How many times have you made a New Year’s resolution in the new year only to let it fizzle out and die within a month or two? Don’t fret! It happens to the best of us. Student resolutions are often easy to make but can be hard to follow through with during the year. Are…
Who doesn’t look forward to summertime? It’s a long-awaited break for many students. It’s a time to relax, explore, travel, or enjoy the next few months. Who doesn’t want that? We all need downtime and your summer break is the ultimate way to take advantage of that. After all, you deserve it! However, long summer…
I was graciously invited to this year’s TEDxToronto conference and believe it or not, it was my first in-person event since 2019! It was a refreshing experience away from the pandemic norms (endless video calls and awkward technical difficulties) and it served as a reminder of our common humanity; the essence of human connection. This…
Watch Hamza Khan’s talk about recognizing and beating burnout in yourself with proven methods to unlock your productivity. As a part of our SLN Workshops guest lecture series, Hamza spoke all about how to burn bright and not out. He went over techniques you can use to assess and conquer stress in your life, and…
Watch Hamza Khan’s talk about making the most of your time and how to overcome procrastination using productivity hacks. As a part of our SLN Workshops guest lecture series, Hamza spoke all about turning your ideas into action with productivity hacks to help you optimize your time, energy, and attention. You can watch Hamza’s entire Productivity…
Have you wondered what distinguishes the successful people in life from the wannabes? As Aristotle suggests, it’s our good habits that lead to our accomplishments, not our individual actions. But which habits, exactly, will get us where we want to be in our lives? Here are ten of them that can help you assess just…
Back in 2016, SLN reached out to our friend Bailey Parnell, Founder & CEO of SkillsCamp and expert in all things learning, to help share the top productivity hacks for students. Given how tough it is lately to stay on top of everything, it seemed like the perfect time to share this article with you…
Taking online classes can be overwhelming. So, you find yourself falling behind on school work and lacking the motivation to get out of bed to attend that 8 AM class. It feels as if you are drowning in assignments and nothing seems to go your way. Well, these focusing tips can enhance your skills and add a…
Learning a new language? Who even has time for that? Turns out, it might not be as hard as you thought. You don’t need to be taking Russian Literature in university or working your way through an Old English translation of Beowulf to understand the value of learning a new language. For me, language learning has always…
With school ending and the global pandemic in full effect, it’s getting extremely hard to stay focused. This simple and easy-to-implement system will take you less than 15 minutes and help you get more done, be more productive, and lessen your anxiety. Sean Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, wrote that weekly…
Whether you’re having trouble taking notes or just looking to become more productive, there’s an app for that. Notion, one of the top productivity and note-taking apps around, is now free and you should try it out. Keeping yourself organized as a student is no joke. Especially when you have to balance class projects, a…
Now that we’re spending most of our foreseeable time at home, how can we build a healthy and proactive routine? School is still in session online. Therefore, developing a beneficial learning-from-home routine can make a huge difference when it comes to concentration, balance, and mental wellness. Wake Up at a Normal Time Continue to wake…
Picture this: It’s another school day. You and your classmates are all seated at your desks, listening to your teacher drone on about something unbelievably exciting like the economy. At first, you try to pay attention. You really do. But you can’t control it, really—your mind starts to drift. And then your hand reaches for…
We’ve heard it time after time, “high school sucks”. Of course, this isn’t true for everyone. There are some lucky people out there who are blessed with a great experience—not quite High School Musical, but close. If there is one thing I can testify to, it’s this: high school is especially brutal to aspiring writers.…
Many of us reach for a cup of coffee in the morning or rely on an energy drink to start the day, get through classes, or survive an eight-hour shift at work. However, many do not realize that caffeine found in caffeinated beverages, such as coffee, can carry some robust positives along with some adverse…
3 Top Websites for Spanish Students By Mercedes Rowinsky-Geurts If you are learning Spanish, some of the most important websites are going to be: http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/ http://translation2.paralink.com/ http://www.ver-taal.com/gramatica.htm These sites will help students to access important information while learning Spanish. The first link, for example, is the dictionary of the Royal Academy of the Language and…
By Lisa S There is a day, usually sometime at the beginning of April, that all University students look forward to. The day they receive their final exam schedule. Why do they care so much? Well, partially because that’s the day of their last marks and the beginning of a 4-month summer. (This is especially…
Your essay is due in five minutes. You’re about to submit it online when all of a sudden BOOM your computer crashes! Sound familiar? You’re not the only one who has been in this position before. Now, with the tremendous popularity of laptops, free campus-wide Wi-Fi hot spots, and the need for immediate access to…
School can leave us feeling completely overwhelmed, but why? We waste tons of time thinking about what we want to get done rather than doing them. Emails pile up, to-do lists spiral out of control, and assignments barrel into us. Getting started feels impossible and—to make matters worse—when you finally cross one thing off your…
Taking notes in class: this is sort of like the basic survival technique of a student. Small creatures forage for food on the forest floor, hiding it away for the winter. Just like them, students scrounge for knowledge in the vast, complicated environment of a three-hour lecture, saving up what little they can gather for…
Get your study on with these Spotify playlists! Music is one of the best ways to focus on a task. However, the best way to do so is when you can enjoy the music without full-on jamming to it. For example, I must stay away from a 00s playlist if I have any hope of…
The educational transition from high school to post-secondary can be very challenging. Here are some study tips to help keep you organized throughout the semester! What are these study tips? Schedule Keep a schedule of due dates and crucial classes. I have been doing this since my first year of university. It really helps to…
Oh, dreaded group work… I don’t know about you, but my school had a craaaazy number of group assignments. It was wild. Admittedly, though, it made sense. My creative program set us up for creative jobs where collaboration is key to achieve a common goal. And even if your course isn’t group work heavy, you’ll…
As more tasks are added to our overflowing plates, we find ourselves itching for that upcoming winter break. Anxiety has a funny way of twisting us into a tightly-wound stress ball until exams are over. But there’s one important thing to remember. Study breaks are necessary. It’s all about balance, so find a way to…
What goes into creating the ultimate study space? The first question you should be asking yourself is: where do I want to study? You could study at the library, a coffee shop, your dorm room/bedroom, or a secret study location that no one knows about. There are many options! Environment Environmental factors can impact our…
Get ready for your seminar in five simple steps! Grad school courses are different from your typical undergrad setup. Where an undergraduate lecture has over 100 students sitting and taking notes, grad school requires you to be an active participant in a lively discussion. Therefore, preparing for grad school seminars can act as a shock…
Before you lose that studying drive, memorize what you can and then… sleep! A study in Germany found that taking a power nap in the afternoon (between 1 PM – 6 PM) can improve your memory by fivefold. This isn’t the first study that’s found a correlation between napping and memory. And it probably won’t…
We need to stop procrastinating. As a college senior, I have been in school for almost two decades now. But, I still find myself completing my projects only at the very last minute (assuming I even complete them). Funnily, I am always optimistic about completing my tasks promptly on the first day I receive them.…
Whether you like it or just want it to be over, postsecondary schools have a lot more going on than the courses themselves. But there are a few services that are underrated and/or underappreciated as resources. Well, I’m letting the cat out of the bag. Even though I used some of these services while I…
The transition from high school to post-secondary school often comes with more commitments. In addition to the typical homework, assignments, tests, and exams from school, there might be a part-time job to pay for those expensive books and tuition. Perhaps even household chores. And you have to spend time enjoying your post-secondary experience. All of…
Bad habits are easy to pick up, especially when we’re living our best lives as students. These habits can range from drinking a bit too often to making unhealthy eating choices and pulling all-nighters. Either way, bad habits are just… well, bad. So, why not try to kick them before you get too comfortable with them?…
Do you enjoy waking up early? Or do you hit the snooze button multiple times every morning? There’s good news! If you’re not an early riser, you can become a morning person with these simple hacks. Getting up earlier can better your performance in school. So, when you’re ready to wake up without hitting that…
We all procrastinate. It’s one of those things that everyone just nods and agrees with. The majority of us fall into a procrastinating trap, especially when we’ve been doing it for so long. I held off doing assignments the whole way through high school until the night before, thinking I could keep doing that in…
Job hunting is hard! Whether you finished your degree or are looking for the perfect summer internship, finding the ideal position can take longer than expected. I mean, MUCH longer. Even if you think you have the skills and experience required, you may be met with rejection—I speak from personal experience. As someone who is nearly done their…
How does someone know they’re an adult? They don’t. Yep, ain’t that the truth. Adulting does not always come naturally. Moving away from home doesn’t mean you suddenly know how to act like an adult, let alone admit you are one. Even in my mid-twenties, it’s weird to think of myself as getting older and…
As the weather turns warmer and the semester comes to an end, we get this itch to clean out our space. If you’re anything like me, a soon-to-be 21-year-old who hoards their entire life’s history in the comfort of an overflowing bookshelf, then it’s time to sort through our junk! Every spring, I tell myself…
It’s Springtime! The weather is getting warmer, flowers are coming back to life, and you’re probably close to summer break. Woohoo! Before you fully jump into the Summer spirit, let’s not forget that Spring is the time for cleaning. And as a student, spring cleaning should be on your mind. 1. Closet Clean Out Freshen…
Bad habits are easy to pick up as a student. There are exams to cram for and parties to attend—it’s easy to get lazy. How can you break those bad habits when you’re ready to jump into the professional working world? When we’re students, bad habits seem to surround us. Most of the time we…
Procrastination affects us all. I planned to write this article today, and it’s now four in the afternoon and I’m just starting. I usually get up at noon, but still. Clearly, it’s a problem that affects me, so I’m just going to assume that everyone else suffers from it as well. The amount of time…
“Some people dream of success, while other people wake up every morning and make it happen.” – Wayne Huizenga Success is a call for action. It requires a certain level of hard work and dedication. It’s like waking up early for an 8:00am class. For most students, myself included, waking up for an 8:00am class…
It’s crazy how many articles I’ve written about note-taking when I never used to take notes in class. Seriously, I almost never did. I would usually just borrow some notes if I really needed them to study. Yes, I was that guy. Hate me all you want. But seriously though, I want to take this…
Things always take longer than you think they will. It’s a fact of life. This phenomenon is called Hofstadter’s Law and it states that things take longer than you think they will, even if you think they’re going to take longer than you think they will. Before you give yourself a headache thinking about all…
Weekends are a time to relax and have fun, but Sundays should be utilized for planning. These are our GYST days and we all need them. If you don’t know what a GYST day is, it means having a “Get Your Shit Together” day, which helps us stay organized and on top of things. I first…
2019 is a new year! Is there a better time to increase your productivity? Do you have your goals mapped out in a planner or are you taking it one day at a time? If you want to be successful, then it’s time to hop aboard the productivity train! *choo*choo* Now, you’re probably wondering who is…
So much to do, so little time. Student life is demanding, to say the least. Fortunately, we’ve got an endless buffet of time saving tools at our disposal. Best of all, most of them are free! Here’s my go-to tools: Google No, I’m not going to preach about search. If you haven’t figured out how to use…
