Listing Visually

It is already December, and crunch time is coming up. I do have a lot of time on my hands, and need to manage it appropriately. Prioritizing my biggest tasks and listing the other things I need to do helps me since I am a VISUAL learner, so I tried the Things-To-Do strategy.The courses I used this in were Writing 105, CLS 105, PHI 192, EAR 105, HIS 101, and my life!; so basically, everything. I knew that I had a lost of assignments coming up to complete on my homework notes, so I decided to organize them a bit. I listed the assignments with the biggest priority, and then the other things I need to get done. My writing paper is a huge priority, along with getting the tech assignment done since that needs to be done by Sunday.

This strategy was pretty fun. It is tough seeing all of the task

s you need to get done. Instead of using my regular homework notes, I made it a bit different. I prioritized when I needed to do, and I think this is helping already since I am getting my tech assignm

ent done! I would recommend this to anyone with a lot on their plate.

Time Management

For my last tech I thought about what has really helped me the most and how my habits have changed throughout the semester. A big problem I had in the beginning of the semester was Time Management and Procrastination. By looking at Study Environments and Schedule a Day at a Time in Procrastination.

Having a solid study environment is key to staying on task and arriving at a great result. I find that when I do work in my dorm room it is near impossible to finish a project or assignment in a reasonable time span. I can find anything to procrastinate with and end up wasting too much valuable time. For Design History I had an essay assigned that I kept putting off. I decided that I needed a new location to change my perspective and be able to concentrate. I visited the 3rd floor of the library, when I usually go to the 2nd. There was a huge difference in how efficiently I was able to finish my paper and found that the 3rd floor is a great new study location.

I then made a to do list for the week to see what I needed to accomplish in a realistic way. Because I am a visual learner, this was a great way for me to see all that I need to get done and stay on task. Instead of crossing out each task, i circled it so I could still see what I had written. I was able to accomplish almost all that I needed to and what I did not get done is not due until next week. I used this not only for Design History, CLS, 2D, 3D, and writing, but also other activities such as working out. I feel confident that I will continue this on a daily basis along with other anti-procrastination strategies I have become accustom to using such as the D's Due and Do organizer.

Management

For the last blog, I wanted to write about something I think I have improved in from CLS. I really feel that I have improved a lot in managing my time. I used to be terrible with time and could never plan ahead when to do each of my assignments. I never used a planner and always relied on my memory.

I first used the THINGS-TO-DO list strategy. I made a list of all the things I need to get done! I then made a list of the things that are my priorities. These are the assignments I am going to do first. I did this for CLS, WRITING, HEBERW, and HUMAN SEXUALITY. I liked this strategy but decided it wasn't enough to help me manage my time.

I tried using a WEEKLY MANAGER. This allowed me to combine a weekly calendar and my to do list. I wrote down the different assignments I have to do for that week and on the calendar I wrote when they're due and when I am going to do them. I used this strategy for COLLEGE LEARNING STRATEGIES, HEBREW, WRITING, AND HUMAN SEXUALITY. This was a very helpful strategy because I am a visual learner and was able to see all of my assignments out in front of me. I saw what my things to do were and when I was going to do them.

Stress Management

Dealing with stress management is an ongoing struggle but there are several ways to cope with your stress. I've learned what really stresses me out through the Stress Diagram and five minute escape.

When looking at my stress diagram, it was clear to see that school work is my main stressor. It consumes most of my time and while at school is my priority during the days. Because I am an art student I am in long studio classes during the day and use breaks to do other work I need to complete. It can be challenging to juggle but handling my stress and realizing that everything that needs to get done, will is an important thought I try to maintain.

This visual chart is a great way for me to realize my priorities and organize my thoughts.

The 5 minute escape was another strategy that I tried this week. While preparing to go home I realized how much I still had to complete. The stress and anxiety towards finishing so many things to make a deadline made this week hectic yet exciting to know that I would soon get a week off. After getting out a long studio class I used the 5 minute escape in order to clear my head from what I had just accomplished and then pursue the next thing on my "to-do list". It was extremely helpful to utilize my breathing in order to calm myself down when I felt that I had too much to do in too little time. I also tried this technique before going to bed in order to relax myself and have a good night's sleep.

Overall, being able to focus on stress management this week was great because it is something i find myself fighting with and had a lot of stress to deal with before the long week.

Managing Stress

Although college is hyped up to be the most fun four years of your life, which it is, the workload is a big stress to get through, especially when finals are coming up. So to try to relieve some of the stress I am experiencing, I tried a couple of techniques I learned about in CLS 105.

The two techniques that I tried are the Stress Diagram, and the Five-minute Escape. The Stress Diagram was not for specifically any classes, but for almost everything, and other stresses I am going through. Since I am a Visual learner, this was pretty helpful. I started out by listing the sources of my stress that I am experiencing, rather than letting it sit in the back of my head. After I wrote them, I made a Visual chart to see how

much each thing is really affecting me. I knew this already, but getting into Whitman is easily my biggest stress. After that came finals and essays, and then my readings after that. Staying fit was a bit off topic from the others, but it is a big concern for me as well. This stress diagram was helpful, but a bit counteractive as well. Listing them initially made me stressed, about how many different stresses I had! But once I accepted it, I was ready to move on and take all of these tasks on.

The past couple of days, I have tried the Five-minute Escape when I am feeling at the peak of my stress. I have never tried any kind of meditation technique, but have always been pretty interested in it. The first time I tried it, it didn't do too much for me, probably because I was with my roommate in my room. During the middle of the day when I was really stressed, I tried it alone in my room. I actually loved it!! I love how I am initially starting with breathing, getting my loose. Once I start rotating my shoulders, I am already starting to feel better. The best part is towards the end when I massage the top of my back. I'm not sure if I am going to use the Stress Diagram technique again, but the Five-minute Escape is something that I can use through college, and even in the future!!

Stress Management

This week we learned about stress management! This is a good thing for me to do because I am stressed out a lot! I let stress get to me and get very over whelmed with school.

Stress is something that you can't always control. Its hard to stop yourself from being stressed out if you have a lot of work. We can try to minimize the stress by doing things to avoid it. Although we may not be able to eliminate it, there are definitely different strategies to avoid some of it.

I chose to use the strategies STRESS DIAGRAM and A DAY AT A TIME. For STRESS DIAGRAM, I made a list of the different sources that cause me stress. I then made a chart of the different sources and separated them into sections with sizes that were based on how stressful the sources are for me.

I used this strategy for WRITING and CAS 100. I am a VISUAL LEARNER and this strategy was very helpful. I could see what was stressing me out and how much it was stressing me out.

I then used the strategy A DAY AT A TIME. I wrote down a list of five things that were stressing me out and the next day I checked off a few of them that weren't stressing me out anymore. I used this strategy for HUMAN SEXUALITY and CLS.

I will definitely use these strategies whenever I am stressed and want to know whats causing it!

The Art of Procrastinating

Anybody in college is familiar with procrastinating. Whether it is music, Facebook, sports, or video games, you are most likely to procrastinate. But there ARE ways to work around it.

Personally, I am a huge procrastinator. It is so simple to open the internet to my top sites, and just click Facebook. I find myself on it for a long periods of times, and then I get frustrated that I am not getting anything done!

Since I am a visual learner, seeing what I am doing wrong is almost a slap in the face, and makes me realize that I'm not making the right decisions when doing my work.

For my first strategy to evade procrastinating, I tried the Time Was

ter technique. You do so by separating your activities that waste your time, and than offer solutions to these. I found one of my best decisions was NOT bringing my Playstation to college. Also, I consciously knew that rewarding myself was a little immature, but it still gave me that extra push to f

inish what I am doing without procrastinating. I found this pretty useful.

After seeing that the 24 hour Technique was successful for Courtney and Layla, and we have similar problems with procrastination, I thought I would try these strategy myself. I had multiple readings for History that I have to get done in about a week or two, and I have my History class on Tuesday. I thought it would be a great idea to get started on this, and knock it out of my way since my homework load is currently not to heavy. I knew that I would be able to get this done, since it is only reading and not too many regular assignments. I would go to the library, not even bring my backpack, and only my two books for that class.

With Thanksgiving break coming up, I am confident that I will complete my readings, and Thanksgiving break will be much more stress free! This way, I can complete my other necessary tasks without the readings hanging over my shoulders.

HIS 101

Paper due Tues Nov 29

- Read Civil Disobedience

- Read Confessions of Nat Turner

- Read fredrick douglas and mary prince diaries

These is my homework for History class. I have those readings to do, and I will get them out my way, so that during Thanksgiving break, I can break my Paper up into pieces, and it needs to be only 3 pages long too!