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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Coping with Grad School Stress

As we all know balancing our life between work, school and family can be challenging specially when the semester gets close to the end. Students have projects, final exams and presentations to get done besides work and any other responsibilities at home.
I read this article and find it very helpful, it has tips to help students manage the school work and prevent getting overstressed.

5 Tips for Coping with Grad School Stress
By
, About.com Guide

Throughout graduate school exams loom, papers hang over us, and nagging deadlines keep us awake and stressed. How can you manage it all? Follow these 5 tips for coping with graduate school stress.
1. Start studying now. Don't wait. Procrastination will perpetuate feelings of helplessness -- you'll feel more stressed and out of control if you put off your work. The same holds true for papers. Begin as early as you can.
2. Don't cram. Psychological research shows that repeated exposure to your course material over several sessions is better than what psychologists refer to as "massed practice" -- cramming. You're more likely to understand and retain material that you've covered several times over a period of days or even weeks than material crammed over a 1-2 day period.
3. Prioritize. Make a list of all that needs to be completed. Then prioritize your list, noting due dates as well as rating the overall importance of each item. Use this list to organize your study time.
4. Sleep. Though it might seem like a good idea to pull an all-nighter to get that paper finished, you're better off getting some sleep and returning to it in the morning. Research shows that we need sleep in order to function.
5. Exercise. "Why should I spend precious time on exercise?" you ask? Exercise is one of the best stress-relievers around. Really. When we're stressed we experience elevated levels of stress hormones that keep us wound up. We experience tightened muscles and short tempers. Exercise permits us to release the pent-up energy.

Monday, March 8, 2010

International Women's Day 2010

March 8 is the International Women's Day and it's celebrated around the world . It is an occasion to review how far women have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change.

Although I am personally disappointed that Avatar did not take home more Oscar's than expected, I am proud that for the first time a women won for Best Picture. The film "Hurt Locker" was the overall winner of the night.

International Women's Day 2010 - Nice Timing for Kathryn Bigelow Oscar Wins - National Ledger