Exercise the Distractions Away

Facebook! Email! Cell Phones! Youtube! Stumble Upon...
These are all distractions many of us face every day and have trouble controlling. It is shocking to see how many students in the library are on Facebook when they mean to be studying. I am not hating on Facebook because when used properly it is a great networking tool, however it is also many people's largest distraction. There are distractions and then there are positive distractions, such as eating, showering, cleaning, exercise etc.

During my first year of college I was easily distracted. I had a a lot going on in my mind and I loved my coursework but I still was distracted. I would say my biggest distraction at the time was Facebook and then there would go 45 minutes of my studying. 45 minutes is a lot of time and I didn't do anything important on Facebook, I would just look at my friend's statuses and their pictures (I wasn't truly networking or using it for work).

I felt like it reached a point where my best options was just to go to the gym. I would tell myself, well if I go to the gym and exercise for 30 min then at least I'll have my jitters out, energy raised, and I will be able to sit down without going on Facebook. I was so surprised how well that worked.

Exercise has helped me, however there are also other options. There are certain websites or apps that will only allow one to be on Facebook for a limited time.

Either way, exercise is great and media distractions are not good; they just provide more distractions. Even small amounts of exercise can make a difference, like a 20 min walk in the pic above made a big difference in brain activity.

Best,
Stay Strong,
Trevor

Pic from
http://www.sd13.org/~jgabriel/
AND

Brain on left is seen taking a test with no prior exercise.

Brain on the right is seen taking the same test after a 20-minute walk.

A Secret Study Spot Without Your Phone

As I prepare for my massive anatomy exam I have made two key discoveries:

1. I need to have special study locations where I can crank work out.

2. If I leave behind my phone or computer I can also CRANK WORK OUT!

One's study location should be free of all distractions. One should not be easily found there and should also not have a view of other people, cars, animals, distractions, etc. It should just be a student with his or her work.

One should also not bring a phone or computer. One claims a computer is needed, however, unless you're typing a paper or need it for research you really don't need it. Also, if you need it but don't need internet that is cool too.
Also the phone, ahh we love it and we hate it. Leave it behind if you're seriously trying to study. People 20 years ago did fine without cell phones and there is no reason we can't as well; they were actually probably much more productive.

Good luck and
Stay Strong,
Trevor

Picture from: http://www.hooverwebdesign.com/free-printables/signs/free-printable-no-cell-phone-use-in-office-sign.html

Digg.com -Your Daily Dose of News, Except Better

I never heard of digg (http://digg.com/) until a few weeks ago and I must say I'm in love with it! Digg gives viewers a daily dose of scholarly news mixed with goofy news such as 15 funniest text messages from parents. It's serious yet also refreshing, it would be like a newspaper done in color if it was in print form.

Digg also has a very simple layout and concept. There are different newsrooms per topic and in that is articles on that topic which one can choose to give a thumbs up to or thumbs down to. If you "digg" an article you simply give it a thumbs up.

It gets better, digg also lets you create your own profile which other people can view. You also can submit articles and pieces of work you find interesting, you just have to click on the submit link button and put in your article. I therefore put every article I write for my blog on it for others to also view there! With your profile you can comment on other articles, digg articles, follow other users, and be followed. Once one does a lot of anything on digg they can win awards for submitting articles, commenting, digging articles, etc. Digg also then also has a "my news" page which creates news it believes you would like based on previous articles you digg, viewed, submitted, or commented on! It's useful.

I have to say I appreciate the generosity of users on digg. I have gained seven followers without doing anything special and I have no idea who these people are.

Digg is a lot of fun, check it out!

Also, my user name is trevorvt
Feel free to follower me!

Submit articles, have fun viewing others,
Stay Strong,
Trevor

pic from http://vimeo.com/user481597

How to do quick and correct citations:College Edition

I remember life in Middle School and High School when doing works cited and bibliography's could take hours, however due to the internet at our everyday convenience they are now easy. With access to the internet making a works cited is as easy entering an ISBN number of a book, website url, or plugging in the data asked of you. One can do this on websites like Son of Citation Machine : http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?start=# .

This website is simple to use. One chooses the type of citation they need and then just plug in what is asked. After that is done, the citation appears and one just copies and pastes it into the works cited. Remember most works cited are alphabetical and also have a double indent after the first line. Citation Machine also tells you how you should reference the article in text, if it's (Adams, 31) or however.

If you've never heard of this I highly recommend giving it a shot. It has saved me a lot of time. I used to have to go to the library to find a book on citations and then follow the guidelines in the book. I believe my friend Erica notified me of this website while doing a lab for science during my first year of college and from then on I've always used it.

It can't hurt to try. If you don't like it you can head to reference section of the lib and pull out a book on citations.

Best,
and
Stay Strong!
Trevor

pic from http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?start=

Having a BACK-UP Plan:Surviving Computer Crashes

Computers are a way of life in college and it's hard to live without one. Most of us will lug our computer around for part of the day whether that be to class or the library and at sometime most of us will encounter a computer problem as well. This can be trouble with wireless, finding files, programs crashing, beer spilled on laptop, etc. Even if you have a mac, problems can still occur. I have seen many a mac that has been wrecked by spilled beer, spilled milk, stepped on by accident, and just randomly tossed around. Even if money isn't an issue to you, losing all the files you own can be an academic nightmare.

I therefore advise spending the extra money and buying an external hard-drive. I bought one during my first year of college when I was told my motherboard would need to be replaced. They said I could back up my computer, they'd take it for a few days, put in a new motherboard, then reboot it and bring it back to normal with all my data from my external hard-drive. My motherboard did not have to be replaced but I consider my external hard-drive crucial to college survival. At the time I spent $75 on a 320gig hard-drive from the campus computer store, which was probably overpriced and can now be bought for around $50.

My computer has not crashed but I have seen multiple students panic over losing music, files, homework, programs, etc. Think of buying one as part of your computer protection warranty plan when you buy a new computer. Once you have one you will probably also have it for life (or a long time).

I have a Mac and there is a free program called Time Machine (and pre-installed) which is really easy to use. I plug in my hard-drive and it instantly starts storing the data. I can retrieve data that I also put into the trash to delete a week ago. I can scan back to every time I saved work to my computer and retrieve it (even if I deleted it on my computer today, it is still on my hard-drive!). If my computer crashes I can get it fixed or buy a new one and then when it loads up for the first time just hit restore with Time Machine. It is a brilliant program and will restore all my programs I already bought, such as Microsoft Office and Apple Programs, as well as all my other files; my computer will be the exact same before it crashed.

It's a recommendation to buy a hard-drive and I understand many of us are short on cash, however the $75 bucks I spent on my hard-drive I could earn faster working than trying to go and reset my computer. It would be such a nightmare for me to try to find new music, retype files, and have to buy a new version of Microsoft Office (and learn how to use it). It's worth the extra cash so cut your alcohol consumption, avoid other unhealthy habits, don't order wings, and save that cash until you can buy it. AND if your computer crashes or finally craps out, you'll be darn happy you have that hard-drive!

Back up your s**t!

Stay Strong!
Best,
T-rev
(picture from http://cartoonsbysheila.wordpress.com/tag/computer-crash/)