Here are some great tips and tricks to help anyone survive college classes;
Addicted to Social Media? When you pull up Chrome or Firefox, or maybe you're on the cutting edge - whatever internet surfboard you're riding on - do you find your fingers typing "tw" or "f" all on their own? Do you sometimes catch yourself just scrolling mindlessly? Do you wish you could ask your laptop to hold you accountable when your precious focus is on the line? When it's crunch time? "I've got to get back to studying," you say. Well, have we the fix for you! Quit social media now at getcoldturkey.com. Install Cold Turkey, choose which websites you want to block and for how long, and Cold Turkey won’t let you access them. If you go down this route, you’re committed, and Cold Turkey won’t let you uninstall the app.
Have you ever noticed that nearly every word we read is written in black? Books are printed in black ink. This is written in black; Twitter is; Facebook, the news, and books are too. Spice up your notes, and maybe help yourself remember what you've written, by writing in blue ink!
Run out of printer ink from printing too many cat pictures again? Is your teacher long-winded in their notes? Or, are you just innocently out of ink? Head on over to https://costcoinkjetrefill.com/ for a $10 refill.
Are you messy? Is laundry strewn around your bedroom? Does your bathroom sink look like a bacterial warzone? Is your car zoned as a landfill? Clean it. You'll feel better.
Pick your favorite chewing gum. Maybe you prefer mints, or jolly ranchers- the blue ones are the best. Whatever it is, chew on it while you’re studying. It might even work with pencil erasers. Then, when you head to the exam, pick the same candy - or pencil eraser - and start chewing. The gum might help you remember the name of some tiny bone in the ear, or the formula for combustion, or the name of that one guy who fought that one war. Don’t take my word for it, take science’s (https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2039-chewing-gum-improves-memory/).
Don't have time to read that book because you're working a different job every day of the week? Do you struggle to find time to read that short story for class, or that chapter on phagocytosis? Get the audiobook and crank the narrator up to 2x speed. The voice will sound like a strange time-traveler for a while, but when you get used to it, you'll be shocked by how much lost time you find.
Does the inside of your fridge look like you picked items off the shelf with your eyes closed? You've got sriracha, some spinach, a few chicken breasts, and some cannellini beans, but you're no cook. You're a fumbling chemist. You're afraid you might mess up the stoichiometry or burn the food. Don't worry about not having a recipe, head over to https://www.supercook.com/#/recipes and go from fumbling chemist to supercook! You give them the ingredients you have on hand. They give you detailed recipes. Making sure the food isn't burnt is up to you.
Tired? Uninspired? Snag something jingly, like your keys. Take them loosely in your hand, and dangle your hand over a plate. Close your eyes (read this first). Let yourself start to fall asleep. And, just as you’re falling asleep, your hand will release, and that jingly thing will crash down on the plate like a cymbal, waking you up. You probably won't feel very rested, but you might be more inspired. Don't believe me? It worked for Edison and Dali.
New on Campus? Have you heard talk of an interconnected labyrinth buried somewhere beneath Wright State? Have you found it, and found yourself lost within its walls? Ask someone for directions, if they're not bull-headed, they'll help you find your way out.
Above all, no college hack beats deliberate, persistent study. Your schedule isn't a tyrant. Easy does it, but do it.
