The power music has to get us in a particular mood is pretty, well, powerful.I’m a big believer in music. When Madonna’s 4 Minutes comes on the radio, I can’t help but dance. Obnoxiously. When T.I.’s Hurtis playing, it makes me really want to jump behind the wheel of a low rider and cruise through the streets of suburbia and disturb the peace by playing it as loudly as possible. When Magenta Lane’s Broken Plates is playing, it’s pretty hard to resist picking up some ceramic-ware and chucking it at the wall. Am I exaggerating? Always! But music does have the ability to get you in a particular mood. Why not use that to your advantage and use these songs I’ve hunted down to the the soundtrack to various moments in your academic life?

Browsing the Library Desperately Looking for A Book You Can’t Find: Mystified- Max Greene

Celebrating an A+: Makes Me Smile- Kid Galahad

Your Boy/Girl Friend Broke Up With You The Night Before a Dance (classic high school moment, no?): I Don’t Want To Go To The Party- The Marvelous Darlings

Failling a Test: Killjoy- Clair De Lune

Cheering Up After Failing A Test: The Bright Side- It’s Not Not

Getting Motivated to Write An Essay: In Dream We Make Different Plan- Coem

Going to Summer School: Summer School- The Kung Fu Monkeys

Organizing Your Dorm Room: IKEA- Jonathan Coulton

Making A New Friend On The First Day Of School: O Hello- The Wes Hollywood Show

Driving To University for the First Time: Get In The Car- Hail Social (turn it up really loud and wind down your windows for the best effect)

Sitting Through a Boring Lecture: The Irrationality of Rationality- NOFX

Doing OK on a test: Seventy-four, seventy-five- Shearwater

The Night Before An Exam: Toss and Turn- Pedestrian

Sneaking out of class to go do something more interesting: Coast Is Clear- Inflight Safety

Finally(!) Graduating: Here’s Your Future- The Thermals

I know a lot of you are current going through the end-of-the-school-year stress of exams and summatives and essays and such. So I hope this at least brought a small smile to your face with all the whitty song titles! Good luck on your exams everybody. (Mine are in 3 weeks, so it’s getting to crunch time for me too. *Gulp*)

I used to think asking for help was a sign of weakness. And that saying No to people was mean and hurtful. And that if I was happy, I was doing something wrong. But then again, I also used to think Dutch people came from a country called Dutchland and spent years wondering why I could never find it on a map. (True story!)

When you’re using a Windows computer program, if you get stuck, you can press F1 to get help. It’s a convenient little button that can really help solve your problems. Guess what, ya’ll? Life comes with an F1 as well. It’s called “asking for help.”

In further thinking about F1 buttons, I also got to thinking about my life. I come from a well off family, so I guess my life can seem materially easy and I probably come off as a really spoiled child. And you know, I won’t kid you. My life ismaterially easy. My friends often call me “spoiled”. To them, all the clothes and cell phones and vacations were just given to me by the Bank of Mom and Dad. Perhaps my head is fully in the sand here, or that supposed silver spoon in my mouth blocked off air to my lungs for too long. Because last I checked, gifts do not rain down from the sky for anyone but heiresses and celebrities, and I am neither. I have because I ask. I ask for all the things I have and they were given to me. My parents know the things I want, because I tell them that I want those things. Repeatedly, day in and day out until I have them. If I didn’t ask, they wouldn’t know what I wanted. And if you don’t ask for help, no one will help you. We’re not mind readers here.

Do you remember that scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where Harry’s in the dragon’s den/cave thingy? Harry struggled and fought with the dragon until he sent up a red flare with his wand and someone was sent in after him. Or perhaps I’m thinking of the end where he retrieves Cedric Diggory’s dead body and needs help carrying it. Either way, no one came to help him until he let it be known that he needed help. He struggled in fighting that dragon/lugging around a corpse until he was able to admit that it was too big a task for him to handle on his own. I saw this parallel in my own life. My parents would have no idea what to get me if I didn’t ever let them know what I wanted. Ask, and you shall receive my friends. That’s the secret to getting help.

The point is, it doesn’t matter what you need help with. Be it solving the quadratic formula, or determining the fundamental reasons for the American Civil War, if you don’t get it, you need to ask for help with it. You get?

So, where do you go about asking for this help? Well, if you go to Hogwarts, a quick drop by Dumbledore’s office would probably be quite helpful (before the end last book, obviously.) But since none of you go to Hogwarts, there are a few more realistic options for you.

• Facebook.We live in the 21st century here people. Instead of fighting technology and saying Facebook is the root of all evil, why don’t we just embrace it and use it to out advantage. Especially since MSN is now dead, and Facebook chat has come to the rescue. Check you list of online friends and message one who you think could help you. Or, put what you need help with in your status, along with your cell phone number so they can cal you with the answer. Example: Jessica is…working on math homework. (calculus) HELP! (123) 456-7890 That way, anyone who knows calculus can either call you, or post on your wall. Of course, this is most useful if you have a large friend count.
• Ask the teacher of your course. Not always possible, but try. Schedule a meeting with them if you have too. They’re too busy? Then ask another teacher of the same subject. Or ask your student teacher/TA depending on if you’re in high school/university.
• The guidance department/student services people.These people are a goldmine of information if you need help organizing/de-stressing your life. The sheer volume of information they can arm you with is mind blowing. Drop by and just ask if there are any in-house books or pamphlets on getting you act together.
• Friends.This is an iffy one. If you know for certain that your friend knows more than you, ask away. But don’t fall into the trap of “Sheep syndrome.” You’ve probably experienced some sort of sheep syndrome before. You walk into a test that you haven’t studied for. Glancing over at a friend, you frantically ask them to quickly explain a key concept to you. “Psh, yo. I didn’t study either!” they say. Oh, you think. Well, if someone else didn’t study, then I guess it’s okay that I didn’t study either. NO! It’s not okay. Don’t allow yourself to validate your procrastination with other people’s inadequacies. It’s a dangerous slippery slope that will throw you down real fast. Only borrow from those with something to offer. Ask someone else for help if you encounter this. (After your test of course.)
• Internet. ’Nuff said. I won’t even talk about “make sure your sources are reputable.” You’ve heard this to death, and I’m sure you picked up on the importance of this well before any teacher made a rule against Wikipedia. 
• The library. Libraries used to be the information super highway of the world, eh? I’ll be honest here though. The last place I go for any information is the library’s book shelves. They’re online databases are brilliant though, and then I need more information on anything, I go there first. Don’t get me wrong here. I love to read and fall asleep with a book in my hands every night. But I was born just two years before the internet was invented, so I don’t even remembera time in my life when I didn’t have access to instant information gratification. I no longer have th patience to sift through Table of Contents and Indexes when I can just Google the subject and find the information in just “0.33seconds” or less. Regardless, books remain and will remain u(ntil something is invented that makes them obsolete) the place for the most reputable information on pretty much every topic you’ve ever wondered about.

So there you go intrepid Gearfire readers. Today, you learned a little more about one of your beloved writers, and a little more about why you need to ask for help. Two for one special! But on a more serious note, where/who else have you found to be a valuable resource in sunticking yourself from sticky situations?

© Maria Schwartzman 2008

Summer is the perfect time for students to take advantage of the (hopefully) extra time they’ve gained since completing school. It is a chance to do all those interesting things you just couldn’t find time for during the school year. Make some goals for yourself this summer. It will help you be productive, plus you can take more advantage of your summer.

Here are a few examples of some goals:

• Read x number of books: If you like to read, you know that you probably don’t have sufficient time to do so during the school year. So use the long summer days to catch up on the books on your list. I also really like DailyLit.com.
• Exercise x number of times/week: Exercise is great for your physical and mental health. Get into a regime during the summer and it’ll carry over into next school year.
• Travel and Explore: Even if it is just finding new things in your city, get out into the world and expand your horizons.
• Start a journal: Whether it’s a one-liner, a blog, or a paper copy, write down your experiences and thoughts this summer. Journals are a lot of fun to read after the fact.
• Learn a new skill: Whatever you’ve been meaning to learn, take it up now when you have a chance. Whether it’s sewing, programming, cooking, silversmithing - anything you want to learn, start learning it now. You have the whole summer to perfect your skills.

No matter what goals you decide to do this summer, pick ones that you will enjoy and keep with. Completing goals is very rewarding and will help you have a great summer.

To read my complete journey to GTD Mastery see the main post.

Step 23 to GTD Mastery is: I attend a weekly productivity group centered around the GTD methods.

Image: Ted Patrick

Or not…. The number of people I’ve talked to about GTD can be counted on two hands (not including the readers here at GearFire who I’m grateful for sticking around despite another vanishing act on my part).

Edit: Feel free to join the Google group here: http://groups.google.com/group/gtdweekly

Today is going to be a day filled with a lot of studying and not too much else. Here’s my schedule:

8am Wake up, shower, eat, check mailboxes (IRL and virtual), write in blog
9-10 Study for German final
10-11 Study for Geology final
11-12 Study for Russian final
12-1 Free BBQ at Bowman Park; Meet Melissa 12 in Hub Lobby
1-2 Study for Spanish final
2-3 Take a break!
3-4 German
4-5 Geology
5-6 Russian
6-7 Eat dinner
7-8 Take a break!
8-9 German
9-10 Geology
10pm Go to sleep (if tired; if not, 10-11 Russian)

Of course this can be modified if need be, but I find it easier to not procrastinate and to actually get this done if I plan it out and have it written down in my calendar.
How do you study?

© Maria Schwartzman 2008

Spring is a time of crazy weather (at least if you live in the Midwest like I do). One day it can be 80 and sunny, the next 40 and rainy, you get the point. This can be quite a dilemma for college students as we basically have a set wardrobe that can’t be easily changed (without running out to the nearest unnamed store, that is). Here are a few tips to deal with spring weather:

• invest in an umbrella or raincoat: this will help keep you and your books dry during torrential downpours or light drizzles.
• keep some newspaper around: newspaper is great for laying out wet clothes and shoes, along with stuffing said shoes in order to dry them out faster. You can also use newspaper to cover up books on the way to class in a rainstorm or to cover your own head with in place of an umbrella. (It’s also good for spring cleaning: window and mirror washing, dusting, etc.)
• keep a few heavier clothes around: even though you want to take all your winter clothes home over spring break, keep at least a hoodie or jacket and some long pants just in case it gets cold again. You never know when they could come in handy. The same for shoes: don’t take all your closed-toe shoes or boots home because you may still need them.
• look at the weather forecast: either watch the TV for the forecast or use an online source (like wunderground.com or weather.com) to see what the day’s weather should look like. This will help you plan what to wear and to not be caught unawares for rain/snow/etc.

Hopefully these tips will come in handy for the last few days or weeks of class remaining!

© Maria Schwartzman 2008

So, finals are upon us or quickly approaching: the sign of the end of the semester and beginning of summer vacation. This can be (and usually is) a very stressful time for students. Here are some quick and simple ways to destress a little bit during this hectic time.

•  exercise: exercising in any form can really help you destress and refocus. Taking a walk, going for a light jog, or even just getting up from your desk and doing a few jumping jacks or crunches can refresh your mind and get your body back into gear.

• sit down: if you find you are always on the go, take a few minutes to just sit down and relax. Find a quiet place outside, in your room, in your car — anywhere you feel comfortable, and just zone out for five or ten minutes.
• breathe: stop whatever you are doing right now(whether it’s stressing you out or not) and take a couple deep breaths, slowly breathing in and out. It will help to calm down your body.
• organize something: when I have my life in order I feel much more relaxed and capable of doing things (studying, etc). Organizing also is a way in which I relax myself. It may not sound fun to you, but give it a try (you never know!).
• figure out what’s bothering you. The sooner you get it done, the sooner you will be to a calmer mind with less stress.