Surviving Finals Week!

The semester is almost coming to an end and finals are approaching! What better way to get myself prepared and organized for these following two weeks than to use Dr. Blumin’s strategies I have learned throughout this semester. When thinking about which strategies to use, I thought about which were the most helpful for me. During a time when I have a great number of tasks to do, the strategies that work best for me are the D’s, Due, and Do Organizer and Chunking the Task. I am both a visual and kinesthetic learner.

I am a huge fan of writing lists of all of the things I need to do to accomplish. The D’s, Due, and Do Organizer strategy allows me to do so. At the beginning of the semester, I used my syllabus for each of my courses to identify all due dates for the course. My planner does not have a monthly planner, however, I still made note of each graded responsibilities in my weekly planner. After doing this, I then separated my weekly planner into two columns of do and due columns. Since my planner is already separated into two columns, I used the shaded gray columns for my due columns and I used the other regular lined column for my do column. Most of the graded responsibilities assignments I had due for the semester were already written in the appropriate due column for each weekly calendar. So I then chunked each task and estimated the time needed for completing each assignment and divided it into small units each day. I wrote each of the small units in the do column on dates when I planned to do them. As you can see this past week, I had assignments I needed to complete and tests to study for.

These were the things listed in my due column:

· 11/28 MAT 194 WebAssign Assignment

· 11/29 CHE 107 Lab Report, Pre-Lab, and Quiz

· 11/30 CLS Building Blocks

· 12/1 CHE 106 Exam, HTW 307 Community Service Journals

· 12/2 MAT 194 Exam & Hand-In HW for 10.1 and 11.2, CHE 106 Mastering Chemistry, and the Career/Major Exploration Project

As you can see I had many exams and assignments that needed to be completed this week because this is the last week of classes and final grades need to be recorded in. I like to break my assignments and studying into smaller chunks for each day until they are completed which is what I did in my do column. For the assignments that were due earlier in the week I had made sure they were completed before the weekend because I try to make sure to get my assignments done in advance. I had divided all of my assignments that were due later in week as smaller assignments to do throughout the week. Then once I had completed ALL of the task I had listed in the due column, I then checked them off!

For my HTW 307 class, I had to submit journal entries based on my volunteer experience as a tutor for elementary school children of refugee parents. I had made several visits throughout the semester to the after school site where I was volunteering at. When reading the syllabus, it said that 25% of my grade would be based on my journals for my Community-Based Cultural Practicum Experience. This is one-quarter of my grade!!!! I knew that this was going to be a large assignment and in order to make sure I did well on this assignment I decided to use the strategy of Chunking the Task. Because this was a long-term assignment, I had broken it down into small, manageable units and work on each over time. For each visit I made to my volunteer, I had to write a journal entry and relate it to terms and topics we had learned in class. I would make sure to write the journal entries that same exact day and if I had too much work that day then I would make sure to have the journal entries finished before my next visit at my volunteer site. Using this strategy saved me from the procrastination of writing all of my journal entries at the last minute until the day before they were due on 12/2!

These two strategies proved to be extremely effective and were beneficial to my success not only for this week, but also for helping me survive my whole semester. I made use of the material I had learned in CLS 105 class and applied it to all of my other courses. I learned what type of learner I was and with that piece of information I used strategies that best fit the type of learner I am. If these strategies helped me, I am positive it will help any student who is in the midst of a hectic week as I am!

Home Stretch!- Time to Organize!

As the semester quickly draws to a close I find myself overwhelmed by the quick clutter of assignments that have piled up on me over the past weeks. The bulk of these assignments are coming specifically from two classes that I am taking. These classes are Religion 101 and IST 195. I decided to organize this past week using D's Do and Dues and my TO DO LIST JHEA!!!I used these strategies because this burden of going day by day unorganized and doing work as soon as I remember I have something due is too much of a headache. Do a d Dues required me to write down assignments that I have due for both IST and religion and write down when I should do them. I used the to do list on my Religion essay so I can factor in when I have time to do it when I have other engagements during the day. As a visual learner these strategies are perfect for me because I can actually see what I have to do and structure how I go about doing work during the day.

Shame on me for not completing my IST 195 project before I went home for thanksgiving break. As a result of this I found myself having to organize how I can do this 15+ powerpoint slide in a weeks time. I used D's Do and Dues and I was able to create a structure in which I can break down doing my powerpoint slides in 3 days.
I decided to start slides 1-5 on Tuesday, do 5-10 on Thursday, and complete the assignment on Friday.
This strategy actually managed to help me efficiently complete this project by the time the weekend came. Now I am chilling focusing on my final Tech post :).
The other strategy I chose was the To Do List which is personally one of my favorites because it is easy to use and it can conveniently be used on my Ipod. I organized myself by completing the rest of my religion essay I started on Friday at 5. Then I can study for my Religion final which will have definitions from Islam and Buddhism. I also put down that I have a concert to perform in. This strategy is beneficial because it reminds me an hour before while I am listening to my music that I have something to do soon. So I could be walking around and a chime will ring telling me I have something to do soon. It also has a check box for completed task next to your task (I didn't check them off because this was prior to my tech). This strategy helped me efficiently plan out my homework while helping me focus on other things I have going on in my life.

Reaching The Finish Line

For the final tech assignment we were allowed to choose the strategies which helped us the most this semester. The topic that contained the most strategies helpful to me was Time/Task Management. I decided to use the Time Wasters Strategy and Building Blocks to Finish. The use of these strategies helped me to see what I needed to do in each of my classes, and how to successfully finish the last assignments for each. They both helped me in the past, so I felt that choosing them for this tech assignment was the right choice.

To remember the reasons I procrastinate and what kind of assignments cause me to procrastinate I reused the Time Wasters strategy (shown below). As a visual learner I listed down what my Time Wasters were and which tasks caused me to use those Time Wasters, giving me a nice view of the connection between the two. I noticed how my Time Wasters increased this time around as opposed to the last time I used this strategy. I found that whenever I had online assignments such as Mastering Physics or WebAssign for my PHY 222 and MAT 295 courses, I would tend to use Time Wasters like Social Networking sites or YouTube to put off finishing those assignments. I would also use Time Wasters such as playing Xbox to avoid studying with a study group to review material for finals. Using this strategy helped me to again see how certain tasks would cause me to procrastinate. Now that I know what causes me to procrastinate, I don't allow myself to use the Time Wasters I have around me. When I do online assignments I log out of all social networking and video sites and close them so that I can only focus on my assignments. To make sure I studied with my study group I also put the controllers for my Xbox away so that I wouldn't be tempted to play and waste time.

Time Wasters Strategy

The second strategy I chose to use for Task Management was the Building Blocks to Finish Strategy (shown below). This strategy allowed me to set up a reasonable schedule to follow to complete all assignments leading up to the final one in each of my classes. This last week I had two tests and a project due, along with the final homework assignments in my other classes. On the date of the final assignments for each of my classes I would highlight that days to see what needed to be done to prepare for that specific day. By doing this I would chunk the task and write down what I would need to do exactly in order to prepare myself for the upcoming assignments. This strategy was very effective as it served as another visual aid to my schedule and how I needed to effectively use my time in the last days of this semester.

Building Blocks to Finish

Overall, the usage of both of these strategies allowed me to get organized for the final week of classes. I can now anticipate what's going to come and properly prepare by managing my time. As finals are quickly approaching it is good that I found strategies to use that can keep me on track to performing well in each of my classes. I am really glad I was able to participate in the online blog with Team Orange this semester as I learned a lot of helpful strategies that I plan to use for the rest of my time as a student at Syracuse University.

Getting Organized!

I cannot believe I am already my last tech assignment! It has been extremely useful experimenting with different strategies for different classes in order to see what works for me and what does not. This week we were allowed to pick the strategies we wanted to use and which ones were more effective for us. Not only is this my birthday weekend, but also the weekend before the last week of classes. I have a lot of work that needs to get done and a lot of studying to do. In order to get ahead and stay organized I chose to "Ranking My Priorities" and "Chunking the Task." These were both two ways to get ahead and stay ahead. I also chose these strategies because they have worked for me in the past.

The first strategy is "Ranking My Priorities." Since this is my birthday weekend, I do not want to spend a large majority of it doing work that needs to get done. That is why I ranked my priorities to see what needs to be done by Monday. In order to rank the tasks, you split everything into three categories; A-absolutely essential, B- important, and C-optional. Since it is so close to finals, I have no optional work and everything must be done, yet I have longer amounts of times for some tasks.

(Ranking Priorities For All Classes Shown Above)

The first step in this task was writing everything I needed to do for each class. As one can see, I do not have too much work left, just large assignments and lots of studying. I am a visual learner and to see what I need to do, by when, and for what class was very helpful. In addition, I made each class a different color to organize them further. I was able to see what needs to be done now such as my tech assuagement and my project for CLS. I knew that if I could complete these two assignment on Friday afternoon, I would be able to slowly focus on my paper all weekend therefore only having to work for about an hour on my actual birthday! Since I made this chart on Thursday, I completed my project at night and worked on my tech assignment during the day. I was able to stay ahead and organized. In addition, I began writing my paper on Tuesday and was able to get three pages out of seven done. Therefore I am already ahead since my homework for this weekend is to begin my draft. To stay even more ahead, I have booked an appointment at the Writing Center for Wednesday. My goal is to have my paper finished before the meeting. The last two tasks are to study for my math and philosophy final. Since I have more time for those, I put them in the category important. That way if I have extra time on Sunday to work on them I will. Yet, they are not due for Monday, which is why my major focus is on my paper. By seeing this chart, I am able to mentally organize myself further. I can see what needs to be and how important that task is. For example, the CLS project is due for extra credit today at 4:30. I am writing this blog now and then plan to drop it off. That also gives me motivation to complete this blog and not procrastinate because I want those five extra points! Ranking Priorities is a great way to get organized especially during a busy weekend and busy time in the semester!

In addition, I have used the second strategy "Chunking the Task." This method allows you to see what to need to do and two ways to complete it. Once again, I am a visual learner and this is great for me. Based on how much time I have available and what mood I am in, I can pick the option that works best for me.

(Chunking The Task for all classes shown above)

For Chunking the Task, I took my major assignments left. I completed this chart on Friday morning after my CLS 105 project was due. Luckily I then had less work to fill in. I addressed my WRT 105 paper first because it is my largest assignment. My two options are to complete a page of the paper at a time (I would be done around Tuesday since I already have three pages complete) or to sit and do it all in one time period. I believe I will work a little each day. This is because it would be more useful to work for a medium amount of time each day rather than cram the words into paragraphs the night before. This way also ensures me that I will be able to bring it to the writing center and get it checked. The next assignment was this tech. When I woke up to complete this chart, I did not want to begin writing the blog, yet I knew it was the correct thing to do. I knew that I could wait until Sunday, but it would be on my mind. So I wrote it Friday, and now I will be done with CLS for the weekend! It is a great feeling to know I have finished all my work for one class! The last issue I addressed was studying for my MAT final. I will further address this issue Sunday afternoon after I see how much of my paper I have completed. It is good to have options because I never know what might come up. My paper is know my major priority and I might be able to get it all done by Sunday, but I do not know. That is why this is so effective because I have multiple options to complete my tasks.

Both these strategies were very effective because they showed me what I needed to do, how important each task was, and my possible options for each task. Ranking Priorities showed me exactly what I needed to do and how important it was. Chunking the Tasks took it a step further and showed me possible options to completing the assingments. These two strategies worked hand in hand and were very beneficial to me. I took action by organizing and now I feel more calm.In this stressful time, they allow me to see clearly what to do by when and the ways I can do it! These are two strategies I will continue to use even after this semester because I am a visual learner and I need to be organized. Both of these assignments do that for me. Overall, I feel these were both very beneficial. In addition, I cannot believe this is my last blog. It has been fun trying new experiments and seeing what works for me! I will miss you Team Orange!