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Author: Mahrosh Gealani

We have discussed the disadvantages of pulling all-nighters. Now, let's talk about the hidden benefits of studying in the early morning.

Benefit 1: A Sense of Accomplishment Throughout the Day.

You feel super productive throughout the day! Starting your day with a delicious breakfast and a nice cup of coffee, all ready to tackle your assignments and meet those upcoming deadlines, is an awesome way to begin. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and gets you all set for the day ahead. Making a meaningful contribution early on really boosts your energy and sets you up for a fantastic day!

Benefit 2: You are encouraged to sleep earlier and build a good night routine.

To kickstart your day and breeze through your tasks, it's crucial to make a good night's sleep a priority. Start your evening routine with a cup of soothing chamomile tea and a relaxing stroll. These simple activities will help you wake up feeling energized and ready to conquer your to-do list. Also, try placing your alarm clock across the room before bed to resist the urge of using your phone late into the night. Remember, the more well-rested you are, the higher the chances of waking up early and having a fruitful day!

Benefit 3: You have an enhanced concentration.

Since you were able to have a great night's sleep, you won't be tackling your tasks while feeling tired. Early mornings give you the chance to approach your assignments with increased focus and fewer distractions, as there is nothing else you should be doing anyway!

Benefit 4: Early Morning Naturally Reduces Stress.

When we choose to study later in the day, we may sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by the unread book or the upcoming paper that we haven't even started yet. However, if you take the opportunity to work on these tasks early in the morning, not only will you feel a great sense of achievement, but you will also enrich your entire day by being more fully engaged in the present moment. By tackling your tasks early on, you will find yourself experiencing less stress when it comes to finishing or even starting them later in the day.

Benefit 5: You are more likely to have a stronger memory retention.

Studying in the morning, instead of later in the day, is a great way to effectively engage with your work using a refreshed mind. When you are well-rested and not trying to start a task after a long day of classes, it greatly improves your chances of staying focused. With increased and clear focus, you are more likely to actively engage with the material and retain a much larger amount of information compared to studying with a tired mind.

We all have our own ways of making the most of our day. If you're finding it difficult to find time or energy to study, why not give early morning studying a shot? Make sure you prioritize getting enough sleep and set an early alarm to give it a try! 😊

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If consistently pulling all-nighters is a lifestyle, think again!

Author: Mahrosh Gealani

Here are three facts we are sure you've heard of before, but explained differently.

Number 1: lack of sleep is innately connected to lack of focus and concentration: More time at night to study is often connected to more tasks completed. You may have believed that. However, that may not always be true. In fact, sleep deficit is strongly connected to lack of attention on the task. Lack of attention on the task results in lack of motivation to get the task done. Lack of focus on the task done results in a task not efficiently done. So did lack of sleep really help?

Number 2: lack of sleep hinders critical thinking: To understand content in an academic environment, we consistently use our critical thinking. Lack of sleep is closely tied to our critical thinking capacities. Staying up all night to study for an exam may not be as helpful as you may think. Because you are running on low energy from severe lack of rest, the cognitive capacity that would've allowed you to use your critical thinking to answer the question may be compromised. So is an all-nighter an efficient plan to study for that exam?

Number 3: lack of sleep has negative impacts on mental health: This one is no secret! You have probably seen this fact in some shape or form on an instagram story, Pinterest board, or a random poster stuck to the Berry Library pillar that is probably going to fall off on its own and then be found crumpled up in the corner two weeks later. But what does this fact really mean? Your emotions are closely tied to your ability to tackle and achieve a task. Procrastination is not linked to your laziness. Procrastination is linked to your emotional well-being that convinces you that you are not good enough to even begin the task at hand. This is why losing sleep can actually damage your capacities to start a task, let alone reach the end at some point. So is losing sleep worth it?

Sleep is the most important function for a student. The proper rest will always nurture proper task completion, which will set healthy lifestyle habits!

Here are some tips for better sleep!

  1. Did you have a venti caramel macchiato with extra shots at 8 PM? Try reducing your caffeine intake after 3 PM and watch the magic of natural restful sleep happen!
  2. Are you scrolling on TikTok until 12 AM? Try making a habit of no phone 30-45 minutes before going to bed!
  3. Did you take a walk today? Anywhere? Did you do any physical activity today? Research suggests that restful sleep is closely connected to physical activity.
  4. Last but not least, be CONSISTENT! The more often you practice good habits, the easier restful sleep will get!

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Let’s talk about time management! In this blog post, I’ll discuss time management tools and resources that the ASC offers, and I’ll talk about how to use them.

Every resource that I discuss in this blog post is up for grabs, right outside our office on first floor Berry!
  • Termly Planner: This planner is the best when you have extensive academic commitments or assignments that are harder to keep track of in your head (e.g. four classes, a thesis, assignments that aren’t due on the same day every week).

Suggested Use: At the beginning of the term, go through your syllabi, find all assignment due dates and exam dates, and put them into the planner. Personally, I find that this planner works well in conjunction with another. For example, I visited this planner on Sunday each week, and in my bullet journal (which I use as a weekly planner), I wrote every assignment that was due in the coming week as well as its due date. I would cross off each assignment in the bullet journal as I completed them.

  • Test Prep Plan Sheet: This planner is for the 6 days prior to a test. It offers you a space to break down your comfort level with various material that the test will cover, then suggests a timeline for you to study material that you don’t understand, sort of understand, and know well. It also provides a space to write out the exam methods (meaning the types of questions), resources available to you, and questions you have on the material!

Suggested Use: I would start using this 7 days before the exam to create a study plan. Fill out the first page on day one. Use the “Materials Covered on Exam” section to get a sense of what course materials (e.g. powerpoints vs. homework problems) would be most helpful to review. When you fill out the “Available Resources” section, make note of what time your resources are available to you (when are office hours? When are tutoring sessions?). Use the “Exam Methods” section to determine how you should be learning material. For example, if the test is short answer, come up with short answer questions and quiz yourself. Write down questions that you have as they come up, and make a plan to get help from an available resource.

  • Estimate Reading Pace Worksheet: This sheet is for you to find out how long it takes you to read and digest different types of texts: easy (e.g. a newspaper), challenging (e.g. a textbook), and difficult (e.g. a scholarly journal article). 

Suggested Use: Once you’ve filled out the sheet, and you know how long it takes you to read a page of easy, challenging, or difficult text, you will have the knowledge you need to block out time in your schedule to do your readings. For example, if you have to read a ten-page journal article for class, and you know it takes you five minutes per page, allocate fifty minutes in your schedule to do the reading. If you are like me, and your attention span is 25 minutes long, I would schedule in 55 minutes, so that there is time for a five-minute break in between reading pages 5 and 6. 

  • Why You Procrastinate: Find a QuickNotes version of this article outside our office, Berry 178! It explains why we procrastinate and offers suggestions to help us pivot from procrastinating actions to task initiation.

Suggested Use: Having trouble sticking to your test prep study plan? Getting bored while doing your readings? Making plans to do work is something we’re all more than capable of, but sometimes, we need help carrying out our plans. When you feel like procrastinating, refer to the action steps suggested in our quick notes to help you stay on task and make the most of your time!

If you want to learn more about time management, please visit our website! If you would like more personalized help, please sign up for an academic coaching session!

Feel free to stop by our office to study, take a break, or see if an academic coach is available! We have a magnetic poetry board, coloring and collage supplies, a massage chair, and a puzzle!

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Welcome to the ASC! We're located on First Floor Berry (FFB) in suite 178, which is connected to our neighbors, the Student Wellness Center in 179! Right outside our door, we have printouts of learning resources for you to grab, and there’s a QR code for you to scan and explore our website! In this blogpost, we’ll be introducing you to our new space and our Weekly ASC Programming.

Students set self-care roots to cultivate during one of this terms' Mo-TEA-vational Monday sessions!
Our beautiful garden room, where Mo-TEA-vational Monday and Get it Done! programs take place.

Mo-TEA-vational Mondays

Each Monday, we invite you to take a step back from hectic life at Dartmouth and commit an hour to yourself! For each week of the quarter, we host Mo-TEA-vational Monday sessions with different themes that are intended to keep you grounded and boost your wellbeing. For example, for our New Perspectives theme, we took a trip to Baker Tower! For a break among nature, we went to check out the plant life at the Greenhouse! Stop by our space, Berry 178, every Monday from 3:30 to 4:30pm! We have snacks and tea to help you unwind!

This is our common room — feel free to drop by and do your work here!

Group Tutoring

We offer Group Tutoring for introductory courses each term. There are 3 weekly, 1-hour sessions per course with helpful, trained Group Tutors. They are here to help you start/finish your assignments and prepare you for your quizzes and exams! Check out our group tutoring offerings and sign up via Darthub — search for the “Peer Tutoring” tile. It’s free!

This is our conference room! We offer it as an additional Get it Done workspace on Wednesdays!

Get it Done!

Twice a week, we offer 1.5 hour long work sessions! We use the Pomodoro method of working in short bursts and taking 5 minute breaks in between. This winter, we are offering Get it Done! Wednesdays and Fridays in the garden room of our Berry 178 suite. Bring anything you have to get done, and we’ll support you with guided, focused work sessions and fun breaks!

Our dinosaur invites you to 23W Finals Programming!

Finals Work-A-Thons

Last but not least, each term, we offer finals study sessions in our space. This term, please come study and work on final projects Wednesday, Marth 8th and Thursday, March 9th from 2 to 5pm. All of our programming is free! Please take advantage of it!