Soak Up Sun, Leaves and Knowledge

by Maria Pascucci
President & Founder of Campus Calm

Henry David Thoreau once said, "Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls on the rails." Well, school's in session, you've got two papers due next week, three quizzes to study for and a part-time job to help you pay the bills. Sorry Henry, who's got time to live deliberately?

Well, you do if you want to excel in school and in life.

Studies show that if you simply learn continuously your retention of the information you are trying to learn drops steadily. If you're cramming all the information you can into your head before a test, you're not really going to retain anything. However, just before and just after you take a short break your memory for an item is much better. Therefore, if you take short breaks, at something like 30 to 60 minute intervals, you will find you will remember more.

Advice? Load your books into your backpack and bike to a nearby park. Study for 30 minutes, then take fifteen minutes to soak up your surroundings. Better yet, study for an hour, then take an hour off and walk the park. Breathe autumn's crisp fresh air. If you're lucky enough to live in an area that boasts fall foliage, study the colors of the leaves on the trees. Those leaves will be gone for another season before you know it, and you will have missed a magic moment to see. Red. Yellow. Orange. Let the fallen leaves crackle under your feet as you swoosh ahead.

Simplify. If you've got more than two extracurricular activities in addition to your regular school load, consider gracefully bowing out of one of them to free up a little "me" time. No one's going to fault you for taking a break. Go back to your homework after your walk and discover how much you retained. Who knew that Henry David Thoreau guy could help to make you so smart?



Let's discuss:
• Anyone have any creative ideas for combining school work and play?
• Does experiencing nature help you when you're stressed out about school?
• How important do you think "me" time is?

Shoot me an email and let's discuss this. I'd love to hear from you!



About the author:
Maria Pascucci is the President of Campus Calm - the award-winning online-forum for today's stressed-out students, and their parents and educators. Download your Student Life Stress-Less Kit with 4 FREE gifts at www.campuscalm.com.

Want to reprint this article in YOUR own website?
You can as long as the article remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info and link back to www.campuscalm.com), and you send a copy of your reprint to maria@campuscalm.com. You're also welcome to use my photo here.

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