From Making You Depressed
Written by Wendy Aron
At any given moment, we are held hostage by something we seldom acknowledge—our thoughts. The things we think about the breakup of a romantic relationship, a fight with a friend, or even about something as miniscule as getting a parking ticket dominates our lives without us ever really recognizing it. Read the rest of this entry »
Written By John Jorgensen
Belief is a funny thing. I used to think that it was entirely objective. The mind receives information, processes it, and creates the appropriate belief. There is no room for choice — your beliefs depend entirely on the information you’ve absorbed. If this were true, it would be ridiculous to judge someone for their beliefs. After all, they have no choice in the matter! Read the rest of this entry »
and Developing Good Habits
Written by Scott Young
Most of life is habitual. You do the same things you did yesterday, the day before and every day for the last month. It’s estimated that out of every 11,000 signals we receive from our senses, our brain only consciously processes 40. Read the rest of this entry »
As an adult student, and mother of three college-aged children, experience has taught me the importance of good study skills and habits. Not only can a student “survive” college with these skills, they can actually do quite well. I took the opportunity to write this paper with my children in mind. Learning how to take lecture notes effectively is the first step college students need to make the transition from high school to college easier. Read the rest of this entry »
Introduction
Pile of BooksReading is a skill that we take for granted. We assume that if we are capable of reading, then reading tasks should be easy to complete. At university, reading is not a passive activity. When reading at university, you will find that you must utilise other skills while reading, for example you may need to have an understanding of note taking skills. This help sheet introduces you to ways that you can maximise a skill you already possess, in a way that makes the best use of your study time. Read the rest of this entry »
Copyrighted: MindTools
Quickly Getting to the Root of a Problem.
Why use the tool?
The 5 Whys is a simple problem-solving technique that helps users to get to the root of the problem quickly. Made popular in the 1970s by the Toyota Production System, the 5 Whys strategy involves looking at any problem and asking: “Why?” and “What caused this problem?” Read the rest of this entry »
In order to excel in college, you must first learn how to study properly. Contrary to historical opinion, there are many effective ways to learn information; it is a question of figuring out what works for you. What type of studying best suits you? What time of day are you most efficient? What is the proper environment for you to study in? Before you can answer these questions, you have to do a little research. It takes an effort but the rewards are more than worth it. Read the rest of this entry »
Introduction
When you are at university, the sheer amount of information that is delivered to you can be daunting and confusing. You may even think that you have to copy down everything you hear or read. When you are at a face-to-face lecture it is sometimes difficult to tell what is important and what is not. Distance learning students might feel the need to copy out fact after fact from readings and textbooks. When preparing for an exam or assignment, it is tempting to produce extensive notes on page after page of A4 paper. These methods of note taking are generally time consuming and ineffective and there is an easier way! Read the rest of this entry »
These linear notes are a summarised version of this study skills session.
Recall how you find a name in a telephone book? You don’t read any more than necessary to find the name you seek. Notice that you go directly down a column of news. Maybe you use your finger to guide your eyes. This type of reading is usually called scanning. Skimming uses the same type of skill mechanically but a different skill mentally. In scanning, you know what you are looking for. In skimming you don’t. Read the rest of this entry »