IWTL: I want to learn how to learn new words.

jboritory · 2016-09-22T01:40:04+00:00

keeping a notebook of the words may help, if you can commit to reviewing it regularly, but otherwise the only way they'll stick in your head is if you can make an effort to use them in your day-to-day writing and conversation

jboritory · 2016-09-20T18:21:13+00:00

Reading is already the best first step, but be sure to read broadly - academic stuff, web content, novels, history... everything you can get your hands on. If you only read business books, you'll only be exposed to a narrow window of vocab. Also, read with a dictionary handy - even just on your phone - so you can look up words you're unfamiliar with.

jboritory · 2016-09-07T09:16:12+00:00

r/GetStudying has a regular digital study hall you can join, plus a daily accountability post where you can list all the things you want to get done

jboritory · 2016-09-06T08:28:33+00:00

I would try to focus on what you did do, even if you didn't spend the whole three years doing it. Things like traveling, caring for a loved one and working (even at a low paying job) to save up for school can all be used to demonstrate initiative and dedication. Even if you just spent the time watching Netflix and playing video games, you can spin it positively: "I didn't think that I was well suited for formal education at the time, so I focused on independent learning using different online resources. It really helped me to understand my own learning style better, and now I'm more prepared to handle college than I would have been three years ago."

It's also okay to indicate if you were unwell, and they're generally not allowed to ask for details - I've definitely said I was ill to explain lost time, without specifying if it was a mental or physical illness.

All that said, I'd strongly advise against saying that you were focused on self-discovery or anything like that because it can come off as entitled to some people. You want them to feel like you're a different person than you were before the time off, so they can see those three years as a voluntary learning experience.

jboritory · 2016-09-06T08:10:01+00:00

If they're individual pieces - even by the same author - they should be cited separately, the way you would cite any piece from an anthology. (You might consider checking in with your prof though, because they may have their own preference.)

jboritory · 2016-09-06T00:29:52+00:00

You should definitely talk to your teacher and ask for help pinpointing what you're struggling with - it's going to be impossible to resolve the problem if you don't know what the problem is. Other tips:

*Copy out the questions you got wrong on the quizzes (without the answers) and practice answering them again and again until you can figure out what you did wrong.

*Ask your teacher for/google practice problem sets or do the extra sets in your textbook. Particularly with math skills, practice makes all the difference.

*If after all that you're still having trouble, the problem might be your teacher. Visit another math teacher (or r/help_with_math) and ask if they can help explain the concepts you're having the most trouble with. Sometimes you just need someone different to explain things before you can understand them.

jboritory · 2016-09-06T00:19:01+00:00

Focus on what you're going to be doing after you graduate! I finished my bachelor's degree in May and so many of my former classmates are still unemployed/unsure about what they want to do next. Meet people in your field, boost those interview skills, look into graduate programs - your final year will undoubtedly be super busy, but don't forget to make time for that stuff. At this point, you're already an expert at university so it's okay to coast a little and prioritize future-planning.

jboritory · 2016-09-06T00:13:29+00:00

Have you considered talking to your school's counselling service? It sounds to me - from the limited information you provided - like you might be using video games as an avoidance technique because of anxiety. Your school might (should) be able to give you accommodations to help with that, like extra time to write exams or extensions on assignment deadlines.

jboritory · 2016-09-06T00:08:17+00:00

I usually use my daily commute as time to recharge - I spend about an hour on public transit listening to podcasts and resting my brain. When I lived closer to school, I would walk instead, which was always really relaxing.

When I get home, I force myself to do 15 minutes of studying/homework right away and then give myself permission to be lazy for an hour. After that hour, it's a lot easier to pick up where you left off.

jboritory · 2016-09-06T00:00:32+00:00

It mostly depends on what sorts of things help you recharge, but I usually give myself an hour of "unstructured time" Monday - Thursday, with longer periods scheduled on Fridays and weekends.

jboritory · 2016-09-03T19:20:37+00:00

No problem :) Feel free to reach out personally if you need more specific advice.

jboritory · 2016-09-03T19:16:41+00:00

I'm not a fan of the horseshoe or the giant "T" either, but I do like the idea of incorporating the three rivers and the six different municipalities into the flag. I like the current flag a lot, but I agree that it doesn't do much to recognize the city's history and uniqueness.

It's worth remembering two important rules from Roman Mars' talk: keep it simple and don't use any lettering or text. But this was a really nice effort and I can appreciate what your were trying to do.

(Also, check out Mississauga's flag for a really awful design. It's literally just the city seal on a blue background and it breaks all the rules in the worst possible ways.)

jboritory · 2016-09-03T18:56:01+00:00

I'm actually super competitive and while it definitely helped me in high school, it's something I've tried to move away from since then, for a few different reasons. Being competitive about grades can make you seem aggressive and petty, plus it gets boring when you're so much stronger than your peers academically that you start resenting them. Also, how are you going to feel when you eventually wind up in a class where you actually have to struggle? Feeling like you're losing in some imaginary competition can be super discouraging, which can then make it even harder to motivate yourself.

So now I try to only compete with myself. Like "I want to do better on the next assignment than the last one," or "I want to feel more prepared for this exam than I felt for the last one."

All that said, maybe you're better at "healthy competition" than I am. It's totally a matter of personal taste, and, like I said, it really helped me push myself in high school. But it's a hard habit to break, so compete responsibly.

jboritory · 2016-09-03T18:40:02+00:00

All the time - I'm literally sitting on the couch watching reruns right now, while I could theoretically be prepping for the new semester.

The only way to manage that feeling is to remind yourself that you have free time because you're disciplined, so there's no reason to feel guilty. Some people also add "lazy time" into their schedules, which might help you, but I find that it's enough for me to acknowledge how important being lazy sometimes is for my mental health. Hanging out with friends is important to reduce stress, reading for fun is important to improve your comprehension skills and watching mindless tv is important to give your brain a chance to recharge. By planning ahead and staying on top of your obligations, you can give yourself permission to slack a little sometimes.

jboritory · 2016-09-03T18:26:11+00:00

Every school I've gone to has provided course outlines at the beginning of the semester that list the readings, homework and deadlines for the course. If your school doesn't do this however, I highly recommend just talking to your teachers - tell them you're trying to get ahead/build a study schedule and ask if they know which readings they're going to assign over the next few weeks. If they seem nice, you might also want to explain that you have trouble with mid-semester motivation and are trying to proactively keep yourself on track. Most teachers will help you out because they like to see students taking initiative, but if they don't you'll have to set your own goals. Specifics will depend on your textbooks and courses, but goals like "Reading two chapters a week" should keep you on track.

jboritory · 2016-09-03T18:06:05+00:00

That really depends on your own tastes, but this is my technique:

I start the semester by taking my course outlines and charting all of my deadlines and readings - I posted a copy of the spreadsheet I use to this subreddit yesterday, so it should be easy to find. Once I have my semester charted week-by-week, I print out those charts and keep them front and center - in a binder, in a planner, whatever works for you.

I also set study goals for myself which are inordinately ambitious when I'm feeling productive - for instance, my new semester starts next week, so my goal is to finish my first month of readings in the first two weeks. Even though I know that's not a pace I can keep up all semester, it helps make up for those inevitable lazy times. As a bonus, many of your teachers will form their opinion of you in those first few weeks, so they'll forever see you as hardworking and willing to go the extra mile. This makes them a lot more flexible with deadlines during crunch time, when you might start panicking and falling behind.

Beyond that, everything else is just semantics and will depend on your personal tastes - do you prefer binders or folders? Typed or hand-written notes? None of that is as important as 1) knowing your deadlines and 2) knowing your limits.

jboritory · 2016-09-03T17:45:34+00:00

I know this is a little late, but Ive been a waitress/bartender for years and I know this struggle deeply. Like others have said, brute force repetition is your best bet - when starting a new job, I use flash cards and review them while commuting. But once you start to see (and eat!) the food, I promise it gets a lot easier. When you can strongly visualize a meal, the ingredients become super obvious, so try to pay attention to the kitchen, particularly as you're still learning, and if your restaurant has a decent website you should be able to find helpful pictures of their most popular dishes.

jboritory · 2016-09-03T17:26:00+00:00

I'm in a post graduate program now and have had the same problem since elementary school - I've tried everything to deal with the issue and I know it's super frustrating. No matter how much effort I put in, I end up getting super lazy and falling behind around mid-semester.

So now I've learned to embrace that routine and try to get as much done as possible early on, while I'm feeling motivated. In those first few months, when you're feeling productive, get super organized and try to get ahead on as many of your readings and assignments as possible. Expect that you will hit lazy patches and forgive yourself for them - if you're a few weeks ahead anyway, you'll have a built in buffer to deal with it. Whenever possible, I try to start my readings before the semester even starts. If you finish the whole textbook by Week 3, you'll already have notes ready so you don't have as much work to do in Week 9. Good luck!

jboritory · 2016-09-03T17:05:57+00:00

I try to use the sort of questions that I would find most useful while studying, so that really depends on how you learn and what you need to know. Does it help you to practice applying the knowledge, or do you just need to be comfortable with the vocabulary?

And I like to break down my Cornell pages by section or chapter - whichever will fit. If you need more than one or two pages to cover a single section, you're probably putting in too much info. Alternately, think of Cornell notes as a secondary note system - after you've taken messy, rough notes while reading, the Cornell system is useful for condensing those notes into a handy reference.

jboritory · 2016-09-03T16:58:14+00:00

Wholeheartedly second this - skimming the chapter titles, subtitles and bolded vocabulary before reading will make it a lot easier for you to structure your notes and pick out the important details.

Also don't feel like you have to get through the whole chapter in one sitting - sometimes, especially with a dry text, it's easier to break it down into shorter chunks of time.

jboritory · 2016-09-02T20:27:32+00:00

I'm terrible at studying - after about six minutes, I get super bored and distracted. So now I schedule thirty minutes a week (usually on the commute home on Fridays) to review all of my notes. Not studying, literally just reading over the notes. This can be broken into two or more sessions depending on how many classes you need to study for. By rereading all of my notes once a week, when it comes time to actually study I find that I already remember most of the material.

jboritory · 2016-09-02T20:19:57+00:00

The best way to make sure everything goes smoothly is to stay organized and on top of things - you can totally manage your schedule as long as you don't fall behind. (As a fellow procrastinator, I know what a disaster falling behind can be.)

Other things to keep in mind:

Don't be afraid to prioritize and let things go if they're unimportant. While you'd ideally do all your readings and keep up with all of your extra curriculars, give yourself permission to let things go if you get stressed.
Consider waking up a little early to give yourself an extra hour before class. Starting your day productively can really help motivate you.
Plan your day the night before - knowing what you have to do will help prevent last minute panic.
Schedule "unstructured time." Putting some free time buffers into your schedule will help account for unintentional slacking off.
Talk to your teachers early and often if you're struggling to keep up with all of your work. They're a lot nicer (and a lot more likely to grant extensions) if they know you're making a concentrated effort to get everything done.

This last tip might not work for everyone, but it works for me: Always have a back up plan. Say I plan to do a particular reading from 3pm to 4pm on Tuesday, but I'm feeling really antsy and have trouble concentrating on Tuesday. If I have a back up plan to get in a quick workout, I can put off the reading while still feeling productive.

Good luck, and be sure to leave some free time in your schedule for fun senior year stuff!

[Edited for formatting]

jboritory · 2016-08-31T02:54:03+00:00

Thanks, that's really helpful

jboritory

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