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PREPARATIONS FOR AN EFFECTIVE STUDY SESH

1. Wash your face so you feel refreshed and ready.

2. Get a bottle of cold water and a small healthy snack to stay hydrated and nourished which really does help when you’re studying because it keeps the brain active. A study snack example could be, fruit and nuts or maybe a guilty pleasure (but don’t go overboard!)

3. Clean your study area if it isn’t already. Remember, a messy area = messy brain. But thats not the case always I know. However, a clean and organized study area stimulates your mind and makes you want to sit down and study.

4. Gather ALL your study essentials like your pens, pencils, ruler, paper (basically your general stationery), and most importantly, your actual subject material of course (textbooks, notebooks, handouts and past papers).

5. Lay all your study essentials neatly on the desk to how ever you think everything will be easily approachable.

6. Block out ALL distractions which will prevent you from studying effectively. Turn off your phone and put it away as far as possible. Put away EVERYTHING that you know for a fact that will keep you from studying your best. If you listen to music while you study, then classical music is said to be very helpful, however use the phone just for that purpose, and for what you will encounter in the next tip. You can also use your iPod if you have one or any thing that plays music. Just remember, don’t procrastinate. 

7. Set yourself a timer to make sure you don’t spend too much time doing one thing or waste time. Keep your phone ONLY for this purpose, unless your watch can set the timer, anything else. Most popular method is the pomodoro method. If you are unfamiliar with this, let me explain. So basically in this method, you study for about 25-30 minutes and take 5 minute breaks and then a long 15 minute break. You change this to how ever you want but don’t go extreme for example study for a about 40 mins and then take a 20 minute break. No. Again, if using the phone for the timer, PLEASE PLEASE refrain from checking social media. 

8. Start the studying now that you are fully prepared. Remember, practice active studying rather than passive studying. Active studying would include annotating lecture notes, doing practice questions, organizing and identifying main points, making summaries, etc. Passive studying would be just reading through your notes.

Hope you found my tips useful (and i hope they made sense) even though you probably saw these everywhere else. I’m just here spreading them out again to remind you what’s better for you and your grades and general studying. My name is Aditi, and I hope everyone is having a fantastic day! 

Albert Einstein on reality, rationality, and harnessing our human “passion for comprehension” 

How to Manage your Time Better

1. Have a realistic plan for your day. Don’t just work on impulse, and don’t do try to do more than you can handle.

2. Prioritize your work, and do the most important things first

3. Know what your distractions are, and take steps to control them (for example, switch off your phone)

4. Start early, and keep on going, even when you feel discouraged or fed up

5. Know what’s irrelevant, and don’t waste your time on unproductive, or pointless things

6. Switch between focused work and lots of short breaks

7. Be flexible if you meet with obstacles, or things don’t turn out the way you’d planned.

Important for people looking for colleges next year!

Campus Pride gives lists of:

Trans-inclusive women’s colleges

Colleges that have insurance that covers medical transition for students

Colleges with nondiscrimination policies that include gender

Colleges that allow you to change your name and gender on school records

Colleges with gender-neutral housing

Trans-inclusive college sports teams

Trans-inclusive college admissions policies

Also more stuff. (All are directly linked from the first link.)

Reblog so someone doesn’t have to spend their next 2-4(+) years at a school that treats them like crap.

400 years after his death, William Shakespeare has kept his cool

The playwright's work still seeps into pop culture — and resonates with performers of all ages and backgrounds.

“I would love, love, love to play Hamlet,” said James Norton, who was plucked from the Cambridge student body for Trevor Nunn’s production of “Cymbeline” nine years ago and is melting hearts as a jazz-loving vicar in PBS’ “Grantchester.” “But I’m already a bit too old.”

The 30-year-old Norton may think the role has passed him by — although maturity didn’t stop Mel Gibson from doing a 1990 film version at the creaky age of 34 — but there are plenty of other choices in his future.

Student Loan Forgiveness

An email I got this morning from the government regarding my student loans:

We recalculated your monthly payment for your Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan. We used the income documentation […] to determine your monthly payment of $334.66 [….] If you do not recertify or you no longer have a partial financial hardship (PFH), your payment amount will be $641.77.

The power of Income-Based Repayment plans for student loans: I am literally paying half what my monthly payment would be if I didn’t have “income based” forbearance.

The downside of course is that it would take me well over twice the length of time to pay off my loans (given the payment size plus interest), but I am enrolled in Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which means if I am employed with a not-for-profit for another four years, to make ten years total, the balance of my loans, roughly $30K, will be forgiven.

Furthermore, I believe (qualifier: this may no longer be true, I haven’t checked recently) if you are enrolled in IBR and paying based on income, after 25 years your loans will be forgiven regardless of where you work. If you are unemployed, IBR can reduce your loan payments to zero even once you’ve used up your grace period. If you are long-term unemployed, that means in 25 years you will no longer carry student loan debt. 

It’s 25 years of payments instead of 10, but it’s better than no help at all.

If you are in a low-earning job (I make just over $50K per year which in Chicago does not go far), IBR can help you keep your head above water and build savings by not charging you through the nose for your loan repayments. IBR is making it possible for me to afford to buy a home.

If you are employed with a charity, public school, private not-for-profit school, government agency, or other 501( c)(3) organization, you also qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which means after ten years of payments all of your qualifying loans will be forgiven.

A few years ago I wrote up how to apply for IBR and PSLF here. I just went through and updated all the links; it should be a good primer on the kinds of loans and jobs that the setup involves.

Tips for Job Interviews:

So people are graduating high school/college and I thought it would be a good idea to compile a list of solid interview tips so you’re not only surviving on that MSG Ramen diet.

1.) Research: Know at least a little about what position you are applying for. Sounds obvious, I know. But I mean about the company or organization itself. You’re applying at Subway? Know a little bit about the company’s history or what a Sandwich Artist is.  Applying at a store? Know that clientele that frequent the store, etc. Applying for a desk position at a college? “I was amazed at the new addition to the library and the dedication to student life and improvement just stood out to me that this is a university driven towards student success and something I would be proud to be a part of and strive for.” It’s like giving the hiring manager a high-five. Says why you chose them. Make them feel desirable in interesting to you.

2.) How to dress:  When it doubt, always overdress. Nobody is gonna not hire you because you wore a nice suit to a gas station cashier interview. You’ll be taken more seriously than the khaki shorts and white t-shirt you were wearing to that cookout yesterday. Not sure what colors to look for? Black is your safest bet. Black and white are neutral if you have absolutely no clue. Pro tip:  If you listened to number one and know the color of the uniform, try and incorporate that into you clothing selection because it helps hiring managers to see you like their co-workers. (e.g., If you’re applying at a hospital where the unit wears, say, maroon scrubs, try wearing a maroon top or tie.)

3. Behavioral Questions: It’s inevitable. Most jobs are going to give you a series of behavioral questions to gauge you as a person. It is what will divide you from other candidates. What’s a behavioral question? Here’s some examples: “Name a time when you provided exceptional customer service”, “Describe an instance when you had to resolve a problem/confront a coworker/maintain professionalism”, etc. Come PREPARED to name instances. Have about 3-5 in mind and get ready to tweak any of them to fit the frame of the question. Practice speaking in the mirror, to a friend, record yourself etc. But practice saying it out loud because you don’t want to stumble. (InterviewStream is a helpful website!) Answer completely! Explain how your response fits the mold through the story. Tell how you felt at the time and the outcome of what happened. It’s to figure out you as a person. (e.g. “I did ___ for a customer/client/patient/whatever. They were having suchandsuch issue and while what I did was so mundane, it really made their day. It was something that comes so naturally to me that I didn’t realize the impact it would make and it felt good to provide a service that wasn’t simply a run-of-the-mill thing we normally did working for ___). You feel me?

4. Critical Thinking Questions: Some jobs may present you with critical thinking questions the require pause for thought. An example for if you were, say, a nurse: “You have four patients. One with pyelonephritis and no signs of infection, one with a fractured femur with no pain, one with a fractured hip and leg who is leaving tomorrow, and one with diabetes mellitus and an open wound ulcer. A PCA tells you the the fractured hip patient has a blood pressure of 90/60 but says she feels fine, the charge nurse informs you that your pyelonephritis patient is having difficulty breathing and is sat at 89%, another PCA tells you your DM patient is difficult to arouse, and your fractured femur patient is screaming that he is rating his pain a 9/10 and is disturbing other patients. What do you do, who is your priority, and what is your plan of care?” A tad overwhelming. The interviewer is looking at you, you’re processing your options, there’s a lot going on. Take a breath. It’s OKAY TO ASK FOR A MINUTE TO THINK. IT’S NOT A TIMED EXAM! Voice your thoughts! Give complete responses. Even if saying “I would take vitals” sounds OBVIOUS, still say it. Go through your thoughts out loud because you may forget something that speaking it aloud could help. “I would take vitals” would lead to “I would perform an assessment” to “by listening to her lungs and taking his glucose” etc.

5. Body Language: Be open! Have your body turned towards your interviewer, look him/her in the eyes when you respond to a question, smile, nod, do not interrupt, sit up straight, know what you’re doing with your hands and feet (e.g. if you’re a chronic knuckle-cracker/hand rubber, fidgeter, etc.). Body language is one of the most helpful ways an interviewer can gauge your interest.

6. Strengths and Weaknesses: Strengths are easy. Everyone can come up with a good strength (Flexible, self-starter, love constructive criticism, love to learn, great team worker, etc.). Weaknesses though? Weaknesses are tricky. Rule number one: DON’T BE THAT DOUCHE THAT SAYS SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF “I work too hard” because nobody is impressed. But don’t also say something like “I am not a morning person” because what if they need you for mornings? No. Find a sweet-spot. Find a weakness that can be improved and isn’t a mere personality trait. Explain the weakness and how you have worked to improve it in the past and what has been effective. (e.g. I have issues with time-management. I have learned to get tasks done as soon as they are delegated to me rather than putting them off. or I have learned to prioritize which tasks will be the most time-consuming and which can be handled quicker so that all of the tasks get effectively completed.)

7. “What are your long-term goals/how long do you plan on staying here/where do you see yourself in x years”: Ah. Do I confess to McDonald’s that I have no intention on making a career out of this and that I only want to work here for the summer and risk not getting the job? Hell no. Don’t lie but don’t be completely truthful either. Keep it open-ended. If you intend on using this job for a bit of cash, have something else in mind as your end-game, or plan on using this job as a stepping-stone, that’s just fine. But don’t go on record as saying something like “Oh I intend on working here for a few years” because you know you’re lying. Say something to the tune of “For as long as I can/am able”. Be creative in your phrasing. Unless they ask you to specifically name an amount of time, variations of that response tend to work. Important thing to note is WATCH WHAT YOU SAY HERE. If you want to go far in the company, say that you want to pursue leadership opportunities and such. Do NOT say “I don’t want to just be a ____” because that is condescending and rude. 

7. “Do you have any questions for me?”: ALWAYS. HAVE. QUESTIONS. Always have them! Even if it is something that you already know about, ask. Here are some go-to questions I have for interviews “Are there any leadership opportunities available?” “How long is orientation?” “Are there more ways for me to become involved or any committees I can join?” Having questions shows INTEREST. 

Feel free to add more tips, people!

Study Tips

- Eat before you study.

- Have a small healthy snack with you whilst studying (just in case hunger strikes).

- Prepare a large, clean workplace.

- Prepare everything you will need before sitting down to study (pencils, computer, notes, etc.)

- Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

- Put some music on quietly.

- Take breaks. I usually do it in durations of 25 minutes studying, then a 5 minute break and then I repeat that as many times as needed.

- Always write down definitions of important words!

- If you don’t understand something underline it in red and ask the teacher next time you see them.

- Always stay updated with the news.

- Research, research, research.

- Read over your notes.

- Don’t overcomplicate your note taking or it will end up confusing you.

- Keep it simple.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Steve Jobs (via xwg)