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Dear Buckeyes what is Motivation? Well to me it’s a lot of things, but in this blog post I’ll explain what motivation is and how to build and sustain motivation.

Ah, motivation – that elusive force that can make or break a college student’s success. It’s the thing that gets you out of bed on a Monday morning, that keeps you going through long study sessions, and that makes you want to show up to your 8 AM class. But how do you find it? And once you’ve got it, how do you keep it?

1st thing : Finding your motivation. Now, some people might say that motivation comes from within, that it’s all about having a strong sense of purpose and drive. But let’s be real – sometimes motivation is about intrinsic and extrinsic factors. For example, the prospect of getting a good grade, impressing your professor, or not wanting to disappoint your parents. And that’s okay! Whatever it takes to get you fired up and ready to tackle your work, embrace it. (Slide 5)

Of course, your environment can also be a huge motivator. If you’re surrounded by a community of hardworking, motivated individuals, it’s going to rub off on you. On the flip side, if you’re in an environment that’s chaotic or negative, it can be really tough to stay motivated. So, choose your surroundings wisely! Maybe that means studying in a quiet corner of the library, or finding a study group that’s focused and productive. (Slide 6)

And speaking of distractions – you already know they get in the way of motivation. Whether it’s your phone buzzing with notifications, the parties going on right outside your window, or the lure of Netflix, there are countless things that can pull you away from your work. But fear not! There are ways to eliminate those distractions and stay on track. Try turning off your phone or putting it in another room, wearing noise-cancelling headphones, or using apps that block distracting websites like : Freedom, SelfControl, and Cold Turkey. (Slide 11)

At the end of the day, motivation is something that’s unique to each person. What works for one person might not work for another. But by taking the time to figure out what gets you fired up, creating an environment that supports your goals, and eliminating distractions, you’ll be well on your way to building and sustaining the motivation you need to succeed in college. I hope you take these tips and conquer the rest of your semester! Or, you know, take a nap. Whatever motivates you.

Dear Fellow Buckeyes, it’s two weeks left of the semester and I’m back with another helpful tip! This week we will discuss the importance of doing effective research and how to properly evaluate your resource.

In today’s information age, research is becoming increasingly important in almost every field of study. With so much information available online, it is easy to fall into the trap of “searching” for information rather than “researching” it. The difference between these two activities is crucial to understand if you want to do effective research.

Searching refers to simply looking for information without any particular goal in mind. This can involve typing keywords into a search engine and clicking on the first few links that come up. Researching, on the other hand, is a more focused and intentional process. It involves defining a question or problem and then systematically gathering and analyzing information in order to come up with a well-supported answer or solution (Slide 3)

One of the most important aspects of effective research is evaluating the quality and reliability of the sources you use. Not all sources are created equal, and it is important to be able to distinguish between those that are trustworthy and those that are not. When evaluating sources, you should consider factors such as the author’s credentials, the publication’s reputation, and whether the information is backed up by evidence or sources (Slides 14-15)

Another important factor to consider when evaluating sources is their utility. This refers to how useful a particular source is for your specific research question or problem. For example, a blog post by a non-expert may be interesting and well-written, but it may not be the best source for a research paper on a complex topic (Slide 16).

In conclusion, effective research is a crucial skill in today’s information age. It involves more than simply searching for information and requires a deliberate and systematic approach. Evaluating the quality, reliability, and utility of sources is also an important part of the research process and can help ensure that your findings are accurate and trustworthy.

Hello Buckeyes,

It is officially two weeks left in the semester and I hope all is well! This week my tip is on how to properly take effective notes in your courses.  Taking notes is an essential skill for academic success. Effective note-taking can help you to retain information, organize your thoughts, and review important concepts.

One of the main benefits of taking notes is that it helps you to remember information. When you actively engage with the material by summarizing and organizing it, you are more likely to retain it in your long-term memory. Additionally, note-taking helps to clarify your thoughts and understanding of the material. By summarizing the key points and connecting them to other concepts, you are able to make sense of the information and develop a deeper understanding.

Here are some tips to help you take effective notes:

1. Listen actively: When taking notes in a lecture or seminar, listen carefully to the speaker and try to identify the main points. Focus on the key ideas and examples provided, and try to connect them to your existing knowledge. (Slide 14)
2. Use abbreviations: Writing complete sentences can be time-consuming and may distract you from the lecture. Instead, use abbreviations, symbols, and shorthand to capture the main ideas.
3. Organize your notes: After the lecture, review and organize your notes to make them easier to read and study. Use headings, bullet points, and lists to group related information. (Slide 17 and 18)
4. Use different colors and highlighters: Using different colors and highlighters can help you to identify key concepts and make your notes more visually appealing.
5. Review your notes: Regularly reviewing your notes can help you to retain the information and identify any gaps in your understanding.

In conclusion, taking notes is an effective way to retain information and organize your thoughts. By actively engaging with the material and using effective note-taking strategies, you can improve your understanding of the concepts and improve your academic performance. Keep these tips in mind and I hope they help you as the semester closes out!

Hello Buckeyes,

I hope as the semester is winding down so is the assignments! If not, I have some study tools to add to your arsenal to help you succeed through your collegiate career. There are different services out there to use at your disposal to help you academically. In this blog post  will share two of them that have helped me numerous times to either get that good grade I wanted to obtain or saved me by the bell when it’s exam time.

1. Quizlet

https://quizlet.com/Links to an external site.

Quizlet is an online study tool that allows you to create your own interactive flashcards to help study and review for exams. It also gives access to other flashcards students have made to utilize to your advantage for studying as well. I think quizlet has helped me be able study digitally with flashcards and retain information with weekly quizzes i have set for myself in the app to ensure I remembering what I was taught. I have used it for various construction classes to ensure I was not leaving out material when studying and I always had access to my flashcards when needed.

2. Grammarly

https://www.grammarly.com/Links to an external site.

Grammarly is a online software that serves as a spelling and grammar checker. It offers suggestions to edits you should make on your paper to ensure it more thorough and concise. I have utilized Grammarly to write papers to get that second approval and the needed edits to ensure my paper was written correctly. When I couldn’t use the writing center I ensured I used other people for grammar checks and also this website to make my papers better. This does cost so I would utilize the free writing center on campus and other scholars/professors before paying a editing software.

There are a plethora of other softwares to use that you can search up on the internet. The various resources can help you study, correct papers, answer questions, create timelines and etc. Ensure you find what works for you and is the most beneficial based on the assignment. These two have helped me greatly throughout my four years and I hope they help you as well!

Freshmen year is going by pretty quickly, I hope you guys are doing well!

Today I wanted to reflect on “How did use your time this week?” I know this is not a question we often think about because our weeks are usually just a blur. It seems that the week goes by slow,  but the weekend goes by fast or maybe both goes by fast if life is kicking your backside right now.  Rather either ones of those apply managing you time is still useful and it’s easier to manage your time if you know exactly how use utilize it.

As I asked  myself this question I realized my week was busy, but I didn’t spend a lot of time doing homework like I wanted. Instead I used that time to rest like most of us do because the day is draining and its more convenient to sleep then do homework even though we all came to college to do more homework than we did in HS. Then, when I finally did my homework I got distracted  mentally because I rather be doing something else or by my phone because its seems that tik Tok teaches me more about life than college does. If you realized your week has these challenges regarding time management I have some tips for you!

My first two tips will be to create a calendar and to gain control of your free time (slides 13 and 15). Creating a calendar allows you to visualize your commitments, identify free time, and block off time for certain tasks. A calendar service I recommend you use is Google Calendar or Outlook so you can invite others, color code it, and sync your calendar with others to stay on top of tasks. This has helped me at work with setting up meetings and staying on top of construction deadlines. I plan on implementing this into my day to day life to stay on top of tasks and not forget the little things. Gaining control of you free time is properly estimating how long a task will take and efficiently planning your day to implement that time block. This tip has helped me when it has came to final projects/ studying for big exams. If I have proper estimate of how long something will take I know that I will dedicate a specific time block to ensure it gets done with no distractions.

My last tip is to reduce your digital distractions (Slide 25). Time and time again when I’m doing homework I love to pick up my phone. I love going on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok to distract myself from the assignment at hand. Things that can help you minimize this distraction is turning off notifications, place your phone in another room when doing work, and set a time for your focused time, and another for your break. These tips have allowed me to hold myself accountable when I’m not using my phone efficiently when doing homework. It has also allowed me to stay on task longer and get more done with my dedicated homework time.

I hope these tips help you as much as they have helped me! Freshmen year goes by fast and it’s a lot of hidden gems out here to catch, these are just some of the few.

Hello, Freshmen Buckeyes!

As you begin your collegiate journey one thing you need to familiarize with is how to utilize your email account. In high school I never had a school email account nor did I have to email my teachers a lot. This quickly changed as I became a buckeye and the “osu.edu” email has been attached to me ever since.

It is important to know how to navigate through your outlook because this how will communicate professionally with your peers, professors, TA’s, staff, and fellow buckeyes. Also, your email will begin to overload as you pick up new courses and extracurriculars on campus.

The tip I will share is how to write an academic email (Slide 8 of Module 2). It is important to make a great first impression because body language can not be read through an email, only your words. When you send an email to a professor make sure you include the subject line, greeting, context of your message, a closing, and your full name. Ensure your proofread your message for grammar errors and that you wrote in complete sentences. Also, ensure before you ask your question they they have not answered it somewhere else like Carmen. Lastly, reread your message to see how your body language comes off to ensure it is not rude and that you got your message across.

Using these tips you will begin to draft better emails as you learn how to communicate professionally in academic setting. I wish you the best future buckeyes and I hope you create some great emails one day!