Study Tips

Hi everyone! Thank you for all your good luck wishes regarding my final on Friday. I am super nervous, but I really hope it goes well. Someone in the comments section asked if I could provide tips on studying/ staying up late. I can definitely provide some study tips, but I'm certainly no guru on staying up late. In fact, I go to bed earlier than usual before the onset of finals! Some tips include:

1) Suspend your desire for immediate pleasure- after spending hours hunched over your textbook in the library, it can be quite tempting to give-up and go watch TV. While watching TV might provide you with temporary gratification, think about the more sustainable happiness of receiving a good grade.

2) Think of the journey, not the end destination- studies have actually shown that students who envision themselves studying hard will do better on an exam than students who envision themselves getting the test back and receiving an "A".

3) Create a plan of attack, and follow it- I find my study sessions more productive when I have actual goals I need to accomplish. For bio, for example, I established a schedule that included one day of reading over the textbook material, one day of typing up all my class notes, one day of drawing out diagrams of processes, and one day of hand-writing out my notes on index carts.

4) Snack. A lot- I find that consuming frequent snacks while studying helps keep me more focused than just eating large meals. Try to select healthy snacks, such as fruit and nuts, that will keep you satisfied without giving you a sugar high. After studying cellular respiration for this bio exam, I can affirm that your brain needs glucose to function!

5) Sleep! Final exams should not create an interruption in your sleep schedule. Try to get at least eight hours, particularly the night before the test. I personally study better in the morning, but some people prefer to study at night. Do whatever works best for you, but just make sure you are not burning out.

I hope these tips were somewhat helpful! If you have any additional tips, I would definitely appreciate them:) I have certainly lived up to the snacking tip, consuming items such as watermelon:

Black beans
Salad
Multiple Chobanis
Vitamuffin nanner combo
Strawberries
Cantaloupe
More Chobani (this is my favorite flave)
Jicama
The pooch has been working hard as well
Livin' la vida. . .lazy.

I cannot wait until after Friday when I am done with this!!! So close, yet so far.
Dinner tonight included a Mediterranean themed ensalada

And a strange concoction containing zucchini, onions, tomatoes and shiritaki noodles
Dessert=The Lite Choice (banana and chocolate espresso flavors)
I realized that I totally forgot about the three questions on my last two posts. Oops! To make up for it, I shall leave you all with six questions:)

1) What is your favorite study/work snack?

2) What is your guilty food pleasure?

3) Noodles or rice?

4) Ice cream sunday or cupcake?

5) Soup or salad?

6) Cereal or oatmeal?

My Answers:

1) watermelon

2) I have been drinking WAY too much diet coke and chewing way too much gum while studying. . .

3) Rice. Preferably brown basmati rice or sushi rice.

4) Ice cream sunday, por supuesto!

5) Salad

6) Cereal