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Last blog post:( but definitely an important one! All of the past study strategies won’t have any use if you’re not MOTIVATED to implement them and with motivation comes focus and hard work. Based off of what I’ve learned, staying focus and avoiding distractions are some of the best tips to keep your motivation sharp! I really enjoyed this video from the Module 7 lecture about both of these topics:

Even though it may seem simple, staying focused isn’t always the easiest. In my personal experience, I have always struggled with getting distracted when I’m working or studying for long periods of time. I usually find myself multitasking, which leads to me working or studying for a shorter amount of time. To improve my work stamina, I tried using a tool that I discovered and loved from this module called Tomato Timer. This tool is essentially a timer with 25 minutes for work time and 5 minutes for break time. During the work timer, I would focus and have no distractions for a straight 25 minute time. When my break came around, I would grab a snack, scroll through my phone, or look at other things I had to do later. Using this tool allowed me to work for a total of 5-6 hours, which is twice as long as my normal work stamina! My future goal is to find more quiet work spaces; because I go to a large school and live in a house with lots of people, I find this a common occurrence. My advice is to do what works best for you; although some need a dead silent work space, others may need a little chatter or music in the background. I hope you found all my tips useful:)

This module was my least favorite, but is definitely one of the most important in my opinion! Personally, I hate writing papers, but knowing how to write one properly is very important, especially in college. Here is a video from the module that I found extremely helpful and good to look back to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2DRdOts5lY

Research papers can be a handful, and the reason why regards the sources you use. Finding credible sources is a MUST because you can’t have a successful paper without a reliable source. To find these, using the right database is important. I know Google Scholar is utilized a lot, but personally I like to use the university’s library database to find my sources, but don’t just rely on that. Once you find a source that seems appropriate, look for the reliability, quality, and utility of the source. Try to avoid any website with the prefix Wiki- in front of it; those sources are unreliable because anyone can gain access to editing the document. If you still can’t find any luck after doing all these things, maybe try to edit your research question or the phrasing of what you type into the search bar. Research questions are not suppose to have a technical “right” or “wrong” answer, so keep that in mind when you go looking for your sources!

As college students, effective college study is needed to be successful in college. Staying up studying for several hours may not be the best way to learn and grasp new information. From this week’s module, I thought this video was very helpful in describing how effective learning works and how it is done.

From this week’s Module 5, I have learned and focused on different aspects of studying. I think the two most important things when it comes to learning is active listening and note taking. It is easy to get distracted in class, especially here at The Ohio State University where there can be lectures as big as 500 people! Something to keep in mind is that lecture won’t be that long compared to other things you do in your day, so it’s very important to stay engaged during the whole duration on the lecture. Personally, I find it helpful to silent ans put away my phone to avoid distractions and multitasking. When it comes to note taking, I personally like typing, not because its faster, but sometimes hand written notes take too long, so I don’t comprehend what I’m writing; when I type my notes, I find myself saying every word I type out in my head, so I don’t get lost in the lecture. Different things work better for different people, but active listening and the right type of note taking can take your future success a long way!

In this module, I learned several things that have an impact on my study habits. First, I find that when I study, it is difficult for me to stay fully engaged when I’m reading. When I try to underline and highlight things to keep me focused, I try not to let mindless highlighting to get the best of me; this video in the lesson is something I found very helpful:

It is important to truly process what you are trying to read/study, especially in college where we have to take in lots of new information every day!

Another thing that goes hand-in-hand with focused studying is memorization. For me, I have always struggled with being distracted during my studying, and it makes memorization very difficult. My advice is to get rid of all/any possible distractions around you. I am extremely guilty of multi-tasking when I study and it can be as small as watching a movie or listening to music. After this module, I realize that even the small distractions can take away your attention, which means you are learning less, understanding less, and being less productive with your studying. I also recommend taking 5-10 minute breaks after every hour of studying so that you can truly be productive when you need to.

This module was very useful for me; as soon as I opened the slides I knew that this week’s topic applied to my struggles and goals. My struggle (and most college students’ struggle) is procrastination, as it was addressed on the first slides of this module. This is a very common problem, so I found this module extremely helpful and I learned lots of useful things. First, scheduling your tasks on a Calendar (using Google Calendar) is an extremely useful resource that I found helpful. I like having a to-do list so I know what needs to get done throughout the week. The fact that Google Calendar has this feature along with a scheduling component helps me break down my days, weeks, and even months so I have a strong grasp on what each day will be like. Here’s the link below to Google Calendar if anyone wants to try this resource:

Google Calendar

I strongly advice using this or something similar! Our lives are very busy so we need to be able to keep up with it. After this module, I also got to observe my daily habits for a week through Time Tracking on the Google Spreadsheet. I learned that I watch a little too much TV, but that my schoolwork to personal/leisure time was what I wanted it to be! Everyone needs their relaxation time, but too much of that obviously isn’t the best thing, especially for college students; our schedules are crazy! I saw that I spent about twice as much time doing schoolwork than I did on personal/leisure time which I think is a good balance, and the best part is I felt very relaxed throughout the week! If you want to get a feel for how you spend your time I recommend this technique as well.

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In this module, the most important thing I learned regards Netiquette. Here is a video from Module 2 that explains the concept:

Basically, this concept refers to how we express ourselves through the means of the Internet. I feel this is very important, especially for young adults/college students. We, the younger generation, are very active on all types of social media, and expressing ourselves through those means are common and it is a great way to “peak” into other’s life. Not all of it is 100% accurate, but for the most part, social media tends to reflect on the happy and positive aspects of someone’s life. The Internet is a tricky place, and one wrong post can leave a permanent digital footprint; it will always be there somewhere. Nowadays, how other see you is very critical, especially for young college students looking for jobs to lead into a successful career; therefore, how you are perceived through social media (etc.) on the internet is very crucial. My advice is making sure you go through a long-term thought process: make sure you ask yourself if the thing you are posting on the social media will affect you negatively in the future. If it will, then it’s probably not the best idea to post it. Media representation matters, and your future employers will definitely look to see what relates to you on the media.