working hard

     School started again on Monday, and my midterms are next week (I have seven!). Naturally, I'm starting to realize that working hard isn't just working your tail off 24-7. There is a method to the madness. While I'm nowhere near good at working hard or working efficiently, I'm learning, and I thought I would share a few things that have helped me.

one) Pray. Jesus already knows what you need, so if you ask him for strength and diligence, he will for sure give it to you. (John 11:22) (James 1:5 - one of my all-time favorite Scriptures)

two) Prioritize. I know from experience that when you are juggling a lot of subjects (or projects at work, or whatever it is), it's hard to prioritize. Everything needs to be done! Right now! This mindset often leads me to stress and inefficiency. For example, maybe I have a lot of math to catch up on, but there is a Chemistry test due Monday. I'm really bad at Chemistry, so I should study. Meanwhile, I get further behind in math. The important thing is to take it one step at a time. It's not possible to multitask in this area. Don't try it - it only makes things worse. Figuring out what needs the most attention the fastest can help you get perspective. Once you are done that, you can move on.

three) Determine when you're not going to work. This is important because you can't work all the time. It's not healthy, nor does it produce the best results. There needs to be time for eating, sleeping, exercising, and spending brain-time on things that you enjoy. Quality of life MUST be maintained. I have decided that around approximately 8:30-9:00 at night, I will stop working or even thinking about school. My brain doesn't function properly when it knows I'm supposed to be relaxing. I usually read a good book after this point, so I can unwind and try to stop running on school adrenaline.

four) Find your motivation. I really hate it when I'm behind on a subject, or don't understand it and thus feel constantly confused and get poor grades. I've been in this situation enough so that this is my motivation to work hard. It won't get done if I don't do it. And the feeling of an A and understanding material is pretty darn awesome. :)

Hope this helps anyone who wants so badly to work hard but struggles with it, like me. Have a nice rest of the week, and to all of my classmates who read my blog: Happy Exams, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

s

the story of my typical school day

(Excerpt taken from the best book ever: Anne of Green Gables)

Miss Stacy caught me reading "Ben Hur" in school yesterday afternoon when I should have been studying my Canadian history. Jane Andrews lent it to me. I was reading it at dinner hour, and I had just got to the chariot-race when school went in. I was simply wild to know how it turned out––although I felt sure "Ben Hur" must win, because it wouldn't be poetical justice if he didn't––so I spread my history open on my desk-lid and then tucked "Ben Hur" between the desk and my knee. It just looked as if I were studying Canadian history, you know, while all the while I was reveling in "Ben Hur." I was so interested in it. . . 

     Okay, so I don't put my school book in front of my pleasure book and read in secret. But often, I'm tempted to "see how the chariot race turned out," and thus use my school hours in pleasure activities. God is giving me more self control, and I feel confident that he will help me as I enter the school year. I am excited to rise to the challenge of having enough self control to prevent me from pulling homework all-nighters (something I can certainly do without). Diligence also comes into play here; if I want to do something for fun, I know I have to work hard and get my school done first.
     For those of you who are still in school, I hope you have a blessed school year with a minimum amount of late night cramming and that you learn a lot. :)

-Sarah :)

P.S. Can I just say that Anne is extremely entertaining? Even if you don't take any of the self control lesson away from this excerpt, I hope you appreciate her mention of poetical justice and the seemingly necessary mention of who lent her the book. :)