Manage Your Time: Get the big picture

Are there times when you lose track of time and  feel panic stricken? losing track of time or having poor time management can lead to shoddy and incomplete work. Fry explains that one way to combat is by using a planner and following it strictly.
Fry says "as a result of this plan you will notice there is little time allocated to last minute cramming or studying for a specific final the week before it is given, just a couple of hours to go over any details you are still unsure of or to spend on areas you think will be on the test" (206). having proper time management skill leads to the completion of tasks at the right time, less worry and proper distribution of the work load to avoid procrastination.

Do you prefer procrastination to evenly distributing work ?

Why Study Spanish?

Why Study Spanish?

Studying a language is obviously very important and even necessary for graduating high school. Learning a new language expands all of your opportunities for success throughout life and in all aspects of communication. In my opinion, studying Spanish is something I believe every student should do. "Over 340 million people who live in Spain, 18 Latin American countries, Puerto Rico, Equatorial Guinea, the Philippines and the United States speak Spanish. It is the second most common language in the United states and 3rd most commonly spoken language in the world" (Boyles XXX). After knowing this and already being enrolled in Spanish 1-2, I realized the importance of the class I was taking. There is so much to learning Spanish besides speaking. Learning this language involves me in understanding a new culture, expanding my soon-to-be career opportunities and to all in all enjoy and experience the culture surrounded by the Spanish language.

Spanish is key for understanding its culture. Language heavily surrounds and supports a culture, giving it a way for its people to communicate and share ideas. The world of Spanish-speakers is rich in food, art, literature, history and numerous traditions based on their fascinating culture (Boyles XXX). This allows you to learn about other cultures and helps you see other perspectives. After learning parts of a new language, everything after comes naturally in their culture, especially in literature and music.

Not only is Spanish truly interesting, but from what I have read, knowing how to speak Spanish is very helpful when getting a job. Businesses now-a-days are looking for employees that speak languages other than English. When workers can communicate with others in another language it widens their incoming customers, once they know they don't have to get a translator, etc. The amount of Spanish-speaking people within business is growing, so the employees have to too!

So far, learning Spanish, has introduced me to many possible opportunities. Clubs, projects, culture, and even daily homework, has been a good effect from this class. I believe everyone should take a language and especially Spanish because of its growing importance in the world.

What more could this language do in the World?

Boyles, Peggy Palo. Prentice Hall Realidades 1. Pearson Education, 2011. 

Pencil Pouch

Hello Bloggers! For my second blog i will be starting off with a "simple and fun, DIY Pencil pouch made from a Zip-loc made from Bright, Sassy, Chic and Durable tape designs to MATCH YOUR STYLE!(Wallenfang, 31)
 
Materials
 Ziploc quart size bag ( you can use a larger size, just make sure to cut)
Standard Duct Tape (Multi-Colored)
Craft/regular scissors

Steps:
To start of use your standard size Duct Tape to tape a row across the top of your zip-lock bag right under the  plastic top.

Turn your bag over and wrap both sides over to cover both sides of the plastic bag.

Repeats steps 1 and 2 with your second row of tape.

Cut off the bottom part of the plastic bag.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 with your third row of tape.

Cut about 1/2″ of tape off the bottom of the bag, making sure to leave a little extra off the tape to stick together to hold the bag together.

Use a different colored Duct Tape roll to add a little color to the top and bottom edges creating a contrasting border to finish of.

What kinds crafts have you made with Duct Tape? If so how did they turn out?

Wallenfang, Patti. Just Duct Tape It! Little Rock, AR: Leisure Arts, 2011. Print.

The art of NOT procrastinating

How to train your mind to not procrastinate; Your temperament

Procrastination gets to the best of us. It makes us postpone important things that we need to accomplish, and instead we waste time and are anxious about the things we need to accomplish. Procrastinators plan to do everything last minute, putting in little time and sloppy work to accomplish their tasks. The first step to stop procrastinating is to find your temperament. Temperament is the adjustment of intervals of a persons nature and how it affects their behavior. Finding your current temperament is determined by a variety of ways, the easiest is taking the "Kiersey Temperament Sorter" which is a simple test that will take your answers and determine your nature from what you selected. Once done with the Kiersey Sorter there is a variety of ways to start your path from not procrastinating, a cluster of which you don't need to train your mind at all. 

To start your path of stopping self procrastination you can begin by removing yourself from an area of which distractions may occur and placing yourself in a quiet working environment with little to no distractions, put your phone in a different area than that of which you are working in to prevent yourself from stopping your work, take intervals of time in which you allow yourself to take a break from working (it is important to have a set time for your breaks after a certain amount of time working and by the amount of work you have accomplished; it is also important that once your break is finished to come back into the working state and to remove yourself of distractions). Training your mind may vary depending on your temperament. For most temperaments there is a simple way to train your mind, it is with a rubber band (or someone to remind you and act as a discipline much like a rubber band). Keep a rubber band around your wrist and whenever you procrastinate, your mind will collate the pain with procrastination, and whenever you think about delaying your accomplishment of your tasks you will think about the pain. Doing this will benefit your work ethics, but is only a small step on your path of stopping procrastination. If you procrastinate try doing these methods to start your path of the art of NOT procrastinating and leave a comment on how doing these methods worked out for you.

Paper Writing

In his novel, How to Become a Straight-A Student, Cal Newport describes strategies for editing papers. He tells us, “Begin to read your paper out loud. Don’t cheat. Use a strong voice and articulate every word… the goal of this pass is to root out small mistakes that might otherwise distract a reader from your engaging thesis” (Newport 193). Using this simple strategy suggested by Newport, I was able to identify grammatical errors and adjust sentences that were unclear that I failed to notice while reading in my head. While reading in my head, my subconscious tends to patch over mistakes, and I don’t notice these mistakes until I read my paper out loud. Newport also states that you should write in quiet isolation to maximize your productivity (Newport 188). I followed through with his advice and found that while writing in my room, I was much more productive than I was writing in the living room. I found that in a silent environment, I was able to formulate ideas more quickly and efficiently. What are your strategies for writing and editing essays?

Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print. 

Work Consistently

Cal Newport gives advice on reducing stress and insurmountable workloads in his book, How to Become a Straight-A Student. He says, “Smart students avoid these issues [of being overwhelmed by work] by working constantly on assignments, in small chunks, every day.”(Newport 84). Using Newport’s strategy, I am able to keep a small workload at all times. I have found that working on assignments consistently and avoiding procrastination until the last minute has drastically reduced my stress level and allowed me to do other things I enjoy instead of focusing only on school. Also, Newport states that you if you should find yourself all caught up on your assignments, you should work ahead (Newport 84). Though this may sound very hardcore and reserved for students that have no life outside of school, it actually allows me to be less hardcore and be relaxed about my schoolwork while everyone else is having stress attacks because they didn’t work ahead and binged on movies instead. Are you a procrastinator? Can you imagine how good life could be if you were always caught up and never overwhelmed by your work? If you like the sound of a stress free life, then stop making excuses and get your homework done.

Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.

Note Taking

In a section focused on note taking, Cal Newport provides us with tips for formatting. He states, “Skip lines with wild abandon, use tabs freely, change the font size, write entire sentences in all caps, throw around asterisks like penny candy… do whatever helps you visualize the important concepts.” (Newport 72). In other words, Newport is stating that formatting your notes aggressively could help make them easier to understand. Using his advice, I was able to pick the important ideas out of my notes and better recall the concepts while reading over my notes. Cal Newport also provides us with advice for note taking in technical courses, which is vastly different from note taking in non-technical courses. He states that it is imperative that you record as many sample problems as possible (Newport 80). The effect that this has had on my academic success is that I am able to go back and look over the sample problems when I am struggling to complete a problem. What do you think is the best method of taking notes? Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.

Test Taking

Cal Newport provides us with test taking strategies in his book, How to Become a Straight A Student. He states, “Years of informal experimentation by successful students have demonstrated that the most effective way to tackle an exam is to answer the easiest questions first, and this is exactly what you should do.”(Newport 119). The effect that this has had on my academic achievement is that it has allowed me to get better grades. Tests are the most important part of getting straight As, and being able to take them efficiently and effectively are imperative to having success as a student. Using Cal Newport’s strategy, I have been able to get the highest number of points possible in a shorter amount of time. For example, starting first on the easy problems will get you the most points possible, so then you can use the remaining time to do the difficult problems that you’re not so sure about. If you do a test in the order the questions are presented, if you get to a question you don’t know how to do early on, you may end up taking too much time on it and become rushed near the end. Doing the questions from easiest to hardest eliminates this problem. Cal Newport also says that double checking your work up to the last minute can make the difference between an above-average student and an academic star. (Newport 122). Using this test taking strategy, I have been able to effectively utilize all of my given time for my test instead of wasting precious minutes. In the past, I have been lazy about double checking, but now that I have tried it, I noticed many errors that were easy to correct. If I hadn’t checked my work, I would have missed many easy points. What are your strategies for tests, and how well have they worked in the past? If you’re not satisfied with your test scores, do you think it’s time to utilize some of these strategies to maximize your test scores? Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.

Time Management

In the section referring to time management, Cal Newport explains his system. He says, “The whole system can be summarized in three easy steps: (1) Jot down new tasks and assignments on your list during the day; (2) next morning, transfer these new items from your list onto your calendar; and (3) then take a couple to minutes to plan your day.” (Newport 22). The impact that this has had on my studies is that I have been able to get work done more efficiently. For example, because I have a set schedule on the work that I plan to achieve, it helps me to reduce procrastination. Also, I am able to do a little bit of work every day rather than do all of it in one day, reducing my stress and allowing me to get more sleep. Newport also states in the time management section that you should leave a lot of time for breaks, so then when unexpected events come up and assignments take longer than expected, you have a little leeway (Newport 26). This helped me become better with managing my time because I was able to do most, if not all of the assignments that I had scheduled for the day. If I had not had more time for breaks, it would have been a lot more difficult to complete all the assignments I had planned out for myself. Let’s face it; things take longer than you expect them to. What strategies have you used for managing your time, and how have they worked out for you? If you need a better method, try this state of the art time management method. It has worked out incredible well for me. Newport, Cal. How to Become a Straight-A Student. New York: Broadway, 2007. Print.