Time Strategies I Find Useful

Art of the Word "Productivity".

No Changes Made. Source: pixy

Hello!

I am big on checklists and planners. I always buy a new planner at the start of the school year and I love filling it in with all of my exams and assignments, as well as any meetings I have. However, last semester I realized that, especially with online courses, checklists are just as useful to me as planners. As discussed in How Checklists Train Your Brain to be More Productive and Goal-Oriented by Lauren Marchese, my checklists help keep me on track and motivated to keep going until all of my tasks are complete. I really enjoyed this article because I kept finding myself agreeing with the author and thinking of how I had experienced the effects it described.

The other article I read, How to Build a Realistic Study Plan that You'll Actually Stick To by Amanda Collins, was similar to the first for me, except it covered planners instead of checklists. While I don't use planners to create a study plan, mainly as a place to organize all of my assignments and due dates, I thought the method described was equally as useful. While I don't think it would work for me as well as the checklists because I am not always doing the same things everyday, I think I could perhaps use some aspects of this method in my own use, like roughly determining how many hours each day I should dedicate to each class.

Based on last semester, I think my biggest challenge will be procrastinating on bigger assignments and essays instead of working on them a little at a time over a long time frame. This would have saved me stress and would have, I think, set me up better to have more free time that actually felt relaxed.

Technology is the Future

Bonjour,

I am familiar with most of the technology discussed in this assignment. I frequently bookmark web pages for easy future reference and I already had my spell check on in Chrome. The only piece of technology I had not previously used was a word count extension -- I would usually just copy and paste into Word as I did not know there were Chrome extensions that did this. Having a Chrome extension is a lot easier!

One Chrome extension I have had for a while that does not necessarily apply to this class is AdBlock. This ad has come in handy many times (my current version says it has blocked over 26,000 ads for me!). Not only does it save me the annoyance of having to click out of ads, it also prevents them from causing loading issues. There are some websites, usually journals or newspapers, which require you to turn off the AdBlock on their page, but that is easy to do. I definitely recommend it to anyone who uses Chrome.

This semester I really want to work on my blogging skills. I have been contemplating making a personal blog for myself, so I want to use my experience in blogging this semester as a way of discovering if I'd actually like blogging.

Technology has become such a large part of our lives, so I think learning how to utilize it as much as possible can only help us in the future.

Picture of a Laptop and Flowers.

No Changes Made. Source: pixy

My Thoughts on the Assignments

Hello again,

I think the assignments for this class are really interesting! As I am a reader, I am probably most looking forward to the weekly readings, but I think the concept of writing our own stories based on the readings is really intriguing.

Hand Holding a Card with the Word "Assignments".

No Changes Made. Created by Nick Youngson. Source: Blue Diamond Gallery

I am also a big fan of how much extra credit is offered. I think having extra credit is good because it gives us students more flexibility, while also taking away the stress of having to complete every assignment on time and as perfect as we can. This is definitely a class that will not cause me a ton of stress about, which I am very grateful for.

To sum up, I am looking forward to this class and all that I will learn!

My Thoughts on Growth Mindset

Hello!

I confess that I had never heard about either Carol Dweck or growth mindset before starting this assignment. After watching the videos, I can definitely buy into the claim that this mindset is beneficial in terms of learning and personal growth. As an engineering student, I commonly run into problems that are not easily or obviously solvable, so I guess I have run into this mode of thinking before without knowing the actual name.

I think because of my major and my history as a long distance runner in high school, I would classify myself as a growth mindset. I sometimes have to spend a lot of time to figure a problem out, but I try my best to figure them out before searching for help. In running, I had to have a lot of perseverance to finish a run or reach my goal times, and that definitely required a growth mindset. Running is such a mental sport, and having a fixed mindset would get you nowhere.

I think the concept of growth mindset is very interesting. The fact that so much research has been done on the topic is comforting, and I think I would enjoy exploring more about the topic this semester. I think something like this would be very beneficial to me as I prepare to finish my education and enter the "real world".

The picture shown below is one that I found online about growth mindset. I really like the phrase "Retrain Your Brain", as to me it is indicative that it is never too late to switch from a fixed to a growth mindset. Even if I sometimes lean more towards a fixed mindset than a growth one, there are phrases and practices I could use to help myself benefit from future challenges.

Image of a Human Head with Growth-Mindset-Related Phrases in the Brain and the Phrase "Retrain Your Brain".

No Changes Made. Uploaded by johnhain on 04-30-2019. Source: pixabay

An Introduction to a Bibliophile

Hi everyone,

For my third post, I will now introduce myself to all of you!

My name is Tyler, and I am a senior currently slated to graduate this semester with a Bachelor's Degree in Biomedical Engineering. And, since I know that major probably sounds boring to some, I'll try to make it sound a bit more interesting. Basically, us BMEs get to be involved in a wide variety of areas in the medical field: prosthetics, heart devices, insulin pumps, pharmaceuticals, and probably many more I can't remember. I personally am involved in the device industry, and will be working with a device company after I graduate.

When I am not in school, I am, as I have mentioned in previous posts, a big reader. My favorite genre is YA fantasy, though I am not opposed to reading other genres as well. This is actually why I have joined this class -- one of my favorite series is one that uses the tale of Durga as an inspirational plot point, and I am a big fan of it. (If anyone wants to look it up, its the Tiger's Curse Saga by Colleen Houck.) My favorite authors of all time are Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout, though I am also a big fan of Leigh Bardugo and cannot wait for the Shadow and Bone series to premiere on Netflix this spring! If anyone who reads this knows any of these authors or other YA books and wants to talk about them, please don't hesitate because talking about books is probably my favorite thing besides reading them. I also love sharing book recs, so if you have any I'd love to hear them!

In addition to reading, I am a big Marvel and Star Wars fan. Captain Marvel is my favorite Marvel hero, and I even have a signed copy of a Captain Marvel comic that came out a couple of years ago! One of my favorite activities is to go to the movie theater with my Dad and watch the newest Star Wars or Marvel movie. When The Force Awakens came out, I can still remember how the audience was so excited to see Han, Leia, and Chewie again that the whole theater broke out into applause when they first appeared on screen. Personally, my favorite Star Wars character is Ahsoka Tano, so I am very much looking forward to her live action show that will be on Disney Plus in the near future. 

Artwork of the Star Wars Logo.
No Changes Made. By AceOfSpades123 on 10-20-2014. Source: Wikipedia

Any time not spent reading or watching nerd shows/movies is likely spent with my friends and family. I have a great group of friends that I love to hang out and watch football games or play board games with, and I am very close to my family that live nearby.

As I mentioned above in regards to books, I love to talk about the things I love. If anyone ever wants to talk about books, the MCU (or comics), or anything similar, please reach out! And, thanks for reading about myself!

Storybook Favorites

Hello again!

I loved looking through the different previous storybooks for the Epics of India course. I quickly found three that I found entertaining, so I will describe them here.

Kali in the Modern World

This was the first storybook I looked at, as I find the goddess Kali (pictured below) to be interesting and was considering a topic similar to this one. When I read more about this story, it was clear the title was perfect, and I thought the introduction did a good job as well. Some of my favorite books have involved time travel, or out-of-time individuals living in the modern world, so I thought the story sounded interesting. In addition to the introduction I looked at one of the stories listed, and I thought the idea of Durga in World War 1 was a great idea! It reminded me of the first Wonder Woman movie.

Artwork of Kali

No Changes Made. Created by Keijona on 01-19-2016. Source: Wikipedia

The Creation of Kali

The next story I looked at caught my eye for the same reason as the first: Kali was mentioned in the name. While I know about Kali from reading a story in which Durga took part, I do not actually know much about Kali the character so I found the idea described in the introduction very interesting. The wording used in this storybook's intro was definitely great for catching the reader's attention, and I found it interesting that the author used the different creation stories to provide a different personality for the same character. I couldn't resist reading through the stories after the intro, and I was entertained the whole time!

Voldemort's Reincarnation

The reason I looked at this final story was different from the first two, and it stems fully from the fact that I saw a Harry Potter reference and was immediately interested. I was curious how Harry Potter could be tied to an Indian Epic, and the way in which the author did this made complete sense to me. The use of Padma and Parvati was ingenious, and I thought the way the introduction seemed to serve as a prologue was interesting. I also liked how the author utilized the characters of Harry Potter and Voldemort to incorporate a traditional Indian Epic.

To conclude, these three storybooks all interested me, and I enjoyed reading about all of them!

Oxford, England: My Favorite Place in the World

Hey everyone,

For my first full post, I will describe to you my favorite place in the world. Now, while I considered making my favorite place my hometown, I decided against that because I have lived here a long time and do not typically feel the wonder I felt in my true favorite place.

My favorite place to visit, as suggested by the title, is Oxford, England. I was lucky to study abroad here in Summer of 2019 (before COVID-19 times, when travel was available...). While I only spent a few weeks in this beautiful city, it quickly gained my heart as everywhere I went I saw interesting and beautiful sights.

As I will talk about in a future post, I am a reader. I read all the time, sometimes when I shouldn't, so getting to visit and study in such a historic area was a dream come true. The Bodleian Library, for example, was a highlight of my trip. Not only for the fact that it was a Harry Potter shooting location, but also for the fact that I was able to see centuries-old books preserved, and I was able to walk through one of the oldest libraries in Europe. Pictured below is the Radcliffe Camera, a part of the Bodleian Library system typically reserved for graduate students attending Oxford. I was sadly not able to go inside the gorgeous building, but I definitely admired its outside view.

Image of Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, England

No Changes Made. Taken by Zhushenje on 05-03-2017. Source: Wikipedia

In addition to the beautiful libraries and colleges that call Oxford home, there is no shortage of beautiful sights. The architecture was gorgeous, as evidenced above, but the nature in and around Oxford is breathtaking as well. One of my favorite memories of Oxford was sitting with a group of peers on the banks of the River Cherwell, while we read book and enjoyed the beautiful weather. There seemed to be no shortage of beautiful flowers wherever I went in Oxford, and one day I want my home to be full of such vibrant color.

For these reasons, and many more, Oxford is my favorite place to visit. I can still taste the amazing cookies purchased from a local bakery, or the delicious tea served in the mornings in the college I stayed in. Someday I hope to return, but for now I will just remember the town with fond memories.

One extra tidbit is that the background image for this blog was taken during my trip to Oxford, except it was taken in Edinburgh, Scotland, while hiking to the top of Arthur's Seat. This is a breathtaking extinct volcano that I and some friends hiked on about 4 hours of sleep while carrying a weekend's worth of clothes and laptops on our backs, which is a story for another time...