Organization Quest

How to: Prepare for class

As a Freshman in college, I thought I knew what it meant to “study.”  What I didn’t understand was when professors would lament on occasion that I was “unprepared,” (or once:  “woefully unprepared”) when we didn’t even have a test that day. 

Later, teaching Freshman Composition at a state university, I had plenty of opportunity to appreciate the irony of gazing at 22 puzzled faces as I asked how one could possibly come to class so completely, so totally, so . . . woefully! unprepared. 

So what does it mean to actually be prepared? Here’s a short list, roughly in decreasing order of importance:

• You’ve completed any exercises, assignments, studio- or lab work that is due at the beginning of the class period.
• You’re up-to-date on any reading assignments noted in the syllabus or mentioned in class, and you’re prepared to discuss what you’ve read and its relevance to the course of study.
• Decisions and research regarding the subject, focus, scope, or approach to an assignment or project have been made as requested.
• You’ve reviewed class notes from the previous class.
• Any questions arising from the reading or lecture, or questions about upcoming quizzes, tests, assignments, and projects are noted and ready to be asked.
• If you’ve missed the previous class, you’ve gotten class notes from a classmate, as well as notice regarding any changes the professor may have made to the assignments, projects, or the syllabus.
• You are able to correctly use the vocabulary words introduced in the reading assignment.
• You’ve made appropriate progress on any term-long assignments like notebooks, sketchbooks, journals, and the like.

Being prepared, like being fit, or being able to draw well or argue persuasively or perform lab work with skill and efficiency, is its own reward.  As with so many things, a positive momentum builds when you stop avoiding and start investing yourself and your time in what you need to do.

 

 

 

How to: Create a Study Schedule

 

At the beginning of any new term, there are new teachers or professors, subjects that are either new or more advanced editions of old ones, and any number of other factors that make it difficult to assess how much time, exactly, it takes to do homework.

In order to accurately schedule and portion out your study time, it’s important to figure out, as soon as possible, how much time on average it takes to do the activities required in your classes. 

 What’s worked for me is that the first week or so I track how long various activities take.  Sample activities might include how long it takes to:

• read a chapter
• review notes
• do exercises or problems
• memorize vocabulary
• maintain a sketchbook
• write a response paper
• draft a floor plan

Organize

Keep a list of all your assignments in one place; this is important because you need to see the entirety of your homework in order to prevent anything from slipping through the cracks. 

Account for Everything

In my experience and observation, there are two types of homework that fall off students’ radars:  the first is the small, daily things that need to be done--reviewing class notes, making timely additions to notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, and lab books that are supposed to be done daily or weekly but are rarely checked, etc. 

The second type of homework that tends to be forgotten until it’s too late is planning or preparing for the really big projects or exams.  Once you know you have a big project to do, schedule time early on to brainstorm options and do initial research.  Likewise, each week should be spent reviewing past readings, vocabulary, and quizzes in preparation for the midterm or final exam.

Estimate

Culling information about how long things have taken you in the past and how difficult the task is before you, make your best estimate as to how long each of the activities will take. 

Prioritize

Prioritize your assignments based on how much they impact your grade.  Work out the time you need to complete a midterm project worth 50% of the grade before fitting in study time for a weekly quiz worth 5%.

Schedule

Give your prioritized assignments prime study time--the time when you are most alert, able to best concentrate, and are least likely to be interrupted. Work backwards from the due date, starting, whenever possible, with the day before the assignment is due, to allow for any last-minute emergencies.  This means if a report is due Friday, try to have it finished by Thursday. 

Schedule in time for meals, breaks, sleep, class, work, commutes, and anything else you may have to do.  Consider using an “unschedule,” designed by Dr. Neil Fiore  and described in his book, The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play.

I tend to be able to work for several hours without a break, but after the three-hour mark, my productivity drops and I often switch to a 45 minutes on/15 minutes off routine.  Experiment and see what works for you. By working out the kinks in your schedule early in the term, you’ll hit your stride long before midterms, and will reap the rewards of an efficient and productive study habit. 

 

It's How-to-Study Week on the Quest!

 
This is the first week of the new quarter at many colleges, so a Back to School Series seems to be in order.  Time is of the essence, because it's important to organize and plan for a successful term in the beginning, before Homework Overload happens.

This is the second how-to-study series on the Quest; the first one focused on strategies for taking notes, organizing binders, and archiving information to prevent a binder system from getting unwieldy. I also tried to tie those skills to their real-world, workaday counterparts--taking notes at meetings, using binders to organize projects, and archiving that information as needed. 

This time around, I thought we'd explore how to prepare for class, plan and organize projects, and develop a study schedule--skills that are essential for success in school and in college, but are seldom taught, quite as if babies emerge from the womb knowing how to prepare a bibliography or use flash cards.  Not to worry.  We'll go over what you need to know and do so you can take control of your workload and avoid Homework Overload altogether.

Resisting Resistance By Planning To Plan

 
This week was supposed to be Spring Cleaning Planning Week, a little trick that worked like a charm.  There's nothing like saying, "the idea isn't to do something" to feel like doing it.  So I resist my resistance to action by forbidding the action, and then use the momentum of the action started to keep going.  Pretty clever, huh?

I found a good place to get started was the supply cabinet under the sink, which would give me the chance to take stock of the supplies I have on hand while making tracks on this year's big Spring Cleaning Kitchen Chore, cleaning and organizing the kitchen cabinets. It was also a good place to start in that it was relatively easy; last fall, we had a leaky faucet that necessitated clearing everything out of the cabinet, thus learning the hard way what unhappy business it is to wait until an emergency to get things organized. 

Having gotten rid of 10 year old flea spray and other such relics in the fall, clearing out the stuff was pretty painless this time around.  I'd already washed all the rags and cleaning cloths the week before, so that didn't need to be done, either.  All told, it took me 48 minutes to clear everything out, wash and dry the liner I'd put in after the leak fiasco, wash the trash can inside out, wipe everything down and put everything back. 

 

 

 

Three Years Ago Today . . .

 

Three years ago today, a worker went to a parking lot on his lunch hour and found a cat in the bed of his pickup.  He tried to shoo it away, but the cat was feral and wouldn't let him get near her.  So the worker called Animal Control and went to lunch across the street.  When the Animal Control person came, they went to the pickup and discovered the cat . . . had just given birth to kittens.  And that's how our little Lickity came into this world.  And our world hasn't been the same since.

Happy birthday, little Lick!  Just for today, you can jump in the freezer all you want.  I have to clean the freezer, anyway. 

Spring Rejuvenation and a Challenge

 
Okay, it's official:  the first day of spring.  We can finally get moving on that Spring Cleaning business without seeming hasty.

The best thing about spring--rejuvenation--also applies to spring cleaning. According to the merriam-webster dictionary, "rejuvenate" alternately means "to make young or youthful again: to give new vigor" or "to restore to an original or new state". Washing away accumulated dirt and grime, restoring order, mending a cherished quilt, rediscovering the lovely texture of wood grain in freshly polished furniture, or reclaiming a chandelier or a window to sparkling splendour are all what I call "double-duty rejuvenators", in that they rejuvenate one's spirit as much as the physical space we inhabit. 

I have a confession: after nearly three years on The Quest, I've never actually committed to an honest-to-gosh Spring Cleaning Extravaganza. I'm making my committment now, and I invite you to join me. There's thirteen weeks until the summer solstice, which gives us one week to plan and twelve weeks for spring repair-replenish-and-rejuvenating action.  I'll post my projects and progress, complete with--yes!--Horrifying Before and Inspiring After pictures!  And the O-Quest Pig Scale!  If you'd like to share your own goals and progress, I encourage you to do so in the comments section. You might inspire yourself and others as we move through the season of exciting change, growth, and rejuvenation.

Photo of wild flowers by Alpay Ulku. Used with permission.

Replenish to Reap the Rewards of Spring Cleaning

 
When you think of the term "Spring Cleaning," visions of floor-scrubbing, kitchen cabinet cleaning, and linens-on-the-clothesline come to mind.  And sure, that is or can be part of it--one part.  But the annual ritual involves more than deep cleaning.  Along with an out-with-the-old/in-with-the-new momentum, there's also a desire to take stock, and in doing so stock up on what you need to make good on your plans. 

Replenishing as a part of Spring Cleaning can mean anything from buying in bulk to save money, to making plan-ahead purchases so you have the supplies you need when you find you have a few minutes to shine up the silver or polish a piece of furniture or two.  Using the products that work for you--and getting rid of those that work against you--is one of the small pleasures and rewards for undertaking the great Spring Cleaning ritual.

Kicking off Spring Cleaning with Repairs

 
"Spring Cleaning" is another of those terms that really should be revised. "Spring Projects" seems more applicable, as the point is to tackle all those niggling little things you've avoided during the cold winter months when motivation runs as low as the temperature outside. 

Repairs are a great way to kick off a Spring Projects Spree, in that they can make a big difference in relatively short order.  Oiling creaky hinges, insulating a drafty window, or smoothing stain over scratched wood can provide an almost instant pick-me-up, and alleviate an energy-sapping annoyance.  My yearly ritual is to go through the house and make a list of all the stuff that needs repairs--paint that needs to be touched up, areas that need to be re-grouted, nail holes that need to be filled. It makes it easy to identify the supplies I'll need, and, if costly, to schedule their purchase. 

 

Daylight Savings Time Means: Spring's Sprung

 
Today here in the States it was Daylight Savings Time, a misnomer if ever there was one, involving no savings of daylight whatsoever, but I digress. If Daylight Savings means spring's sprung, then I'm on board.

"Spring" of course, is synonymous with renewal, which sounds awfully good just about now.  No wonder why a cleaning ritual developed at this time of year.  Even a temporary thaw brings on the urge to clear the decks, both literally and figuratively, to better enjoy the longer and warmer days ahead.

This week on the Quest, we'll look at kick-starting the season with the Three R's of Spring Cleaning:  Repair, Replenish, and Rejuvenate.  It's gonna be a great spring!