{"id":15143,"date":"2012-12-05T10:32:56","date_gmt":"2012-12-05T15:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=15143"},"modified":"2014-09-09T09:56:52","modified_gmt":"2014-09-09T13:56:52","slug":"im-going-to-disney-world-actually-i-should-probably-study-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2012\/12\/05\/im-going-to-disney-world-actually-i-should-probably-study-instead\/","title":{"rendered":"I&#8217;M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD&#8230;actually I should probably study instead."},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8P-gDZmFnTQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\nWhen your eyeballs feel like they are about to dry up into prunes, and your legs are achy, and your wrists hurt, and you\u2019ve finally finished that last paper of the term you should reward yourself. What do I do? Go to Disneyworld? No, I head to the local stationary store and purchase ten to twelve packs of index cards.\r\n\r\nI\u2019m serious. As my classmates bound joyfully out of these last lectures of the term, I wonder if they\u2019ve forgotten that it <em>ain\u2019t<\/em> over yet. While some of my friends possess the ability to deflate and distress after the last lecture of the term, I cannot. Not until the last period is dotted on the last essay of the last exam I write this term will I be able to relax.\r\n\r\nWhen classes are finished, I start exam prep. I am militant about this process. I kind of scare myself sometimes. I have devised a method where all subjects can be studied via flashcards. I divide content into themes, timelines, places, etc. Whatever I think will help me to best write a frantic paper in 45 minutes.\r\n\r\nI\u2019ve never shared this information with anyone before\u2026don\u2019t tease me. It\u2019s just how I effectively chunk course content. It might not work for everyone, but it\u2019s the only way I study.\r\n\r\nThe process of making the flashcards is long and arduous. \u00a0Often times I find that by the time I\u2019ve finished the process, I\u2019ve already memorized a good portion of the content. For me, the process of rewording and condensing notes actually lodges the info into my memory. It\u2019s not deliberate, it just happens. I can\u2019t type the information out on one of those fancy flash card maker programs. I can\u2019t remember anything I type.\r\n\r\nI have not data to back up this claim, but I remember reading somewhere that the messier your writing is the easier it is to remember something you\u2019ve read. I have horrible penmanship. It\u2019s a hybrid of printing, cursive, and my own invented short hand. It is indecipherable by most others and often I have trouble figuring out what my notes say. When I force myself to go through all my messy notes and create these beautiful little flashcards in neat handwriting, some form of memorization takes place.\r\n\r\nOnce I have all my flashcards finished for a class, I start memorizing them, removing the ones I memorize as I go along. Usually within a few hours, \u00a0I can get through a stack of 100-150 cards. I do this for a few days leading up to the exam. \u00a0I only spend twenty minutes or so at a time going through the cards\u2026so I don\u2019t start to gap out!\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s lots of different types of index cards out there! My enthusiasm about this matter depresses me in some way. Regardless, there are so many options. Last April I found spiral bound index cards. One word people, REVOUTIONARY! No more lost cards, no more cards out of sequence (this matters to me for studying).\u00a0 My card of choice this exam period, the Cadillac of index cards, the spiral bound double sided lined\u2026sweet.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/11\/flashcard.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15196\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/11\/flashcard.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/11\/flashcard.jpg 180w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2012\/11\/flashcard-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nNow when I walk into the exam venue and pull out my mountain of flashcards, most people look at me as if I am a deranged over achiever. Let me assure you I am not.\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s the thing: this method works for me. It\u2019s a hellish process, but it gives me consistently good results.\u00a0 Find your own method or try mine, I don\u2019t mind. The point is that you need a plan. Mine is insane, but it\u2019s mine. Yours might be reading through notes, rewriting notes, meeting in a study group. I think the worst thing you can do when preparing for an exam is nothing.\r\n\r\n-Lori\r\n\r\n&nbsp;","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nWhen your eyeballs feel like they are about to dry up into prunes, and your legs are achy, and your wrists hurt, and you\u2019ve finally finished that last paper of the term you should reward yourself. What do I do?&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2012\/12\/05\/im-going-to-disney-world-actually-i-should-probably-study-instead\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;I&#8217;M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD&#8230;actually I should probably study instead.&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2012\/12\/05\/im-going-to-disney-world-actually-i-should-probably-study-instead\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;I&#8217;M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD&#8230;actually I should probably study instead.&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6669,62,1,58,6480,68],"tags":[9526,193,9527,9528,498,486,9529,9530,131,9531,85,25507,9525],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15143"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15143"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15276,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15143\/revisions\/15276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}