productivity tips for grad student with ADD and tech for learning
October 31, 2013 11:39 AM Subscribe
Hi All! I have ADD and I came across and cannot find a website- I'm a PC- that can block you from sites, like checking my email- so that I can stay on task. Can you tell me what it is? Any other tips and technology I can use to be successful, as a stressed out, procrastinating ADD grad student ?
I am going to start use the live scribe smart pen to record classes, now I record on my ipod. But is there a software that will transcribe the audio for me? bc it takes forever. Also, I have heard that colored reading overlays help folks with ADD to focus better when reading. Any advice on that? Anything like that for when you do computer reading. Any good focus music? Just in case you are wondering, disability services was a joke! (I also have dyslexia.) I asked the staff member about study skills- I have been out of school 12 years, so a lot has changed, without being compounded by my LD issues- and no joke, he was like, don't drink a lot of coffee, get sleep and take fish oil supplements. Ok thanks d-bag. My eyes are red bc I am not sleeping and living on caffeine, that is really all the advice you have? Obviously, I know what I am doing is not working. What does work??So of course the OCD side kicked in and I found that time blocking is a good tool. I am still trying to implement that system though. So this is different than undergrad where there was a lot of support. Any help is MUCH appreciated
I know i should wake at 6 am and go to bed by 11
cut down on coffee
review class notes daily..
I am going to start use the live scribe smart pen to record classes, now I record on my ipod. But is there a software that will transcribe the audio for me? bc it takes forever. Also, I have heard that colored reading overlays help folks with ADD to focus better when reading. Any advice on that? Anything like that for when you do computer reading. Any good focus music? Just in case you are wondering, disability services was a joke! (I also have dyslexia.) I asked the staff member about study skills- I have been out of school 12 years, so a lot has changed, without being compounded by my LD issues- and no joke, he was like, don't drink a lot of coffee, get sleep and take fish oil supplements. Ok thanks d-bag. My eyes are red bc I am not sleeping and living on caffeine, that is really all the advice you have? Obviously, I know what I am doing is not working. What does work??So of course the OCD side kicked in and I found that time blocking is a good tool. I am still trying to implement that system though. So this is different than undergrad where there was a lot of support. Any help is MUCH appreciated
I know i should wake at 6 am and go to bed by 11
cut down on coffee
review class notes daily..
There are probably several such sites. The one that comes to mind for me is http://www1.k9webprotection.com/. I tried it briefly and it worked very well.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:50 AM on October 31, 2013
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:50 AM on October 31, 2013
Are you sure that you have clearly communicated your difficulties and needs?
Here you seem all over the place, what with focus music, bedtimes, browser extensions, stress management, procrastination, etc.
Why wake up at 6 am when you're in grad school? Why not wake up at 9 am and get 3 more hours of sleep?
A website can't block you from visiting other websites, but a browser extension like stayfocusd or leechblock can.
posted by oceanjesse at 11:54 AM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
Here you seem all over the place, what with focus music, bedtimes, browser extensions, stress management, procrastination, etc.
Why wake up at 6 am when you're in grad school? Why not wake up at 9 am and get 3 more hours of sleep?
A website can't block you from visiting other websites, but a browser extension like stayfocusd or leechblock can.
posted by oceanjesse at 11:54 AM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Yep- I did. He was not professional at all- had his feet on the desk. He is not into his jobs :(
Yea not a lot of time to post, so just throwing all my questions on there and seeing what sticks and gets anwser. And I did tell you...add...lol :)
posted by TRUELOTUS at 11:58 AM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yea not a lot of time to post, so just throwing all my questions on there and seeing what sticks and gets anwser. And I did tell you...add...lol :)
posted by TRUELOTUS at 11:58 AM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
Here's what seem to be your questions, for the ease of others to answer:
1. I get that transcribing audio takes forever, but are you able to be more focused while just listening to the audio so you can take notes that make more sense to you than a verbatim copy of the class?
4. Do you work better to music with or without words? Do you work better with a certain tempo, or a varying tempo? I ask because from my experience, people can find very different music helps them focus. Personally, I find words that I can understand to be very distracting, but foreign languages and instrumental music is great for me. On the other hand, my wife prefers music with words, but she can also tune out the world when she's focused on something.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:01 PM on October 31, 2013
- What's a website that PC users can use to block access to other websites, like email sites?
- Any good software to transcribe audio?
- Can colored reading overlays help folks with ADD focus better? Can something like that be used for reading on a computer?
- Any good focus music?
- Any other tips and technology to be more successful and less stressed out as a grad student with ADD?
1. I get that transcribing audio takes forever, but are you able to be more focused while just listening to the audio so you can take notes that make more sense to you than a verbatim copy of the class?
4. Do you work better to music with or without words? Do you work better with a certain tempo, or a varying tempo? I ask because from my experience, people can find very different music helps them focus. Personally, I find words that I can understand to be very distracting, but foreign languages and instrumental music is great for me. On the other hand, my wife prefers music with words, but she can also tune out the world when she's focused on something.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:01 PM on October 31, 2013
I use Strict Workflow in Chrome to do two things:
1.) Time my work blocks based on the Pomodoro 25/5 method.
2.) Block my access to procrastination sites during the 25 minute work blocks.
It's not perfect (I can still goof off on my phone if I _really_ want to), but it is nice to have the visual reminder on screen of what I should be doing and how much time I have left.
Previously I have used Pomodroido on my Android phone to do the Pomodoro timing. That only really works if I am doing work that involves no computer access (Because then I can block myself by keeping the computer/monitor off), but I did like that it had the ability to play a ticking sound during the work blocks which helped to remind me to stay on task.
As far as the disability services guy goes... you state that you are "not sleeping and living on caffeine". Unless you're not sleeping because of work or school then cutting back on the caffeine and making sure you're getting the appropriate vitamins (as well as decent sleep) will absolutely help you. Just because it's advice that you don't want to hear doesn't make it bad advice.
If it's work or school that is keeping you awake (as in, there aren't enough hours in the day, then you need to cut back on something). Having less going on will help you focus as well.
Finally, are you getting any exercise at all? Yes, more advice that sucks to implement, but exercise is supposedly a really good non-medicine based way of keeping ADD in check, and besides that it's just good for you in general (so they say... I hate exercise).
posted by sparklemotion at 12:04 PM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
1.) Time my work blocks based on the Pomodoro 25/5 method.
2.) Block my access to procrastination sites during the 25 minute work blocks.
It's not perfect (I can still goof off on my phone if I _really_ want to), but it is nice to have the visual reminder on screen of what I should be doing and how much time I have left.
Previously I have used Pomodroido on my Android phone to do the Pomodoro timing. That only really works if I am doing work that involves no computer access (Because then I can block myself by keeping the computer/monitor off), but I did like that it had the ability to play a ticking sound during the work blocks which helped to remind me to stay on task.
As far as the disability services guy goes... you state that you are "not sleeping and living on caffeine". Unless you're not sleeping because of work or school then cutting back on the caffeine and making sure you're getting the appropriate vitamins (as well as decent sleep) will absolutely help you. Just because it's advice that you don't want to hear doesn't make it bad advice.
If it's work or school that is keeping you awake (as in, there aren't enough hours in the day, then you need to cut back on something). Having less going on will help you focus as well.
Finally, are you getting any exercise at all? Yes, more advice that sucks to implement, but exercise is supposedly a really good non-medicine based way of keeping ADD in check, and besides that it's just good for you in general (so they say... I hate exercise).
posted by sparklemotion at 12:04 PM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
Use a pencil and paper. Don't bring any technology to class. Write out, long hand, what the professors are trying to explain. As you read, write down important things, in pencil, on blank paper. Don't listen to music or have your laptop open or your phone on.
Then, each weekend, type your notes in an outline. Add to the outline your own comments from the reading.
Don't rely on technology to solve your problem, because technology is the problem. It's like taking more drugs to deal with the side effects of the drugs you're taking because everyone else is taking them.
Seriously. This makes a huge, huge difference. Pencil. Paper.
posted by Capri at 12:37 PM on October 31, 2013 [11 favorites]
Then, each weekend, type your notes in an outline. Add to the outline your own comments from the reading.
Don't rely on technology to solve your problem, because technology is the problem. It's like taking more drugs to deal with the side effects of the drugs you're taking because everyone else is taking them.
Seriously. This makes a huge, huge difference. Pencil. Paper.
posted by Capri at 12:37 PM on October 31, 2013 [11 favorites]
RescueTime can selectively block distracting sites (paid feature).
posted by grobstein at 12:38 PM on October 31, 2013
posted by grobstein at 12:38 PM on October 31, 2013
Besides eating well and sleeping well? Exercise. You probably need even more exercise than the average person. It's the sort of thing that it seems like there isn't time for, but the truth is that you don't have the time to NOT do it.
Exercise. Every single day. Exercise.
posted by aniola at 12:51 PM on October 31, 2013 [2 favorites]
Exercise. Every single day. Exercise.
posted by aniola at 12:51 PM on October 31, 2013 [2 favorites]
Nanny for Chrome. LeechBlock for Firefox.
I realize ADD is different, but for what it's worth (perhaps there are strategies in the book that might fit into your life), a friend with ADHD owns Succeeding With Adult ADHD: Daily Strategies to Help You Achieve Your Goals and Manage Your Life and has found it helpful not only when he went back to school several years after graduating from university, but in general as well.
posted by mayurasana at 12:54 PM on October 31, 2013
I realize ADD is different, but for what it's worth (perhaps there are strategies in the book that might fit into your life), a friend with ADHD owns Succeeding With Adult ADHD: Daily Strategies to Help You Achieve Your Goals and Manage Your Life and has found it helpful not only when he went back to school several years after graduating from university, but in general as well.
posted by mayurasana at 12:54 PM on October 31, 2013
I used to be a study skills tutor/mentor for students with various mental health difficulties. Your disability office gave you the first steps - if you can't sleep then you won't get much out of studying in the medium to longer term. Caffeine might help in the shortest of short terms, but only if it's not interfering with your ability to focus (the right amount helps focus for some people, too much and it makes it worse) and sleep. Sleep is vitally important for learning.
There are an infinite number of study strategies that will work for some people and not for others. In my experience, the strategies people with ADD used effectively were exactly the same as those that worked for other people, they just relied more on them. There is no magic wand, but there are some things that give more benefit for your effort. For me, these include:
* Getting sufficient sleep
* Turning off all the technology for as long as possible. This sometimes meant using an old broken laptop which could not connect to the internet. In the earlier stages it meant going to a cafe with just a pen and paper, or to a library with a rucksack full of papers to read and just a pencil.
* Having a list of 'next actions' rather than a huge scary list of things that must be completed (straight from GTD)
* Always starting each assignment at the easiest point, not at the beginning. Once you've started, it's easier to continue.
* Reading and re-reading 'Shitty First Drafts' until I quite cheerfully churned out rubbish and then edited it into acceptable later. I find that distraction happens less easily I am continuously typing.
* Having rules about what I had to do when. When I was writing my thesis, I went through a period of having to write 400 words before I was allowed breakfast or a shower.
* Some of my students found it helpful to prioritise using a grid of Important vs Urgent - helps you think about what actually matters rather than only ever focusing on what is most urgent. So four boxes: Urgent & Important = do it now, Important not urgent = do it next, Urgent not important = possibly decide not to do, Not important and not urgent = bin. Can help make things less overwhelming. If you don't have time to sleep then you need to do less stuff.
* A calm environment, whatever this means for you. For one of my students it was having all her notes in piles on the floor where she could find things. For me it means a clean desk, a blank wall and only the one thing I need to do.
Depending on your course expectations and your learning style, you may not be able to achieve the best case scenario things like listening to lectures again or writing out outlines. I used to try to do all the suggested reading, and write down things from that on my lecture notes that link in to the lecture. Then when it came to exams I would summarise the lecture notes into mind maps and then learn by heart. By the time I came to the learning stage I had enough deep understanding and re-processing of the material that I had a very good foundation already learned, without lots of summarising actually at the time of the lectures. Trying to get through everything in a perfect way can also be a barrier to doing it in a 'good enough' way, so you end up weeks behind with listening to the lectures and overwhelmed.
Another thing that often seemed to be a red herring for my students is the idea of reading and highlighting. Highlighting a passage doesn't make you process it at a deep enough level and unless you re-read the paper several times you probably aren't highlighting the really key points. What works better for me is to write a few words or a sentence in pencil up the margin summarising the argument/point in that paragraph or section. Abstracting out the bottom line means that when I am revising I can easily follow the argument without going into all the detail again, and it's been shown to be the best way to learn complex material.
Good luck. Just keep experimenting to find what works for you. I used to be employed by a disability services office to teach this stuff but there must be people who do it freelance.
posted by kadia_a at 2:36 PM on October 31, 2013 [8 favorites]
There are an infinite number of study strategies that will work for some people and not for others. In my experience, the strategies people with ADD used effectively were exactly the same as those that worked for other people, they just relied more on them. There is no magic wand, but there are some things that give more benefit for your effort. For me, these include:
* Getting sufficient sleep
* Turning off all the technology for as long as possible. This sometimes meant using an old broken laptop which could not connect to the internet. In the earlier stages it meant going to a cafe with just a pen and paper, or to a library with a rucksack full of papers to read and just a pencil.
* Having a list of 'next actions' rather than a huge scary list of things that must be completed (straight from GTD)
* Always starting each assignment at the easiest point, not at the beginning. Once you've started, it's easier to continue.
* Reading and re-reading 'Shitty First Drafts' until I quite cheerfully churned out rubbish and then edited it into acceptable later. I find that distraction happens less easily I am continuously typing.
* Having rules about what I had to do when. When I was writing my thesis, I went through a period of having to write 400 words before I was allowed breakfast or a shower.
* Some of my students found it helpful to prioritise using a grid of Important vs Urgent - helps you think about what actually matters rather than only ever focusing on what is most urgent. So four boxes: Urgent & Important = do it now, Important not urgent = do it next, Urgent not important = possibly decide not to do, Not important and not urgent = bin. Can help make things less overwhelming. If you don't have time to sleep then you need to do less stuff.
* A calm environment, whatever this means for you. For one of my students it was having all her notes in piles on the floor where she could find things. For me it means a clean desk, a blank wall and only the one thing I need to do.
Depending on your course expectations and your learning style, you may not be able to achieve the best case scenario things like listening to lectures again or writing out outlines. I used to try to do all the suggested reading, and write down things from that on my lecture notes that link in to the lecture. Then when it came to exams I would summarise the lecture notes into mind maps and then learn by heart. By the time I came to the learning stage I had enough deep understanding and re-processing of the material that I had a very good foundation already learned, without lots of summarising actually at the time of the lectures. Trying to get through everything in a perfect way can also be a barrier to doing it in a 'good enough' way, so you end up weeks behind with listening to the lectures and overwhelmed.
Another thing that often seemed to be a red herring for my students is the idea of reading and highlighting. Highlighting a passage doesn't make you process it at a deep enough level and unless you re-read the paper several times you probably aren't highlighting the really key points. What works better for me is to write a few words or a sentence in pencil up the margin summarising the argument/point in that paragraph or section. Abstracting out the bottom line means that when I am revising I can easily follow the argument without going into all the detail again, and it's been shown to be the best way to learn complex material.
Good luck. Just keep experimenting to find what works for you. I used to be employed by a disability services office to teach this stuff but there must be people who do it freelance.
posted by kadia_a at 2:36 PM on October 31, 2013 [8 favorites]
I find that non-lyric relaxation music mixes of a couple of hours (found on youtube) combined with a timer app (pomodoro technique style) help me stop flittering around everywhere and actually do some work and absorb some info when I am studying. The music fills a gap without distracting, and the timer gives me permission to take a break and fluff around for a bit.
Also. Don't study too much. Spend some time doing other stuff. but thinking. Your brain needs time away from the information to process and absorb it.
posted by Kerasia at 3:12 PM on October 31, 2013
Also. Don't study too much. Spend some time doing other stuff. but thinking. Your brain needs time away from the information to process and absorb it.
posted by Kerasia at 3:12 PM on October 31, 2013
Any good software to transcribe audio?
Amazon Mechanical Turk.
posted by yohko at 3:18 PM on October 31, 2013
Amazon Mechanical Turk.
posted by yohko at 3:18 PM on October 31, 2013
Another vote for Pomodoro.
There's something quite compulsive and motivating about sticking to the Pomodoro routine once you get going. I can do hours and hours of study and hardly realise it. Give it a go - sounds simple, but lots of people find it works.
I'm very badly distracted by the internet. I don't like the internet blocker software (have tried most of the suggestions on here), because I use the internet to access textbooks & databases via the university library. It's fiddly to reconfigure it just to block certain sites, at certain times (no matter how easy the programmers say it is; also you quickly evolve interests in new websites as fast as you can block them). I'm studying two grad level courses at once and have tried everything.
Sleeping on schedule is helpful, and it's nice to eat & exercise properly. I do that too - it doesn't really help with the acute problem of internet distraction, but of course it's good to do. But I wouldn't rely on it to help this problem specifically - it won't work.
posted by JeanDupont at 3:32 PM on October 31, 2013
There's something quite compulsive and motivating about sticking to the Pomodoro routine once you get going. I can do hours and hours of study and hardly realise it. Give it a go - sounds simple, but lots of people find it works.
I'm very badly distracted by the internet. I don't like the internet blocker software (have tried most of the suggestions on here), because I use the internet to access textbooks & databases via the university library. It's fiddly to reconfigure it just to block certain sites, at certain times (no matter how easy the programmers say it is; also you quickly evolve interests in new websites as fast as you can block them). I'm studying two grad level courses at once and have tried everything.
Sleeping on schedule is helpful, and it's nice to eat & exercise properly. I do that too - it doesn't really help with the acute problem of internet distraction, but of course it's good to do. But I wouldn't rely on it to help this problem specifically - it won't work.
posted by JeanDupont at 3:32 PM on October 31, 2013
Colored overlays help me read more comfortably, but I don't know that they help me focus. Still, if the idea appeals to you, it's worth a try. My vision therapist had 6-10 different colored filters and we compared two at a time to see which felt better to me until we had a winner. Apparently blue is the most common, but I went with orange. Once we found the right color we also tried doubling it, to make the color even stronger (didn't help me but keep this option in mind as well).
You could do a similar color test on your computer by opening a Word document and changing the page background color in Page Layout -> Page Color. (I almost always change the page color of Word docs I spend a long time on.) Or a site like one of these could help you experiment: "find accessible color combinations"; "Experiment with readability of coloured text over a coloured background". The right background color should give you an immediate sense of ease and relief.
posted by nevers at 4:06 PM on October 31, 2013
You could do a similar color test on your computer by opening a Word document and changing the page background color in Page Layout -> Page Color. (I almost always change the page color of Word docs I spend a long time on.) Or a site like one of these could help you experiment: "find accessible color combinations"; "Experiment with readability of coloured text over a coloured background". The right background color should give you an immediate sense of ease and relief.
posted by nevers at 4:06 PM on October 31, 2013
Not a blocking thing, but a 'light/sleep helping' tool, it might be worth trying flux (in combo with adjusting coffee intake [maybe not dropping it outright, because... Coffee! but shifting when you drink it/none after 5 or something, and maybe trying to drink a relaxing tea, like the one with the bear sleeping on the box, "sleepy time", or chamomile, also, talk to a doctor if possible (definitely look at contraindications) about melatonin supplements, or just go to walmart, and ask the pharmacist, they are in the vitamin aisle, and shouldn't be taken as constant things, but for a short time as part of an attempt to re-order your sleep cycle, worth looking at]):
A strategy for "note taking" that I have seen work for multiple learning styles/challenges involves taking what you record during any given class, and c o n d e n s i n g them at the end of each day, or even each week (this method can be modified, and should be, depending on your personal "style", some people learn best just listening, no writing, nothing, others need to make "notes only they will understand", and others still think they need to write every word [don't do that, it is madness making], record in some way each of the "topics" that are hit on, and then you can go back, maybe one hour per class, and scroll through the iPod recording, for the key bits on the topics that seem most important.
Turn the scribbles and jots (what mine were anyway), and recordings into one typed page for each class meeting. Maybe try evernote, use your iPod to take a picture of your notes from class into something that you can re-read come exam times. Evernote lets you make folders, so make a folder for each subject, then subfolder for each meeting.
Not sure your program of study/the literature content you have to go through, but especially in the S.S, or Humanities, try out some of the "citation/reading manager" programs, like Mendelay, or Papers, or one I really like Zotero. They can help put papers you need to read in order, and give them metadata.
Sympathies on not getting traction in your accessibility services space, it can really be hit and miss how much of an advocate the person at your school/the person you get will be for you. Which is totally a bust, because there are some amazing people out there in those offices, but they often get little funding, and stuffed down in basements and out of the way, and are seen as "secondary", rather than services that should be expected by all students. Not sure what your program is again, regarding the amount of writing, but still worth checking out the writing centre on campus, there are often folks involved there versed in helping students with L.Ds, and those who need a little extra help in some aspect of studenting.
Don't forget that you are not alone, so don't ever be like "wow, I, alone am a failure regarding these things". Many people have these issues, and I don't mean like "so stop being a baby", I mean like "so if any one of the ideas people give you, or strategies, or anything doesn't work right away, don't blame yourself, or think that it is your failing". Just say, hey, guess that isn't for me, but something else will be (and there will be unique things that you need to succeed). When you are thinking to yourself, be proud of your successes, and don't let yourself tell yourself all those self-defeating things that probably come so easily (always did for me anyway).
Maybe worth trying to get an appointment with another A.S. officer, if at all possible (maybe find out the email of another one, and, without discussing the first one, because even if someone thought the other one was unprofessional, it would be unprofessional for them to talk about that with a student, but maybe worth putting out a feeler there, not sure how your office looks, size-wise). Does the school have "audio-mic systems", the sort where the prof has a mic near them, and then it is radio transmitted to a receiver that you can plug headphones into, but you can also use two sided audio jacks in those, and then send the audio into something like your iPod, so you get clear recordings. Anyway, all the best, finding a balance between time/stresses is hard to fit into sleeping well; if I think of any other things I will mention them. Remembering that time is the only non-renewable resource in the universe, by recognizing the need to manage yours, you are heads above many others -- now it is just a matter of fine tuning the strategies. Be well.
/puts feet up on desk.
posted by infinite intimation at 6:20 PM on November 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
"During the day, computer screens look good—they're designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn't be looking at the sun.Try to get into "relax/ready for bed" preparations like an hour before you will actually go to bed, make ritual of things, and it might help to get your body to be like, ok, winding down time...and..rest.
f.lux
f.lux fixes this: it makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day."
A strategy for "note taking" that I have seen work for multiple learning styles/challenges involves taking what you record during any given class, and c o n d e n s i n g them at the end of each day, or even each week (this method can be modified, and should be, depending on your personal "style", some people learn best just listening, no writing, nothing, others need to make "notes only they will understand", and others still think they need to write every word [don't do that, it is madness making], record in some way each of the "topics" that are hit on, and then you can go back, maybe one hour per class, and scroll through the iPod recording, for the key bits on the topics that seem most important.
Turn the scribbles and jots (what mine were anyway), and recordings into one typed page for each class meeting. Maybe try evernote, use your iPod to take a picture of your notes from class into something that you can re-read come exam times. Evernote lets you make folders, so make a folder for each subject, then subfolder for each meeting.
Not sure your program of study/the literature content you have to go through, but especially in the S.S, or Humanities, try out some of the "citation/reading manager" programs, like Mendelay, or Papers, or one I really like Zotero. They can help put papers you need to read in order, and give them metadata.
Sympathies on not getting traction in your accessibility services space, it can really be hit and miss how much of an advocate the person at your school/the person you get will be for you. Which is totally a bust, because there are some amazing people out there in those offices, but they often get little funding, and stuffed down in basements and out of the way, and are seen as "secondary", rather than services that should be expected by all students. Not sure what your program is again, regarding the amount of writing, but still worth checking out the writing centre on campus, there are often folks involved there versed in helping students with L.Ds, and those who need a little extra help in some aspect of studenting.
Don't forget that you are not alone, so don't ever be like "wow, I, alone am a failure regarding these things". Many people have these issues, and I don't mean like "so stop being a baby", I mean like "so if any one of the ideas people give you, or strategies, or anything doesn't work right away, don't blame yourself, or think that it is your failing". Just say, hey, guess that isn't for me, but something else will be (and there will be unique things that you need to succeed). When you are thinking to yourself, be proud of your successes, and don't let yourself tell yourself all those self-defeating things that probably come so easily (always did for me anyway).
Maybe worth trying to get an appointment with another A.S. officer, if at all possible (maybe find out the email of another one, and, without discussing the first one, because even if someone thought the other one was unprofessional, it would be unprofessional for them to talk about that with a student, but maybe worth putting out a feeler there, not sure how your office looks, size-wise). Does the school have "audio-mic systems", the sort where the prof has a mic near them, and then it is radio transmitted to a receiver that you can plug headphones into, but you can also use two sided audio jacks in those, and then send the audio into something like your iPod, so you get clear recordings. Anyway, all the best, finding a balance between time/stresses is hard to fit into sleeping well; if I think of any other things I will mention them. Remembering that time is the only non-renewable resource in the universe, by recognizing the need to manage yours, you are heads above many others -- now it is just a matter of fine tuning the strategies. Be well.
/puts feet up on desk.
posted by infinite intimation at 6:20 PM on November 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
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I use StayFocusd. It only works with Google Chrome, though.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:49 AM on October 31, 2013 [2 favorites]