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This week’s module was about motivation and boosting focus. To begin, motivation comes from intrinsic and extrinsic sources which include: pride, interest, grades, money, and more. The most helpful thing I learned this week is some tips to combat lack of motivation. For example, you can find a quiet place to concentrate, find a soundtrack to help motivate and concentrate (look up “music for studying” on Spotify or Apple Music), or shut out distractions using an app/extension like freedom, SelfControl, or cold turkey. When I am studying in a public place where it could be noisy, I like to listen to a playlist called “your favorite coffeehouse.”

This module provided a youtube video that provides some tips to boost focus. The first is to use applications to eliminate distractions, the second is to use two accounts (one for work and studying and another for leisure), the third is to clear your space so you cannot be distracted by what is around you, the fourth is to put your thoughts on paper so you don’t have anything worrying you that you might forget, and finally the fifth tip is to use background music while studying.

Some other details that you may overlook that vastly affect your productivity and motivation are managing stress, taking time to relax, getting enough sleep, and exercise. I personally track my sleep so that I can physically see how much sleep I am getting when I get to sleep, and the quality of that night’s sleep.

source: https://youtu.be/AAv0ko2pelE

This week’s module focused on tips and tricks to writing a college paper. I learned this week that college papers are very different from high school papers. For example, college papers are generally argument or inquiry-based and you are expected to find your own information. A lot of the time the topic you have to write about it up to you to choose! I know that when I was in high school the paper we had to write followed a strict outline given by the teacher ahead of time, that’s not the case in college (most of the time). Here you have a lot more free will, which can potentially make things difficult.

Writing papers can be difficult, especially if you are lacking motivation or creativity, but there was a video in this week’s lesson by nancywhooo that provides some steps to crank out that paper. The first tip is to get in the right mindset. The second is to create a rough outline so that you can stay on track while writing the paper. The third tip is to gather your research resources followed by the fourth step which is writing down your stream of thoughts to keep organized. The fifth step is to crank out that paper which should be easy since you already have all your main ideas and points written down. Finally, reread everything and check to any mistakes before you turn it in.

The best advice I could give somebody who is writing a paper is to check it yourself once you are finished but after you check it, have a friend or somebody you trust also peer review it. After spending hours slaving on a paper sometimes the words start to all seem correct, even if they are not. A fresh set of eyes can catch spelling and grammar mistakes that you may have missed.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2DRdOts5lY&feature=youtu.be

The most useful thing I learned in this module is that to take good notes, you need to clarify what is important and to remember the information. Typing your notes, though much faster, often leads to mindless transcription. So, if you really want to learn the information I would suggest handwriting your notes. But, if you’re like me and typing is so much faster for you and your professor talks fast, I will often type my notes in class then transcribe them onto notebook paper as a study tactic later on.

This module provided a video made by Thomas Frank on five different note-taking systems. The first of these is the outline method (which I use the most). This method is when you use bullet points to organize and space out your notes. The second is the Cornell method where you divide the paper into three sections: cue, notetaking, and summary. You take notes in the notetaking section, think of questions about your notes and write that in the cue and write a brief summary of what you learned on the bottom in the summary section. The third method is making a mindmap. This is where you take the big idea and write it in the center of a blank piece of paper and you connect that to the subtopics and those subtopics to other parts. The fourth is the flow method where you don’t try to write down every detail of the lecture but the goal is to learn while you are sitting in class. So, you basically write down what you know so that you can go back to it later and it will make sense to you. The fifth and final method is the write on the slides method. Thomas Frank described this as “the lazy method” because that is what it is basically. It is helpful when you actually add to the slides based on what the professor is saying and it keeps all of your notes very organized.

If you struggle with notetaking I would suggest at least trying one of the five methods described above. I think the outline method is the easiest to do and to read but there are lots of ways to organize your thoughts and to remember what you did in class so that you can go back and review.

This week’s module was all about active reading and study strategies. One of the most useful things I learned this week was the SQ3R method of reading from a youtube video by Jen Jonson. This method has you skim the reading first to give you an idea of what you will be reading about, ask questions about the topics, read, recite what you read and learned, and then review what you just read. I typically struggle to read without getting distracted so I am going to try this method next time I need to read a chapter for a class.

I have already been aware of multitasking for a while now. Don’t get me wrong, I love to put on a show in the background while I work on my homework just as much as the next person. But, I know that when I am working on something important or I’m doing something that requires me to be more attentive, I know when to turn it off and concentrate on the work. For example, I may watch a show while I am doing mindless math problems but I will turn it off when I start my Chem lab report because that involves more thought and my full concentration.

Next time you are studying for a midterm/ final/ quiz, remember to work on one thing at a time, don’t switch from one topic to another. For example, you have two midterms on the same day, math and chem. Spend one day studying for math, then the next for chemistry. Once you get closer to the tests, determine which subject you need more time to study and concentrate more on that. If you think you still need lots of work on both, then spend one hour solely on math, take a 5-10 minute break, then spend an hour solely on chemistry. One of the biggest things about this situation is not to try and cram both subjects in the day before. Start studying at least a week before the tests if not sooner.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9ADb5uIf2MXr1-eSN6kyg

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