MEGA - Studying, Exams, Stress, and coping with them

[Herbet]

This post from another blog site fits in perfectly here....and it's a shrink that owns the site

http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2007/08/how_to_take_ritalin_correctly.html

thanks, very sweet article

 

[ebola?]

ok, so every time test roll around, for example right now (chem 2 and calc 2 tests tomorrow), I try and sit down and study, but when it comes to memorizing information I just can't do it. Working on math problems is not a problem, but when I have to learn concepts and memorize them i just can't do it. I'll work for 10 minutes and stop and procrastinate (who knows how long that lasts). During the week i never study because i can't sit down and run through my notes, its way to damn hard.

What helps you guys out? Anybody with ADD would like to chime in tell me there tips that don't involve any sort of drug

I do not have ADD, so I'm not sure how useful this advice will prove. However, psychological research shows that the least efficient way to learn something is through rote repetition. You will accrue new concepts most efficiently if you try to somehow associate them with other cognitive material that you've already learned and work with them new concepts more intensively, and for a longer period. What works for me is associating new concepts with preexisting conceptual maps (fitting them in, altering the 'map'). Other personality types might do better coming up with practical applications and working through them.

ebola

 

[Pillthrill]

Motivated at work

I work at a grocery store in the health and beauty department. Its my job to put all the products on the shelf (stock) when they come on the truck, organize all the left over products (backstock, keep everything clean and in order as well as take care of any problems with the codes and stuff.

But I just can't keep motivated. I only work from 10am to 2pm and it just drags. I will mess around with stupid stuff, socialize rather than putting stuff away and organize. I'm just overwhelmed with all the things I have to do.
Do you guys have any tips for staying motivated at work?

 

[New]

I try and think of the people I'll be helping, even if they're not appreciative of my work.

Doesn't last very long, but it helps for a bit.

 

[Ressur]

can you set some time goals? Maybe try to take on some added responsibility. Are you looking to be motivated to do your job, or because you get your job done to easy and your bored? I've always found breaking up the day with time goals makes boring work go by faster. Split your shift up into 3x80 minute segments with each segment being a certain task. Or get your crap done as fast as possible and go hide in the bathroom for an hour reading a mag.

 

[Pillthrill]

Its morning. I move slow. I never sleep well. Mondays are killer and its always a long day because I have nght classes after...

Its hard to set time goals because the size of crap I half to do depends on how much comes on the truck or how much someone fucked up my wall I put backstock on. Plus I'm pretty much my own boss, its rare that anyone gets on my case so I just end up doing whatever I want.

My job kinda sucks in the fact that I'm given a lot of time to think because its rather tedious. Mostly how much it sucks and how much I don't want to be there.

Plus the money isn't a motivator. I just pay car insurance, gas for my car and food (not like groceries but going and getting fast food or a pizza or whatever when I'm with the bf.)

Kinda sucks

 

[**hAyzzZZ**]

I have found that the pride I take in my work is motivation enough. I *want* things to look good, I *want* my work to stand out and my effort show through. This and really looking for things that need to get done, doing them, setting myself a goal of doing them by 5pm etc, you will find time FLY.

 

[Pillthrill]

I do care about my department. After all is IS MY department. But like I said I'm overwhelmed and often tired. Speaking of which I have to work tomorrow and its 3am. And no matter what I do someone messes it up. It used to be so perfect and then I left and it went to shit. I'm kinda at a loss. Its not that I don't care. I really just don't wanna stay 3 hours late and bust my ass for $10 an hour, well because its not worth it. PLUS its not worth stressing myself out ALL the time. I can't take it and it makes me rather sick. Not to mention I never get any of the help I ask for and people LOVE to just dump random shit in my lap all the time. There is no doubt that I'm good at what I do or they wouldn't have hired me back at the same wage I left at.
*sigh*, maybe I'm just screwed. Perhaps the pills should help me tomorrow. I kno &tsk tsk tsk* but at least I get a lot done....

 

[jam uh weezy]

Plus I'm pretty much my own boss, its rare that anyone gets on my case so I just end up doing whatever I want.

The whole idea of grocery jobs is to get paid the most possible while working very little, talking to coworkers, eating food. And then, when you absolutely have to get something done, bust it out in an hour.
chill out. repeat.

Keep doing it right.

 

[mrs_mia_wallace]

I think about being homeless & hungry & unemployed.

Helps me stay motivated.

 

[Pillthrill]

Lol, well everything is a mess and that REALLY bothers me. I don't like mess, it makes me anxious and I kinda like the pat on the back for doing everything well (I guess it kinda pays to be anal about things sometimes). It just seems that I always have so much stuff to do.
Perhaps I just rather screwed. I guess pray I can bust out a serious hall ass day tomorrow. At least the upside is that everything is a lil bit easier. Clean up the serious mess someone else did, set items and tags, try to make a serious dent in 7 pages of warehouse codes to check, and if time clean shit up and discontinue stupid shit. Hopefully the caffeine will help. I doubt I'll get half of that done. I'm always running all over the store and hardly getting anything done. Its the tags and paper work you look at when you are done and it seems like you did nothing. PLUS I have to get the work from today done that I couldn't get finished because I couldn't say late because of school. Maybe I'll have to TRY to bust ass (yeah right, motivation???) so I can take it easier later. I hate that place.
Perhaps I'm just out of luck in the motivation department.
(Am I responding too much, too much caffeine and what not. LOL)

 

[jam uh weezy]

I dunno what kind of system or whatever you guys have over there, but when I worked as a gm clerk during days, it was mostly me just waltzing around the store and working as I pleased. Occasionally the managers would need something specific, but usually I worked on my own time.

so...
Find another grocery clerk/stock person, specifically one of the newer ones who might be looking for more work. Go up to him/her, tell them to help you over here, blah blah blah. Chances are he'll comply without question. New people at jobs are often lost and don't know what to do, and stores hire a lot of young, impressionable people.

 

[**hAyzzZZ**]

I do care about my department. After all is IS MY department. But like I said I'm overwhelmed and often tired. Speaking of which I have to work tomorrow and its 3am. And no matter what I do someone messes it up. It used to be so perfect and then I left and it went to shit. I'm kinda at a loss. Its not that I don't care. I really just don't wanna stay 3 hours late and bust my ass for $10 an hour, well because its not worth it.

Dude, it's called life.

You have a job, you need the income obviously, and in the bad state the economoy is in, would you seriously complain about getting $10 per hour when others do MORE work for LESS money and ten times more hours?!

That is retail. You lay something out nicely, set all the stock up, even relay it, and another worker fucks it up. If you get pissed off and stressed that badly over it, complain to your manager that your co workers are not working to the standard it should be kept at, or resign.

If it is your department, then you need to make sure whoever is looking after it when you aren't there, does their job properly or keep complaining to your boss until something gets done. Or, ask for more hours at work so you are there overseeing it all the time.

 

[Pillthrill]

Nah, I can't really bother people during the day..nights I could get away with bothering the checkers but its just too busy during the day.
As for making sure ppl do their job, I have left notes, drawn diagrams, yelled, fuck it never works. They always have some HS kid do it who just doesn't give a flying fuck no matter what.

 

[GenericMind]

Caffeine.

 

[TheSpade]

I too struggle massively with being motivated at work. I hardly work any hours, just 25 a week so only 5hrs a day, but I can't bare being there. It's such a rubbish place to work, boring, boss is an idiot, menial etc etc. There's always loads to do but it's not interesting in the slightest and I struggle to focus, my concentration span is worse than a goldfish and I forget loads of things. Doesn't help I'm always tired through lack of sleep (had sleep issues for years) which makes it even difficult to stay focused and concentrate.

I'm not very pro-active at times either, I'll continually put things off until the last minute or until it's too late. I'm just not cut out for working, too lazy. :D

I should be motivated to work hard as well as I'm using it to save up and go to Australia but even that doesn't seem to motivate me much.

 

[eDDe9]

Get a commission job or a job with prospects. At the moment you're just working on reverse commission, do as little work as possible without getting the sack so you still get the pay.

 

[Mariposa]

I find that getting the tasks I dislike the most (usually responding to phone calls and correspondence) out of the way early in the day makes the rest of my days better. Ordinarily I devote a solid hour to it first thing even if I am sleepy or otherwise don't feel up to doing bitchwork.

PT, $10 an hour for stock clerk work is more than you'd be making in an office as an entry-level person. Our grocery employees are unionized and don't make that much! There are people who would love a peaced out job like that!

 

[An Iz]

When people are motivated at work its because they love the things they do. I had a friend who was able to motivate himself as a stock worker. He devised all sorts of new ways to count things visually and was always testing what he could do in his head.

Just nerd out, and find a way to have fun with it. Its ok to be dorky and enjoy work.

 

[jam uh weezy]

^Me and my friend always had fun with the leftover cardboard boxes. Forts to sleep in, knife throwing contests, pyramids. Perfect for blocking out the cameras and consuming merchandise. The best was making giant walls about 5 layers deep blocking off whole aisles. Shit we pissed the janitors off so much...Sometimes we'd hide, and when they came to clear them out we'd jump out and scare the shit outta them.

We'd knock out our stock-load in a few hours, and just fuck around the rest of the night or leave early.

Nah, I can't really bother people during the day..nights I could get away with bothering the checkers but its just too busy during the day. As for making sure ppl do their job, I have left notes, drawn diagrams, yelled, fuck it never works. They always have some HS kid do it who just doesn't give a flying fuck no matter what.

Fuuuck i know what you mean. I used to always leave notes telling people to keep my organized overstock carts the way i had them. I'd get there the next day and there'd be little responses "why?" "says who?".