HELLO readers. It may be a delightfully sunny day today but I can’t help feeling like it’s going to be a gloomy week because I have THREE midterms this week (!!!!!!!!!). Speaking of the weather, apparently the Groundhog claims there’ll be six more weeks of winter 🙁
I should really be studying for said THREE midterms, but in the true spirit of bad academic decisions, I now present PART DEUX of my “things I wish I did differently/goals for the future” post based on my first term of my first year at University:
3. Go to Office Hours / INTERACT with Profs&TA’s
If I could go back to the beginning of first term and only do one thing differently, it would be to interact more with my Profs and TAs. There have been numerous times that my life couldn’t been a lot less stressful had I gone in for help instead of trying to comprehend difficult topics by myself. Also, I do think it’s really important to get to know profs better on a more personal or intellectual level, especially those from the department you’re majoring in, as it’ll help immensely with making connections, getting into research, or any career help you may need down the road.
4. DITCH less classes!
This is pretty self-explanatory. I didn’t ditch too often last term, but often enough that I should probably show more self-discipline this term and not ditch as much. After reflecting, I’ve found that the two things that would trigger me skipping class were pure laziness and being so behind in course material that I found it not worth it to go to class. So to help with the laziness and exhaustion in the early mornings, I’ve been setting multiple earlier alarms (so I can give myself 10-15 minutes of snoozing), eating more protein-packed breakfasts, and sometimes taking showers in the morning right after getting up (it does wonders for keeping me awake). And obviously I’m trying not to get behind in any of my courses (i.e. doing the pre-readings like I stated in my last post).
5. Work efficiently
Also self-explanatory and super lame, but when I’m studying or doing homework I get so distracted by stuff like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and FLAPPY BIRD that I’ll end up working for like 15 minutes and then spending an hour wasting time. This term, I’ve been going to the library a lot more to study, thereby removing myself from any distractions. I’ve found that I work super efficiently when I’m not in my room- there’s something about coffee shops and quiet libraries that just make me get things done really fast!
I guess that’s the end of my list! Good luck to anyone with midterms or tests this week. At least next Monday is Family Day, so there’s something to look forward to!