Time Management Tips during Exam Period

By Alisha Shewale

 As the exams are approaching, you might be thinking how to improve your time management skills and schedule your days so that you can strike a good balance between home, work, and university life.

Most people do not take the time to plan their priorities. This will assist you in remaining focused and organised during the exam period. Here are some time management strategies you can try:

1. Note down your to-do list

The first step in improving your time management is to make a list of what you need to do. Most students procrastinate on important assignments, which can negatively affect the quality of their work and their overall grade. A “to-do” list serves as a reminder of the vital tasks that must be completed first. Prioritize the most important tasks. Post the list anywhere visible and available, such as on a bulletin board, refrigerator, calendar, mirror, post-It notes, or your electronic device.

2. Create a schedule

A timetable or a calendar on your phone will serve as your schedule. You should find a method that works for you and add your priority list to it. You can choose from several applications to assist you in being more efficient.

3. Plan, plan, plan

Look at resources to assist you and ask your friends if they have any organisational tools that work well for them. Allowing yourself time to absorb new knowledge and prepare how you can use it will save you from having to re-read and repeat some analysis.

4. Say NO to procrastination

Consider the following questions: Where were you the most focused? Where did you get the most distracted? Is there anything you can do to make learning a more enjoyable experience? It is possible that studying with friends would reduce their productivity. Others, on the other hand, can find that studying in a group will help them stay motivated and prevent procrastination.

5. Get some exercise to clear your head in between study sessions

Did you know that exercise and sleep function in the same way? You will concentrate your mind and clear your head by exercising. Aim to fit in a 10-minute run every now and then, gradually increasing the time you spend running. 

6. Practise good time management in the exam

Consider how many questions you must answer, how weighted they are, and how much time you have, and then devise a strategy. For example, if you have three similarly weighted essay questions to answer in three hours, you may want to set aside 45 minutes per answer, with some time at the start to read through the exam and some time at the end to proofread. Track your time on a multiple-choice or True/False test to see if you’re going too fast, taking too long, or staying on track. If you’re spending too much time on a question, try an answer and flag it; if time allows, return to it later.

Academic skills you can master during winter break

By Meng Abigail Yuan

Winter break is coming. If you are looking for ideas to spend your break wisely, maybe this article can give you some inspiration.

Create a note system that suits your learning habit. Yes, it is easy to find tips for creating note templates or tutorials for taking notes during lectures online. But how much do these methods fit in your own learning habits? Using a note system that you are not comfortable with can be extremely hard to learn and keep. Finding the note system that suits your own habit takes time. Therefore, winter break could be your chance to take your time and adjust your note systems.

Instead of giving advices on what you should do when taking notes and storing notes, I will recommend some tools and frameworks to take notes. These tools can be useful for any type of learner and could be easily personalised.

Weekly Planner/ Daily Planner

Buy yourself a pretty planner and start to organise your day. Some people like to have a sense of ceremony when it comes to plan tasks for projects. A planner can be a good start as it has certain templates and can be very flexible. You can choose either weekly planner or daily planner depending on how detailed the planning you prefer, and then start your day with a clear schedule.

E-Note Applications

If you prefer taking note with a laptop instead of pen and papers, choose a note application and stick to it. It is important to keep all your notes indexed systematically and be able to retrieve the contents when you need it. Be aware of the uniqueness of your field of study as learning strategy of disciplines varies largely.

If your notes are based on slides mostly, you can use apps that support PDF import and screenshot insertion. Examples are Notability and Goodnotes.

If you need to large amount of texts even textbooks, you can use apps with external note linking features such as MindNode and MarginNote.

Some people prefer to take notes during lectures with markdown, then Day One and Evernote could good choices.

Again, you don’t need to look for the best tool to take perfect notes. In fact, all that matters is your routine of taking notes. The use of these note-taking tools is to help you capture your thoughts efficiently and retrieve your notes when you need them. Do not overestimate the power of the tools!

Women In Engineering

By Arni Dhar

 Engineering is the field with the highest male-to-female ratio. It is possibly the most male-dominated profession in the United States, with women accounting for barely 13% of the engineering workforce. For decades, engineering educators have concentrated on curriculum change (e.g., encouraging girls’ interest in math and science) in order to attract more women to the industry.

While we read about all the male dominated sections, one woman has changed the world for all the women. Mary Barra, the first CEO of General Motors Company, is leading a major automotive company. As we all hear cars, trucks and all automotive area is for boys, but she proves all of us wrong and has been strengthening GM’s core business of cars, trucks, and crossovers, while also working to lead the transformation of personal mobility through advanced technologies like connectivity, electrification, autonomous driving, and car sharing.

She started her career with General Motors in 1980 as a co-op student when she was 18 year old working on checking fender panels and inspecting hoods, and she used this job to pay for her college tuition. She subsequently held a variety of engineering and administrative positions, including managing the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant. Starting as a co-op student, Mary was listed as 35th on Forbes Most Powerful Women list in 2013, rising in rank to the 4th most powerful in 2018.

Gender is just a part of our life, it does not affect what you want to do. A woman can have better knowledge about cars and a man can be better at managing a house.

It’s all in one’s head!

Engineering joke of the month

By Elaheh Alipourchavary