Ready for the new study year? Here's how to kickstart the semester.

10 Tips to kick start your new study year

It is the start of the New Year and getting back into the swing of study can be tough. Receiving all your University material at once can be quite overwhelming. It is best to take small steps and ease yourself into your new study year. Here are ten tips to kick start your new elearning year.

To ease yourself into the new semester or trimester;

      1 . Enrol in your subjects

  - start with navigating your way around the university website

  - ensure your username and password works

  - enrol in your course subjects if you haven't already done so

 

2. Organise Yourself

-De-clutter your study space

-Refill your black and colour ink cartridges

-schedule study times

- have plenty of printer paper and pens/highlighters on hand

- organise your file storage and back up system

        3.  Order Your Textbooks

- you will need them by the first day of the teaching period

- check your course outline on the uni website for compulsory text books

-order second hand textbooks to reduce costs

        4.    Prepare your diary

         - digital or physical diary - a digital diary is good as reminders can be set

-schedule in important events  into your calendar ie: weddings, birthdays

-write in your assignment due dates as soon as you know them

-write in the exam period and holidays

        5.    Introduce yourself to your fellow students

          -if you are a distance learner - go online and start and an introductory thread in the discussion forum (if it is open)

             - if studying on campus and you don't know anyone, remember there will be plenty of other students in your situation. Take a chance and say hello.

          -join online study groups if available (these don't have to be at your university)

        6.    Eat well

- eat plenty of the 'right' foods everyday

-get adequate sleep every night

         7.  Move everyday

          - exercise even if you only have time for 15 minutes!

          - vary your routine so you don’t get bored

          - alert body = alert mind

         8.   Get into good habits now

           - stick to your study schedule

          - check your University email regularly

          - log on to University forums most days

          - use your diary (helpful for goal setting)

         9. Write down your goals

          - have long term and short term goals

          - write down what you need to accomplish each study session ie: read article xyz

          - reward yourself regularly

         10. Be kind to yourself

               - the overwhelming feeling will go away

              - take one day at a time, take one week at a time

              - tick of the study schedule (usually provided by your university) as

                you complete each week/task

              - the more you use online tools , the easier they will become to use

              - take a break! Mini breaks and a longer break during the holiday

                period

No longer do you have to think ‘where do I start?’ – You have already started. You have taken the first steps to further your education – well done!

Studying and Parenting - It can be done!

Studying while you have young children can be done! It just requires some organisation and routine. Depending on how young your children are, I recommend using child care two days per week. These will become your study days. If money is a problem or your child/ren are too young to attend child care, focus on their sleep times to get your study completed.

Organisation is key. I recommend using a digital diary that syncs with all your devices but the ‘old fashioned’ diary is just as good. Schedule in all family events, extracurricular activities and assignment due dates. Work out the regular days you can do study and write ‘study’ on those days.  Aim to set aside two full days.

From your unit information and study schedule provided by your tertiary institution you will see what is required for the first week. So, if it is article XYZ and chapter 1 and 2 of your text for unit EDNE then write that down under your first ‘study’ day. As you complete your study, tick off what you achieve. If you don’t get it done the first day transfer the work to your next study day.

Organise study around your life. Print off and read articles before you go to bed, take your text book to the hairdresser or when you take your child to their gymnastics class. That’s an extra hour of work you can tick off your study schedule that week! Look for opportunities to do a little bit of extra study. If you have an assignment due or an examination coming up, ensure you have organised time without your children so you can get the assignment polished and you’re pre-prepared to sit your examination – even if it is online, peace and quiet is needed!

There will be days that you will think ‘this is all too hard’ but remind yourself of the final outcome and what that will provide for you and your family. Reward yourself when you finish an assignment or when you do extra study. Take regular breaks to walk the dog or do something one on one with your child. Keep yourself motivated because you can do this!

5 ways to beat procrastination.

There seems to be a procrastination theme happening on the StudyBreak Facebook page at the moment so here are 5 ways to beat procrastination and get whichever part of study you are avoiding done.

Here are 5 ways to beat procrastination and get your study done!

1. Set small study goals

What is the task and what do you need to do to get there?

Each day write down two smaller goals to complete. On the same list, write down others things you would like to get done too. Is there washing to do? Do you need to call back Aunty Dot? Do you need to schedule exercise in today? Study just might look like the better option!

2. Reward yourself

When you've achieved your set smaller goals, reward yourself. It might be going to the beach, watching tv or surf ing Facebook. When you've completed a task then it's time to take some time out before starting on the next assignment or exam study. This is the time to reward yourself with an organised social outing, a massage or something else you find relaxing. This will help you re -energise for the next task and reduce your stress.

3. Remind yourself how good you'll feel once it's done

You've already checked your Facebook feed five times this morning and there are no new emails, smothered no needtocheck them again for the next two hours. Mark Twain said 'the secret to getting started is to start'. Remind yourself how good you will feel once you've achieved your study goals. 

4. Talk about your study and get your motivation back

Simply sharing with someone about your study efforts and what task you're working on can clear your thoughts and motivate you to keep going. Especially if the other person gives you encouraging words. Talking out loud about your study can help you vent about any problems and make you realise how much you do know about your topic. 

5. Eat, sleep and exercise

Some people may use these tasks to avoid study but eating a healthy diet, getting adequate sleep and daily exercise will boost your energy levels. Try to exercise before studying and awaken your mind or change your study snack from chips to grapes. Be kind to your body!

How do you get your study started?

Where's your chair?

For years my study space was on the lounge with a small table to sit my laptop on. I thought it was great because when my neck hurt I could look up and rest by watching tv. Sure I had a desk, but it wasn't appealing. Sometimes I took my study outside and this is a great idea to get fresh air and a new surrounding can help with the writing flow.

In my final year of postgraduate study, I set up an appealing study space- at a desk with a view. I wasn't isolated and everything including my text books and printer were accessible. However, if I could sneak back to the lounge with my laptop on my knees I did. 

When my husband did a stint of working from home I decided he needed a good chair to support his back. I did my research and I tried and tested a range personally before I decided on just the right one.

When he finished his stint of working from home, I thought it looked a lot nicer than my shabby, unsupportive and generally ugly office chair, and pushed his chair over to 'my' side of the study space.

I haven't looked back and I have now claimed this chair as my own. Since using a good, supportive and comfortable chair, long gone are the days of sitting on the lounge with my laptop. I'm more productive as it's not so tempting to watch the tv and I'm more comfortable so less aches and pains from sitting with bad posture.

So, what are you sitting on as you read this post?

Email etiquette: 5 things to remember

There's not a common agreement governing email correspondence. There are too many contexts and purposes to consider.

However, here are five email etiquette tips to remember next time you contact your lecturer or tutor via email. 

1. Address the email recipient. Use the name you usually address them with, for example: 'Hi David'. 

2. Check your spelling. If unsure, look it up!

3. Use a subject line - two to three words to summarise the email and keep the body of the email concise.

4. Don't send an email when you are full of negative emotion especially during study stress. It's easy to click the 'send' button without double checking what you've written.

5. Email is not confidential. Don't write anything you wouldn't want someone else reading.

A good example:

To: david@studybreak.com.au

Subject: edu101 criterion 2

Hi David

Is it okay to use a table to display our results for criterion 2?

Thanks in advance,

Gen

Time to re-think pressing the send button example 

To: david@studybreak.com.au

Subject: question

Can I use a tabel to show results? Everyone keeps saying different things and I'm just not sure anymore. I'm getting concflicting info about this task.

Can you help me?

Gen