Pro Tips for Adjusting to University Life!

So you just graduated from High School, you had a summer to get yourself ready for starting university in the fall. You've had your enrollment appointment, enrolled in classes, visited the RED Zone, bought your Frosh Kit and you're feeling pretty set on the IDEA of starting here at York. Then you realize...hey the summer is PRACTICALLY OVER and "Going to University in the Fall" is actually LESS THAN a month away! You might be feeling a little less self-assured, heck you might be FREAKING OUT! I know that when I was starting at University I played it cool for most of the summer, but by the time August rolled around I was not handling it well at all.

When classes started I had a really difficult time adjusting just because it was NOT what I was expecting!! I don't know I was expecting? Maybe I was expecting everyone to be really mean or condescending, or for the work to be way to difficult for me to handle. What I found was the my first month of University was pretty light, I had more free time than I expected and so I settled into BAD HABITS! I started slacking since I didn't have "homework" that was due everyday I put off doing my readings and preparing for my lectures. I WOULD NOT ADVISE THAT ANYONE DO THIS! When midterms rolled around I got a RUDE AWAKENING!! Since I hadn't kept up with the readings all of a sudden instead of reviewing my chapters I had to read like 10 chapters for the first time and try to learn it all in a couple of days. You can imagine what happened I'm sure, I did not do as well as I could have if I had just been a bit more organized right away.

So to help you learn from my first year mistakes I've compiled a short list of the things I think you might want to do to help you adjust to your first year here at York!

Pro Tip 1: Go to Class!
-It can be really easy to skip classes since no one is really taking attendance, but this would be a mistake. You're paying so much for these classes and the reason your at University is to learn so make the effort to go to class. Sometimes professors will give hints as to what will be on exams while in lecture so get a leg up by attending every class!! 

Go to Class & Do your reading!

Pro Tip 2: Stay on top of your Readings and Assignments
-Since no one is keeping track of what readings you're doing and which one's you're not it can be really easy to slack off and not do them at all. If you don't keep up with them week by week, when midterm season rolls around you'll find that you have A LOT to read. This can be REALLY overwhelming and it might make you super stressed out! I can tell you that it might not be fun to give up some of your weekend to do readings, but it'll make all the difference when it comes time for your midterms! So get organized and stay on top of it all!

Breaks are IMPORTANT!

Pro Tip 3: Always find time a break
-I don't want to leave you thinking that all you'll be doing here is working, working, working. I promise you'll have time for breaks and I'd encourage you to try to find as many opportunities as you can to take breaks. Break time is important for your mental health since it allows you to rest and give you brain a break. Be sure to plan your time in such a way that you'll be able to take as many breaks as possible!

If you need help ASK!

Pro Tip 4: If you're feeling overwhelmed REACH OUT
- It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when you start doing new things, in a new place with people that you don't know. School is demanding, challenging and can be a little much at times for everyone! BUTTTT no one can help you if you don't let them know you need help! If you find yourself struggling be sure to ask for help, there's no shortage of people here that can and WANT to help you out! So just ask!

Help yourself by USING THE SERVICES!

Pro Tip 5:  Use the FREE services on campus
- There are so many services on campus that you can use FOR FREE that will make your university experience a little easier and more bearable. For more detailed information about the FREE SERVICES here at York check here!

Hope my PRO-TIPS helped you out and maybe eased your stress levels about starting at York in the Fall!!

As always remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Work School Balance...It IS Possible!

Balance is KEY!

People are always asking me how I find the time to go to class, work on campus, volunteer with different clubs and find time for friends and family. I'm not magic, I don't have super powers... although that would be super cool! I'm just one of many students that have figured out how to balance work, school and my personal life. It's not impossible to find a way to balance your commitments it just requires that you take the time to get organized and stay on top of everything. Here are my top 5 ways to find Work-School Balance!

5. Get an Agenda and USE IT!
--Whether it be your phone, tablet, computer or actual pen and paper, find some way to write down and organize all the various things that you have going on in your life. Write down things like: When you have class/ study time, when you have work and or volunteering and any family commitments you might have. When you write these things down be sure to make a note of HOW LONG they will take you to complete, be sure to include COMMUTE time between each location as well. This will help you to understand just how much time spend doing these activities.

4. Set Priorities
--Now that you have a list, rank them in order of importance from MOST important to LEAST important. It might seem like an easy thing to do but I PROMISE you, it's harder than it seems. Once you have a prioritized list you can start to think about how much time you want to dedicate to each item on your list.

3. Make time for yourself
--Once you've set a time limit for each of the things on your list, be sure to include some time for yourself. **Study time does not count as time for yourself!** Making time to take care of yourself is really important to make sure that you don't burn out over the school year. Keep in mind that

2. Identify your free time!

Find time for FUN!

--Now that you've written down everything and set time limits look at your schedule. Look to see how you're spending your time, are you spending your time in the way that makes you happiest? Are there things in your schedule that take up more time than you'd like? Are there things that you wish you had more time for? Do you see any blocs of free time that you could potentially fill with other activities? If you can try to reorganize your schedule in order to allow you the time you need do the things you have to as well as the things you want to do.

1. Be Realistic and Accountable with your time.
--Remember that there are only 168 hours in a week, that means that you can't do everything for as long as you'd like. You have to realistic with the types of activities you and how much time you dedicate to each activity. Be accountable, if you say that you're going to spend 3hours studying then make sure that you spend 3 hrs studying, no one is going to be checking in on you so you'll have to make sure that you follow through on the plans that you make for yourself. Try not to bite off more than you can chew when it comes to activities!

I've used these tips to help me plan my time and make sure that I can complete all the things I sign myself up for. If there's anything else you want to know about finding balance or you have tips you'd like to share feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Developing a Career Path

Which way to go?

Coming into first year you might have a lot of ideas about what you THINK you'll do when you graduate. As you move from one year to the next you might find that your vision of future career may shift a little. In my case my career path shifted A LOT and by the time I reached my final year I was in a completely different place than when I started.


People always say that university is the best time of your life, that this is the time that you learn about yourself and who you are, and when you develop into the person you'll be for the rest of your life.Coming out of high school you might be wondering... "How do I turn my interests into a job?" Today I'm going to talk a little bit about how you can use your time at university to help you develop a career path for yourself.

1. Get Involved

Develop your Career
Path!

 --It can be easy for students to fall into the commuter trap, that is only attending classes and then going straight home. Falling into this trap can make it difficult for you to find out where your interests lie and connecting with your fellow students. Join a club, student organization or college council can be a great way to connect with the York community and learn about where your strengths and interests lie. Being a part of clubs helped me to learn that I am really passionate about education, and health promotion.
This has translated into me learning that I want a career that allows me to help others and be an advocate for equal access to education and health services.

2. Use the Services

They're FREE
so USE THEM!

--Developing a Career Path can be daunting even for the most self confident among us. That's why I can't recommend the Career Centre strongly enough! For me personally I think they're one of the best
most under used service on campus!  The Career Centre can help you career counseling, resume building, interview skills and so much more...all FOR FREE!! I don't know about you but if something is free I'm that much more interested in using it, and when it's a service that helps me get ready for the 'real world'  I'm even more interested in using it. I'm not going to lie to you, it can be difficult trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, but you're not alone there are people that are here to help you!



3. Put yourself out there!

Go out on a limb and
see what happens!

-- This might be the most important tip I have to give you!! It's easy to keep to yourself, it's easy to stick to a routine you're comfortable with and it is easy to never challenge yourself, but if you want to get the most you possibly can out of your life then you have to put yourself out there and try new things. I'm not saying that you have go sky diving or run with the bulls, what I'm saying is be willing to try things that you have never done before. Try going to Frosh week, try joining a club, try taking up a new sport,
try something that pushes you outside of your comfort zone. You might find that you learn about about yourself, develop some new skills and make some amazing friends and life long memories! Who knows you might do something that leds you to a job, or a new path for your life!

Figuring out what you want to do with your life is not an easy decision, it requires a lot of thought, soul searching and in some cases a little help from your friends. I hope that this will inspire you to try a lot of different things during your time here at York so you can begin to figure out what you want to do with your life after university!

Good Luck and as always, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Looking for a Job? Try working on Campus!

Being a student today is expensive and unless you've got Donald Trump financing your education chances are you'll probably be working at some point during your time at university. I don't know about you, but I HATE job hunting! Having to go out and hit the pavement looking for somewhere to work is daunting and time consuming. When I started at York I figured that working retail was my only hope for financing my education then I found out about ON CAMPUS JOBS!!! Have I piqued you're interest???

What are on campus jobs?
--At York there are over 1000 jobs just for York students. That means you won't have to compete for jobs with students from Ryerson or UofT, it's just fellow Yorkies! There are 4 types of on campus jobs available for students:
1. Research At York (RAY): These are research jobs which allow students to work alongside professors and grad students working on research experiments. They're great for people that want to gain more research experience and get PAID!!
2. Work Study: Most common type of on campus jobs, these students work in various positions all over campus gaining workplace experience.
3. College Life At York (CLAY): These jobs focus on student working within the college system at York developing student community and engagement on campus.
4. York Engaged Student (YES): These jobs focus on students that are actively engaged with campus life, these positions are mostly peer mentoring, ambassador and advising position.

**For more info about these types of jobs check here!**

How many hours do you work?

9-5? Nay Nay!

--Best part of working on campus is that fact that you cannot work more than a maximum of 15hours per week! Some jobs make you work early in the morning or late at night, or work a ton of overtime. Working at York though you probably won't be working too early in the morning and if you're working in an office you won't be on campus too late. Some jobs make you miss classes or sacrifice your study time to work a shift. On campus jobs fit around your class schedule and they always let you take time off to study, since they understand that you're a student first!  

Money, Money, Monneeyyy

How much do you get paid?
--I know you might be thinking... "Only 15 hrs per week! I need to make more money than that!" well maybe the fact that all on campus jobs are paid more than minimum wage will make up for that?? Yeah!! It's true! All our jobs range from $11.50-16.00 per hour depending on the job you have. Hopefully that will make these jobs EVEN more appealing than they already were :D

What are the benefits of working on campus?

I met these great ppl at work ON CAMPUS

--Working on campus has a few great benefits! First of all it's SOO convenient. You're already on campus for school so the commute from class to work is almost non-existent! Secondly on campus jobs are a GREAT way to meet other York Students, Staff and Faculty! Networking and making new friends are a great way to become even more involved with the York Community! Finally on campus jobs make a
FANTASTIC reference! Since employers know that students are going to move on to further education or
other jobs after they're finished at York they provide students with great references! References and experience are important for your first job as well as to make your application to grad school or professional schools stand out!

I hope that this has made working on campus sound more appealing to you. If you want to find/ apply for on campus jobs be sure to check out the Career Centre website! They have an online job portal with all the on campus jobs listed, all you have to do is upload your resume and cover letter and click APPLY for the jobs that are listed!

If you have any questions about what I've talked about here, feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole 

First Day of University Check List

When you're in primary, middle and high school you are given a list of all the things that you'll need to

bring with you on the first day. However when University rolls around, you are suddenly (or not so suddenly in the case of some folks) an adult and you're expected to simply KNOW what you need for the first day of school.

If you're anything like me, then you probably are sitting at home right now thinking, "What the heck should I bring with me? What should I wear? What will I NEED? Will I need school supplies? Will a need to have a laptop, will I be the ONLY one without a laptop? WHO CAN I ASK?!?!"

First of all let me say, calm down, take a deep breath, you'll be fine. Here's a short list of some of things you might want to bring with you on your first day of school. This is be no means a REQUIRED list of things to have, neither is this an EXHAUSTIVE list of what you'll need. Feel free to take my list and add to it as you see fit.

Clothing
--York's Keele campus is huge, it houses over 90 different buildings and sits on hundreds of acres of land. With that mind you might want to dress comfortably. Comfortable shoes are a must, at least for day one since you don't really know how much walking you'll be doing, especially if you don't know
exactly where your classes are.  Similarly the temperatures in different buildings varies and so you might want to bring a light jacket, just so you don't freeze. Overall I'd recommend comfy clothing so that you can move freely and quickly from one class to the other.

School Supplies
--Unlike high school you probably won't need a backpack full of school supplies, you might not need scotch tape, or glue; you might not need a stapler or hole puncher with you either. You probably will need pens, pencils, highlighters, white out and erasers. Some people think that in university EVERYONE will have a laptop, or that you HAVE to
have a laptop in order to do well. Let me step in here and just say that everyone needing or having a laptop in class is a MYTH. For the majority of my classes I myself used a notebook, and hand wrote my notes. You can absolutely do well in university without a laptop. I would recommend attending the first class without a laptop since the first lecture probably won't be too content heavy and laptops are heavy and difficult to transport.


Food/Drink
--It's really important to remember that you'll be on campus for at least 3 hours, and during that time you might get a little hungry. For those of you that have planned to have multiple classes on the same day, you might want to seriously consider bringing some snacks or a packed lunch and a water bottle with
you.

**Insider Tip: Lines at restaurants on campus during the first weeks of classes are going to be very long so bringing food is always a good idea just in case you don't have time to wait in line between classes!**

Electronics
--You might want to bring your cell phone, iPod/ MP3, iPad/ Tablet or Laptop with you to keep you entertained throughout day while you're moving between classes. Be sure to bring your chargers with you to school so that you can charge them between classes at the Vari Hall charging stations between
classes.

I hope that you found my list helpful, and that you can make some use of it, if there's anything you want to discuss about what I've written here, please feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Anxious about University? Tips to adjust from a York Veteran!

The next chapter of your life
is waiting for you!

High School is over and you survived, now you're embarking on a new chapter of your life. On the
surface you might be calm and ready but underneath you might be freaking out just a little bit. Don't worry, you're not alone pretty much every other first year is nervous about their first year. I'm here to offer you some tips for adjusting to University Life!

As a self-proclaimed York Veteran I've compiled a list of things that you might want to know to help ease your anxiety about starting at University.



1. Keep an OPEN MIND
--Coming into York you might have some preconceptions concerning your university experience. From movies and TV you might expect your career at York to be some kind of montage of parties, all-nighters and missed classes. Alternatively you might expect your university career to be filled with long
research assignments with impossible expectations, professors that live to torture their students and classmates that are out to sabotage your success. Let me be the first to tell you to PUT THESE THOUGHTS OUT OF YOUR MIND!!

Yes University will be different from High School. You will be a small fish in a big pond at first, it will be more work and you might find it difficult to adjust at first but it is not beyond your skill set. You will have to work while you're here, you will have to attend classes, you will have professors that challenge you but it won't be more than you can handle. Be open and willing to try new things while you're here. The four years you're at university are an opportunity for you to learn more about yourself as a person so don't rob yourself of the chance to experience university life.

2. Be Brave!
--Yes York is a big school, Yes you will be one in 60,000 students, but that doesn't mean that you have to be afraid. You have support at every turn so if you need help all you have to do is be brave enough
to ask. If you have a question, there is a VERY strong chance that other people in your class also have the same question. So don't be afraid to put up your hand in lecture and ask. If you don't want to ask in lecture you can also meet with you professor after class or in office hours!

3. Get involved and Cast a WIDE NET
--While at York I would highly recommend that you get involved with campus life in some way. You might not know where your interests lie so why not try a lot of clubs or organizations and see what you like best! We have over close to 500 student clubs, organizations, charities, student governments and YU Connect or this blog for some cool clubs you might be interested in! Be willing to try several different things on till you find what you like.

4. If you need help all you have to do is ask for it!
--If you find yourself at a lost, struggling or just needing a little support all you have to do is reach out to get the help you need. York is dedicated to ensuring that students succeed at University, that being said the university can help you if you don't say you need help. This goes back to being brave, if you need help feel free to ask for it. If you're not sure where to go for help you can stop by the RED Zone and we can help you find the best people that can help you. There are tons of free workshops, seminars, counsellors and peer mentor support systems that are available for ALL York students that there's no shortage of services you can access. Here's some info on the many services that York has available to support students!

5. Try to get ahead and stay organized
--The first few weeks of the fall semester are a little lighter when it comes to work load, so I'd recommend trying to get yourself organized and prepared for when your schedule begins to pick up. There are some quick and easy ways to get organized, using your computer, phone or tablet's calendar blog for some other tips you can use to get organized.
to plot your due dates and other assignments. I'd also recommend using an agenda since you can get a FREE agenda from the York Federation of Students at the beginning of the semester. So pick up you're free agenda and use it to write everything down. Check out this

Well those are my top 5 tips for adjusting to University life. I hope that it helps to calm your anxiety. If you have any questions about the things I've mentioned here please feel free to comment below!

As always, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Having Difficulty Getting into a Class? Not Sure What to Do?

It's the middle of June and many incoming students are beginning to enrol in classes EVERYDAY!
This can result in a few different issues arising. If you're enrolling online or in person and you're finding   that the classes you're trying to get into are full or spaces are reserved don't freak out I've got some tips that you can use to try to get into the classes that you want/ need.

Pro Tip 1: Be Flexible and Patient.

Since there are so many students that are trying to get into the same or similar classes this means that some sections of classes will fill up more quickly than others. If you want to take a class at 8:30am and it's full but there is another section open at 10:30am be flexible enough to be willing to change the section you take the class in.

Similarly if you want to take the 8:30am section and you find that it's full right now don't lose hope. Over the summer students are constantly enrolling in classes, switching classes and moving their timetables around. So if the section/ class you want to get into s full today that doesn't mean that it'll be full tomorrow or next week or next month. So be sure to keep checking throughout the summer and at the beginning of the school year.

Pro Tip 2: If you can't get into a REQUIRED course for you major, try calling your department!

If you are required to take a particular class and for whatever reason you are unable to get into that class. I would recommend calling the department offering that class. So if you HAVE to take ADMS 1000 but it's full then I'd recommend calling the School of Administrative Studies and asking them if they can put you on a waiting list, or open up a spot for you in the class so you can enrol without an error message coming up.

If you do decide to call the department to see if they can let you in, try to remember that you are one of hundreds of students that the department has to interact with. That is to say, remember to be polite and courteous when on the phone or in person. Try to remember the old adage "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." People are more willing to help those that are polite and pleasant rather than rude and obnoxious! Also try to limit the number of calls you make/ in person visits you take to the office just because they do have other equally important work, so just remember that as well.

Pro Tip 3: Add a class BEFORE you Drop a class.

If you decide to change up your class schedule and you want to drop a class in order to take another one, by sure to ADD the class you want to get into BEFORE you DROP the class you're already in. That is because if you are drop the class and are unable to add the one you want to get into then there is the strong chance that you'll be unable to get back into the class you dropped. That means you'll be left completely out of a class. That'll be most problematic if you're applying for grants or OSAP and you you need to be enrolled in a particular number of credits.

Those are my 3 PRO TIPS for dealing with issues surrounding enrolling in classes. If you're having difficulties and you wanna chat about it, please feel free to comment below!

Remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

What else can I do on campus before/ after my Enrolment Appointment?

There's LOTS you can do
while on campus this summer

Having to come all the way to Keele campus in the middle of your summer vacation in order to spend 3+ hours at an enrolment appointment means that a lot of time students want to make sure that they can
get AS MUCH DONE while on campus as possible. With that in mind I decided to create a short list of things that you might want to do while you're on campus for your enrolment appointment.

I really LOVE Top 10 lists, what can I say I'm a major David Letterman fan! So following Letterman's example here's my Top 10 List of things you can do on campus on the day of your enrolment appointment. 

**If you're doing an online appointment you can totally still do all these things if you don't mind giving up a day to head over to campus!**

My Top 10 Things to Do on Campus:

10. Visit The RED Zone
--Come by Vari Hall and visit us before OR after your enrolment appointment to learn about all the
awesome things you can do with your life here at York!

9. Pick up your YU Card
--You'll need a piece of government ID in order to get it and it only take 2mins and you get it right on
the spot! REMEMBER you can SMILE in your picture so have fun with it!

8. Take a campus tour/ residence tour
--Why not take a campus tour while you're here? They happen everyday at 10:30am from the Bennett Centre!! Also if you're thinking of living in residence/ have already applied to live in residence and you want to get a feel for what it'll be like there are residence tours everyday at 2:30pm from 108 McLaughlin (stop by the RED Zone for directions!!).  

7. Check out your college (or at least make sure you know where it is)
-- Take a walk through your college, check out your lounge, look for your council office or just make sure that you know where it is.

6. Take a tour of the gym
--Our gym is a HUGE facility and the folks at Tait McKenzie are super friendly and are more than happy to take you on a full tour of all the facilities.

5. Check out some of our campus food options
--We have so many food locations on campus why not sit down and have lunch on campus so you can get a feel for the campus and the energy of our student population!

4. Stop by the YFS office and ask them about their services
-- The YFS or York Federation of Students is the student council that represents our entire student body. They have TONS of student services and they give lots of stuff to the York population.

3. Check out our transportation office/ familiarize yourself with the bus loop
--If you're think of driving you might want to stop by our transportation office to ask any questions you might have about parking at York. We also have a Smart Commute office that can also help you figure
out what carpooling options they have for you. If you're not planning to drive then take a tour of the bus loop to familiarize yourself with where your bus picks up and drops off.

2. Visit the bookstore and pick up some York gear :P
--We're happy to welcome you into the York community and we want you to feel proud of where you go to school, so be sure to stop by the Bookstore and pick up some York Gear. They have some FANTASTIC York clothing that is major specific so pick up a $12 shirt with your program on it and represent York wherever you go!!

1. WALK from one end to the other and EXPLORE outside areas of campus while the weather is still nice!!

--Let's be honest, the weather in Toronto can be unpredictable, so while the weather is nice be sure to check out the beauty of our campus while the weather is still nice. It's really worth it to take a look around now so you can get a feel for the campus while it's a little calmer, before classes begin.

I hope that you enjoyed my list. If there's anything here that you have questions about or comments feel free to comment below!

Until next time, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Change is hard BUT FREE workshops help!!

This month an on going theme for my blog is self-improvement! Last week I talked about setting realistic goals, this week I'm going to talk about a few tools that you can use to improve yourself as a student.

I know that change can be hard, you might think that you've come too far as a student and it'll be too difficult to learn new ways to study...but I'm here to tell you that as students we can never learn enough about how to be a good student!

You're NOT an old dog...you CAN learn new tricks and York is here to help with TONS of workshops designed to help you become a better student! Best part...they're all FREE!!

The Basics:

-There are 3 places on campus that students can go to year round to get help...and you've probably seen me mention them before on this blog!
1. Counselling and Disability Services
2. The Writing Centre
3. The Career Centre



What you need to know:

CDS: Offers 8 yes count 'em 8 FREE workshops that you can attend coving topics like:
--Academic Anxiety, Academic Writing, Critical Thinking, Exam Prep for University Tests and Exams and Reading and Note-taking at University. Check out these and other workshops here.

The Writing Centre: Offers a number of group style workshops that you can attend that cover topics such as:
-- How to read academic writing, How to develop a thesis statement, and Effective editing. In total The Writing Centre offers 9 different workshops to help you feel more comfortable and confident with writing for university. See what The Writing Centre offers here.

The Career Centre: While the CC doesn't offer workshops specifically designed to help with writing they do offer a numer of workshops that can help you with your future planning, whether that be your future career plans, further study or just finding your next summer job. Check out their workshops on topics like:
-- Cover Letter and Resume Writing, Interview skills workshop, Selecting a graduate degree and How to find a summer job. The Career Centre has an online calendar with the full list of all their workshops that you can check out here.

As a proud York Veteran I'm happy to say that I've attended several of the workshops that I listed here, and honestly I've found them to be very helpful and would recommend them to you all. If you have a chance to check out any of the workshops, let me know how you found them in the comments section below!

As always... remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

New Year...New You? How to make meaningful resolutions.

With the new year here many people are making resolutions for the new year. Typically people make resolutions about getting healthy, losing weight, or becoming more organized.

The new year is an opportunity for us to all start fresh and to make meaningful changes in our life for the year to come. So what does that mean when it comes school???

Well in my opinion I like to think of the new year as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start again. If you're first semester wasn't perfect don't let the mistakes or missed opportunities of your Fall semester dictate the course of your Winter semester.

So what steps can you take to make your second semester better than your first?

1. Set some S.M.A.R.T goals!

--What the heck are S.M.A.R.T Goals you ask? Well S.M.A.R.T is an acronym which stands for:  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Rewardable, Time-Limited. When you make a goal it has to precise enough that you'll be able to track your progress, complete the goal and complete it in a timely manner, with a reward waiting for you when you complete the goal.

Example of what NOT to do: I want to get A's in all my classes.

Example of a S.M.A.R.T Goal: I want to spend 1 hour each night making study notes for each of my classes before watching an episode of The Walking Dead (or whatever T.V. show you like, or activity you enjoy).

2. Let the past go!

--When making resolutions sometimes we can get hung up on our past failures or missed opportunities, but that doesn't actually help in moving forward. Focusing on the past can drag you down and cause more stress. Start the new year with a clean slate, keep the past in mind but don't allow it to overshadow your future. This is a new day so try to be optimistic and POSITIVE (no negative Nancy's here)!






3. Find a way to be accountable.

--If you want any resolution to succeed you have to find a way to hold yourself accountable. This can be the most difficult part of sticking to a resolution. How can you keep yourself accountable? Some people do this by getting others involved. Tell your friends or family of your goals and have them checkin with you see how they are coming along. Knowing that others will be looking in on your progress will help you not to slack off and stay accountable. With the rise of social media, you can start a blog, vlog, or twitter account dedicated to your goal, knowing you have an audience tracking your progress will help you to stack on track. Try one or all of these methods...anything that will help you to achieve your goals.

Those are my tips for making meaningful resolutions for this semester. Let me know in the comments section below what your goals are and if these tips help you or if there are some that I didn't add that you might like to see added to this list!

As always...remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Not sure what to bring to your exam? Here's my ultimate Exam Pack!

So it's your first UNIVERSITY exam and you're not sure what you should bring with you? Well it's a good thing you decided to read this (on your study break of course!).

So here's my ULTIMATE EXAM PACK!!! (Insert awesome sound effect or music here)

What should you bring...
1.  A Fully stocked Pencil Case...what does that look like?
--Well you'll need  PENS...at least 2, 3 if you have time to stop at staples before your exams.
--Pencils, if you're filling in bubbles on multiple choice exams you'll want to make sure you have at least a few pencils.
--A Sharpener and Eraser. Even the best of us make mistakes sometimes!

In case you forgot
what it looked like!

2. YOUR STUDENT ID and one other form of OFFICIAL ID. Why bring two pieces of ID? Well just like matching socks whenever you actually need your ID that's the ONE time that you can't find it...so if you have two then you'll at least be able to find ONE when you need it.
**Some exams are REALLY SPECIFIC and REQUIRE that you have your University Student ID. So try not to lose it on the day of the exam!**

You won't need
every book you own!

3. A SMALL backpack/ purse. You won't be allowed to take notes or books into the exam room so it's best to leave them at home. Also having a LOT of stuff with you will only slow you down when you want to find a seat or when you want to leave.
--Some people think that cramming before the exam will help them to remember things better but the truth is...cramming will only make you more anxious.


4. Bottled beverage...NO FOOD!! Having water or juice with you can help keep you hydrated, especially if your in a 3 hour exam. Please don't bring food into an exam, chances are you won't be allowed to eat during the exam, if you are brining food then eat either BEFORE or AFTER the exam.

5. POSITIVITY! I know it might seem a little silly but having a positive attitude can really improve your performance. So try not to be too hard on yourself, no one can know EVERYTHING just know that you've done your best to prepare, stay positive and take a few deep breaths before you walk in and everything will be fine!



Good LUCK everyone!!

As always remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

Making the MOST of your Study Sessions!

With less than 10 days left of the Fall 2012 semester, the Scott Library is beginning to get busy again. People are beginning to feel the crunch of this time of year and so there are more and more people packing in to study, write papers and even sleep :P

So how will this impact your study sessions?



The Scott Library is operating on their 24/5 schedule from now until the end of the exam period (Dec 20th). Which means that the Library Study Space is open Sunday-Thursday 24 hours. This means that if you want to study late, or want to study early or you want to pull an all nighter on campus you have a place to do so.

Here's what you need to know to make the most of your time in the Scott Library!

1. Wear something comfy!
-- If you plan on studying all night or late into the night you might to wear some comfy clothing. Or bring extra clothing with you. If it's 3:30am and you're wearing skinny jeans and high heels you might not be comfortable enough to do effective studying. At the same time Pyjamas are not really appropriate either!

Yeah I'm NOT gonna
wear this to study!

2. Bring snacks and a water bottle
--If you're going to be studying you'll need fuel to keep your brain power up and keep you motivated to work. Also food services on campus close at around 12-2am so if you don't bring food or a water bottle you'll be relying on vending machines which lets face it, can be expensive. Some snacks you might want to bring with you include: almonds or nuts, granola, carrots/ veggies and dip, fruits or dry cereal.

YUMM!

3. After 11:00pm All bets are off when it comes to study rooms!
--If you plan on studying late into the night and you weren't able to book a study room since they were all full...then you'll be happy to hear that after 11:00pm study rooms are a free for all. They work on a first come first serve basis. So maybe start working in the 1st floor study space then move into a study room for the rest of the night.

You got to get there early!

4. Pack LIGHT
--If you're gonna be on campus late you might not want to bring EVERY book for every class you have. Realistically you'll only be able to cover material effectively for a couple of classes. So brining ALL of your books for every class will only weigh you down and might overwhelm you, especially if you're trying to get through a lot of material.

She clearly brought too much with her!

5. Try to stick to your study plan
--Last week I talked about the importance of having a study plan. Well when you're studying in the library it can be easy to take A LOT of breaks, or to waste time talking to friends or those around you. If you make a study plan like I suggested...then try your best to stick to it. Budget your time and try not to waste it!

Stay on Track!

These are just a few ways that you could make the most of your study sessions. This by no means an exhaustive list. It's just a few things that I do whenever I study in the library. Let me know what works for you in the comments section below.

It's CRUNCH time folks so I wish you the VERY BEST OF LUCK as you prepare for your final exams and papers!

Remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole