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This chapter helped me with staying mentally healthy through many different practices. I think that this is a tough subject for many young people, especially with social media. The lesson explained that it is very important to find a good environment to do work. It can be hard to do your best work when you are constantly being interrupted. The study spot should be comfortable, distraction-free, and convenient. One example that the lesson mentioned was listening to music. Whenever I am working on something that does not involve a video or reading, I listen to music that will keep me focused on the job at hand. It is a very easy way to stay concentrated if you have trouble focusing.

There are many good ways to stay concentrated, but there are just as many that can distract you. The most obvious distraction is most likely your phone. This is something that I need to work on because I am constantly on my phone. I need to start tossing it aside when I know that I have work to finish. A break here and there is fine, but getting carried away can be the downfall of a productive day. Keeping my motivation high is one of my highest priorities due to the success it will bring you by working hard.

When I read the lesson for this week I came across a source that, in my opinion, did a very good job explaining how to write a paper. The paper needs to be on a timetable according to each topic. In order for you to do an adequate amount of research on each topic, an outline should be put into place. An outline would include a thesis statement and then smaller topics. After that, you should research information that will make up the body of the writing, otherwise known as the details. I already use this tactic in my writing because it makes it easier to plan out your thoughts.

I found it interesting that you should make a time frame for your research. I always looked at research as just one big blob of time, rather than multiple intervals. That is one idea that I will start to implement into my own writing/researching. I think there is a common misconception when it comes to the difference between researching and searching. It is important to look at a source critically and in-depth. This way you can get the full picture of your topic. All in all, it will make your paper more appealing and complete.

Listening and note-taking go hand in hand. Effective note-taking will organize the information that is given to you in the classroom. It’s also a good way to stay engaged during a lecture. In my opinion, note-taking is essentially active listening.

In this chapter, I found it interesting how much goes into active listening. It is important to ask questions, review, and reflect. This way you can stay focused on what you are learning. One thing to take away from this chapter is the importance of deep processing. To achieve this you need to generation questions, create a concept map, and then practice retrieving the information. The more you do this the easier it will be to recall information that you have studied from your notes. I think that this is a strategy that I could start to implement. I often find myself forgetting information after a while. I should start to deep process in order to truly understand the material.

If I had one piece of advice I would recommend recording the lecture. This way you can’t miss any of the material. You can then go back into the recording and take notes of the important information. Active listening and note-taking will increase your understanding and performance in the classroom.

Reading is something that I struggle to enjoy. So you can imagine that when it comes to reading for school, I am even less interested. The chapter explains that you need to think of reading in a different manner. Now it becomes something that will help you, instead of thinking of it as a waste of time.

The chapter also goes into teaching some better study habits. One good habit to get into is doing exercise! Yes, believe it or not, it is not a waste of time to take a break and get active. Another good habit is studying with someone else. This way you can test each other on the information rather than re-reading it over and over again. Lastly, it is important to get a good night’s rest. This will increase your alpha brain waves which enhances focus and memory retention.

I already do a good job exercising and taking breaks during studying. Conversely, I need to start getting a good night’s rest before the day of a test. All of these study tips will benefit you when finals or your last exams come around. My biggest recommendation is taking breaks and not cramming all night before a test.

It seems that it is even easier to be efficient in this day and age. There are so many different tools that you can use to help you with your workload. I think that one of the most useful tools that I saw was google calendar. Google calendar is a perfect resource to use at the beginning of the semester when you need to get all of you assignments and exams in order. I have already started to use it so I can keep my week to week schedule up to date. I have put in all my finals and made it alert me two weeks early so I can see when I need to start studying. One of my biggest struggles is procrastination and the slides showed me a few ways to beat it. They said to delegate your work so you are not bogged down with on one day. I have found that I am good at organization when I get ahead of assignments/studying. Once I start to get behind I start to get worried and anxious, which only makes things worse. So my advice would be to stay in front of your work as not to get stressed about not finishing. The technology we have to our fingertips makes planning even easier.

Communication and collaboration are two things that have changed so much for our generation. Nowadays we can participate in so many different forms of communication. Currently it might be hard to communicate face to face unless you have a mask! Online communication is something that has taken off over the part decade and especially during COVID.

I think that communication can be hard right now with everyone locked up in their rooms. One piece of advice I would give would be to try your best to collaborate with your peers in class. Whether that be through zoom, text, email, or something else. It can be mentally taxing to just sit in your room and not have someone to talk to. I found that to be a large problem for me at the beginning of the lockdown. This link has a few tips for communicating during the pandemic.

Something else I saw to be important is communication through text. I think that people can forget that you cannot be seen or heard when you are typing a text. Peers can take something out of context so it could be useful to avoid slang, sarcasm, or jokes in general. I sometimes find myself making these mistakes therefore I sometimes find my writing to be informal.

These are some tips that can help you with your communication and I can’t wait to read yours.

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