the encouragement lounge: Increase your efficiency

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Increase your efficiency - advice from a graduate

For most adult students, being a full time graduate student is one of many full time roles you fulfill. Most are also full time parents, employees, etc., so it is important to use your study time efficiently. As you embark on your academic journey, take time to reflect on how you learn best. Do you need to study with music or silence? At home, a library, or coffee shop? Take notes or highlight text? Can you block two hours to read and retain material or do you need short bursts of reading followed by another short activity (favorite TV show, cleaning, exercise, for example)?

Sara Jean Ward, Program Coordinator at Area Agency on Aging

Photo by HLS

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Working adult students, on my mind...

I hope this blog will be helpful to friends and others involved in a variety of endeavors. However, I created the blog with students in mind and continue to develop it with that specific group as my focus.

I believe that with the increase in evening, weekend, and low-residency programs, students are working more and more in isolation. If we were all full-time students on campus, we would have the informal support that comes with being able to go down the hall and talk with a colleague, etc. But instead, we are working late nights and weekends at home in front of the laptop.

With that in mind, I hope the encouragement lounge provides brief moments of respite and energizing connection. This does not at all replace valuable face-to-face contact. Many aspects of the academic journey can only be addressed via in-depth conversations with colleagues and teachers. And I would always rather sit down and talk with someone than to communicate online. Nonetheless, my aim is to give you one more channel for quick hits of support.