Brace Yourselves, Finals are Coming!

Finals week is fast approaching.  My finals start the first week of May.  So now is the time when I create my study schedule.  I know everyone is barreling toward summer at supersonic speeds.  So when I create my schedule, I try to keep that in mind.  I block out my classes as they are scheduled
.  From there, I write in major projects and homework due in each class on each day.

My schedule is laid out so it shows EVERYTHING on a single page (from April 15 to May 4).  That way I can see it all without having to flip pages.  I always start by assessing my grades in each class, and whether or not it is of significant importance if I happen to slack on the c
lass a little.  You can make one on Excel or any spreadsheet program, but since I like a single page, and Excel refused to shrink everything to a single page, I just made a table in Word, and smashed it all in.  I also throw this thing into my Google Calendar, so my SectoGraph app will give me a clear view of my schedule for that day.

Since I have a paper due on the 19^th and a quiz on the 18^th and 20^th as well as an exam on the 20^th, I have to devote some serious time to those particular classes along with doing all of my other work.  If this paper weren’t such a huge chunk of my grade, I’d probably slack a little on it (to be honest, I did put it off to the last minute sort of).  I don’t recommend anyone putting off a huge paper until 4 days before it’s due.  However, this is how I work best.  It seems counterintuitive, but I have done all of my research and have notes and outlines that I’ve done.  I just haven’t actually drafted my paper yet.

As you can see in my schedule, I’ve blocked out times with breaks to work on my paper, and other things.  Having this type of schedule is handy.  It forces focus and if you stick to it, you should have plenty of time to study.

As you can also see, I have plenty of blank space in the evening to just decompress and vegetate in front of the television or computer.  My gym times aren’t on here, because I work out at an ungodly early 4:00 in the morning.  Some people study or listen to lectures when they are working out, I use it to get my pent up stress out and focus on other things that have nothing to do with school.

These are the three weeks where my diet goes more to hell than anything.  I try to keep fruits and veggies to snack on around, but I also tend to grab bags of Twizzlers and tootsie roll pops and go through them while I’m reading.

Anyway, I hope this has been helpful in getting you motivated to create your own finals study schedule!  Happy studying!

The Student’s Guide to Illness Bargaining

So, my dear husband was so kind to bring me a gift of some sort of snot-dripping, fever-running, achy-swelly plague.  I tried to bargain with my body to not get sick until next weekend, or even hold off another week until spring break.  Unfortunately, that isn’t what happened.  So, antibiotics and codeine it is.

I know everyone bargains with their immune system not to get sick.  I am not unique.  However, I find that the bargaining of a college student is particularly amusing.  We are willing to risk total immune system failure in order to not  be sick and miss classes because exams are coming up.  When the bargaining stage fails, and illness sets in, denial starts happening.  Eventually, the body tells you to slow your role and you have been halted in your tracks.

Laying in bed with a tissue shoved up your nose in order to hold back the floods of mucus trying to make an escape, one starts to tick off how many participation points are being lost as classes are being missed, hoping someone will send you notes or let you know what is happening in classes.  Knowing I have two exams coming up next week, and homework that is due this weekend, I’m trying not to feel guilty about being sick.  However, this isn’t the greatest time for it.  I am not the only one.  I know this.  It isn’t just me.  Unfortunately, it IS me.  I was doing so well at not getting sick.  I didn’t get sick all last semester, and didn’t come down with anything over winter break.  Now, here we are, two weeks before spring break, and I am suffering from some god awful plague.  I am jealous that my husband managed to get over his man-baby flu in a couple of days.  I can only hope that this passes quickly, and I can get my homework done.

I will keep you updated on whether or not Physics, Calculus, and Codeine mix.  For now, I am going to slip into oblivion in the most non-graceful way possible, and hope I feel better in the morning.

I’m So BUSY!

Alright ladies and gentlemen.  I have been spinning my wheels with school and no time to update my page on the regular.  Whoever thought taking less credits would mean more work?  Holy cow!  I have papers, regular homework, presentations and so much math.  It seems as though this semester has been speeding along a lot faster than the rest my semesters.  I’m actually enjoying my classes, despite the intense workload.  It keeps my mind off of what is going on outside of academia.  I know everyone has different opinions.  However, as a believer in science, facts, and the system of checks and balances, these last few weeks haven’t been fun to watch.  As someone who has anxiety, not having consistency is a detriment to my mental health.  So my constants are the fifth floor left-most study room in the library, homework, and studying 10 hours a day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  I know it sounds extreme, but I do what I can to achieve my goals and to keep my focus.  It also allows me to watch television during the week (by television I mean twitch.tv).  I have my favorite geek programs that make me happy, including Dice Camera Action, and Critical Role, and my favorite podcast StarTalk.  I finally finished up my Netflix binge of the Magicians and also Supernatural.  I keep thinking I will pick up an actual book, but I tend to do audio, because it allows me to do other things, like planning the week and whatever bits of homework I have straggling along.  I’ve managed to finish Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  It’s just the first book of the series, and I’m looking to grabbing the next one during Spring Break.  In the meantime I’m reading Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen (again).   It’s easy to pick up and read and drop it when I don’t have time.  Anyway, I’m sorry I haven’t come around here.  I will try to do better in the future.

Merry End of Semester!

I am finally done with the semester!  Sorry I keep neglecting everyone.  I’ve had my nose in the books for the last three weeks.  I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season.  I’ve been decompressing from academics by creating things for next semester.  Since it is so close to Christmas, I have created a new 2017 planner with matching note paper!!  As usual this particular one is geared toward students, just because I am a student.  I don’t make things I won’t use.  I am really excited about this particular one because it is a neutral color with gold and black!  I hope you all enjoy it!

 

 

Neutral 2017 Planner

Matching Note Paper

Finals Week

These past few months have been really chaotic.  It seems like the semester flew by.  I am now facing the dreaded Finals Week.  So far this week I have spent over twenty hours studying Trigonometry in order to keep my solid A in the class.  It is a comprehensive final, so I am trying to go back to the beginning of the semester and remember what we covered.  I have been lucky that the rest of my classes have been pretty breezy just because they are interdisciplinary core courses that are required.  So, instead of exams, I had papers– so many papers.

This leaves my two finals.  One is for my Psychology class and it isn’t comprehensive, and then my Trigonometry class.  So, needless to say, I am memorizing as much as possible for my Trig class.  My Psych class is going to be a perfunctory glance over my notes between my two finals tomorrow.  After tomorrow, I get a week and a half off and then I start my summer classes:  Computer Programming, Visual Literacy, Photography.