Look around: if you have piles of “stuff” and you don’t know where to put it … watch out - the SPCC (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Clutter) might be on your tail! Find homes for all that poor stuff now!

Why: stuff without a home will lie on your tables, floors and shelves, begging for attention and cluttering up your home.

How to find your stuff a home in 3 easy steps:

If something is just lying around because you don’t know where to put it -

1. Pick it up.

2. Decide if it is (a) useful or (b) beautiful. If not, give it to a home that loves it. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

3. If it’s useful or beautiful, find a home for it, close to where you use it.

• If you use it often, put it somewhere handy.
• If you hardly ever use it, repeat step 1 then, if you still have it, put it somewhere a bit harder to get at. If you haven’t used it in 6 months’ time, repeat step 1.
• If you think it’s beautiful, display it somewhere. If you have too much to display, repeat step 1. If you still have it, consider storing some things away and rotating what you display.

A note on notes: if you have piles of notes and assignments from old courses, consider carefully whether they will be useful to you in the future. If you think they will, file them away, and review in a year’s time. Next year it may seem basic - or out of date.

For any paperwork, consider going electronic for non-legal documents (for accounting, tax and legal documents keep the original safely).

Happy home hunting!

The best way to get more organised is to spend time organising.

It doesn’t have to be lots of time - just more than you do now. And it’s most effective if you do it regularly.

What I do: Every day when I get home I do Flylady’s “5 minute room rescue“: 5 minutes tidying one room. Unbelievably, such a small thing keeps the house pretty much tidy.

To do this:
1. Choose a regular time - e.g. when you get home or before you go to bed.
2. Set your timer for 5 minutes.
3. Tidy til it beeps. Don’t do anything else, don’t get distracted - just do it.

You’ll be amazed how well it works.

1. Understand the materials

Your aim is to have a broad understanding of all topics that are to be covered in the test. Use methods that suit your preferred learning style. Discuss it with others (auditory), draw mind-maps (visual), read background information (read/write), apply it (kinaesthetic).

Make sure you know what topics are in the test - check the course outline and ask your lecturer. Make sure you study all topics that are in the test, and don’t study those that aren’t (if you’re really sure they’re not in the test).

Add background information from the textbook and other places to your study notes. Deep and wide understanding is better here than memorising the few facts you wrote down in class.

Typical questions involve scenarios, which require you to apply the theory to a case study which is completely new to you, compare and contrast questions, which require you to relate topics to each other, and analyse and develop questions, which require you to use the skills taught.

You will not see a lot of questions that ask you to list, describe or explain a topic. These answers would come straight out of your notes, and unless the lecturer is trying to give you an easy time, they’re only going to use these as warm-up questions to help you started.

2. Prepare notes to take into the test

Your aim is to take in only what you need for the test, so that you can find what you need, quickly. You won’t know what you need in advance, so try to get as much information from the tutor as possible.

Identify all the things that might help you, then consider them carefully. Don’t take in too much - the more you have, the more time you’re going to waste moving books around and trying to find what you’re looking for.

Three top tips:

1. Use post-it notes as bookmarks. Use different colours for different topics, and write the topic on the bookmark, so you can find it easily - you don’t have to flick through a whole lot of bookmarks to find the right one.

2. Highlight mercilessly. Key words and the heading of important sections are good things to highlight. Use different colours.

3. Make kick-ass study notes. The more concise your notes are, the easier it will be to find what you need.

If this level of preparation is new to you, here’s a very, very useful hint: you know those people who always do really well in tests and exams? This is what they do for every test. Honest. It makes their study time much more effective and, of course, as they do this preparation they’re learning the stuff, making sense of it, and relating it to other things they’ve learnt - all of which we call deep learning, and which is the key to getting really good grades (and really learning the stuff). Seriously.

Once you’ve got a broad understanding and have prepared your materials, then you can prepare like any other test. When you sit the test, do what you would in any other test, but keep a very careful eye on the time you spend on each question.

Good luck.

My Helpdesk students have an open book test coming up (evil laughter … more evil laughter … maniacal laughter).

I hate to tell you, but open book tests aren’t easy.

I thought might help you to know how I think about open book tests, and why I set them in my practical subjects. Remember that your other lecturers might think differently.

I set open book tests for topics which I believe you need to understand, not memorise. For example, in my Database Administration course the final test is to performance tune a large Oracle database (more evil laughter). Anyone who knows Oracle knows how easy that test will be (hint: it’s not).

Memorising the syntax of the “sar” command is not the point. What I really want to know is whether you understand how databases work, how to test database performance, and how to tune the database. So I let you look up the sar command.

Besides, it won’t help you pass the test. If you don’t understand that other stuff, you won’t be able to tune the database properly. So you won’t be able to pass the test. I designed it that way.

Sure, the underlying principles are in your notes too - so you could, possibly, teach yourself how to tune a database while actually in the test. That would be fine by me - you learn it anyway.

But, of course, you won’t have time to use your notes. Not much, anyway. If you have to look up every single step, you won’t finish the test. So if you don’t know most of the stuff anyway, you won’t pass. I designed it that way too.

In the Helpdesk course, we look at writing Helpdesk Proposals and Implementation Plans. If you were actually writing a report, I’d rather you looked up what sections it should contain. I’m really interested in whether you understand what information should go into those sections. So I might give you a scenario, and ask you to write an Implementation Plan. You can get the structure from your notes - that’s fine - but you have to understand what’s needed. The scenario contains issues that you should pick up if you understand the theory - if you’re writing off the top of your head, you probably won’t get good marks. You guessed it - I designed the question that way. I also keep the students very busy in that test, so that if they have to go to their notes for everything, they won’t finish.

I don’t do an open book test as the major assessment component: in both these courses the test is 20% of the final grade. But they’re definitely not easy. In the next post I’ll talk about how to prepare for an open book test and what sorts of questions you might expect to see.

Right?

Wrong. Sorry.

Most of your assignments are due almost at the end of term, which only gives you one week to study before exams. It’s certainly possible to study only for that week, and pass - if you’re very (very) good at studying, and at sitting exams. But -

(a) If you don’t think you’re very, very good at studying and sitting exams, you might need to do a bit more, and

(b) If you want to do more than just pass, you might need to do a bit more.

Here’s how:

1. Single-task, don’t multi-task.
2. Plan out your study time.
3. Study smart, not hard.

1. Multi-tasking vs Single-tasking

We can’t do more than one thing at once - not well, anyway. It’s easier if we do one thing, concentrate on that thing, then put it down and do the next thing. So, when you study, pick one thing to work on for that session, and do that. This lets you get all the information you need together, keep it in your RAM (short term memory), and put it together efficiently. When you’ve got lots of different assignments and exams to work on, that means planning smart study sessions so that you can get through them all.

2. Plan out your study time

You need to:

a. Make a list of all the tasks you have to do: assignments, exams, housework, commitments etc. All of the tasks.

b. Prioritise based on importance, not urgency. Some things are more important than others. Check which papers are compulsory - they’re more important than optional ones. You’re going to have to make some hard choices here: do you go to the pub with your mates every night, or study some of those nights? This post will help you prioritise.

c. Then plan out when you can study, and break it into hour-long sessions. Schedule the tasks from step 1 into these sessions, most important first. This post will help you plan a good amount of study and still have a life too.

3. Study smarter, not harder.

Check out the Study Skills series from April for ideas on how to study smarter, not harder.

Then do the things you know you should: Follow your plan. Don’t let interruptions or temptations get in the way of your study: if a mate turns up, tell them you need to study. Keep what is important in mind. Don’t get raging drunk so that your next morning is a write-off. Eat healthy and exercise.

You know what you should be doing - it’s doing it that’s the hard thing. Hey - it’s only for a few weeks.

And if you’re procrastinating, check out this post

Blogs can be written by anyone - experts, teachers, writers, or just ordinary people. There are blogs on every topic imaginable, from apple growing to zoology. People write blogs to share information, keep an online journal, or connect with people with similar interests. This blog is about sharing things I’ve learnt about learning.

Why blogs are great for students: You can find blogs related to your courses, about studying, and about your interests. They are a great way to keep up to date with new developments, get insights and learn new things. Because the information is in short doses it’s quick to read and easy to remember.

You can also start to build connections with people in your area of interest by reading blogs and adding useful comments, and by blogging yourself.

How to find blogs:

1. Use Google’s blogsearch
2. Look at technorati
3. Once you find a blogger you like, follow their blogroll (a list of blogs they read & recommend) & other blogs they quote.

I absolutely recommend that you find a selection of good blogs in the topics you’re studying, and about general study skills.

Once you’re following a few blogs, you’ll find you don’t want to check a dozen websites every day - so the next post will explain “RSS feeds” and “feed readers”, which allow you see new posts from all your blogs in one place.

For more information about blogs, here’s a great video explanation of what they are and why they’re useful from commoncraft.

Enjoy!

What it is: del.icio.us is a “social bookmarking” site. When you’re surfing the internet, and want to go back to a page,
you probably save it to your Favorites or Bookmarks, right? Instead you can save it to del.icio.us, which is online, not on your computer. You can then access it on any computer - I’m constantly coming across things at home for school, and vice versa.

That’s handy, but what’s even cooler is that you can share your bookmarks with others (you can also choose to keep it private). So my friends can see what I’m reading.

Why this is great for students:

1. You can access the pages you bookmark from home at school, and vice versa.

2. If your lecturer uses del.icio.us they can bookmark useful sites for you (to see mine, go to http://del.icio.us/1kim)

3. You can use the bookmarks for research - my o my!

When you find a blogger in your area of interest, check out theirdel.icio.us bookmarks. You can also see who else has bookmarked the page, then look at their bookmarks, and so on, and so on (I’ve circled this bit in the screenshot above).

You can also search from the del.icio.us website, say on “project management” and follow the trail from there. Instead of doing a basic google search, you’re limiting your search to sites that people already think are useful. Cool, eh?

I absolutely recommend that you check it out. I can’t believe how many useful sites I found in one day using this - it would previously have taken me days to find this much research. It’s wonderful. Of course, it can get addictive, so you have to know when to cut off.

Here’s some more information that you might find useful:

• A simple explanation of del.icio.us at eduGuru
• Top 10 ways to use del.icio.us (the top few are a bit techie, but keep reading).
• There’s heaps of cool del.icio.us apps and ideas at Lifehacker or Quick Online Tips.

The day before the test:

• Go over all of your notes, skim through the text book and thoroughly review everything.
• Pack your bag with everything you’ll need: pens (take more than one), notes, paper, water, tissues, etc. Get everything else you need together - like your wallet, car keys and clothes. You’ll start the day calmer, and have everything that you need with you.
• Please, please pack more than one pen. Someone’s always runs out: don’t let it be you.
• Check the time and place of the test - even if you think you know.
• To help you think better and sleep better -
  • Eat healthily
  • Avoid caffeine and nicotine. If you’re addicted, you’re going to need it to stay normal, but keep an eye on it.
  • Get a bit of exercise (but don’t overdo it)
  • Spend a bit of time relaxing
• Get a good night’s sleep. It’ll help you think better the next day.

On the day of the test:

• Get there early, and check out where the test room is; make sure you know how to get there.
• Avoid caffeine and nicotine as far as possible again. These make you more nervous, which is not what you want!
• Keep calm, and try to relax if you’re getting nervous. Take a walk, and purposefully breathing slowly & deeply.
• Do any study that you feel will help you, but keep relaxed about it.

When you get into the test room:

• Choose a desk wisely. If you’re easily distracted by others, consider sitting up the front. If you like to be able to rest your eyes by looking into the distance, sit by the window - not in the middle of the class, where the examiner might think you’re looking at other peoples’ work
• Get out everything you want to have with you, and put it on the desk. Tissues and water are a really good idea!!
• Relax - there’s nothing more you can do now. Breath deeply and slowly.
• Listen to all instructions, and follow them.

When you are told you can start the test:

• Read the front page - note how long the test is and any other instructions.
• Find out how many marks are in the test, and work out how many minutes per mark
  • e.g. 50 marks & 60 minutes = a mark a minute, with some time at the end to go back.
• Read through all the questions before you start to write. This allows your mind to start working on the last questions in the background.
• Start with the easiest question. You can usually answer test questions in any order you like. Answering an easy question makes you feel good, and so makes it easier to answer other questions. It also starts getting you “on a roll” or “into the zone”. And your brain can work away at the hard questions in the background.
• Jot down the key points on the test script or answer booklet (you can cross them out when you’ve finished). You can then structure your answer better. I’ve had students pick up marks when they didn’t finish the answer, but hadn’t crossed out the list - they got marks for the points they hadn’t added in yet. Things that are crossed out aren’t marked.
• Answer the question: know what key words like describe, explain, discuss, compare & contrast and illustrate mean, and then do that.
• … the whole question: Answer all parts of the question - if you’re asked to explain something, using an example, then make sure you have (a) explained and (b) given an example. No matter how wonderful your explanation is, you won’t get the marks for the example unless you give one.
• … and nothing but the question: If you’re asked to discuss Operational Feasibility, don’t add in Technical and Legal Feasibility too, to show what you know. The examiner knows what the answer should be, and is comparing your answer to that. There may be marks for defining Operational Feasibility and mentioning the key questions for operational feasibility, but there will be no marks for other types of feasibility. Don’t waste your time.
• Keep answering the questions that you can, leaving the hard ones ’til last.
• When the time is up for each question, stop. If it’s a minute a mark, and a 10-mark question, after 10 minutes, stop. Seriously. After the first few minutes you probably got out most of the important information, so you’re into diminishing returns for your time - each mark is harder and harder to get. You’re better going on to a new question, where you can get more marks, quicker. Mark the question on your test sheet so that you know to come back to it later if you have time.
• When you can’t think of an answer, relax. Seriously. Exam nerves or anxiety caused by not knowing the answer triggers our fight-or-flight response, and the brain switches into “react” mode, out of “recall”. Try your best to relax, and you might find memories coming back. You might let your mind wander for a few minutes, to see if you come to the answer laterally. Don’t give in to the fight-or-flight response by leaving.
• If you don’t know, guess. Please! Unless you will lose marks for a wrong answer (and this should be clearly noted on the test script), you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Even if you pick up half a mark, it’s worth it.
• When you’ve finished, read over your answers and check that you’ve answered all parts of all questions.
• Stay til the end, unless you’re absolutely sure you have answered all the questions 100% correctly (hint: you won’t have). Often inspiration strikes after you’ve been sitting there relaxing for 10 minutes.

Of course, you’re still going to need to study to pass

Hope this helps,

What are your top test taking tips? Please add a comment to let me know.