus in the library doing homework or catching up on studying. Most of the time, I am able to pile through a decent amount of work, but there are some days where I feel unmotivated and distracted. There are hundreds of studies that show how your environment greatly affects your productivity. Changing the scenery of your study sessions can give you a change of pace that will help you feel refreshed to get back to grinding. Here are some of my studying alternatives to the library:

Top Floor of the Activities & Recreational Center (ARC)

When other study spaces on campus become crowded, I can always find a spot to study on the top floor of the ARC. This floor is a multipurpose area where students can hangout, study, eat, or simply unwind before their next class. I like studying here because there is a lot of natural lighting, a lot of outlet plugs, and others who are also being productive. Because it is such a big floor, the noise level is spread out to create the right level of background noise. The ARC has many different purposes aside from being a great study space so be sure to check out what’s going on at myARC.

– Photo provided by the Activities & Recreational Center (ARC)

Quantitative Skills Center (QSC)

Being a computer science major, I often get stumped on my code and need some help in debugging. The QSC is a great place to get help from their wonderful tutors who are knowledgeable in different subject fields like math, biology, computer science, business, etc. They really take the time to help steer you in the right direction so that you can come up with the solution yourself. It’s also a common place to find and meet up with classmates to work together. For some, they find that working with others increase motivation and focus. It’s also really beneficial to study with classmates because if you don’t know something, they might and vice versa! More information can be found on the QSC website.

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– .gif found here

Coffee Shops

Whether it’s a Starbucks or a little shop in the city, the smells and sounds of a coffee shop set the mood for what is about to be one of the most intense work sessions to come. If I ever feel like I’m starting to lose energy, I can just grab a cup of coffee to refuel. Also, some people prefer studying with background noises to help them be productive. The sound of people coming in, placing orders, and having conversations can actually create a relaxing ambience for productivity.

Not able to go to a coffee shop, but still want to feel like it? Coffitivity.com is a free website that plays you ambient noise as if you’re sitting in a cafe. Also, this Spotify playlist was created by Starbucks and is the same music they play in their cafes.

Your Room

Studying in our own personal rooms can either be really beneficial or the worst decision ever made. We usually associate our rooms as a space where we can unwind and relax. Although that sounds great, this can feed into the temptation that getting any work done is impossible and that you should just take a nap or watch a quick episode of your favorite show before embarking on a study session that we both know will never happen. On the contrary, your room could be a great study space because it makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. If I have a huge exam coming up, I will stress for days about what, when, and how I need to study. I tend to make better decisions and plans when I am calm so that I can create a study schedule that will optimize my time until the exam date. Ultimately, this can be a great study alternative, but beware of getting too comfy!

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Finding a good study place is different for everybody. Some like silence and some like noise. My words of encouragement is that you should go explore these study environments and find what makes you work at your best so that you can ease the stress from school and free up more time to do other things that make you happy!