In the last blog in this series, we talked about how to prioritize your tasks so that you can actually get them done in a timely fashion. In this final blog in the series, we’ll talk about how to make sure you actually complete them. You’ve made a list of things you need to do, […]
In the last blog in this series, we covered how to take big projects and break them down into small tasks, so that they’re manageable. Today we’re going to talk about how to set priorities for those tasks, so that they get done. Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, had a simple […]
The first blog in this series talked about how to get all of the random things you need to deal with out of your head and onto paper, where you can see them and deal with them. In this blog, we’ll talk about the second of the four big steps you need to take to […]
How many times have you pinned your hopes to a planning system, only to have it fail? How many old (and new) planners are gathering dust in your room, on your desk, or in the back of your closet? Most of us have at least one planner that we bought with the best of intentions, […]
In the previous blog in this series, we went over the beliefs that push us into rushing, and how many of those beliefs create a stressful situation. In this final blog in the series, we’ll go over why stress pushes us into a vicious cycle, four ways to stop that cycle in its tracks, and […]
The first blog in this series talked about what happens when we rush, and why we need to slow down. This blog will talk about why we feel like we have to rush, and how that can lead to an ongoing cycle of stress. Beliefs, Behavior and Stress Our behavior stems from what we believe […]
If you look around, you can see that most people seem to be in a hurry. That’s not surprising! Our culture is built on being busy – on rushing. We see people hurrying hither and yon, and the impression we get is that they have Important, Valuable, Necessary Reasons to step up their pace and […]
Some people think that when you go to office hours, it’s like going to the principal’s office was in grade school. A lot of students are intimidated by their professors, so this isn’t surprising. But if you don’t go to office hours, you’re cheating yourself out of an amazing resource that can really help you […]
In college, most of the time, exams require more than memorizing. College is supposed to be the place where students move past just memorizing to applying, analyzing, and evaluating information – but not always. Some exams will still be focused on memorizing concepts, equations, definitions, terms, dates, and people. Some professors will want to know that […]
Last week in a private coaching forum I’m part of, one of the members asked: “How do we help our students know that they’re ready for an exam? So many of them are stressing out about getting straight As!” Her description of this student made me think of a poignant moment in Dr. Judith Rapoport’s […]
How many times have you been in the second or third week of a class – especially when it’s a topic you’ve never encountered before – and thought “I’m so confused! I’ll never understand this!” and given up? Believe it or not, you’re not alone. But what you need to know is that the confusion […]
When the college semester starts, everything is new. You have new classes, new classmates, new professors, new expectations – and if it’s your first semester, you might also have a new roommate and a new dorm room. All that “new” can be pretty overwhelming! Here’s a few ways to make the first week of college […]
Many teachers will advise you to work with your classmates – in a word, to create a study group. But what do you do in a study group? Too many times, study groups can devolve into chit-chat and waste your time, instead of improving your knowledge. Here’s some ways to make a study group work […]
So the break is almost over, and most college and high school students will be returning to campus soon. For many students, coming back to school after a break is difficult – it’s hard to get back on track, especially if their sleep schedule has gone off the rails during the break, and thinking about […]
I recently had a coaching client who was getting ready to go to college, but struggling with one of their high-school classes. No matter how much we went over study tools or test preparation practices, they were consistently getting low grades on quizzes and exams. It turned out they didn’t know how to take good […]
Aren’t Academic Coaches and Academic Advisors the Same? Many students hear “academic coaching” and think “academic advising,” and it’s true, the terms are similar. But although your academic advisors and your academic coaches are people who can help you through college, their jobs are very different! Let’s take a quick look at what each of […]
Most students (and most parents) don’t realize that in college, a C is a great grade. When the student who pulled a 4.0 in high school ends up with a 2.5 GPA in their first semester in college, their shock is real. This can baffle parents, and give their students an identity crisis! The fact […]
You have to email your professor about something. You know how to use email, right? It’s old-school: open up the program or the web browser, and type something like this: Yo, When is the test? Or maybe you’d rather say: Dear Professor Chris Smith, I write to you to urgently express my concern that the […]
“Make a study schedule.” It sounds easy until you sit down to do it, right? Then, for many students, it begins to feel like two other things, and neither of them are easy: A ton of work A waste of time It’s understandable that you feel this way. School has just started, you’re overwhelmed with […]
Whether you’re getting ready to apply to college, visit campuses, apply for financial aid, or depart for your chosen school, the amount of information you have to process and understand may seem overwhelming. The Internet, Facebook, and even Twitter accounts can be confusing for college-bound students because there’s so much information. Even worse, you don’t know […]