1. Use a checklist...checking things off or crossing them out helps to reduce stress.
2. Self-bribery...if I bribe myself with a reward, it makes studying earn me a reward instead of just being something that needs to be done.
3. Do something else that makes me feel better about myself...like volunteering in extracurricular activities. If I feel better about the other stuff I can do, it makes the stuff that sometimes intimidates me a bit to do look easier to accomplish.
4. Make a plan of what needs to be done with deadlines and focus on one thing at a time. Sometimes a whole lot of stuff can be overwhelming, but one task is usually less intimidating.
5. Try to look on the bright side. If I study well and do great in my classes, then hot guys might want to study with me. (Actually, I kind of found it irritating that the good-looking guy only contacted me when he wanted help to study this semester....I like to help, but I don't like being strictly sought out for my brain and not because of my awesome company.)
6. Talk to a friend who is in the same classes as me. It makes it feel like it's "just me" when I do not talk with others about my struggles. When realizing that other people are having the same problems and doubts, it makes me feel more normal than I would feel otherwise.
7. Find a way to make studying time more fun, by studying while watching anime (nothing says, "this is fun" like a Miyasaki Studio Ghibli film does). However, I suppose everyone has their own genre of choice that they might like best. I like anime and forensic-based shows. So feel free to substitute at will as long as the genre of choice is not so distracting that it will not benefit background noises propagated for studying purposes.
8. Try livening up studying by using various methods. Before I was just practicing problems, reading through notes, and rewriting notes. This semester I resumed an old method known as making flash cards and quizzing myself. I also tried to incorporate figures into my studying process, which made things easier to understand for me (since I'm a visual-kinesthetic learner). I also tried a new method of studying that I had never tried before by speaking my notes into my cell phone, audio-recording them, and playing them back to myself on a regular basis. And it actually helped a lot!
9. I was thinking about possibly turning the material I learn in lecture into stories to relate the engineering concepts to other everyday kind of allegories and typing it into my blog (yes...I'm trying to make myself sound more nerdy). However, I honestly didn't have time to devote to that cause this semester. It is still a possibility for the future.
10. Normally, I'm kind of a one task at a time kind of girl. I usually do not like bouncing from one subject to another all heggledy peggledy. However, when studying for five finals this past semester, I found out it was Survival 101...because after hours of studying one subject, it's either switch subject of study or start plotting the demise of handwritten notes (is it murder or is it removing clutter?).
11. I also broke up studying with bouts of playing solitaire or mahjong on my computer. Taking short breaks to play games that can be finished quickly can recharge mental batteries. Plus, it can become something worth studying for...."I get to study! Yay! That means I get to play solitaire!" (ensuing previously mentioned self-bribery-esque tactics)
12. I'll keep adding when I come up with new tricks...so this is it for now.
8. Try livening up studying by using various methods. Before I was just practicing problems, reading through notes, and rewriting notes. This semester I resumed an old method known as making flash cards and quizzing myself. I also tried to incorporate figures into my studying process, which made things easier to understand for me (since I'm a visual-kinesthetic learner). I also tried a new method of studying that I had never tried before by speaking my notes into my cell phone, audio-recording them, and playing them back to myself on a regular basis. And it actually helped a lot!
9. I was thinking about possibly turning the material I learn in lecture into stories to relate the engineering concepts to other everyday kind of allegories and typing it into my blog (yes...I'm trying to make myself sound more nerdy). However, I honestly didn't have time to devote to that cause this semester. It is still a possibility for the future.
10. Normally, I'm kind of a one task at a time kind of girl. I usually do not like bouncing from one subject to another all heggledy peggledy. However, when studying for five finals this past semester, I found out it was Survival 101...because after hours of studying one subject, it's either switch subject of study or start plotting the demise of handwritten notes (is it murder or is it removing clutter?).
11. I also broke up studying with bouts of playing solitaire or mahjong on my computer. Taking short breaks to play games that can be finished quickly can recharge mental batteries. Plus, it can become something worth studying for...."I get to study! Yay! That means I get to play solitaire!" (ensuing previously mentioned self-bribery-esque tactics)
12. I'll keep adding when I come up with new tricks...so this is it for now.
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