Where to Turn for Online Tutoring

Where to Turn for Online Tutoring Find a Tutor Online: Where to Turn? ChaptersTutoring Centers that offer Private Lessons OnlineWebsites that Provide Tutoring OnlineFinding Your Online Tutor Through AdvertsAccording to a report published in The Daily Telegraph, a whopping 72% of students in the UK have had private tutoring in preparation for their Common Entrance Exam.A survey done for the Sutton Trust discloses that 24% of all students in Britain have benefited from one on one tutoring at some point during their academic career. In and around London, the percentage of students who have benefited from face-to-face instruction jumps to 40%.With the proliferation of Internet-based teaching materials, online tutoring has seen a 500% growth rate over the past year.Online learning is a logical extension of youths' digital existence.Entertainment, personal profiles and social media all dwell in cyberspace. Thus, much like tutees who have enjoyed lessons from their in home tutor, online students adapt easily and comfortably to a study realm more closely assoc iated with their social lives.Online learning marks a clear distinction from the formality of traditional coursework by educating students on a platform they are comfortable navigating.Let's find out where you can reap the benefits of online tutoring!Let us help you find the answers to all of your online tutoring questions. Source: PIxabay Credit: Geraltsupplemental instruction, especially for younger learners.By listing your city and what type of private tutor you are hoping to engage â€" a reading tutor, or to give your tot a boost in arithmetic, you will find entries from agencies and independent tutors UK, all ready to guide your tot to academic success.Money-saving tip: you and your neighbors could schedule a teacher online for group learning sessions, rather than each parent engaging an individual tutor for each child.A Classic Solution: Your Local PaperLondon-based national newspapers sell over 9 million copies per dayEnglish regional dailies, morning and evening editions, se ll more than 2 million copies.Wales's 6 dailies sell nearly half a million copies.Scotland's 9 dailies sell over three quarter of a million copies.In Ireland, 84% of the adult population read the newspaper daily.This proliferation of print assures that you could most certainly find the academic tutoring  online service you're looking for!Even in these digital times, you can still find tutoring services listed in the classified ads section of your local or regional paper. With a bit of time, you may well find a good match to your educational needs.Whether you work through an agency or select a tutoring website; whether you seek an independent tutor or select a Superprof professor, your private tutoring adventure is just beginning.Aren't you excited?

Top 5 Tips To Help You Top Your Class In Math

Top 5 Tips To Help You Top Your Class In Math Many aspire to score well in math and top their class. However, not everyone is able to achieve the feat; ever wonder why? A dedicated and structured approach to learning can help a long way in understanding concepts and yet that may not be enough to help you score top marks. Read on to learn a few top tips recommended by online tutors for math exams to help you top your class and score full marks. #1: Extra math problems don’t just earn you extra credit, they will help you get to the top If you believe that working out extra math problems can help you earn extra credit alone, you are mistaken. They help you practise more and this will ultimately help you perform better in exams. Also, the more number of practise sets you work out, you will get more and more thorough with the topic at hand. This is why you should always look at doing your math homework and extra practise sets recommended by your teachers. #2: Don’t read math, practise it! Some students simply skim through the solved problems instead of solving it themselves. When you are learning a topic, you would do well to work out the problems even the solved examples. This will help you see where you go wrong and thus help you learn better. Card Math isn’t quite like other subjects, skimming through problems or reading them won’t help you! Work out your homework and assignment problems and seek math assignment help or homework help as and when you need it. #3: Teaching others is one of the best ways to master a topic When you teach someone, you get better clarity of thought and you can also gauge your understanding of the topic because you try to organize the information in your head and explain it to them. This helps you structure the concepts well and this in turn will help you get a clear idea as to what it is all about. If someone asks you for help, take some time out and help them with it. After all, knowledge shared is knowledge squared! #4: Try solving puzzles and popular problems related to the topic you are studying Does this statement sound confusing to you? More often than not, there are popular trick questions and puzzles that are related to the topic you are studying. Solving them could help you think well and test your ability to correlate and solve the toughest problems in the topics. Such activities will help you with difficult topics such as probability. If you are stuck with any such problem that is not part of your practise test, you could always opt for math homework help online to understand it better and solve it. 25% Discount on All Packages from Tutor Pace Cheap and Beneficial #5: Take mock tests once you are done with a topic Mock tests will not only boost your confidence, mock tests will also help you practise working on completing tests within the stipulated time and this is quite important when it comes to exams.

Cost Accounting Tutoring

Cost Accounting Tutoring Get Cost Accounting Tutoring Online Cost Accounting is one of the most important lessons any future business person can learn. Understanding the concepts behind it can help you maximize profits and increase productivity. Tutor Pace has the expertise you need to master Cost Accounting and score higher on your next assignment or test. Our tutors are available 24/7 to give you in-depth tutoring in everything from basic ideas to advanced concepts, including: Various cost analysis metrics Direct cost, labor and material analysis Inventory management Production and cost analysis Pricing and sales Interactive Online Learning Our virtual classroom makes learning Cost Accounting easy. You and your tutor share an interactive whiteboard, and you can even share a browser window, text chatting, or an audio conversation. Unlimited Cost Accounting Tutoring Tutor Pace has a range of unlimited tutoring programs that give you as much assistance as you need. Your account includes: Homework help Review of important concepts Preparation for your next test Checking assignment answers Getting aid researching for a project Tutor Paces Cost Accounting tutors can give you the edge you need to succeed in class and beyond. Let our tutors guide you to increased confidence and higher grades.

AP Classes Go Online

AP Classes Go Online Despite strict budget cuts, interest in Advanced Placement (AP) classes at high schools has skyrocketed, and students are now taking AP classes online, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Online classes and digital classrooms have been gaining popularity for quite some time. But, digitizing AP programs is a fairly recent trend. The AP program has been booming lately, as students look to get a head start on college classes and credit. Taking an AP class can also improve a students chances of getting into a better college and can cut tuition expenses. About 90% of colleges give high school students college credit for passing AP tests. Some students can actually shave an entire year off college with lots of AP credit, saving a full years worth of tuition and other expenses. AP exam taking has increased 159% since 2000, as a record-breaking 1.99 million students plan to take AP exams next fall. Schools always encourage students to take AP tests and are happy to see more interest, but offering more AP courses is getting very expensive, especially as schools are forced to lay off teachers. Some schools even cover the $87 charge, but that is getting increasingly more difficult with budget cuts and more student interest. So, schools took the AP classes online. Its more ubiquitous, accommodating pretty much any interested student, and its much cheaper. Students simply log on to a program and email, call or instant message teachers with questions. Students can watch lectures, read materials, complete exercises and quizzes and file assignments or exams all online. Students can also collaborate with others to complete online projects. The College Board, which oversees the AP program, said there are no significant differences in test scores between students who take AP classes online and those who take them in traditional settings. However, online AP classes are still too recent to measure significant results. Right now, only 0.5% of AP courses are taken online, but they are becoming more popular. Courses are now available through online schools in 27 states, and 32 states have online, AP programs already set up. Students can also enroll in online AP programs through private companies such as: Advanced Academics, Oklahoma City, which charges $425 for a one-semester AP class. Apex Learning, Seattle; Aventa Learning and its parent company K12 Inc., Herndon, Va.; or the Florida Virtual School, Orlando, Fla., also offer online AP courses.

How To Write an Essay

How To Write an Essay How to Improve your Essay Writing ChaptersHow to Write a Good EssayHow to Write an Essay PlanEssay StructureHow to Write an Introduction to an EssayHow to Conclude an EssayAdditional Tips for Essay WritingSome students have a really tough time planning and writing essays, and even a 1500-word thesis can get them in rather a state.It is a good idea to get yourself used to essay-writing before you attempt a significant paper, like a university dissertation. Although a dissertation is usually around 10000 words long, remember that it is no different to a shorter essay, it is just magnified and therefore more detail needs to go in it.Approaching essay writing can be very daunting as it is difficult to know where to start. Photo via Visual hunt CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4 .76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsHow to Write a Good EssayThe most important thing for students to know when they begin writing essays is that, although a ‘perfect’ essay might exist, planning the perfect essay is virtually impossible.Although each essay should be structured in a similar way, there is no prime number of paragraphs or points to be made, nor is there a predetermined checklist that teachers use to tick off requirements met for all essays across every subject. This is because no two essays are the same â€" essays are designed to allow ideas to flow freely and should display the writer’s personality and opinions.By trying to emulate yours and others’ idea of a perfect essay, you could be stifling your creativity so dispel the idea that you must write in a certain way and just get writing.As easy as that sounds, we understand why students are so caught up on the perfect piece of writing, as they are given unrealistic goals to reach. Websites and educational articles inundate pupils with details about perfect grades, perfect application forms for further education and, of course, how to write the perfect essay.If this holy grail of essays does exist then how come each and every one of them has slightly different ideas on how to perfect it? If a perfect essay does indeed exist, it is only because you have made it perfect in the way that you have approached your chosen subject and how you have made links to come up with your ultimate conclusion.If you were to ask a teacher if they could pick out one perfect essay from all of those they have ever seen, they would find it utterly impossible since every student has unique experiences  to draw from and distinguishes their analysis of texts completely differently to others.Furthermore, the emotions that are displayed in essays are what teachers want to see, and who is anyone to say that we should all feel the same thing when we read a book or write an essay?Writing an essay can be a daunting task. There are many pitfalls for the unwary, but don’t despair! The advice below should help you avoid some of the common mistakes…Understand the question.  Underline key points or words. Is it asking you to discuss, contrast, define or evaluate? Answer the question that’s actually on the page, not the question you wish was there.Do your research.  Make detailed notes from your sources (books, articles, films). Make sure you always write down the full details of where any quotes or ideas come from. Exercise caution  when using internet sources â€" Wikipedia, whilst a wonderful resource,  should not be quoted as a source.Plan your structure.  Start by just getting your ideas down with a spider diagram or a list. After you’ve done that, begin to re-arrange material into a more coherent structure, deciding on what to include in your introduction, your main points for each paragraph and how you will draw it all together in the conclusion.Use the active voice wherever possible.  The active voice occurs when  the subject of the sentence is also the ‘doer’: eg. ‘Hitler’s army invaded Poland’ rather than ‘Poland was invaded by Hitler’s army’. The first sentence is much more direct and snappy â€" the passive voice can easily sound waffly.Don’t make sweeping generalisations.  These can include sentences such as “Many people think that [insert opinion]”. Be specific â€" if you can’t say which people, and reference where they’ve said it, then it’s probably best to re-think what you’re writing.Be careful not to present other people’s ideas and opinions as your own.  It’s easily done, but it’s still plagiarism. If you’re putting forward an opinion that you’ve read on a particular subject, write: ‘[Dr X] wrote in her paper on [Y] that it’s possible that [Z]’.Most important, though, is to remember that your essay should be your chance to put across what   you  think and feel about a subject. If you can follow the advice above,  andput something of yourself into your essay, then  you’re onto something very good indeed.Find a Skype English teacher here.How to Write an Essay PlanMost students will be aware that an essay starts with an introductory paragraph, followed by a series of points divided into paragraphs or subtitles and then culminating in a summary of the points made and the resulting conclusion.Although some students are natural writers and can write an essay with minimal planning, most students need a plan or draft to work with. Whether you use a spider diagram, flow chart or just note down bullet points during this preparatory stage, you should try to visualise the paragraphs on the page and imagine how the entire piece will come together.Learn more writing tricks with this complete guide to writing!It does not matter how you plan your essay, but putting your ideas down on paper helps you to see how your essay will flow. Photo credit: drew.harry via Visual HuntIt is at this stage, when you are playing around with ideas and theories to discuss, that you should identify the order in which you will make your points. Good essays usually provide subtle links from one paragraph to the next, so do be sure to think in advance about which points lead smoothly onto the next.It is whilst planning your essay that you will do the most research, as you will effectively be writing down a summary of what you intend to cover in your text. As such, you might re-read sections or chapters of your workbooks, go over notes taken in class, look at resources offered by your exam board (whether that be AQA, OCR, WJEC, Edexcel, Eduqas or another) or surf the Internet to find interesting critiques or evaluations that you could look into as part of your investigation.Planning your essay and having the bones of your final piece in place can do a lot for your confidence, as you will have a clear direction and can feel positive t hat all you need to do from this point on is to expand on your initial thoughts. Knowing that you do not need to research and come up with a range of new avenues to follow can make it seem like the bulk of the work has already been done.Find GCSE English tutor here. CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our t utors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsEssay StructureIf you try to write an essay in the order in which it is to be read, you are going to encounter some difficulties. This is because, despite having planned what you are going to investigate, you still need to allow yourself some freedom during the writing process, otherwise your essay could wind up becoming monotone and mund ane with little emotion to sway the reader with.How to Structure an EssayYou should start your writing task by filling out the body of text, which means working through the points in your essay plan and adding a certain level of detail, quotes and other evidence to back up your thoughts. At this point, if any new ideas pop into your mind, follow your instincts and see where this analysis takes you.So long as you do not allow yourself to get distracted from the point of the thesis, you can still get your essay back onto the course you had mapped out. You never know, it could be these spontaneous changes in direction which take your essay from a good one to a great one. You might even describe it as your perfect essay!The time it takes to write your essay is irrelevant. If you are a fast writer, then writing a 1500-word essay in the space of a couple of hours is not uncommon. Equally, spending two or three hours a night for a week on structuring your perfect essay could simply be the best system for you.Just because your peers spent more or less time on their essays than you did, does not mean that your work is any stronger or weaker. Find out how writing every day can help you improve your focus!If you're a beginner or trying to improve your English check out our guide for improving your writing skills. Or get help from an English tutor London, Birmingham, Newcastle or anywhere in the UK.How to Write an Introduction to an EssayA top essay writing tip is to always leave your introduction and conclusion until last, even though this goes against your instincts. The introduction of an essay, by nature, tells the reader what you plan to look at in the thesis and gives them an idea of where this essay might take them.Introductions should remain quite vague though, as do not forget that that you have not yet investigated your points at this stage and thus do not want to take anything away from your concluding paragraph. Introductions do not need to be smart, as they a re just the first in a number of stepping stones towards a final statement or revelation.Imagine your essay is like a series of stepping stones, with your introduction leading to a number of paragraphs towards the final conclusion. Photo credit: sharing user info with oath is wrong via VisualHunt.comHow to Conclude an EssayThe conclusion, meanwhile, summarises the key points made in the body of your text, fed by the various sources of information you have used to support these. The conclusive paragraph should ultimately answer the questions raised at the start of the piece and leave the readers with a lasting impression. It is here that you need to be smart and need to make it clear where your findings have come from and why it is that you feel this way in a concise manner.Remember that your essay’s introduction and conclusion are very closely linked and therefore you should be able to read them together and see very clearly,   acknowledgements in the latter to questions raised in the former. A clear narrative, reasoning and explanation are key!If your conclusion does not fit in with your introduction, you may need to start over and re-write your introduction to make the transition from beginning to end appear seamless.Additional Tips for Essay WritingTeachers and examiners would agree that a successful essay is the culmination of a list of things. Some of the things they will be looking for are: a strong introductory statement, an interesting interpretation of the topic, a revelation or conclusion to sum up the points discussed and, of course, a good display of spelling, grammar, vocabulary and punctuation.  Learn how to improve your spelling for better writing!Do not complete your essay and then cast it to one side. Although you may be glad to see the back of it, the finishing touches can play a huge part in the perception of your final piece. This means to revise and proofreading the text numerous times, initially to check for errors and typos and then at least once more to ensure it flows well. You might also like to ask a friend or parent to read it and provide you with unbiased feedback.Another thing to be aware of when editing your writing is tone and perspective (i.e. if you are writing in the first person as is most common in academic essays, be sure to stick to the pronoun ‘I’ throughout your piece when communicating your views).Become the best essay writer with the help of a private English tutor.Finally, you may find it useful to have a dictionary and thesaurus to hand when writing your essay, so that you can embellish the content a little.If your vocabulary is limited, use a thesaurus to experiment with new words that fit in with your tone and writing style, which can in turn help to expand your word stock and the power of your lexicon.If your essay is being marked as an original piece of work or, is a research paper of work for school or university, be sure to use citations, quotations and a bibliography to avoid plag iarism.What do you think about  the future of the English language lies?  Join the discussion: do British students need more help in English spelling?

If You Dont Like Your Job Situation-Change One Thing Today

Introvert Whisperer / If You Dont Like Your Job Situation-Change One Thing Today If You Don’t Like Your Job Situation, Change One Thing Today What gives you a deep sense of satisfaction in your career? Is it hitting milestones on a project? Seeing someone else succeed because of your efforts and impact? Our ability to feel successful comes from regularly having a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. It’s knowing that what you do makes a difference. It’s growing and learning as a person and as a professional. If you check in with yourself on these questions and you find that you are less than satisfied, then it’s important to start figuring out what needs to change. It may not be finding a new job. It could be changing something that you do or how you do it. It could be as simple as enrolling in a class to help you improve how you do your job â€" or buying a book. We are interesting creatures. Statistically, we find changing our relationships (divorcing) easier than changing our job or how we approach it. I’ve never figured this out. I say that because when you look at the data from studies, our divorce rate is higher than voluntary termination (meaning we leave a job voluntarily). And that is in spite of the data also showing that between 60-70% of all workers are not satisfied with their job. You’d think if we aren’t happy, we’d leave but we don’t. I’m not advocating that anyone resign but I am saying there are things you can do to greatly improve how you feel about your job right now. You have to figure out what that is. A good place to start is by listing all the things that aren’t working for you right now. From there, create an improvement action plan with specific steps you will take to improve the various issues on your list. You may have things listed that you think you have no control over like the boss or a troublesome peer but that’s not true. You can change how you work with them, or how you communicate. Sometimes all it takes is changing one simple thing to make a huge difference. Most of all, I want you to like your work and I know it’s possible. Go to top Do you know what your next career step is?  Many people don’t. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my eBook on how to construct your Career SMART Goals â€" that will help you put together your actions and keep you accountable. Get your copy now and start your action plan today! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

The Myths and Truths About Supplemental Essays

The Myths and Truths About Supplemental Essays The following piece was written by Rachel Korn. Rachel has been featured in ourAdmissions Expert seriesand is a former University of Pennsylvaniaadmissions officer, as well as the founder of her own admissions consulting firm. Aside from the required, main college essay, many colleges and universities often ask for at least one more essay or short answer question. Though instructions for these supplemental essays can vary greatly, the essays usually have the general theme of why are you applying to us? The schools want to check that you are sending thoughtful, well-reasoned applications that you are not just throwing an application their way because of their strong name or location near you, for example. How do you write these essays? Here are some myths and facts about them to help you succeed. Myth: I can write one essay and just modify it for all my schools. Fact: Admissions officers know when you do that. Really. You know you have not written a deep enough answer if you can replace the schools name with another schools name and it is still 100% correct. Myth: I have not been able to visit a college due to time, finances, or distance. I cannot possibly know enough to write something strong for these essays. Fact: Not true! You can interact easily with current students via the schools websites, attend college fairs and speak to alumni, or read websites and other materials to successfully get a feel for the schools and then find great, unique reasons why you like them. With proper research, you can get the schools enough without stepping a foot on the campuses. Myth: I can just copy paste from the college website. I can spend five minutes surfing and find a class in my major or a professors name in my field to cite and show something personal about the school. Fact: Admissions officers are not impressed by web-surfing skills. In fact, they expect you to be surfing. They are impressed by the students who dig deeper to say what things actually mean to them. Is that school you want a specialist in your field, or does it send many graduates into the job you may seek after college? Does the school not just have successful sports teams, but strong team spirit and a tradition of campus unity at home games in big stadiums? Is there a special tradition there that you find interesting? What are unique academic or extracurricular programs at that school that match the activities and interests you show in your application? What is the feel of the school that you like? Does it specifically support creativity or intellectuality; is it a particularly liberal or conservative campus; does it have an emphasis on an interdisciplinary education; is it especially diverse or does it have a particularly large number of international students; is it small and community-oriented so you can get to know everybody or is it a large place where you can constantly meet new people? These things go deeper. Show why you like the things you cite. The information should be necessarily unique with each school. Myth: These supplemental essays are not so important I dont have much time and I can just throw some ideas down. Fact: Your admission may depend on these essays! At the competitive colleges at which I worked, my colleagues and I have advocated for wait-listing students whom we loved and thought belonged in the class just because they wrote poor supplemental essays. We would be disappointed, and even a bit angry, because we really wanted to enthusiastically admit the students. Sometimes we did, but sometimes we didnt. How did those students fail? They wrote essays far shorter than the suggested word limits, used interchangeable general ideas that could have applied to many colleges (especially to our competitors and the competitors names may have even appeared in the essays), and used language significantly different from and weaker than the main essays (clearly not spending time editing the supplemental essays). These are all signs that students did not take care to make thoughtful, targeted applications. So, we asked ourselves if these students liked us beyond our reputation. We fought about admitting them. Did such students, even if they were superstars, deserve spots in the class over those who proved they understood us and might be more likely to accept our offers of admission? At the end of the day, remember, admissions officers ideally want to admit students who hopefully will attend. You can prove that they have a shot at you through well-written supplemental essays. As you can see, these essays directly reflect the seriousness of your application. These essays are your one chance to say to the admissions committee, I researched your school and found out that I really like it and would love to be there! They may be the last things admissions officers read in your application, so after the readers fall in love with you, dont leave them on a sour note. Give these essays as much time, attention, and revision as your main essay and give yourself your best chance at admission. Visit RachelsAdmissions Consultingsite. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Improved Performance through Better To-Do Lists

Improved Performance through Better To-Do Lists Improving Academic Performance In this article I want to discuss two key elements of achieving improved academic performance (or performance at work or in any given area of your personal life, for that matter), and how a simple but powerful system for managing your to-do list can address each element: Ensuring you never forget about an assignment, and always have enough time to plan and prepare in advance Completing any given assignment with a confident, calm, low stress demeanor The first point above is pretty simple. If you show up to math class and have forgotten to complete your homework or prepare for a quiz, your grade is going to suffer. If your boss asks you to do something at work and you forget all about it until 12 hours before it’s due, the work you complete will be of a much lower quality than it could have been had you prepared and planned in advance. I’ll spare the reader more examples, because it’s probably a relatively obvious point. The path to addressing the first point above usually flows through the tried and true method of keeping a calendar and using a to-do list. By writing down all the things you need to do, it’s much less likely you’ll forget any given item, and most of us get a very good feeling from crossing things off of a to-do list. I read a book a few years ago which changed how I think about to-do lists called “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” by David Allen. Mr. Allen doesn’t bash to-do lists, they are an important part of his system for becoming more productive. The MyGuru To-Do list matrix, which I’ll discuss in a few paragraphs, borrows much from Mr. Allen’s thinking about how to create your own personal system for keeping track of all the things you need to do to succeed at school, at work, and at home. However, what I found most interesting about the “GTD System” as it’s often called, has to do with point 2) above; getting things done with a confident, calm, low stress demeanor. Allen describes how, and I find this intuitively very true, when you keep too much information in your head, you get overloaded. You’re never quite sure if you’re forgetting about something, and you’re constantly reprioritizing. At any given point in time when you might be able to relax, or you should be focused on your spouse, or your coach, or your teacher, your mind can easily wander towards the long list of items which you need to accomplish. This can be surprisingly stressful, and lead to low quality work, studying, and even strained relationships. By having some system, even if it’s really simple, for writing everything down and prioritizing, you allow your mind to relax, and stop trying to use its power remember facts and simple things you have to do. Instead, brain power can be focused on solving complex problems and thinking critically and creatively on any given thing. MyGuru’s To-Do List Matrix By clicking here, you can download our free “To-Do List Matrix” productivity tool. It’s an extremely simple Microsoft Word-based tool that can help anyone organize all of their tasks at work or school, medium and long term goals and projects, and basic “to-do” list items. In the above video, I describe how to use the matrix, but it’s pretty simple. The steps include: Categorizing your life into separate areas, each with their own list of activities you need to accomplish. For students, their classes, sports teams, clubs, etc. make good categories Keeping separate columns for the things you need to do today, this week, or this month… ..and then crossing out items, or moving them left and right, as you prioritize or deprioritize Keeping a separate area for longer term goals and projects you’d like to accomplish, but which you aren’t currently working on One huge benefit of the matrix is that you can step back and get a holistic view of everything you have to do for the next month or so, starting with today. You’d be surprised at the reduction in stress you’ll feel when you are confident that you have everything covered. It will go a long way towards ensuring you do your best on any given item, whether that’s preparing for a test or performing in a big game. About the Author Mark Skoskiewicz is MyGuru's founder. After graduating from Nortwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in 2009, he has pursued informal and formal education to understand how to improve academic performance through better academic planning and study habits. He recently completed,with Distinction, theUniversity of California at San Diegocourse LearningHow to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help you Master Tough Subjects