10 Study Techniques For New University Students

One of the distinguishing factors of post-secondary education is the amount of studying involved in succeeding at your courses over the span of four or more years. Good techniques to alleviate some of the stress and provide you with the optimal results are difficult to establish, but with time you will begin to learn what works for you and what doesn’t. Don’t settle for methods that conflict with your lifestyle—figure out what fits your course schedule, workout routine, and social life so that you can maintain balance while also flourishing in your classes.

• Have a set study space and time

Before sitting down to spend the next few hours studying, consider where and when you are planning to do this. We all have different times throughout the day that are optimal for learning—some in the morning, some at night—and not adhering to what works best for you might leave you feeling restless or unable to focus and retain information. Prepare your study day ahead of time, find a location free of any unwanted distractions, like a library, and know that you need to have a clear head when trying to memorize historical dates or mathematical equations.

• Have everything you need with you

There’s nothing worse than sitting down, ready to tether yourself to your desk and study for the rest of the day, and realizing that you’ve forgotten a notebook, a novel, or even a bottle of water. Go into your study session prepared with everything you’ll need so that you can avoid getting up midway through and scouring the fridge for a snack or looking for that highlighter you were sure was in your bag yesterday. As soon as you sit down you should be ready to focus all your attention on your notes and only prying it away for unavoidable situations, like going to the washroom, having a workout, or eating dinner.

• Back up your study notes

One of the most dreadful feelings for any university student amidst exam month is having your laptop crash and realizing that all your notes from the past few months are gone. In order to avoid this and having everything you need so that you can study as much as necessary you should have alternatives to how you store your documents. Some prefer using a USB stick, some an external hard drive for bigger files. Another option is storing all your data in a virtual data room with intricate security settings and easy access from anywhere in the world. Rather than panicking when your laptop crashes or your external drives are damaged, rest easy knowing that everything is stored safely on the cloud.

•  Have a pick-me-up ready to go

For some students, a necessary pick-me-up during long study sessions is a big cup of coffee. For others it’s a hardy snack or long jog. Whatever it is that gets you motivated and energized be sure to have it ready to go whenever you notice your productivity dwindling. Maybe work in a coffee shop so that you can get a refill when you need it, or have your bag stocked with food for those mid-study munchies. Go into your set study time ready with that extra boost you’ll undoubtedly need to push through the next few hours.

• Use colour coordination for your notes

Using colour to coordinate your notes is a great way to stay organized and distinguish the relevance of each one. Coloured stickies or highlighters can give you that extra level of productivity knowing what each note or book page signifies and how it can be applied to your exam later on. This works especially well when distinguishing character roles in a novel or highlighting dialogue that can be useful to remember when it comes time for your test.

• Take breaks

It can be easy to lose sight of time when in the middle of studying, but taking breaks throughout the day is important in maintaining your mental clarity and not feeling overwhelmed by your work. Once your start feeling your eyelids become heavy and your attention diverting, it’s time to step back from your work and go outside for a walk or just pop into the kitchen for a quick snack. Don’t give up your personal time for the sake of getting in an extra hour of rigorous studying—you don’t want to feel burnt out before you even make it to your exams.

• Don’t pull all-nighters

The quintessential tactic for most university students is to pull an all-nighter for an essay or exam prep. This might work in the short term for memorizing information, but almost instantly all that hard earned knowledge will be gone. Studying for short periods of time over a few weeks or a month has been proven to be more effective to actually learning information rather than just retaining it and then regurgitating it for an exam. As a new university student, don’t fall into this trap and refer to tip #1 on planning out a study time so that you can be more successful with your studying in the long run.

• Eliminate distractions

Maybe it’s the week before a major exam and you really need to buckle down; make sure that all unnecessary distractions are out of sight, and therefore, out of mind. You need to harness all your focus and direct it toward your studying so that in a week’s time you will feel completely prepared for your exam. Keep your phone on silent or in another room if it’s too tempting and avoid going online while studying because it’s incredibly easy to fall into a dark hole of late night searches and stress shopping.

• Combine your efforts with a study group

Studying alone can be quite overwhelming, especially in your first year in university amidst all the new experience and much heavier course load. Rather than doing it alone, why not opt to join forces with other students and create a study group for your specific class. This will help you bounce thoughts off of each other while also staying social and not feeling isolate during an otherwise stressful time. Schedule a weekly session where all of you can meet up and discuss the week’s lecture or prepare study materials for the exam period. More heads are better than one. 

• Feed Your Brain

Most importantly, make sure to eat the right foods and nourish yourself enough when you are studying. It’s easy to forget to eat when you’re in the middle of a hardcore study session or even during a stressful month, but it’s incredibly important to stay physically healthy so that you can be mentally healthy as well. Prepare your lunches ahead of time and be sure to pack healthy snacks so that you don’t feel groggy or sick from eating too much junk food. Your mind, your body, and your final grades will thank you in the long run.

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Getting Creative in a Funeral- 8 Ways to Keep in Mind

Even if a funeral is a time of grief, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put your creativity to work. No matter how painful it is for you, finding new and creative ways to say your goodbyes may be useful for your healing. It can also be a part of coming at terms with death.

It may sound dark, but some may have to prepare their funeral. Excellent communication with the family can help one to make plans, deciding on the note of the funeral.

Either way, we all need to go through funerals sooner or later, so we might do it in style (sort to speak!).

Here are some suggestions for all to check:

1. Think about give away books

When the person who died loved books, he/she may have left a generous library behind. It’s a great idea to share the love for books and offer the family and friends some of the books within the collection. People are going to feel even closer to the deceased. If you have the time and will, you should also order some custom made bookplates or stickers to put inside the cover of books, honoring the deceased.

2. Make a customized casket

Having a personalized casket is one of the most common ways to celebrate one’s life and interests. You can find casket-makers specialized in patterned and colorful coffins, with plenty of designs to choose from. Stars, butterflies, national flags- you name it! You can even have a specific image on the casket if the company can do it.

Another interesting, yet beautiful way, to get everyone involved is to order a plain coffin and ask the family and friends decorate it later on. They can draw or write messages for the one who passed away. Crayons, marker pens, paint, and even stickers can help you decorate the casket. It’s an excellent way for people to deal with their pain and say their goodbyes to the one they loved. You also have the white color coffins, which never fails in terms of design and elegance.

3. Re-use the funeral flowers

If this isn’t the first time you go through a funeral ceremony, you already know that you’re going to end up with more flowers than you can use. It’s a shame to throw the flowers away, especially since they’re so lovely. It’s quite common for people to take the arrangements apart and place them into posies. You can offer them to guests for thanking them for their support.

Another creative suggestion is to turn flowers into jewelry (it’s easier than it sounds, no worries). Some translucent polymer clay is what you can use for the project. You can find it in arts and crafts shops.

You start kneading the clay until it softens, sprinkling it in dried flower petals. Continue with pressing again until all leaves are worked into the clay. You may shape the beads the way you want while using some wires for holes for threading. You can bake them in the oven, following the instruction on the clay placket. When the beads are done baking and cool, you may thread them together for creating some bracelets or necklaces. You may either keep them for yourself or offer them to family and friends.

4. Put together some beautiful seed cards

Seed cards are a particular way to honor the deceased, especially if he/she was into gardening. You may personalize the card and include seeds for guests to grow their plant later on. Forget-me-nots are quite popular. The tiny blue flowers aren’t challenging to grow nor to take care of, and we all know them as a symbol of remembrance. Tree seedlings also make a right choice, since they work as a tribute for decades to come.

You can find companies that make personalized seed cards for special occasions, with the possibility of online ordering.

5. Have a custom order of service

It’s common for service booklets to be handed out at funeral ceremonies. The significant majority is rather dull, with one photograph on the cover. But they can be used to add a personal touch to the service.

You can make a collage with various photographs of the deceased for the cover. Don’t hesitate to add captions to the pictures for explaining the context. The results are going to be colorful, but they become a fantastic keepsake for the mourners to take home. Anyone paying tributes for the deceased may not have had access to the personal pictures, so the collage may be a fantastic collection of memories to share.

6. Take the glass keepsake into consideration

Thanks to a recent innovation, the artisan glass blowers may include small portions of ashes into their creations, resulting in an exciting and unique tribute.

Funeral directors can provide the service, and you may choose from multiple colors and designs. Glass spheres with bright and mesmerizing colors are popular, whereas glass pendants for necklaces look pretty too.

7. Use a memory board

You can also use a freestanding notice board for putting together a collage of pictures. You can display them at the wake and the funeral ceremony too. It’s the right place for the family and friends to get together, sharing their stories about the deceased.

Don’t hesitate to take the idea to the next level, spreading labels/cards to the guests. They can write on cards and also add them to the board. Messages, memories, and even favorite things about the person who dies may be shared.

When the wake is over, the family can keep the photographs and the messages in a photo album. It can serve as as a memorial.

8. Have a firework display

Many choose to turn the funeral into a “celebration of life,” with dancing, music, and firework displays.

The fireworks display is a great way to celebrate one that was beautiful and energetic in life. Don’t forget to take safety measures when lighting the fireworks.

If cremation is included, you can put the cremation ashes into the fireworks for an impressive way to scatter the ashes. Not everyone may fancy the idea, but it’s still an unforgettable farewell.

One last suggestion

More and more people change their take on the funeral, asking “anything but black” in a funeral ceremony. Follow your heart and dare your guests to wear the favorite color of the deceased or hand out flowers of their favorite colors. Just because it’s colorful, doesn’t mean you’re not mourning the dead anymore. By the contrary, you’re even honoring him/her the best way!

 

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