Academic Success Blog

If you’re a Mac user, why not try iflash?  This nifty program lets you make flashcards for studying.

Or, why not make flashcards the old fashioned way?  All you need are index cards (you choose the size) and something to write with.  There’s an argument to be made for making flashcards by hand: for some of us, the act of writing things out helps us remember things. 

One more thought: Try to write definitions in your own words rather than copying someone else’s definition word for word. 

Anyone know a good flashcard program for non-Mac users?

Read For the Gist

For the juice, for the words that grab you
and if they don’t—grab them.
But not too frantically. Read
as though you were walking
down Queen Street and curious
look at the stores, the signs, the skirts
and smell the roasted coffee beans.
Let your eye be taken to the things
that matter on the street. And how do we
ever know what matters—we look, we smell,
we take our time, a stroll
and then we come back again.
Read as though you are a wanderer
unrushed and wanting more.

Ronna Bloom, the Poet in Community at the University in Toronto, wrote “Read for the Gist” at the Spontaneous Poetry Booth on September 16, 2009, in response to a request for a poem about reading.  See the Facebook Group “Poet in Community” or poetincommunity(at)utoronto.ca

At the session “Succeed at U of T” yesterday, I said I didn’t think there was a used textbook exchange run by the student union at U of T. I stand corrected:

http://www.utsu.ca/bookexchange/

CG

…and a new beginning or two. As I prepare for our annual “Summer Mini-Course”, I’ve been thinking about this post and wondering if anything has changed for me personally. And I think it has. Herewith, my top 5 favourite timewasters, Summer 2009 edition (links not provided in case people begin wasting time by clicking through!):

1. Twitter. I know people of university age are not really that into it, but I can’t seem to get enough. There are some really interesting people out there with some really interesting things to say. But I don’t have time to read them all. Twitter is like a series of headlines for people to highlight what they’re doing, reading and thinking about. When you follow interesting people, you learn a lot! No, honest!

2. RSS. I also follow a lot of interesting websites and blogs, and I aggregate them in Google Reader. And while much of it is really interesting, it takes a lot of time to filter that information, to decide whether it’s worth reading, and then of course, to read it. And just because I read it doesn’t mean it was worth my time!

3. Yes, Facebook. Here’s the thing - I synched my Twitter updates with my Facebook updates, and since more of my friends are on Facebook, they tend to respond there. So I’m wasting time on Facebook, even when I’m not logged in!

4. DVDs of TV shows. I don’t watch as much TV as I used to, but I’m now going through all the episodes of The West Wing. Technically, I am going to say this is entertainment and not a timewaster, though I have been known to watch one episode too many in an evening.

5. Daydreaming. I’m spend a lot of time thinking about things but not really doing anything. It’s not really wasting time, though. It’s fostering my creativity. Yeah, creativity.

Anyone else?

CG

At a recent meeting of the Women’s Writing Support Group, participants spoke of how helpful it’s been to write for a short block of time each week during the workshop. Each week, we spend 20 minutes working alone on our academic writing projects. There is something about this structure—regular, predictable, and brief (just 20 minutes!)—that students are finding remarkably productive. Why does this structure work so well? Some participants say that because the time is short, they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what they’ll do. They get into the writing work faster and are willing to experiment and work sketchily. This attitude often pays off. Next time you’re working on a writing project, why not try setting aside small but regular blocks of time for writing?

Well, with Valentine’s Day looming, there are two reasons why I thought it might be worth mentioning an entry that a friend sent me from her blog.   

The first is that around Valentine’s Day we often make the mistake of thinking about love in a really narrow sense.  Sure, there’s romantic love, but there’s also the love that we have for our friends, our family, for this unexpectedly mild weather and, of course, for Reading Week (yay!).  It makes sense to point this out in a blog about Academic Success because it’s easy to let things in your personal life (Do you have a partner? Do you wish you DID have a partner? Do you wish you DIDN’T have a partner? etc.) interfere with your ability to focus, concentrate and, well, just be your very best self academically.  Remembering that there are people and things in your life that you love—regardless of what’s going on in the “romantic love” arena—can be a powerful way to keep things in perspective.  

The other thing I like about my friend’s blog entry, and that I think is an important reminder at this time of year, is that it looks at the idea of “the list” in a way that’s a little unexpected. We all know that if Reading Week is here, well, Crunch Time can’t be far behind.  With that certain (and certainly anxiety producing) knowledge, there’s a tendency to make lists—on paper or in our heads (usually in the middle of the night!)—of the thousand-and-one things that we need to do (catch up on course readings, write essays, apply for summer jobs or graduate school or…well, you get the picture).  In this blog entry, though, the focus isn’t on all the things that we need to do, but on all the things that we have—and love—in our lives.

NP

Well, taking a quick second look at Chris’ “Tuesday’s Top Timewasters” to be double sure that spending time on the internet wasn’t there (’though I don’t, quite, believe it), I’m going to suggest a nifty website…with the caveat that it’s a real time-sponge.  I spent MUCH more time scrolling through it last night than was, probably, good for me (or for my students, whose papers I was supposed to be grading!).  It’s a useful site, though, for those of you who are thinking about how best to use your time on a day-to-day basis.
np

Next week’s workshop focuses on reading and note-taking. As always, I welcome your thoughts on things you’d like to hear.

Monday: 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday: 5:15 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Both sessions are in Robarts 4049.

Chris Garbutt

Here, in order, are the top timewasters that came out of the Tuesday Time Management Workshop:

TV

Going out

Telephone

Games

E-mail

Reading

Movies

Staring out the window

To my surprise, no one mentioned Facebook!

CG

Next Tuesday, I’ll be holding a time management lecture at 5:15 in Room 4049 of Robarts Library. No registration is required.

I have lots to say on this topic, but feel free to add comments if there’s anything you’d like to see covered.

- Chris Garbutt