10 Key Steps To Success

1. Throw away old magazines. In fact, stop reading beauty magazines. They will only get you down and make you feel un-succesful. Ignore past report cards, transcripts, etc. Just because you failed math 10, does not mean you will fail at life.

2. Organize your working space. There should be no background noises such as the television, music, or people talking while you are working. The essentials for an adequate working desk are: Pens, pencils, sharpeners, highlighters, scissors, glue, and colored pens. You might also want to put a kleenex box, a clock, a bottle of water, and spare paper on your desk. If anything is bothering you while you are working/studying, fix it. Make your space comfortable and relaxing.

3. Forget about what you have to do later, where you have to go, what your kids are going to eat. Worry about that when the time comes. Set an amount of time for homework. It should be approximately two hours. This is enough time to accomplish something, and not feel too stressed out.

4. Frustrated as to where you should start? Begin by reviewing what you KNOW. Whether you're in high school, college, or working, review. Look over past readings, and make sure your head is concentrating on the subject at hand. Ten minutes should be plenty of time to review. After that, you might want to get your highlighter out. Start reading new material, slowly, concentrating on what is being said. Anything bolded or that sounds important should be highlighted. Any words you are not sure of, should be either underlined or written down on a seperate piece of paper for dictionary use later.

5. After you've finished reading the chapter, look up unknown words and write quick definitions beside them. Re-read the chapter, taking note on what changes you've made. It may seem like a long process, but in the end, you'll realize that your brain has absorbed alot of information.

6. Start with questions you know. Include all work, in a neat, orderly fashion. For the tougher questions, go back into the section needed, and re-read it. Think about the question for 30 seconds. If you have trouble answering it after five minutes, skip it and move on. Anything you don't know, ask for help, get an online tutor or support group, or simply look up the information.

7. Do not let anything like boyfriends, family problems, or personal problems get in the way of your study time. When it's time to do the work, do it. Focus hard and think of how great a successful life would be. In order to be succesful, you must really want it.

8. Always find time before and after work to pamper yourself. Drink green tea (which makes the mind more alert), take a bath, meditate. Anything that will put your mind at ease and ready to work.

9. Never put yourself down because you cannot get a question. It is better to leave it until you're done the rest of your work, or to spend twenty minutes looking up all possible solutions.

10. Set aside two hours everyday to do such work. Don't be afraid to get help. Don't think negatively, and don't "sleep on the job". Success is a very important part of everyone's life. Make the most of it.

Learn more about this author, Angel of the morning.
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