Manageable Last 2 Weeks

Having the opportunity to choose any topic that we haven't gone over, I decided to look all the way into Management strategies. After reviewing Time, Task, and Study environment strategies I believed that the Weekly Planner method would benefit myself. This method also fit my learning style as an auditory learner.

To get the most out of this strategy I chose the classes in which I have a final for. My MAT 183 and SOM 122 course. These courses also require management skills, in which I need to improve. These are the only two classes that I have finals in and I believe by using this stategy in these courses I will excel on my finals and learn to mange my tasks more efficiently.

I believe this method will be very effective. Being able to lay out specific times to study MAT 183 and SOM 122 and starting to study 2 weeks in advance will hopefully turn into a positive grade. While writing my objectives into the calendar I created I'm remembering the time I need to study. Separating what I'm studying into a two week period will provide me with more time to review and not too much work at once.

This method fits my learning style as an auditory learner. Being able to write my assignments in a calendar helps myself memorize what I have to do. By rewriting my assignments into an easier format to comprehend (calendar) I' m understanding how to manage and efficiently organize my tasks. The materials I used were I drew a weekly calendar and my agenda for the next 2 weeks. After completing the tech assignment I believe that the weekly calendars will prove to be beneficial when studying for my final exams.

I chose this strategy because I knew that it would be beneficial towards excelling on my final exams. I knew this strategy would help manage my tasks and provide me with an adequate study schedule to go off of while preparing for my MAT 183 and SOM 122 exam.

Stress management

For this week's tech blog I will be talking about stress management, and how I deal with stress. The strategies I used are the one day at a time strategy, as well as the stress diagram. With the stress diagram, I labeled essays as half the stress for me, and that goes for every course. I then labeled exams for one quarter of my diagram, and the other quarter consisted of studying for tests. Essays are the most stressful for me because I am not a good writer and I never know what to say, or how to start sometimes if it is a topic I know nothing about/am not interested in. To deal with all these type of assignments, I usually just listen to music, or eat food to relieve some stress at the end of each day. Next, I will be talking about the one day at a time strategy. There is a lot of stress that runs through every individuals body throughout every day, so the best thing to do is take one day at a time when dealing with stress. Thinking about other days, and days to come, is just too much stress on your shoulders. So, throughout the day, I wrote down what was stressing me out on a piece of paper. When I went home later that night, I would try stress relieveing strategies such as taking deep breaths, eating foood, or laying down and getting some rest. I then cross off the stress for that day, and when I do enough strategies to release all my stress, I feel a lot better and usually turn into a great mood after that, I would recommend these strategies to anyone no matter who you are, because everyone deals with stress, and theres nothing you can do about it!

All my life I have not been one to stress anything and experience very little stress as I am a very chill and relaxed guy. I have had very few instances in college of me being stressed and none that I can remember in high school, and in all of my life I have never experienced a headache. I originally thought that topic of Stress Management was really useless to me and couldn't help at all and I came to the realization that it couldn't hurt as my whole blog post managed to just get deleted.

I used A Day At A Time and the Stress Diagram which were difficult because I didn't have much to use with them because of my lack of stress. For the A Day At a Time, for three days, I made a list at the end of each day of what stressed me during the day and as I went back to the list I crossed off what was no longer relevant. The list allowed me to realize what caused me the very little bit of stress I experienced and what I may or may not have had difficulty dealing with. My only problem with the strategy is that it doesn't go past the stage of just acknowledging what causes the user's stress.

For the Stress Diagram I made a list of my 'stressors' and from the

list of 3 to 5 'stressors', I went ahead and made a pie graph out of them, with the size of each secti

on proportional to the amount of stress that the 'stressor' is responsible for. I had the same problem with this strategy as I did with A Day At A Time it didn't really go past just acknowledgement; yes it may open my eyes but the question is, will it get me to move.

The strategies were ok but not too great for me. Someone who experienced a significant amount of stress may like one, or both of these strategies and may be able to fuse it with another strategy to become even more accomplished with less of the stress.

This is Stress Management

Hey everyone! Yes, I’m back again, and with strategies that will help you sooth those feelings of stress. If you haven’t guessed it already, the topic of this week is Stress Management. The two strategies I decided to use for this week were the Stress Diagram and the Five-Minute Escape. I found both of these strategies to be very effective for me because they enabled me to relieve my stress from all my sources, including the sources of stress from outside of school.

The first strategy I chose for this week was the Stress Diagram. For this, I listed out my top five sources of stress for me right now. The ones I listed out were: Packing the right things (for my trip home this Friday), Getting the bus in time, and Acting Quiz and Performance I have in my acting class, finishing some projects for an internship position I’m trying to get, and working on and finishing my WRT 105 essay about standardized testing. I then took these stresses and labeled them from the most stressful to the least stressful, number one being the packing, and number five being the essay. I added these stresses to a pie chart and sized each slice to the size of the stress is causes me. For example, packing is my biggest stress right now and it takes up half the pie. This strategy showed me that a majority of my stress this week is coming from outside sources other than class. The only two classes giving me stress are my WRT 105 and my DRA 105 acting class, and they’re not even my biggest worries. I chose this strategy because I’m a visual learner and I like being able to SEE what my problems are, I think it just helps me to become less stressed when I can see all the things that are affecting me. I decided to use this strategy for this week because I’m going home and I’m feeling a lot of stress and pressure from a combination of things. I used this strategy particularly in WRT 105 and DRA 105 because those classes give a lot of homework assignments that are due over a long period of time, and I tend to procrastinate on them and get stressed out when I feel like I’m not getting them done. I think this strategy really helped relieve my pressure though. Now I have a list of things to accomplish rather than a list of things that are going to really stress me out, I think this strategy worked well with me as a visual learner because the pie chart is a visual way to see how the pressure adds up and compares to other pressures, showing me what I need to focus in on.

The other strategy I used this week was the Five-Minute Escape. I found myself using this strategy after almost every class I had, or in between classes or assignments when I had time to spare. I noticed this strategy was particularly helpful on Tuesday in between my WRT 105 class and my TRM 151. My TRM 151 class begins shortly after my WRT 105 class ends, so I used the time in between those two classes to try the Five-Minute Escape. I noticed I big change in the way I entered my TRM class, I felt refreshed, positive, and ready to gather all the new information I was about to receive. Normally I would just wait outside my TRM class, stressing about whether I forgot to study or do an assignment, then I would go into the class feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated to do any work, I just felt exhausted. The Five-Minute escape really loosens up your body, and gives you some time to focus on something else besides school, which is why I think is worked so well for me. I can definitely say I found the Five-Minute strategy effective because I didn’t feel stressed anymore before my TRM class, I felt re-energized and ready to work. I chose this strategy because I’ve always found physical therapy a very powerful tool in making me feel better. I’ve used similar strategies before, and I can say this one worked very well. Even though I’m a visual learner, I still found this strategy effective, I don’t think that type of learner you are matters when using this strategy, I think it’s one everyone can use, and in my perspective SHOULD use! It’s great. I think I will continue to use both the Five-Minute Escape and the Stress Diagram strategies in the future when I have anymore stresses and or feel overwhelmed with something I’m doing. Thank you all for reading, and remember, don’t let stress get you down, there’s always ways around!

A Stressful Diagram

This week in class we reviewed Stress Management strategies such as the Stress Diagram, A Day at a Time, and the Five Minute Escape method. After practicing the three methods I came to the conclusion that the Stress Diagram method was the best option.

To get the most out of this method I chose the two courses the stress me out most frequently. My WRT 105 and SOM 122 courses are very stressful. Specifically the readings, papers, and exams in these course put a burden on me. In WRT 105 we write 2-6 pages papers every few weeks that have to be in a specific format whether we are doing rhetorical analysis, or evolving the thesis the papers can be very stressful. Also in this course we read a lot and have to reflect on our readings through writing and if I'm having trouble understanding one of the readings it is hard to write about it. In SOM 122 we have to understand how businesses operate and have a semester long industry analysis assignment, where we work in teams and conduct a 50 page overview of the industry then present our analysis to the class. This assignment has stressed me out tremendously because I not only have to make sure I'm on task I have to worry about my team members also.

The Stress Diagram strategy was very effective because I was able to view what specific assignments in each course put on a burden on me. Being able to see a graph, which ranked what assignments were causing the most stress provided an adequate tool to help myself notice what stresses me out. Having a list of the sources of my stress for SOM 122 and WRT 105 and additionally creating a chart for each course representing how much stress each assignment causes myself will help me limit the amount of stress i put on myself in these classes.

As an auditory learner listing the sources that stress myself out fits my learning style but creating a chart illustrating how much each source burdens me does not fit my learning style. However this method will help myself become less stressed concerning the assignments in these two courses. The materials used for my tech were I created two diagrams using different colors to represent each course and provide a clearer visual, I also created a list of sources which cause my stress for SOM 122 and WRT 105. This strategy should help enhance my focus towards the sources that are stressing me out.

I chose this strategy because it will help limit the stress I have in these two courses. I believe that stress is a major concern for me. I get stressed very easily and it effects my work and more importantly my confidence. This method should provide me with an opportunity to limit the stress I put on myself and in turn develop more confidence in my work and more importantly myself.

Who Doesn't Procrastinate?

Just like every one one of my peers as well as every other person in general, procrastination is definitely a problem. But personally, procrastination is something that gets the best of me. Although I do get my work done the process is real inefficient and I feel like I can be getting so much more done in the time that I have if procrastination was minimized because I know realistically it can't really be eliminated.

For the week's topic of procrastination as well as the turn back to reading strategies, I used Time Wasters and Mr. R. My main thing that procrastination nags me with is reading and I am an Engineering Major which generally doesn't require a whole lot of reading as compared to other majors but you the slightest bit of reading troubles me. My math courses require a bit of reading and studying via the textbook but often times I find myself dozing off, getting sidetracked or just pushing off the tasks.

Mr. R was used with reading for my Linear Algebra class and I used it to help review the theorems of the textbook section discussed in class. When timing myself while reading I found myself getting sidetracked within 15 minutes and I ended up breaking the sections reading up into three portions and while reading I was not noting key terms but noting key theorems. I took the three theorems and on three flashcards highlighted the most notable aspects and looked over them a bit immediately after reading but I never really went back to them as thoroughly as I needed to. The strategy was simple but yet thorough at the same time as it got me reading actively and effectively and the post-reading portion of reviewing the flashcards was simple so I wasn't pessimistic going into it.

The Time Wasters task was also another simple strategy that got me to take a small step back and really notice what it is that may be doing wrong or what I can critiq

ue in my studying. Besides daydreaming, I've noticed that my time wasters are technology based largely during reading and writing assignments. I have noticed that I really ne

Overall these strategies had great cores and worked out pretty well to a certain extent but could have worked better in some ways but I don't know if it's just me or if it's the strategy. I would definitely encourage all to use these strategies and see how it works for them as it may very well be different and potentially be positive strategy to hold on to.ed to disconnect myself completely from technology when going at my assignments, mainly reading and writing. Time Waster really had me notice what I wrongfully spend my time doing but it didn't really encourage and aid me in drawing a connection and conclusion.

time wasters

For this week's blog I used the strategy time wasters in two courses. I used this awesome strategy in my Psychology 205 course, as well as my Philosophy 192 course. I first made a chart with two sides on it, one side was labeled "Time wasters" and the other one was labeled "Avoided tasks." I had to really think of what I do when I procrastinate, or waste time, and once I thought about it, I wrote those down, and then I would write down how I would avoid wasting time for the current situation. Since Philosophy and Psychology are my toughest courses, it was easy to think of how I typically waste my time. I procrastinate by doing the same activity no matter what subject it is, but there are different assignments for each course as showed on my documentation. I like this strategy because it gives you a visual of how you need to manage your time in order to get all assignments done on time. Time Wasters is really a good time management strategy and I would recommend this to anyone no matter what type of learner you are!

Visual Learners Guide to Overcoming Procrastination

Hey all you visual learners! I’m back this week with some new strategies that will ensure you use all of your time wisely. The strategies I used for this week were Excuse Busting and Time Wasters. I used both these strategies in my Transmedia studio class, in which we have an animation project due. Since I am a visual learner, I picked these strategies because of their ability to visually show me how I’m procrastinating on work that needs to get done. In my Transmedia class, we are mostly graded on the projects we present; the other grade goes towards our reading responses via email to our professor. To learn my best and be successful, I need to come to class prepared with my projects and or ready to learn. It’s better if I take notes on the lecture because a majority of the information is technical stuff that I wouldn’t remember visually. I also need to read all the texts he supplies us as well as analyzing the material he gives us. The materials I need for the course include: My Lap top, a note pad, the video’s we watch, a pen, our open minds, energy, participation, and any notes that we have taken. These materials will serve me by giving me the tools for success.

The first strategy I used in my Transmedia class was the Excuse Busting Strategy. For this strategy I used the T-chart prepared for me in the “It’s All About Choices” book. The left hand side of the T-chart is titled “Excuse”, this is where I wrote down several excuses I’ve used for not working on my animation project. On the right hand side title “Translation”, this is where I wrote the real reason why I couldn’t work on the project, across from the excuse I used for it. For example, under Excuse I wrote, “I can’t do my project, I did a lot of work and I’m too tired.” Across from this under Translation I wrote, “I don’t know how to use the software”, which is the real reason I didn’t feel like working on it. I found this chart to be very effective in visually showing me why I make excuses for procrastinating on my projects, and the real reasons why I do it. This chart proved not only effect, but also eye opening. I didn’t realize how much time I was wasting doing completely irrelevant things, when I could have been more productive, teaching myself the software, working on editing, or finding video’s to use in the project. I really feel like a change is necessary in my habits now after reviewing the Excuse Busting chart. I originally chose this strategy because I thought it would be a visual way to show me what my bad habits were, and help guide me towards a more efficient way to deal with my assignments, rather than procrastinating on them.

The Second strategy I used in my Transmedia class was Time Wasters. This strategy allows me to visually see how I spend the time I could be using to work on my project, is wasted on doing unproductive things. For the Time Wasters, I used the T-chart provided for me by Dr. Blumin in the textbook “It’s All About Choices”. On the left hand side of the T-chart titled “Time Waster”, I wrote down all the random things I would do instead of actually working on the assignments I needed to complete. For example, I wrote “Piano Playing”, which is something I do a lot when I’m stressed out with too much work to do. On the right hand side titled “Avoided Task(s)”, I wrote “Editing Composition”, which would be the animation project I need to work on. Instead of working on my animation project, I spent my time watching a movie with some friends. This was probably not the best thing to do when the project was due Friday. After writing down a couple more Time Wasters, I began to notice a trend, whenever I have a stressful or project I need to complete, instead of doing the project, I do things completely unrelated to the project that are unproductive and wastes of time. I was shocked to see how all the things that would make me happy, or things I would do in my spare time were things that prevented me from being on task, productive, and completing my project on time. I think this strategy was very effective in visually informing me of the changes I need to make in how I go about completing my work because what I’m doing now is just not good. I originally chose this strategy because it gave me a visual way to look at what I’ve been doing to waste my time, and would inspire me to make a change. I think both the Time Wasters and Excuse Busting strategies are effective and important strategies everyone should try to see how they could manage their time better. Until next time, keep strategizing!

Wasteful Excuses

The past two weeks in class we have practiced the Procrastination and Anti Procrastination strategies. After using different methods in each strategy I decided upon using the time wasters and excuse busting methods. The time wasters method is a procrastination strategy while excuse busting is a anti procrastination strategy.


To get the most out of these strategies I chose the course in which I procrastinate the most. This course is WRT 105, this course gives a lot of writing and reading homework, which is easy to procrastinate on. Their is nightly homework for this course, and the homework involves reading at least 15 pages and usually writing a one page paper or short response. While doing this work it is very easy to procrastinate. I always end up putting off his type of work or taking a long time to complete these assignments. I will watch t.v in between reading pages or browse the web while typing up an essay.

Using the Time Wasters method will enable me to view what I'm doing to avoid the task I must complete. Being able to see what I'm doing wrong will help me change my procrastination habits and hopefully force me to procrastinate less.

The Excuse Busting method will allow me to view the excuses I use to not work efficiently and will also show me the reason for my procrastination. Being able to view this will help correct my usual habits. Such as if I'm about to start a paper and my friend comes in saying lets play basketball I will know that basketball is an excuse to not work on the paper and hopefully I will say to no playing basketball.

Time will tell if this strategy is effective but I believe it will be because when I'm able to view what i have to accomplish I usually consistently do it. I know that being able to procrastinate less will be incredibly effective and allow myself to complete work for effectively and therefore earn better grades.

These methods don't directly relate to my learning style as an auditory learner. The methods will hopefully benefit me. the materials used for the completion of this these methods was inserting my usual procrastination methods into the time wasters and excuse busting charts. After making these charts I believe they will help me if not end minimize my procrastination habits.

I chose these two strategies because i felt they would best fit my learning style. Also I believed that using the time waters and excuse busting methods would provide me with the best chance of limiting my procrastination and hopefully encourage me to watch less t.v and not play as much basketball.

Academic Fears

After using motivational strategies this week in class, I decided to use the academic fears strategy to help motivate me for my toughest courses, Writing 105 and Psychology 205. Not only are these courses my toughest, however, they are also the most boring, so in order to do well I need to have as much motivation as possible. I made four rows, labeled biggest fear, worst outcome, best outcome, and action needed. I put them in this order because it helps me look across the chart and go one step at a time. I then put the classes on the side and wrote in everything for each section. For both courses it is kind of a similar situation, except for writing the papers is a problem for me, while in psychology the tests are the problem. The way these are similar is that to take action, I need to get a tutor to help me edit my papers and/or help me study for my tests. The reason I chose this strategy is because it has all the information I need to keep me motivated for classes I need motivation for the most. It is a great stategy and I would recommend it to anyone no matter what type of learner you are.

Fear of Failing

This week in class we practiced motivation strategies. After testing out the motivational strategies: Exploring Rewards and Academic Fears. I decided to use the Academic Fears method because it fit my learning style as an auditory learner.

To get the most out of this strategy I choose the two classes that disinterest me the most, which therefore I need the most motivation. I decide to use Academic fears in my WRT 105 and MAT 183 classes.In these classes I'm not very engaged by the material presented. In WRT 105 we are preparing for writing a rhetorical essay, in which we are reviewing how to write a rhetorical essay. In MAT 183 we are going over probabilities and statistics which also is not to interesting from my standpoint. In WRT 105 my greatest fear is not comprehending what my professor wants in our essays, which would therefor lower the grade on my paper. It is important for me to write down notes so I understand and can look back on what is required. In MAT 183 my greatest fear is not inserting the right numbers or not putting equations correctly into the calculator which would thereby give me the wrong answer. It is necessary to double check what I am plugging into the calculator so I don't make stupid mistakes.

This strategy was kind of effective for me. The chart representing my academic fears, worst outcome, best outcome, and action needed helps. Being able to view what i have to accomplish to be prepared and motivated for the class will help me stay energized and ready to work. Being able to view the best and worst possible outcomes in these courses also helps me stay focused on the specific topics in these courses. However, I'm pretty motivated already. My parents allowed me to choose the most expensive school on my college list which has given me the extra motivation to succeed. But I have always been motivated to strive for good grades so I can have the opportunity to be employed when I grow up. Motivation is nothing new to me. I am determined to excel in my courses.

I chose this strategy because even though I am an auditory learner and charts don't exactly fit that definition of that learner, this method has provided me with a tool that I can view that will help me stay motivated. The Exploring Rewards method didn't provide me enough information to stay motivated and understand what I had to accomplish to keep striving. Therefore the Academic Fears method did and after viewing this chart I feel comfortable with what I have to do to stay motivated in my classes.

Visual Learners Guide to Motivation

Hey you Bloggers!!! What’s up!? I’m back this week with NEW strategies that I think you’ll enjoy. This week I used a motivation strategy called Academic Fears in my ART 253 Film History class, and in my TRM 153 Transmedia studio class. I found this strategy to be very effective in both of my classes. In my ART 253 class, we are mostly graded on our ability to write analyses of the films we view, and on our performance on the exams that are given. There are only two exams before the final, so it is very important to learn the material and get the best possible grade you can receive on each exam given. I am a visual learner, so it is important for me to learn and process everything in a visual way. ART 253 is a great class for those who are visual learners because all the lectures are taught along with a very visual and detailed slide show presentation that helps me better understand the material. I love that I can put pictures of people and inventions, along with their names; this makes it much easier to remember for exams. To learn the materials I need are a notepad for writing notes during the lectures and films, a computer for writing an analysis, and a textbook that details all the information we’re learning. In order to learn my best in the course it is essential that I take notes, receive notes from the note taker, look over the textbook for information covered in the lecture, and show up to at least one cinematheque screening a week. In order to receive a good grade I need to show up to every class on time prepared to learn. The Academic Fears strategy that a chose was a very effective strategy for reducing stress and motivating me to study. To visually represent my Academic Fears; I created a comprehensive chart that has four columns. Each column is titled differently; Academic Fears in the first column, Worst Outcome in the second column, Best Outcome in the third column, and Action Needed in the last column. In the first column I listed three of my biggest academic fears in my ART 253 class, with my number one fear being “Fail final exam.” In the second column, I listen the worst possible outcome of that academic fear which would be having my grade drop and possibly having to retake the class, which would be awful. In the third column, I wrote down the Best Outcome that could happen which was “know all the information on the exam and get an A on it.” The final column titled “Action Needed”, I wrote down several things I could do to give me the best outcome such as, Getting notes from the note taker, making flashcards, and preparing a study group with friends. This strategy worked well for me because it visually showed me where my stress was coming from, the worst possible scenario of that fear, the best scenario, and what I could do about it. Whenever I get too stressed out over a project or test in a class, I end up not doing the assignment or not studying for it. This strategy addressed my stress, showed me where it was coming from, and what I could do about it. After seeing the example of the Academic Fears chart that visually shows how I can motivate myself to accomplish a large task, I chose it thinking it could be very helpful to me, and it was. I found this chart to be an excellent motivator. The chart not only shows what could happen if I don’t accomplish something, but it gives me the steps for doing my absolute best, which is very helpful. After finding this strategy effective in my ART 253 class, I thought I should use it in another class I had a lot of stress in.

Since I’ve been having a lot of stress recently in my TRM 153 Transmedia studio class, I decided to apply the Academic Fears strategy to see what I was worried about. Since I’m a visual learner, it is important for me to learn in a way that I can visually understand. In TRM, we are mostly graded on the projects we create, are participation, and are email responses that show our understanding of the readings we are sent. It is important that we complete the readings on time as well as show up to class, so It’s important that I come to class on time, with any project I need to turn in on that day, read the texts on time and response on the date my Professor provides, and make sure I learn how to use all the programs he teaches us how to use. The important materials I need for the class are my notebook, to write down notes, my laptop to create and present projects, the texts and readings my Professor sends by email. These materials are vital in doing my best in the class. I originally chose the Academic Fears chart for my TRM class because I found it to be a visually effective way to see what my fears are, how they can affect me, and what action I can take to make the best of the situation. Since this strategy worked well for me in my ART 253 class, I decide to use it in my TRM 153 class as well. As I my other chart, there are four columns. In the first column titled “Academic Fears” I listed my three most concerning academic fears such as failing my upcoming animation project, not knowing how to use the software, and ending up learning nothing by the end of the course. In the second column titled “Worst Outcome” I wrote down the worst possible thing that could happen if I fail the next project, which would be “my grade drops considerably, I loose many points which affects the professors view of me and my capabilities” and “Don’t do well in course, lowering my GPA a lot.” In the third column titled “Best outcome” I wrote down the best possible outcome for the project, which would be, learning how to use the software and creating a great project my teacher likes. In the four column titled “Action Needed”, I listed the things I need to do in order to have the best outcome become possible. For example I wrote, “Go to class Friday, pay close attention and learn how to use software.” I found this strategy to be very helpful to me as a visual learner. This strategy reduced my stress level, and gave me the motivation to perform my best on the next project I have in my Transmedia class. I feel a lot less stressed about failing the project, and more motivated now that I have the steps needed to actually accomplish my goal of an excellent project. If you’re a visual learner, and you’re stressed and need motivation to do well, the Academic Fears strategy is just for you!