Two Documents that Will Save Your LifePosted on September 11, 2013 by Jacqueline Sly
Maybe “Two Documents that Will Save Your Life” is a little dramatic. I feel like it is reasonable to say that these two documents will help keep your sanity in check for the remainder of the semester. Or at least somewhat in check. Did I mention that we’re officially one week out? Congratulations guys, we made it this far. Now, it’ll take some time to prepare these two documents but I can confidently say that they will save you a lot of time down the road. Plus, one of these will even encourage you to take advantage of a valuable, under-utilized resource in the department.
The two documents I speak of are …
Master List of Assignments: Go through the syllabi / stellar sites and write down the deadline and name of every assignment from each of your classes. Organize these assignments by date and group assignments that have deadlines on the same date. Extra credit: come up with symbols to indicate priority. Example : big exams should have a higher priority than problem sets.
I add these assignments to my Google Calendar but keeping a list helps me to identify ”Hell Weeks” early on. So I keep an electronic and hard copy of this list. Also, be sure to keep this list updated. Some assignments can come out of no where.
Some people prefer having a physical calendar with these assignments on it but I feel pretty prepared with a couple hard copies of the master list (one for keeping on my person and one for the wall space above my desk) and my Google Calendar.
Master List of Office Hours: Again, start with the syllabus and stellar site for each of your fall classes. Write down the times and locations of office hour for the professors and ta’s of each of your classes. Make a general M-F calendar sheet and write down the office hours according to times. Since this is hard to explain, I’ve included my Master List of Office Hours for this semester below.
I am a huge Google Calendar nut and most of my life is documented in my Google Calendar. But I don’t like to keep office hours in there because it makes everything quickly get too crowded. But I print out this general calendar sheet with times and locations and stick it to my wall above my desk. This way, I know when I can go to office hours and it makes it a lot easier to just go. Inertia is difficult but once you’re on your way out the door, you’ll get there. Maybe bring some snacks or a coffee with you.
—————-
Sure, preparing these can eat up some time. But I would argue that you will save time throughout the semester and you won’t be as likely to forget an assignment. This is especially crucial for assignment-heavy classes such as 2.671.
Also, find a calendar software that you like. I highly recommend Google Calendar because it is so mobile and colorful but I have friends who swear by their Outlook Calendars or similar OpenSource programs.
Original post found here: http://asme.scripts.mit.edu/home/two-documents-that-will-save-your-life/
Maybe “Two Documents that Will Save Your Life” is a little dramatic. I feel like it is reasonable to say that these two documents will help keep your sanity in check for the remainder of the semester. Or at least somewhat in check. Did I mention that we’re officially one week out? Congratulations guys, we made it this far. Now, it’ll take some time to prepare these two documents but I can confidently say that they will save you a lot of time down the road. Plus, one of these will even encourage you to take advantage of a valuable, under-utilized resource in the department.
The two documents I speak of are …
- Master List of Assignments
- Master List of Office Hours
Master List of Assignments: Go through the syllabi / stellar sites and write down the deadline and name of every assignment from each of your classes. Organize these assignments by date and group assignments that have deadlines on the same date. Extra credit: come up with symbols to indicate priority. Example : big exams should have a higher priority than problem sets.
I add these assignments to my Google Calendar but keeping a list helps me to identify ”Hell Weeks” early on. So I keep an electronic and hard copy of this list. Also, be sure to keep this list updated. Some assignments can come out of no where.
Some people prefer having a physical calendar with these assignments on it but I feel pretty prepared with a couple hard copies of the master list (one for keeping on my person and one for the wall space above my desk) and my Google Calendar.
Master List of Office Hours: Again, start with the syllabus and stellar site for each of your fall classes. Write down the times and locations of office hour for the professors and ta’s of each of your classes. Make a general M-F calendar sheet and write down the office hours according to times. Since this is hard to explain, I’ve included my Master List of Office Hours for this semester below.
I am a huge Google Calendar nut and most of my life is documented in my Google Calendar. But I don’t like to keep office hours in there because it makes everything quickly get too crowded. But I print out this general calendar sheet with times and locations and stick it to my wall above my desk. This way, I know when I can go to office hours and it makes it a lot easier to just go. Inertia is difficult but once you’re on your way out the door, you’ll get there. Maybe bring some snacks or a coffee with you.
—————-
Sure, preparing these can eat up some time. But I would argue that you will save time throughout the semester and you won’t be as likely to forget an assignment. This is especially crucial for assignment-heavy classes such as 2.671.
Also, find a calendar software that you like. I highly recommend Google Calendar because it is so mobile and colorful but I have friends who swear by their Outlook Calendars or similar OpenSource programs.
Original post found here: http://asme.scripts.mit.edu/home/two-documents-that-will-save-your-life/