Dissertation time, Exam time, revision time, Strategy time

Studying a Nursing degree can be intimidating at times; juggling both the academic and practical side of placements. There is a need for good scheduling to plan your time. As I mention in my last blog it has been a busy study time of late due to my Viva exam and writing my dissertation. The academic side of uni life can be a bit intimidating at times and dyslexia only exasperates these anxieties. Below are some of my strategies to combat this

Firstly

1.  Plan your time 

2.  DO NOT procrastinate 

If you have a big project or multiple projects on the go and you don't know where to start, here are 6 strategies which can help you to plan your time effectively and reduce your stress levels.

• Write a to do list: this will help prevent you from “conveniently” finding  excuses to avoid unpleasant and overwhelming tasks.  

• Prioritise your to-do list. This will enable you to quickly identify activities you need to be focusing on and the ones that you can leave until later.
• Master the art of scheduling and project planning. Plan your work and time effectively. This will help manage and mitigate your stress levels.

• Tackle the hardest tasks at your peak times. Do you work better in the morning or the afternoon? Identify when you're most effective and do the tasks that you find most difficult at these times. 

• Set yourself time-bound goals . Setting yourself specific deadlines to complete tasks will keep you on track to achieve your goals and will mean that you have no time for procrastination.

• Use task and time-management apps. There are numerous apps designed to help you to be more organised, such as Trello and Toggl, for example.

Revision

Use cue cards with bullet point notes: 

You want to make your revision notes as concise as possible. The bullet points you write should trigger your memory and knowledge of the topic. You will need more bullet points for topics you are less familiar with. 

Interweave topics to make connections between them. Q&A cards and board games enable you to easily mix up topics for really effective memory recall activities. 

There are also apps available to make digital flash cards which you can access on your PC and mobile devices such as Quizlet. Revision on the go!

Memory Techniques

How to remember a long list

The is a good one to start off with as it shows you the basic principles of memory. You use imagination and association to create a chain of information in your mind. With a little practice you will be able to make the chain as long as you like. 

How to remember a large amount of information

This one expands on the principles of the first technique. Again, it uses crazy imagination and association to link everything together. However, with this one you can remember so much more detailed information. 

With all memory techniques, practices makes perfect. Have a go at using them in your day to day life. Use you imagination to remember tons of information.

I used it for my exams and was amazed at the amount of information I was able to remember. I could open my mind like a book and bring the needed information to hand. 

Visit Memory Techniques for more information

Make revision fun! 

Use games and quizzes to bring your revision to life and make it feel less of a chore. I also sing my revision, not as weird as it sounds as by singing it by passes the short term memory. 

Use colour to draw attention to important or key facts. Coloured pens or highlighters work great. 

Utilise supportive software

I always use mind maps to frame and plan essays as well as assisting me collate information for my revision. 

I use Claro read to read my essays aloud to that I can hear where punctuation is required and see if the essay flows and makes sense. 

If you have use any of these techniques or have some of your own why not share them with others on the facebook page? Positive Dyslexic Nursing <<<Click<<<

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