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The Secret to Saving Time and Being a Success! Be Prepared For The Day
Life, home, education and work…
DON’T RUSH. Wake up early enough for school or work
Reduce before organizing to arrive well ahead of time. If you need 30 minutes Good Study Habits
n The mistake most people make when trying to organize their stuff or their tasks or their to get up, shower and dress, pad that time by waking Start Studying Early - If you begin studying
projects is that they have a whole mess of things to organize, and it’s too complicated. Get up at least 45 minutes prior to your departure. To en- before you think you need to, you can go at a
rid of the clutter and anything you do not need. The solution: reduce, eliminate, simplify. sure you don’t turn off your alarm clock and go back more relaxed pace, increasing the possibility
n If you have 20 things to do today, and reduce it to just the three most important to sleep, place your clock at the far end of your room. that you’ll retain what you learn. Because
tasks, you don’t need a schedule anymore. This way, you actually have to get out of bed to turn it the stress response can make it more
off, and you’re most likely to stay up. difficult to remember certain facts, avoiding
Write it down now, always–
n Our minds are wonderful thing, we don’t remember things when we need to re- PREPARE YOUR WARDROBE. Before you go to bed the stress of cramming can help you learn
more efficiently.
member them, and they continually come up when we don’t need them. Instead of using your each night, choose, iron and lay out your clothes for
mind as storage for things you need to remember, write it down. the next day. This way, you’ll be all set to dress and Have a Study Area- If you do most of your
Have one inbox & process– go in the morning. studying in the same
n Once a day, process the inbox to empty. Take an item out of the inbox and place, you not only
decide what to do with it, right away: toss it, delegate it, file it, put it on your MAKE TO DO LISTS. Always spend a minimum of 15 reduce the risk of losing
to-do list, or do it now. minutes per day, preparing your To-Do list for tomor- important papers, but you
A place for everything– row. In doing so, you will know exactly what tasks you can condition yourself to
be more ready for learning
n Have a place for each item in your life. Where do your car keys go? You should have to accomplish the next day when you sit down there.
have one place for them (next to the door is best) and you’ll never lose them again. Where do Be sure to pick a place
your pens go? How about your magazines. The same concept applies to information: do you GET ENOUGH SLEEP. Get a good night’s that’s quiet, distraction-
have one place where you put all your information? rest. This will ensure you are alert and free, and clutter-free.
ready to learn the following day.
Put it away now– Create Efficient Notes - If you condense
n It only takes a few seconds, and this one habit will save you a lot of cleaning and sorting and EAT RIGHT. Eat three healthy meals the most important pieces of information
organizing later. When you find yourself putting something down, catch yourself, and force each day, along with fruit for snacks. Don’t overload on a set of note cards that you create for
yourself to put it away now. After a little while, it will become second nature. on sweets, which cause many people to feel tired. yourself, the act of creating the cards, as
Clean as you go– well as the ease of using them, can help you
n If it’s easier to do it in smaller increments, we are more likely to do it. If there is a huge mess AVOID OVERLOAD. Don’t take on too much. Prioritize to retain the information more easily.
to clean, we are more likely to be intimidated or overwhelmed by it and leave it for later. your time. Break it Up - Break up big tasks, into
Develop routines & systems– smaller, bite-sized jobs. For instance, if you
n Develop systems to keep your organization in place. All systems follow the same guidelines USE ONE CALENDAR. Use one calendar to plan all have to study three chapters in your history
-- specific procedures and a routine that is done at a set interval (three times a day, once of your school, work, and personal activities, rath- book, study one chapter at a time each day.
a day, once a week, once a month, etc.) Once those systems are in place, you need to be er than two or more. When you use more than one, If you have to work on a project, break it
vigilant about keeping them going, and then things will stay organized. you run the risk of scheduling conflicts and missed down into three or four stages.
appointments.