10 Great Study Habits To Improve Your Performance

                                                                  

It is never too late to develop great study habits. If you're starting a new school year, or you just want to improve your grades and school performance, take a look at this list of good habits and start making some changes in your routine.

1. Write Down Every Assignment

The most logical place to write down your assignments is in a planner, but you might prefer to keep a to-do list in a simple notebook or in your cell phone note pad. It doesn't really matter what tool you use, but it is absolutely essential to your success to write down every single assignment, due date, test date, and task.

2. Remember to Bring Your Homework to School

It sounds simple enough, but many F's come from students forgetting to bring a perfectly good paper to school with them. Does your homework have a home? Is there a special place where you always put your paperwork each night? To avoid forgetting your homework, you must establish a strong homework routine with a special homework station where you work each night. Then you must get in the habit of putting your homework where it belongs right after you finish it, whether this is in a special folder on your desk or in your backpack.

3. Communicate With Your Teacher

Every successful relationship is built upon clear communication. A student-teacher relationship is no different. Miscommunication is another one of those factors that can cause bad grades, despite good efforts on your part. At the end of the day, make sure you understand every assignment that's expected of you. Imagine getting a bad grade on a 5-page paper because you didn't understand the difference between an expository essay and a personal essay.

Be sure to ask questions and find out what format you should use when you write a paper or what type of questions might appear on your history exam. The more questions you ask, the more prepared you'll be.

4. Organize With Color

Devise your own color-coding system to keep your assignments and your thoughts organized. You may select a single color for each class (like science or history) and use that color for your folder, your highlighters, your sticky notes, and your pens. You'll be surprised to discover how much strong organization skills can change your life!

Color-coding is also a tool to use when conducting research. For example, you should always keep several colors of sticky flags on hand when you're reading a book for school. Assign a specific color the every topic of interest. Place a flag on a page containing information you will need to study or to cite. It works like magic!

5. Establish a Study Zone at Home

Take the time to assess your individual style and your real needs and plan for the perfect study place. After all, if you can’t concentrate, you certainly can’t expect to learn very well. Students are different. Some need a completely quiet room free from interruptions when they study, but others actually study better listening to quiet music in the background or taking several breaks.

Find a place to study that fits your specific personality and learning style. Then stock your study space with school supplies that will help you avoid last-minute emergencies.

6. Prepare Yourself for Test Days

You know that it's important to study for test days, right? But there are other things you should consider in addition to the actual material that the test will cover. What if you show up for test day and the room is freezing cold? For many students, this would cause enough of a distraction to interrupt concentration. That leads to bad choices and bad answers. Plan ahead for heat or cold by layering your clothing.

And what happens when you spend so much time on one essay question that you don't have enough time to finish the exam? Another way to prepare for test day is to take a watch and be mindful of time management.

7. Know Your Dominant Learning Style

Many students will struggle in a subject without understanding why. Sometimes this is because students don't understand how to study in a way that matches their brain style.

Auditory learners are those who learn best through hearing things. Visual learners retain more information when they use visual aids, and tactile learners benefit by doing hands-on projects.

Every student should examine and evaluate their habits and their natural tendencies and decide how they might be able to improve their study habits by tapping into their personal strengths.

8. Take Fabulous Notes

There are a few tricks to taking fabulous notes that really help when it comes to studying. If you’re visual person, you should make as many doodles on your paper as you can. Useful doodles, that is. As soon as you realize that once topic relates to another, comes before another, is the opposite of another, or has any kind of connection to another—draw a picture that makes sense to you. Sometimes the information will not sink in until and unless you see it in an image.

There are also certain code words to look out for in a lecture that can indicate that your teacher is giving you the relevance or the context of an event. Learn to recognize key words and phrases that your teacher deems important.

9. Conquer Procrastination

When you put things off a lot, you end up putting things off until it's too late from time to time. It's that simple. When you procrastinate, you take the chance that nothing will go wrong at the last minute--but in the real world, things do go wrong.

So how can you battle the urge to put things off? Start with trying to recognize that a feisty little voice that lives inside every one of us. It tells us it would be more fun to play a game, eat, or watch TV when we know better. Don’t fall for it!

10. Take Care of Yourself

Some of your personal habits might be affecting your grades. Are you feeling tired, achy, or bored when it comes to homework time? You can change your grades by practicing a few healthy homework habits. Change the way you feel by taking better care of your mind andyour body.

For example, between text messaging, Sony PlayStations, Xbox, Internet surfing, and computer writing, students are using their hand muscles in all new ways, and they're growing increasingly susceptible to the hazards of repetitive stress injury. Find out how to avoid pain in your hands and neck by changing the way you sit at your computer.

20 Simple Ways To Get Happy

                                                                 

Happiness is ephemeral, subject to the vagaries of everything from the weather to the size of your bank account.

We’re not suggesting that you can reach a permanent state called “happiness” and remain there. But there are many ways to swerve off the path of anxiety, anger, frustration, and sadness into a state of happiness once or even several times throughout the day. Here are 20 ideas to get you started. Choose the ones that work for you. If tuning out the news or making lists will serve only to stress you further, try another approach.

1. Practice mindfulness. Be in the moment. Instead of worrying about your checkup tomorrow while you have dinner with your family, focus on the here and now — the food, the company, the conversation.

2. Laugh out loud. Just anticipating a happy, funny event can raise levels of endorphins and other pleasure-inducing hormones and lower production of stress hormones. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, tested 16 men who all agreed they thought a certain videotape was funny. Half were told three days in advance they would watch it. They started experiencing biological changes right away. When they actually watched the video, their levels of stress hormones dropped significantly, while their endorphin levels rose 27 percent and their growth hormone levels (indicating benefit to the immune system) rose 87 percent.

3. Go to sleep. We have become a nation of sleep-deprived citizens. Taking a daily nap or getting into bed at 8 p.m. one night with a good book — and turning the light out an hour later — can do more for your mood and outlook on life than any number of bubble baths or massages.

4. Hum along. Music soothes more than the savage beast. Studies find music activates parts of the brain that produce happiness — the same parts activated by food or sex. It’s also relaxing. In one study older adults who listened to their choice of music during outpatient eye surgery had significantly lower heart rates, blood pressure, and cardiac workload (that is, their heart didn’t have to work as hard) as those who had silent surgery.

5. Declutter. It’s nearly impossible to meditate, breathe deeply, or simply relax when every surface is covered with papers and bills and magazines, your cabinets bulge, and you haven’t balanced your checkbook in six months. Plus, the repetitive nature of certain cleaning tasks — such as sweeping, wiping, and scrubbing — can be meditative in and of itself if you focus on what you’re doing.

6. Just say no. Eliminate activities that aren’t necessary and that you don’t enjoy. If there are enough people already to handle the church bazaar and you’re feeling stressed by the thought of running the committee for yet another year, step down and let someone else handle things.

7. Make a list. There’s nothing like writing down your tasks to help you organize your thoughts and calm your anxiety. Checking off each item provides a great sense of fulfillment.

8. Do one thing at a time. Edward Suarez, Ph.D., associate professor of medical psychology at Duke, found that people who multitask are more likely to have high blood pressure. Take that finding to heart. Instead of talking on the phone while you fold laundry or clean the kitchen, sit down in a comfortable chair and turn your entire attention over to the conversation. Instead of checking e-mail as you work on other projects, turn off your e-mail function until you finish the report you’re writing. This is similar to the concept of mindfulness.

9. Garden. Not only will the fresh air and exercise provide their own stress reduction and feeling of well-being, but the sense of accomplishment that comes from clearing a weedy patch, watching seeds turn into flowers, or pruning out dead wood will last for hours, if not days.

10. Tune out the news. For one week go without reading the newspaper, watching the news, or scanning the headlines online. Instead, take a vacation from the misery we’re exposed to every day via the media and use that time for a walk, a meditation session, or to write in your journal.

11. Take a dog for a walk. There are numerous studies that attest to the stress-relieving benefits of pets. In one analysis researchers evaluated the heart health of 240 couples, half of whom owned a pet. Those couples with pets had significantly lower heart rates and blood pressure levels when exposed to stressors than the couples who did not have pets. In fact, the pets worked even better at buffering stress than the spouses did.

12. Scent the air. Research finds that the benefits of aromatherapy in relieving stress are real. In one study people exposed to rosemary had lower anxiety levels, increased alertness, and performed math computations faster. Adults exposed to lavender showed an increase in the type of brain waves that suggest increased relaxation. Today you have a variety of room-scenting methods, from plug-in air fresheners to essential oil diffusers, potpourri, and scented candles.

13. Ignore the stock market. Simply getting your quarterly 401(k) statement can be enough to send your blood pressure skyrocketing. In fact, Chinese researchers found a direct link between the daily performance of the stock market and the mental health of those who closely followed it. Astute investors know that time heals most financial wounds, so give your investments time — and give yourself a break.

14. Visit a quiet place. Libraries, museums, gardens, and places of worship provide islands of peace and calm in today’s frantic world. Find a quiet place near your house and make it your secret getaway.

15. Volunteer. Helping others enables you to put your own problems into perspective and also provides social interaction. While happy people are more likely to help others, helping others increases your happiness. One study found that volunteer work enhanced all six aspects of well-being: happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health, and depression.

16. Spend time alone. Although relationships are one of the best antidotes to stress, sometimes you need time alone to recharge and reflect. Take yourself out to lunch or to a movie, or simply spend an afternoon reading, browsing in a bookstore, or antiquing.

17. Walk mindfully. You probably already know that exercise is better than tranquilizers for relieving anxiety and stress. But what you do with your mind while you’re walking can make your walk even more beneficial. In a study called the Ruth Stricker Mind/Body Study, researchers divided 135 people into five groups of walkers for 16 weeks. Group one walked briskly, group two at a slow pace, and group three at a slow pace while practicing “mindfulness,” a mental technique to bring about the relaxation response, a physiological response in which the heart rate slows and blood pressure drops. This group was asked to pay attention to their footsteps, counting one, two, one, two, and to visualize the numbers in their mind. Group four practiced a form of tai chi, and group five served as the control, changing nothing about their lives. The group practicing mindfulness showed significant declines in anxiety and had fewer negative and more positive feelings about themselves. Overall they experienced the same stress-reducing effects of the brisk walkers. Better yet, the effects were evident immediately.

18. Give priority to close relationships. One study of more than 1,300 men and women of various ages found that those who had a lot of supportive friends were much more likely to have healthier blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar metabolism, and stress hormone levels than those with two or fewer close friends. Women, and to a lesser extent men, also seemed to benefit from good relationships with their parents and spouses. Studies also find that people who feel lonely, depressed, and isolated are three to five times more likely to get sick and die prematurely than those who have feelings of love, connection, and community.

19. Take care of the soul. In study after study, actively religious people are happier and cope better with crises, according to David Myers, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. For many people faith provides a support community, a sense of life’s meaning, feelings of ultimate acceptance, a reason to focus beyond yourself, and a timeless perspective on life’s woes. Even if you’re not religious, a strong spirituality may offer similar benefits.

20. Count your blessings. People who pause each day to reflect on some positive aspect of their lives (their health, friends, family, freedom, education, etc.) experience a heightened sense of well-being.

How To Deal With Confrontation

                                                                 

Nobody wants to have to face a confrontation, and usually even the direst of conflicts and disagreements could beresolved through diplomacy. However, there may be times when a conflict escalates to a messy confrontation. Let’s hope this never happens, but just in case it does, here are some quick tips on how to deal with a confrontation:

·       Take control of yourself. Okay, so the other person’s screaming and out of control. Have the upper hand by maintaining your cool. Bite back your tongue and don’t even try to scream back. Remember, the worst scenario during a confrontation is if you both end up screaming at each other and if the verbal attacks lead to physical violence. Of course keeping your calm might prove to be difficult, considering that you’re in an unnerving situation, but try taking slow, deep breaths. This helps slow down your heartbeat and lower your blood pressure. Once the other person grasps that he doesn’t seem to be getting to you through his emotional outbursts, he’d

 start feeling silly and calm down.

·       Don’t worry about the other people are thinking. You may be in a public place, with people who know you. It’s actually better this way because you’d have plenty of witnesses in case the other person becomes physically abusive. All focus will be on the other person, and he’d certainly be the one who’d look stupid, not you.

·       Don’t give the other person more ammunition. If you respond to anything that they are saying, then you’ll just effectively be extending their tirade. Case in point: if they would start screaming, “You’re a scumbag!” and you respond,”Hey, calm down.” That will just launch a whole round of other expletives: “You’re a moron! Why will I calm down?” etc, etc. That’s why it’s really better to just let the person blow off his steam.  If the other person seems to require some sort of response from you, however, be careful to keep your responses neutral. You can just nod, and show that you are listening, then once the other person pauses for air, you could say something like, “Okay, I can see that you’re really mad about this, why don’t we set up an appointment later so we can resolve this issue?”

·       Really try to hear out that other person. Try to make the confrontation constructive by listening to what the other person seems to be saying. Is he angry because of some decisions you’ve made in the office? Maybe you weren’t aware that your decisions had harsh impacts, and this confrontation may be a wake-up call to you. Just remember, when the other person is highly emotional, it isn’t the time to reason out with him. All you need to do at this point is to listen and consider where all this emotion is coming from.

·       Keep your word. When you successfully manage to calm the other person down and you’ve promised to see him later for a much more professional discussion, do remember to keep this appointment. Otherwise you’d better be expecting a much louder confrontation, and this time it’d be harder to convince him to calm down.

5 Ways to Control Anger

                                                                  
You've heard about anger management but is it really possible to control your anger?


By putting these easy to follow tips into practice, you should be able to gradually reduce your bouts of anger and become a person who people want to associate with again, rather than someone who blows their top at the slightest provocation and everyone avoids as much as possible.


1. Talk to someone

                                                                   


If you've got a close friend - maybe a person who has known you for years - or even someone in your family, talk things out with them. How you play this depends on you but often the simple act of talking about your feelings helps diffuse them. Oftentimes it doesn't matter if the person you're talking to says little if anything.

2. Write about it

                                                                   

              

If talking to someone is too much for you or if your anger fits have got so bad that no-one will talk to you any more, then write it down. Write or type away without editing what you write. Just write constantly for between 5 and 15 minutes. This kind of "brain dump" lets your subconscious out into the open and you may be surprised at some of the things you write. There's no need to show anyone else what you've written so feel free to vent your anger on the paper or keyboard (but don't throw it out of the window!).


3. Get some exercise

                                                                   


Anything from a brisk walk to a workout in the gym. Exercise releases "feel good" substances in our body called endorphins, so chances are that this will help you feel better. If you haven't got a gym membership and the weather doesn't lend itself to going outside, you can improvise a punch bag by using a pillow. Ideally not a feather pillow just in case you break through the casing - clearing up all those feathers won't help your anger.


4. Learn to breathe

                                                                     


This may sound dumb - after all, you must be breathing in order to read this - but most of us don't breathe consciously. Your mother probably told you to take a deep breath to calm down and she was right. Take a long, slow deep breath in. Linger over this and hold your breath for a second or two. Then exhale slowly and completely. Do this five or six times and you'll be amazed at how calm and relaxed you start to feel versus how you were before. Since we all breathe all the time, this is an easy exercise to perform almost anywhere.


5. Take up relaxation

                                                                  


This can take many different forms. Maybe there's a local yoga class you can attend. Or get hold of a relaxation or meditation MP3 file and play this to yourself on a regular basis. Find yourself some space to chill. Whether it's part of your bedroom or a chair in the garden or park, it doesn't matter. Just make it some personal "chill" space. Obviously if this is in a public area, don't freak or get upset if you have to share it with other people occasionally. Set aside a regular time to de-stress and unwind.


Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-5-Ways-to-Control-Anger&id=989688

How to Gain Confidence in Life

                                                                

Several ways on how a person can gain confidence in his life.

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and cringed at the image of yourself? If you are guilty of this practice then I would advice you to stop. If you are not happy with yourself, it indicates that you are having no confidence of yourself. If you lack confidence in yourself, then how do you expect others to have confidence in you?

Many people, old or young have insecurities about various things in their lives. It could of their physical appearances, speech, lifestyle, habits, work or even family.

Even at interviews, confidence helps you in clinching that job. Imagine a scenario where two candidates go for the interview where one is confident and assured while the other is a nervous wreck. No prizes for guessing who impresses the interviewer and gets the job.

First of all, you have to understand that confidence can be gained if you try. Of course nobody becomes super confident overnight. It takes time to become confident but it is undeniable that everyone can be confident if they try.

The following are ways where you can help yourself in getting confident

1. Like yourself

The first step in becoming more confident is to accept and like yourself. You should make a list of all your positive traits and strengths on a piece of paper or in your diary. By doing this, you are reminding yourself that you too have praise-worthy qualities like others. You will like yourself and feel confident about yourself after this.

2. Attend Seminars

It is good if you attend seminars where professional speakers offer you tips and guidance on gaining confidence. During the speech, you can even pick up tips on public speaking from the speakers by watching their body language and the way they project themselves.

3. Motivate yourself

Whether it is for an interview or for a presentation, tell yourself that you can do it. Motivate yourself each day and soon you will find your confidence level growing. Another good way for motivation is that after work or study each day you should make a list of at least four things that you did well for that day.

4. Overcome fears

Some people always have a fear that they can never be successful in anything they do. Such insecurity will be a disadvantage and would cause you to lack confidence in yourself and in everything you do in your life. So in order for you to get rid of this fear you have to remind yourself that if you haven't try something you can never say that you will fail in it. Be positive and try things without any fear or insecurity. For example at work your boss is asking you to head a team but you fear that you will make a mess out of it. Such a fear will prevent you from taking on that task at work. But if you were a confident person you wouldn't think twice about failing and would gladly take on that task. This shows that a lack of confidence could also affect your career.

5. Accept Failures

If you are always crying over the mistakes that you made in your life, you will never get anywhere. Always remember that past mistakes and failures cannot be reversed and what's done is done. Thus it is no use crying over spilt milk. A confident individual always looks past those failures in his life. After all, failures are juts part and parcel of becoming successful. If you failed once you should take that failure as a learning lesson.

Source:  http://www.essortment.com/gain-confidence-life-54988.html

Exercise Workouts for Indoors

When the weather's not so great or you're stuck at home waiting around on maintenance guys or a delivery, exercise workouts for indoors can keep you feeling great. You can get everything done that you need to do to sculpt your body and lose weight-without ever going to the gym or having to step foot outside.

Total Body Exercise Workouts for Indoor

One of the best ways to burn fat is to break up your weights exercise with some cardio. Take it a step further by working your upper body, then lower body, back to upper body, and so on. Keep reading for calisthenics tips. Here are a few exercises that work your whole body (or at least large portions of your body) at once:

·         Jumping rope

                                                                    

·         Squats, with or without weights

                                                                    

·         Lunges, with or without weights

                                                               

·         Push-ups

                                                                                   

·         Pull-ups

                                                               

Isolated Exercises

You can use free weights to target nearly any body part you'd like to shape up. In addition to those, you can also pick up an ab wheel, pull-up bar, or even a resistance band or two.

                                                               

Ab wheel: This one will work your whole upper body, concentrating on the abs. You can get ab wheels at sporting good stores, Target, or Wal-Mart.

                                                                 

Pull-up bars: You can find these anywhere you can get sporting goods. Normally, they're mounted in the doorway. These work your upper body, including lats.

                                                             

Resistance bands: These can be used in the place of free weights for many movements. They're lighter, so they're more portable. Some workout DVDs require these.

Cardiovascular Exercise

If you have a treadmill or an elliptical machine in your home, this one's a no-brainer. If you don't have room or you can't afford one right now (or you just can't justify the cost because you usually go for a run outside!), that's not a problem. There are other ways to get your heart rate up including:

·         Mini-trampolines

                                                              

·         Calisthenics

·         Workout DVDs

·         Jump ropes

Mini-trampolines

You may think trampolines are for kids until you step on one and try to hop for even half an hour. If you're not used to jumping for your heart's health, you're in for a great workout. While it's more convenient to prop the trampoline against the wall without taking it apart and folding it up, you can certainly save space by breaking it down and tossing it into your closet. For more information, visit Starbounding.

Calisthenic                                                                                                                           

Before you played dodgeball, kickball, or basketball, you had to do a warm-up, complete with jumping jacks, jogging in place, and more. You can do that at home, too. Do a longer, more intense version for a true workout instead of just a warm-up. Check out Bodybuilding.com for a great, equipment-free workout.

 Workout DVDs

You can get amazing results from workout DVDs. In some ways, they're the perfect exercise workouts for indoors. They make you feel like you're working out with someone, so the workout isn't as boring as it could be. Also, All you need is the willpower, a DVD player, a television, and enough space to do the moves. You will also need any additional workout equipment the DVDs require, of course. Here are some DVDs sure to get your heart pumping:

·         The Firm series-there are quite a few of these on the market, so choose the ones that target your trouble spots or just offer a cardiovascular workout. Be sure to check out the props you need. Some require steps, free weights, and other equipment.

·         Winsor Pilates-You can do these in a hotel room if you have to. All you need is the space to perform the Pilates movements, and a mat if you prefer. Just want to work your abs? Their specific thirty-minute ab workout is incredible.

·         Shape: Bikini Body Camp Transforming Workout

·         Women's Health: Perfect Body Workout (2007)

Jump Ropes

Jump ropes are best used outdoors, but if you have tall enough ceilings and an empty space, you can use them at home. Mix up your jumps-jump slowly to warm up, increase the tempo, hop on one leg and then the other, and so on. As long as that heart rate's up, you're doing great! Jumping rope is great for your whole body because, if done correctly, you're incorporating most of your muscles.

A Final Word: Working Out Indoors

Don't think you have to go outside to get a great workout. There are so many exercise workouts for indoors that you can perform right in your own home. You don't even have to spend a fortune on equipment.