Five Tips to Avoid Procrastination

We’ve all been there—experiencing the panic of an impending deadline and the feelings of self-loathing for waiting until the last minute to complete a task. Most students have found themselves guilty of procrastination at one point or another, but it doesn’t have to become an inescapable habit.

If you follow the steps below, you can manage your assignments in a way that allows you to complete your best work and avoid the negative emotional roller coaster of procrastination.

1. Prioritize tasks. Before you tackle a big project like writing a paper or studying for an exam, break down into steps everything that needs to be done in order to reach your ultimate goal. Creating smaller steps and goals will allow you to see the final assignment as less daunting and more manageable. Make a list prioritizing these steps by importance or by what must be done first in order to move on to subsequent steps.
   
   
2. Create a schedule with self-implemented deadlines. Estimate the amount of time you anticipate each step will take to complete. Be realistic and even overestimate a little bit so that you can avoid becoming discouraged if you fall behind on your schedule.
   
   
3. Eliminate distractions. When it comes to being distracted from the task at hand, we all have our weaknesses and we know how they can hinder our progress. Before starting, remove all distractions (like your cell phone, Facebook, etc.), knowing that they might provide you an excuse to procrastinate, which is what you are trying to avoid.
   
   
4. Just start. Don’t allow yourself to become consumed by preparation, because that too can become a distraction and get you off task. Just give yourself a start time and stick to it. If you’re trying to write a paper or begin studying for a test, tell yourself that you will write or study for five minutes straight without stopping. You will probably find that once you get over this initial hurdle, it will be much easier to continue working.
   
   
5. Acknowledge accomplishments. Make sure to take breaks so that you don’t burn yourself out. Once you reach a small goal, like studying two chapters of material, reward yourself with 15 minutes to relax, or order your favorite coffee drink. Be sure to reflect upon the successful work you’ve done, but be sure to stick to your schedule and avoid getting carried away with break time.
   

Five Tips for Effective Note Taking

Learning to take notes effectively during class lectures and discussions can ultimately cut down on the hours you spend studying and help you to become a better learner. In the same way that good servers in restaurants write down everyone’s orders if they are serving a table of 20, it is essential for students to take good notes to aid their retention of material presented in class. The following five tips will help you discover the best method for taking notes.

1. Develop a system. No single form of note taking works for everyone. Many students find it most effective to organize their notes into an outline, while others like to jot down as much as possible during class and then type up their notes immediately after. Some students prefer color-coding, or creating lists and tables. In the beginning of the semester, experiment with different methods to discover which works best for you, and make it a habit to follow that system for the remainder of the semester.
   
   
2. Keep it short. When taking notes, try to avoid writing long, drawn out sentences or paragraphs. Instead, focus on keeping notes brief and clear. The most important material is often repeated and emphasized by professors. Use concise phrases and bullet points to make sure that you can keep up with the speed of your professor’s lecture.
   
   
3. Highlight important points. Sure, everything your professor says is important, but you need to be able to identify the main points of a lecture before focusing on the smaller details. When studying, circle or highlight important themes or points, and work on understanding those before moving on to peripheral facts and details.
   
   
4. Organize. No matter which system you use to take notes, keeping them neat and organized is essential for studying. Notes that are unreadable or out-of-order will not only make studying more time-consuming, but can also make it more challenging for you to pull out and understand important information. The most organized note-takers often rewrite their original notes after class to ensure that they’ll be able to comprehend what they’ve written in the future. Rewriting notes may seem tedious, but many students find that it helps them to retain the information they have learned in class.
   
   
5. Review. Even the best notes will be useless if you don’t take the time to reread them. Review your notes within 24 hours to better your chances for long-term retention and comprehension. This will also give you an opportunity to look into any questions you may have or fill in any holes you discover in your notes.

Keeping Your Semester on Track

Staying organized and prepared all semester long can be a challenge for many students. It is important that you determine techniques that work best for you to ensure that you put yourself on the best path to success and achieve your educational goals. To learn more about keeping your semester on track, check out these tips and tools that will help you all year round!

Tips for Keeping on Track

· Log in to WebTycho and review course materials before the first day of class. Print out and read the course syllabus—review the readings and assignment due dates to avoid surprises.

· If you’re taking a hybrid course (one that alternates between online and on-site instruction), review the information Hybrid Courses at UMUC and remember that hybrid classes begin online the first day of the session, not the first day of the on-site classroom meeting.

· Plan to have your textbook(s) by the first day of the session. Access UMUC’s Schedule of Classes to review the list of required textbooks, as well as the classroom location (if applicable) for your course.

· Check in to your online classroom regularly—at least three times a week or more as required. Review the WebTycho Student User Guide to become reacquainted with the classroom if you have taken any time off.

· Plan to spend at least two to three hours per day reading, reviewing, and completing assignments in addition to your time spent in the classroom.

· If you need to adjust your schedule, plan to speak with an academic advisor before adjusting your schedule. Schedule changes can be complicated and may have unintended consequences. Talking with your advisor will ensure that you are continuing on the right path toward your degree.

Course and Program Planning Tools

We encourage you to explore Connect@UMUC, where you’ll find information on course and program planning, friendly reminders based on how many credit hours you have earned, and more—all in one place. You can also download your Spring 2012 Course Planner from the Connect Web site.