Carl Long's Tips part 2

Tip 6: Sometimes a quick prayer can give you strength to keep on working hard.
• This is not an endorsement of any particular religion and if you don't believe in God or a
higher being, then this one may not be for you.
• If you do believe in God or a higher being, drawing upon your faith may prove to give
you strength when you are feeling tired or down.

Tip 7: Get organized and plan ahead!
• Each person has their way of organizing information and reminding themselves of what
needs to be done and when.
• Find out which method is best for you and then put it in practice. Examples include:
Writing items on a calendar, using Post-it Notes, using a daily planner, etc.
• If you think about tomorrow today, then you will have a much better chance to have a
successful day tomorrow.

Other noteworthy items that may help you on your journeys in high school, college,
and beyond:
• It's never too late! A good work ethic arid strong study habits will help you in school and
in any job that you will ever have. It will very difficult for someone to hold you back if
you are willing to work harder than others are willing to work.
• Apply yourself now! If you work hard now and go on to get a college education, you will
have many more options later in life that will all still result in a decent financial situation.
if you do not have a college education, it will be very, very difficult for you to have a
middle class or upper class lifeslyle (i'l"Lhat these are the lifestyles you would like to
have).
• Economists have shown that those who have a college degree will earn 1 million dollars
more over the course of their lifetime than someone without a college degree. In other
words, the decision to go to collecie is worth 1 million dollars. If you want to have the
extra 1 million dollars, during your high school years you need to decide that you will go
to college and then work hard to ensure that it happens!
• Dream big and always do your best! Once you see what type of life you would like
and/or when you find out what type of activities bring you happiness and fulfillment, you
need to go after your dreams with all that you have! Others can help you, but the only
person that can make you successful is you.
• Don't let anyone rob you of your dreams! If you have friends that are not looking out for
your best interests or that do not suppoi'L- you as your strive for your dreams, you need
to let them go.
• Figure out how you learn best and then ~jse those methods! Examples include:
1. Flash cards
2. Discussions with others
3. Provide tutoring to someone els--
• Get help when you need it. Don't be too proud. If free tutoring is offered you should
really take advantage of it!
• Set high standards for yourself! Don't underestimate your abilities or sell yourself short.
Each person has their own set of talents and strengths. You just need to find yours and
develop them.

"The hardest workers usually have the best luck." Originator unknown
Do you want to have the best luck?

Notes by: Carl D. Long
March 10, 2006

Carl Long's Tips for Productivity

Carl spoke to Snowden Class of 2009 on March 10, 2006. I just came across his notes and thought it would be good to share them. More tomorrow.


Seven Tips for Improving:
A. Your Productivity
B. Your Time Management
C. Multitasking/ Balancing


Tip 1: Whenever possible, work on and complete your least favorite tasks first.
• Most people procrastinate because they really do not wish to work on certain tasks.
• If you work on your least favorite tasks first and when you are fresh, you will always find
the energy later on (when you are more tired) to work on things that interest you.

Tip 2: When faced with a large task, break it up into smaller goals. Then, proceed
to complete each one!
• Question: How would one eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time!
• Sometimes it is easy to look at a large amount of work and become paralyzed because
you don't even know where to begin. Break it up into smaller pieces and then start
working on the most important and/or urgent task!

Tip 3: Reward yourself when you reach a milestone or a goal.
Make agreements with yourself that once a certain amount of work is complete that you
will allow yourself time to do something fun and enjoyable (rewards could include:
watching some I-V, playing some video games, talking on the phone to a friend, etc.)

Tip 4: Focus for short periods of time. Then, as your ability to focus improves,
focus for longer and longer periods.
Instead of working in front of the TV', focus on your work without distractions and get
the work done.
You will likely get the work done much more quickly and will then have time to do
something fun (i.e. watching TV) later.

Tip 5: For inspiration and camaraderie, study in a library.
• When you look up from your work and take a "mini" break ' it is sometimes very
energizing to see others that are also hard at work and concentrating.
• Any library may be a good place to get focused on your work and to concentrate on
learning. Examples include the BPL, your school library, the library of a nearby college or
university.

Thanks!

Murph, thanks for posting the photos and the high level summary of the survey. Both are great. And Ayyana, thank you for the info about the question of the day.

I hope the vocabulary exercise from last meeting was eye-opening for everyone. It sure was for me. There was a pretty clear lesson: the vocab words on the SAT are NO JOKE! Actually studying and practicing are really important to make sure you get your best score possible.

Hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm.

Jeff

SAT Problem of the Day!

Did you guys know that the College Board publishes a new practice problem every day? Here's today's:

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

In her review of a recent novel, the book reviewer insisted on discussing details of the author’s life, in open ------- the current trend in criticism, which eschews any consideration of biographical matters.

A. fixation on
B. defiance of
C. deference to
D. incitement of
E. collusion with

When you have your answer, you can go to the college board website and check to see how you did, and how you stack up against other college-bound folks!

Apparently, you can also create a free account which will track your Question of the Day statistics. Good luck!