One tray two ways

One thing I'm really liking these days is this handy tray, now a necessity as the things in my pockets keeps multiplying.

I'm trying to leave the backpack behind, and even though I've got one of those awesome zippered binders with lots of pockets, still, lots of stuff makes its way to my pockets as the day goes on.

The tray is a MAJOR timesaver in the mornings when you one stop to load up everything from the day before. Only problem is, I've had to supersize my tray and add a coin jar next to it.

Next up:  by the front door or on my dresser in the bedroom?

BIG calendar

Life is complicated enough, but this semester has turned into project central. And not just extra credit or optional, we're talking major grades x2.

Sooo... what I know is that it's all about the tools, and big problems calls for big solutions.

The answer? A wall-sized calendar, four colors of markers and I am on top of all those posters, brochures, research projects, and book reports.

Just have to try not to be overwhelmed when I look at my weekends and see that they are my only hope of staying on track...

Elapsed versus remaining time

Here's something to do on a slow Saturday. It really opened my eyes as I'm trying to prepare for timed tests like the ACT and AP exams.

Here in Texas we've been taking TAKS tests since the third grade, but those are untimed in the sense that you can take as long as you need. Tests in courses are pretty much set to a length the teacher knows can be completed. So even though I've never had much of what they call test anxiety, I've been worrying about the timed tests after the practice SAT test I took a few months ago.

So I decided to try to get a better feel for how much time was left to finish. To do this, I started with my iPhone, and just kept checking it, but this was a distraction as I worked to finish a section of a practice test. Then I bought a little timer that show the remaining time, just a two-color clock face that shows the ever shrinking amount of time remaining. That way I could just glance up and judge whether to speed up some.

Different way to look at it, and it helped with the worrying.

Here's one version but check your smart phone first to see if you can set it up that way, or try the app store.

Check-backs

OK, I just made that up. But it really is perfect for what I mean.

I have been working from some of the most confusing instructions I've ever seen on some of my assignments. It's just crazy -  it's not enough to use tiny fonts and hand out bad copies, but the 16 things you have to do are buried in seven paragraphs of blah blah blah.

Some of my grades were lower than they could have been just because I missed something, so I've started highlighting each step AND writing a number out in the margin. Then when I THINK I'm done - or even better, after the first draft or even the outline if I go that far - I do my check-back.

See? Perfect term. It might raise my overall grade by five points this semester.