10 Things to Do to Make Next Year Even Better - my ideas.

Hello, nontraditional students. 

Nontraditional students (and you may know this already...) are people who are going back to school after a break. I have been one of you in the past, in my 50's, and really did get a lot out of going back to school.

I started a nontraditional student club (at Western Kentucky University) and also made some younger friends, many of whom I am still in touch with.

Soon, some of us will be making up New Years' resolutions for next year. You may want to pick one or two up from me, on my list for next year.

OK. Here is my posting for today.

Things to Do to Make Next Year Even Better.

#1. Realize that the only person you can change is yourself. This one's a toughie, but worth doing.

#2. Think about doing those things you wish you had done last year. This includes working on projects or special hobbies you love. Make time for them.

#3. (from a book I was looking at yesterday) do a Good Deed every day (or try). It's best if the person you help didn't even know you did anything for them. But it's OK if you can't make that part of it!

#4.  Get your Christmas or holiday card list in order sometime during the year. That way, you can reconnect even more next year.

#5. (for Nontraditional students especially) take a bit of time for yourself once in awhile, instead of ONLY concentrating on school. You'll thank me.

#6. Get organized - - school-wise, anyway. Use your calendar and remember to look at it every day.

#7. Take care of your health. If there is a clinic somewhere on campus that is reasonable or free, use it. If you have not signed up for a Health Care Plan yet, do that too.

#8. Join a club or group at school, if you can. Older students are now welcomed in many groups, including fraternities and sororities. It doesn't hurt to ask.

#9. Speak to somebody you don't know today - - in or out of class. Take their contact information, and offer to buy them coffee or some such. Making friends while you are at school is of course not the major reason you went, but it is good for you.

#10. Smile. Give somebody else a reason to feel good today.

Love it? Leave a comment. Or share YOUR things you think others should do.

And have a GREAT holiday too.

Some Nontrad links:

 The Nontrad site and blog

Join Nontrads on Facebook

Nontrads on Yahoo

and Nontrads on Twitter

Get Organized for Finals

Are you Organized?

You already might be. And I applaud you for that. But when I was in college first, I was NOT organized. It was a huge problem for me, especially at Finals time, when it was crunch time, and my last chance to get some of my grades up.

What Helped Me
The second time I was in college, I was a nontraditional student. I made some changes in the way I kept track of things. One important change was that I kept a daily organizer, which had my classes, times, final exams, tests, locations, phone numbers of classmates and/or study group members, and assignment due dates in it.

This helped me know exactly when things were due, and what I had to do each day. THEN I actually LOOKED in it every day to see what was going on that day and all week long. Most of the time.

Backwards Due Dates
I took the due dates of all the things that were due, then went a month or so back in the organizer and broke each final assignment and/or test into sections. I even put “one week left until Final Folder is due” just to remind me to get it in gear and have it mostly finished.

When possible, I would put “Get part of the Final Folder” (or whatever assignment was due) on earlier pages to split up the assignment(s) so I wouldn't be doing everything the night before.

Organized books, notes, and schedules
I found it VERY helpful to keep my books organized and in the same place in my house. I didn't have to look all over for them, and packed the right ones for each day. I had to, because otherwise my backpack would be WAY too heavy.

I had a different notebook for each class, which prevented losing notes or not being able to find them. I labeled each notebook in large letters with the class name, location, and class time on the front. This helped me save a LOT of time.

I organized my notes by using a new note method to zero in on important facts. (You can read more about this at The Divided Page blog page)

Organizing before class
It really helped me to have my clothes I was wearing to school, my purse, my notebook(s), and my keys ready the night before I had class. I let myself have extra time so that I would arrive to class early.

This helped me a lot, because I didn't have to run around and get stressed out looking for something I couldn't find before class.

Bring money to school
Organize your purse to have some money in it when you are at school, especially if there is a food court or cafeteria there, in case you need to get drinks and food.

Miss a class?
Make sure part of your organization includes a phone number and/or email for one or two people from class, so that you can get information and/or notes from any class you have to miss.

If you have this information already in your notebook or organizer, you are ahead of the game, and won't have to get the information later on – you might miss a quiz or other important information.

Organization and Finals
The more organized you are, the better you will do on your finals, and the less stressed out you will be, which will also help you. Good luck on your finals, and organizing for them!

Please list your organization tips and tricks here so I can add them. Thank you!

Oh - and GOOD LUCK, (super-organized) NONTRADS!

Here is more information on being a success as a nontraditional student:

10 Motivational Tips for Nontraditional Students

The Divided Page – a Great Way to Take Notes

11 more Tips for Success

Study Groups for Nontraditional Students

Nontrad Tips for Tests

10 Tips for Doing well on Finals

Artwork here is from pdclipart.org - a really great site to find public domain clip art.