Question:
“Dear Kantis….When I study right before the test I tend to get a good grade, however after the test I don’t remember any of the information. Awkwardly, when I study a week before the test it seems like I don’t remember anything and I end up with a bad test grade. Kantis, what should I do? ” - C. Williams (Decatur, GA)Answer:
“Well, it sounds to me that you are studying and retaining information in your Short Term Memory; where it needs to be transferred to your Long Term Memory. (Especially if it is a subject that you will use over and over again.
Here are three things I practically advise for information retention:
- Study weeks and months before the test (not at last minute). Study about 35-45 minutes on the subject and take a break. Do this consistently weeks ahead of test. Make sure you are getting good sleep and eating well too
- TEACH yourself, TEST yourself, and TALK to yourself. Just like remembering the lyrics to your favorite song ( read the lyrics, sing the lyrics, and rehearse the lyrics) – the same should be true for your class work.
- Discuss your studies with others. If you can openly talk about it with simplicity, that is a sure way that you have it in long term memory.
To shed more light on this question, see How to Cram Your Way to Academic Success.
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“Location, Location, Location” is a popular phrase used when establishing a new franchise of stores in business. Location is also important when studying in school. Whether in the dorm, at the library, at home or in the park, you can have a study location that enhances your Academic success.You can build your personal Study Shrine that will enahance your grades, improve your retention, and create alertness for better overall results. Read More
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After 30 something years of living on this earth, I am finally admitting I have a problem. I’ve battled with this problem for many years. My parents have tried to help me and so has my wife but today the buck stops here.
Before you judge me and before I reveal to you my bad habit, let’s talk about STUDY HABITS.
As a student, what study habits have you developed? Do you study in bed? Do you spend time looking at each subject every day? Do you find yourself distracted when you study? Whatever the case, always keep in mind…the Study Habits you develope will determine your academic success so establish GOOD study habits and respect those habits.
Here’s my coming out: I bite my finger nails. For years, I have looked at my hands, put my fingers in my mouth and chewed on whatever nail was long enough to fit in between my teeth. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t bitten them down to the bone, I do have some nail to work with, but I have developed a habit of biting my nails. But today I have decided to change this habit and respect this new habit.
You might say Kantis, I need to change some study habits. Well take a look at these tips below:
1. Make a quality decision to change.
2. Become accountable to someone and set boundaries to protect your decision.
3. Develop new and good habits See the “Do-Do’s of Studying”
Changing some of your study habits will change how you perform academically. Once you implement your new habits, set up boundaries that will help you keep them. Don’t lay down when you study or you will fall asleep. Put your calls on forward during your study time so that you won’t be distracted by your phone ringing. Set up boundaries that will protect your new habit – respect your new habits.
In order for me to be successful in my new habit of not biting my finger nails, I have created the boundaries of keeping my fingers away from my mouth unless I am eating, consistently getting manicures and paying a ten dollar fine to my wife whenever I break my new habit. I will create a new habit of not biting my nails and I will respect that habit or my wife will be very rich.
Developing good study habits will help you academically achieve success in all your classes.
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Have you heard the powerful statement, “Attitude Determines your Altitude”. Well that statement is so powerful and so true. It is even true where your academic success and college success is concerned. Today I challenge you to uncover your attitudes.
What’s your attitude towards your teachers and professors? Is it negative or is it positive? What’s your attitude towards your grades, your classes, and your classmates. You are effective based on your positive attitude and defeated based on your negative attitude. Here are some famous quotes to adjust your attitude on academic success.
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” - Maya Angelou
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind.” - James Truslow Adams
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz
“The best way to inspire people to superior performance is to convince them by everything you do and by your everyday attitude that you are wholeheartedly supporting them.” - Harold S. Geneen
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” – William James
“A daily glance in the mirror can tell you what you look like, but a daily adjustment of your attittude can tell you what you will LIVE like.” - Kantis A. Simmons
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Well the clock has hit midnight, the ball has dropped, and the champagne has been poured. It’s the New Year. It’s 2007!
We’ve made new decisions, we’ve dreamed up new images, we’ve made new promises to ourselves and to God for this year. New Years Resolutions! We all make them every year, but where do they stand today?
Like myself, you have maybe promised yourself you would go to the gym more often and lose that last 15 pounds, or maybe that you would spend more time with your family or focus more on time management. Whatever the resolutions were, do you find yourself not accomplishing any of them or even starting them by January 31, 2007. Do you feel like giving up? Like many of us it’s easy to fall into this cycle every year.
THE CYCLE STOPS TODAY!!
I want to encourage you that this can be the best year of your life. And I’m not just saying that as a simple cliché! You can be different from what you were in the past. This can be the year that you put your best foot forward and accomplish your goals.
This can be the year that you rise above every obstacle and become the champion you really are. Think of this as the year that you win. The year where you Play Your “A” Game everyday in everyway!
Choose to make the word FOCUS a valuable word to have in your vocabulary. Focus allows you to commit to going to the gym and eating better. It allows you to commit to spending more time with your family and it allows you to concentrate more on your time management skills. Focus will allow you to continue to Play Your “A” Game even long after the year is over.
Here are 7 plays to help you play and maintain you’re ‘A’ game all year long.
- Identify and set your specific goal for the new year.
- Decide today that you will do what ever it takes to reach your desired end.
- Locate someone (the expert) who has or who’s doing what you desire to achieve.
- Detail and write down your specific plan.
- Submit to five people (better than you) and become accountable.
- Do everything it takes to be the best and reach your goal.
- Make the above 6 plays your new way of life.
What causes one person to succeed for a small period of time and for another to play his ‘A’ Game all year long? It’s the man that conditions for the game, the man that plays hard in the game, and the man that doesn’t quit during the game.
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The majority of things you learn during your educational career , comes through listening in class. So be an active listener and LISTEN CAREFULLY. Here are few suggestions.
1. MOVE CLOSER to the front of the class so you won’t have any trouble seeing, hearing or paying attention.
2. FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION on what the professor or speaker is saying – not on the upcoming weekend or yesterday’s dinner, or the sound of the speakrs’ voice, etc. But focus on the content of his lecture.
3. EVALUATE WHAT YOU HEAR and think about what the speaker’s words mean and how they relate to what you already know about the subject.
4. TAKE NOTES, since it’s impossible for even the best of listeners to remmeber all that has been said. Write down those things that are most important.
Your listening skills are key to your Academic Success. So Play Your “A” game and Actively Listen.
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”There I am, waiting behind stage in my dressing room for the producers of the Oprah Show to call me on stage. As I nervously wait, I reflect on what got me to this point in life. The point where Oprah desires to interview me, Kantis Simmons, an Academic Success Coach, Speaker & Author.” Read More
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“I Need More Time!”…….”I just don’t have enough time.”…….. “I wish I didn’t have so much to do.”………”If there were only more days in a week.”…………”I’m so busy, I wish there were two of me.”……..”So much to do, so little time.”…………..And the list goes on and on.
You’ve heard these comments before. In fact, you’ve probably used a couple of them yourself from time to time (excuse the pun). But one of the biggest lies we tell almost every single day (and people seem to believe) is “I don’t have enough time.” If you think I’m being a little hard on you (and myself), well I am. Below I have attached some key essentials in use your 24’s!
1.Schedule quiet, motivational time. See your day in your head before the actual day.
2. Allocate the times you must be in class.
3. Define the time periods in which you will study.
4. Plan for breakfast and lunch, but don’t eat for longer than 30 minutes, use the other designated half hour to prepare for next class.
5. Set time aside for part time jobs, extracurricular activities, and other necessary events.
6. Carry a detailed appointment book or organizer, so you will always know what needs to be done for the day.
7. Communicate your study times to friends and family, so they are aware of your schedule and won’t interfere.
8. Go to your study periods as if you have an important appointment.
9. Designate a specific location outside your room to study each subject. Study location can differ based on mood, surrounding, and time of day.
10. Plan your free time as you wish.
11. Establish your play time. Don’t be a workaholic.
12. Study for the designated class at the designated time, even if you don’t have a test or homework assignment.
13. Don’t allow planned activities to overlap, schedule it on purpose then do it on purpose. (When it’s time to pray, pray. When it’s time to work, work; and when it’s time to study, study.)
Excerpts from Playing your “A” Game : Biblical Principles for Academic Success
Kantis A. Simmons. © 2005 www.playingyourAgame.com
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