EFFECTIVE NOTE TAKING

Study! Study! Study! From the very first day of secondary school to the day you finish your leaving cert you are told that you must study consistently and college is no different. But in college you’re not spoon fed the information like in school. You’re given bite size information in the lecturer’s notes and a lot of information from your lecturer.


So when you’re studying you can’t just rely on your lecturers notes. You have to make your own notes because like all of us you will forget a lot of it and when you go studying you might not understand your lecturers notes and the study session you planned will be completely useless.


To correct this problem we need to take our own notes during lectures by listening intently . This will be useful in the future when you are studying. It also helps with reading comprehension and exams. It is also useful as you will personalise the information in your own words so it will be easier to learn and remember.


Here are some tips to help making your note taking more effective:

·      Don't just use lecture notes - if there is more information about the subject somewhere else use it.

·      Always keep your notes together and in chronological order so that when you go back for more information it is easier to find.

This video should provide  even more information and some good tips on note taking.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igDbkrmDouw&feature=fvwrel

TIME MANAGEMENT

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." - Rodin

How often in our day to day lives do we go around and we are asked to if we want to do something or to go somewhere? Quite often - correct ! And how often will we say "No sorry I don't have the time" - nearly as much I assume. I think this is because time is precious to us and we treat it just like our own personal currency - sort of similar to the new movie In Time with Justin Timberlake.

So when we decide to say yes or no to something we have decided if its worth our precious time. But we all at some points in our lives will lose track of our precious time and might not achieve whatever tasks or goals we should have completed.

This might be alright if these tasks or goals we have are personal and dont really affect yourself or others around you. But in a working enviroment, not completing a task on time is very frowned upon and if you are consistent in this way you will be guaranteed to get a formal warning or even fired.


Many people can have bad time management skills especially - as we all know .... college students. But here are some simple steps for all of us to follow to improve our time management:

1.  Use a calendar

2.  Write down all your plans

3.  Prioritise your task

4.  Establish routines

I hope these links are helpfull
http://collegelife.about.com/od/academiclife/a/timemanagement.htm
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/timemanagement/a/timemgttips_2.htm

PLAGIARISM

"There is much difference between imitating a good man, and counterfeiting him." - Benjamin Franklin

Imagine you go to stand up comedy gig and listened to a comedian who using some an other comedian's jokes and  passing them off as their own. You wouldn't find them funny would yea? Thats because not only have you heard the joke before but also they are being dishonest and unoriginal. 

The first thing you read on this blog post was a quote from Benjamin Franklin one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. What Benjamin Franklin quote means is that its alright to imitate what another person does as long as you don't counterfeit or take credit for the persons work. 

So the next question you might ask is why is it so bad to plagiarise or take credit for someones else's work. Well think about if a person comes up with a revolutionary idea that could possibly make lots of money and you pass it off as your own you are stopping that person from the person from gaining any benefit from their idea.

Since I started college I have learnt the importance of avoiding plagiarism and I do this by using some techniques that I have picked up. 1. You should always reference your work 2. Make sure your have placed quotation marks around your quotes 3. Paraphrase.

I have a video in this blog that has more information in 

how to avoid plagiarism.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

As we grow up through life and get an education we are taught by teachers and parents that if you are academically smart and have good education that you will get a good job. But these days people, especially employers, are looking for people that are not only academically smart but also emotionally smart.

To explain further, generally the world has this view that the more knowledge you have the more intelligent you are - but this is not true. Now I am not saying that knowledge/cognitive intelligence in not important anymore rather it must be incorporated with emotional intelligence.

Cognitive intelligence is about how well people can reason, plan, solve problems and learn from experience. This is great if you're just working in front of a computer or on a factory line. But these days companies are being designed with people in mind.

This means that as well as having high cognitive intelligence people in business must also have good emotional intelligence. This means that employees and management must be good at stress management, have very good interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. They must also be very good at adapting to new situations and be motivated.

My job can be stressful at times. So on a busy night things don't always go to plan. It can stress me out a bit and get me worried. But I know when I have to deal with customers that I must remain calm, collective and deal with situations as they arrive .

EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION

Everyday just like everyone else in the world I am presented with information from friends and family and vice versa. We do this in an informal manner where we can make mistakes and say the information whatever way we want. Quite often we will even go off on tangents and forget what we were meant to be talking about.

As I have said before in friendly, family environment we make mistakes and that is perfectly fine. But in a working environment, where knowledge is key, your presentation needs to be clear and concise so everyone can understand. Generally for presentations in a work setting you may not get to choose what your subject is about. But if you do, I highly recommend that you choose a subject that you know a lot about as it makes talking in front of people a lot easier as you know the subject quite well.

Another point I would make about giving a good presentation Practice Practice Practice. I can't stress the importance of rehearsal as nothing is worse than not remembering what you have to say in front of a group people. Finally my last point for good presentation is not to clutter your power point with information and charts as people will get bored or annoyed with the presentation.