Time Strategies

Time StrategiesBy: Maria Dawson

This checklist visual already makes me feel like I have completed something! This picture is from Pixabay. 

The first website I went to in hopes of learning some new effective time management strategies was: The Psychology of Checklists by Lauren Marchese. In her post, she took the word SMART and gave each letter its own meaning. The S is Specific M = Measurable, A = Attainable, R = Realistic, and T= Time-Bound through these 5 letters you should be able to get ahold of the small tasks you need to work on. However, I choose this website because I want to learn about why we like or do not like checklists according to psychology. Marchese attributes this to Dopamine or the neurotransmitter that makes us feel good. She says that whenever we are able to check something off as completed we realize dopamine making our bodies feel good and wanting to do it again. This explains why I look to keep a to-do list in every class as well as outside of class just to check stuff off fo it. 

The second website I choose to read some tips and strategies from was 3 Steps to Recapture Time by Joynicole Martinez. I wanted to read about this topic because I always feel like to do not have enough time to get everything I need to do as well as take care of myself and family. Martinez breaks her post into three different parts the first being, "RULE 1 – REFUSE TO YIELD YOUR 1ST 15-MINUTES" this first topic talks about how you should do critical tasks within the first 15 minutes of your day. She then goes into "RULE 2 – RECOGNIZE THE PRUNING SEASON" where she describes how important it is to declutter your life as well as "pruning" or resistance to successful execution. Her last segment is called, "RULE 3 – PRACTICE THE ART OF NO" and definitely a topic I struggle with because I want to make everyone feel happy. She explains the difference of when it is the right time to say "no" and when it is not. Instead of just outright saying "no" instead follow up the comment with another time you would be able to get the task completed for them. I think the main point of the post is to point the readers into a better understanding of themselves and not to show how to regain time back by first not giving too much of yourself up.

Technology Tips and Tricks

Technology Tips and Tricks I Use Everyday

𝔹𝕪: 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕒 𝔻𝕒𝕨𝕤𝕠𝕟

This little computer was too cute to not include in my post! This also describes how I feel about technology and its many uses. Picture from: OpenClipArt

When it comes to the technology provided to us in class there is a lot of good advice Laura provides for us! I especially enjoy the extra free bits she has been able to inform us about such as this website blogger! I really enjoy being able to expand what we know outside of canvas and to be honest, I am very tired of writing on the same discussion forum on that website. I also agree that it is very important to have a backup web browser I am usually on Google Chrome however when this is running slow I am able to jump over to Safari. I am always trying to find new and creative things for my social media accounts so I have a few ideas I want to introduce to everybody as well as an extension for my browser I use every day that I love! The first extension I want to talk about is Grammarly this can be added into your web browser and will highlight misspelled words as well as common grammar mistakes. Check back for more tips on a post I plan on making very soon about how I get create lines and other fonts (look back at my name for an example of this). 

Weekly Assignments

Weekly Assignments:
By Maria Dawson 

When it comes to the weekly assignments we have in the class the one I am most looking forward to is the semester-long project.  I really enjoy it when classes have a final project that you are working on all semester long rather than the last week or two. I feel like having all this time to perfect and work out the kinks in this assessment for so long we will have a better understanding of the material and in return will get a better grade. I wish more classes would have this sort of project instead of causing a lot of stress in the final weeks. I also believe this type of assignment will better contribute to learning because it is something you visit each week making adjustments with the more understanding you have with the class. 

I like this picture from TheDigitalArtist because it shows how projects are cycles and not something you can just throw together. 

The bonus assignment I believe I will enjoy the most is the technology tips! I have always enjoyed just looking around websites and my computer for new/funny things I can do. I would love to be able to share all the new things I find out I can do with everyone as well as hearing for you too!

Growth Mindset

Is There Really Power in Yet?

By: Maria Dawson 

This particular picture stood out to me because it shows how you can always work your brain to improve it! Picture by: Xavier Vergés . 

Even though this was my first time listening to Carol Dweck speak I feel like her TED talk was speaking right towards me. I feel like I have fallen victim to the mindset of "I must have A's and a great GPA to be successful to achieve anything in life". Maybe if I had received the guidance she was explaining about in her talk I would have less anxiety about the future and already feel successful in the things I have done. Honestly, last week I was googling what the average GPA in college was hoping it would make me feel better about mine. Knowing how to appreciate my accomplishments is something I want to work on a lot within 2020 and focusing on myself was my only New Years Resolution this year. Since being at OU I have learned how to deal with new things I have never encountered before such as learning how to do things on my own and being challenged when it comes to school. After my first semester, I wanted to transfer out of OU because I felt like I was failing because I had received my first B ever in my life. However, because I have stuck it out I feel more accomplished than I have ever felt even though I am still working on it. Dweck's TED talk will now always be in the back of my mind when it comes to how I will teach my future kids and how I will view myself and how I will finish my school work. I am taking my Public Health Capstone this semester where we are working on a semester-long project about hazards in the Norman, OK area. I would like to use this new advice presented and challenge myself to really make it the best presentation and paper I have ever done because this is what I would like to make a career out of. I am excited to find out the answer to my title question myself throughout my life and this semester. 

And I Take Great Pleasure in Introducing Maria D.

Introducing ME:

Aka: Maria Dawson

I talked a little bit about myself in the test post for our class however in case you did not get a chance to read it I will reiterate the information! For starters, I am originally from a small town in Oklahoma called Perkins (15 miles south of OSU) I usually just say Stillwater so I do not have to go through all the "wheres that" questions. I am currently living in Oklahoma City with my boyfriend and our two dogs in a house we just purchased together with this past September. This was definitely one of the most terrifying things I have ever done! I am a person who LOVES change I want to do different things all the time, however, knowing that we own this house and can change it however I want makes me feel better! 

(Here we are in front of our new home!)

A little bit about my professional life and what I would like to do with it! I am currently a senior and will graduate in May with a BA in Community Health. One day I would love to continue my education and get a Master's degree in epidemiology but for now, I am taking a gap year (or 2 or 3) until I feel ready to get back into gear. If you have any ideas on what I can do with this time or the best place to find a job let me know! I am currently working part-time as a behavioral therapist for kids with Autism at CLASS Norman.  

(Graduation cap from Sharijo)

Outside of work and school, I enjoy watching Youtube and Netflix, traveling, hiking, and DIYing or upcycling. Please leave me some new Netflix recommendations what I watch the most are true crime and comedy shows! I have two doggies Cooper who is a Siberian Husky and just turned two and Gunner who is a German Shepherd and just turned one. I am excited to read everyone's posts and please tell me someone got the reference in my title! 

                      (Gunner)                                                    (Cooper)

Three Storybook Favorites:

Storybooks that caught my eye: 

(Flickr)

By Maria Dawson

Letters to the Sky 

To start this project I found three storybooks with titles I found interesting since I am such a visual learner I tend to find myself gravitating to interesting words or pictures. The first one that caught my eye was called Letters to the Sky this certain story has 4 parts including an introduction, the fate of the moon, ruler of the night, and a light in the darkness. This author does a great job of explaining what exactly is going on in their story and provides details so you have a picture in your head of what is going on. This is primarily seen in the introduction where he or she is setting up the story and introducing characters they have a way of describing things that make you want to keep reading the story. As expected from the title this story is about letters that are written by people to the two most popular "stars" the sun and moon. Another thing I enjoyed about this post is the pictures they were able to find to help portray the image they have in their head. 

Camelot ER

I was drawn to Camelot ER  because I enjoy learning about emergency room stories and medicine in general. This storybook was very interesting because the author has provided charts of the main characters in the story and used this to relate it to his/her own story. This author did a fantastic job when relating the medical field to the story he is writing about. I have never seen a summary such as this and it made me want to read the entire patient’s chart to see what happened and how we can fix it.

Ghost Stories

I am also a major sucker for ghost stories and enjoy a good scary movie or other sorts from time to time. This is why my third story is Ghost Stories written by “The Alumnus” because he/she says it is going to haunt my dreams and I am here for that! The introduction of this story presents the reader with how these stories have been kept secret and want us to “find the truth” as seen in the picture seen at the bottom of the page. One of my main critics of this storybooks is how the tabs at the top do not seem to be in the order they are presented from left to right with “Introduction-Home-The Huff- The Bizz. However, there is only a title screen presented on the home tab, therefore, I would present this first in the tabs, so the readers do not have a break in the story.