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Productive Ways College Students Can Leverage Their Time at Their Parents' House

Productive Ways College Students Can Leverage Their Time at Their Parents House

Spending time at your parent’s house can help you destress after a busy semester and reconnect with your family after time apart.

However, staying with your folks for a few weeks is less than ideal if you’re in the middle of your midterms or are preparing for finals. You’re away from the support services your campus can offer and may find it difficult to study when everyone else is relaxing and having fun.

Make the most of your time at home by setting up an independent study space and scheduling your time. This will help you focus on your studies when it matters most and ensure that you still have time to relax with the rest of your family.

Creating a Study Space

Your old bedroom may have served as a study space when you were in high school. However, the American College of Healthcare Sciences reports that doing homework on your bed is bad for focus. Studying in the same space you sleep can decrease your productivity and make it harder to fall asleep once you’ve finished working.

Instead, work with your folks to find a place you can convert into a study space. Your parents don’t have to give up their living room for your studies, either. You can create a functional home office in the garage if you’re willing to put in the work. Get the ball rolling by:

  • Cleaning the garage thoroughly and decluttering
  • Take care of necessities like power supply, heating/cooling, and insulation
  • Find lighting that supports your focus
  • Pick up some furniture essentials like a desk and a comfy chair

This study space can be used by the rest of your family year-round when they need to work on important projects from home, too. Be sure to bring life to space by bringing in some house plants and hanging some pictures of the whole family on the walls. This will make the space feel more welcoming when it’s time to study and will keep you on track when you visit your parent’s house.

Productivity Boosting Tips

A dedicated study space will enhance your productivity and minimize distractions while you study from home. However, you’ll still need to make the most of your time at home if you want to pass your classes and get the grades you’re aiming for.

You can improve your productivity while studying from home by making simple lifestyle changes when living with your folks. Start simple with changes like:

  • Sleep: Adults need 7 – 9 hours of sleep a night to feel rested. Getting enough sleep is particularly important when you’re in college, as poor sleep will leave you feeling lethargic and fatigued while sapping your mental focus.
  • Balanced Breakfast: A good breakfast gives your body energy and helps fight off mood-sapping hunger. This is important if your siblings stress you out or you’re planning to study all day long.
  • Meditation: Home life can get messy. Destress and refocus by scheduling some time to meditate. Meditation boosts mental clarity and enhances your overall well-being.
  • Clean: Studying in a messy space is difficult. Declutter and decompress after each study session. This will ensure your space is clean and well-organized when you return the next day.

These lifestyle changes will boost your mood and improve your wellbeing, too. This is key if you find that family life causes you extra stress. Take your productivity seriously and do your best to create a calming, focus-boosting routine while staying with your folks.

Time Management

Effective time management is essential for academic success. Without a clear routine, you’re sure to skip study sessions and overlook important assignments. However, time management can be tricky when you’re studying at home and everyone else is relaxing after work or school.

You can improve your time management skills by creating a weekly schedule that you pin in your room or study space. Like a work rota, this reminds you of when you should be studying and helps you take breaks throughout the day. A clear schedule ensures that you don’t stay up too late while trying to cram before a test, too.

Do your best to limit procrastination, but go easy on yourself if you lose a half hour of study time while chatting with your folks. Enjoying your time at home can keep your spirits high and help you stay focused for longer when you do return to your studies.

Consider putting your phone in another room while studying. This may sound like something a school teacher would do, but can seriously enhance your productivity. Keeping distractions like mobile phones out of reach ensures you don’t end up on Instagram when you should be learning about inferential statistics and intertextuality.

Conclusion

Spending part of the semester at home can help you save money and reconnect with your family. However, you may find that home life distracts you from your studies. Make the most of your time with your family by creating a dedicated study space. This will help you schedule time for studies and improve your time management. Just remember to schedule some time for fun and relaxation, too.

SEE ALSO: Getting Off Your Parent’s Phone Plan? What is Important and What Can Be Overlooked

What to Consider When Studying Software Development in College

What to Consider When Studying Software Development in College

Students deciding to major in software development at college must consider numerous factors and decisions before selecting this field of study. Its disciplines span from artificial intelligence to chatbots and numerous technologies. As this field expands further, it becomes essential for them to carefully consider their interests, required skills acquisition, and potential career pathways available to them when making this important decision.

Are You Exploring Software Development as a Major Profession?

Software development as a major requires an in-depth knowledge of its requirements and potential growth areas, both now and in the future. With today’s digital era encompassing every imaginable sphere, software development extends beyond mere coding. It involves analytical thinking, problem-solving acumen, logic, and creative imagination. All combine into one discipline, constantly adapting to emerging technologies and trends such as chatbot development & programming. This industry trend has witnessed explosive growth over time.

Chatbots, designed to mimic human conversation, have quickly become ubiquitous across various sectors. Their applications range from customer service. For example, they handle e-commerce FAQs, guiding consumers through product selections and purchases. They are also applicable in mental health support to provide initial counseling and emergency contact details. They are even used in college admissions to increase enrollment and ease questions and anxiety for those prospects interested in pursuing an education. Their effectiveness relies heavily on their ability to understand human-like conversations.

Certain classes could bolster your understanding and capabilities as a software development student interested in chatbots. Natural Language Processing (NLP) courses could give insight into how computers can be programmed to understand human languages, such as spoken dialogues. By pairing this knowledge with Machine Learning classes, it could equip you to design systems capable of learning from data while making informed decisions based on that data.

Different Career Paths

Software development majors can choose from many exciting career paths upon graduation. Each pathway taps into different aspects of the knowledge gained during the study and offers unique prospects for professional advancement.

Software Engineer: As a software engineer, your duties will include designing, coding, and testing software programs to meet business or individual needs. As part of your engineering duties, you’ll use various programming languages and understand software architecture and design to meet the unique software development requirements.

AI Program Maker: Becoming an AI Program Maker may be an exciting career path for those interested in artificial intelligence. You will design and program AI systems such as machine learning models and neural networks in this role. Experts in this area will also create systems that learn from data inputs while adapting quickly to changing inputs. They also perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, creating systems that learn as humans would. In essence, the AI Program Maker is tasked with making AI smarter. It requires creativity, deep theoretical knowledge, and the ability to keep pace with fast-moving advancements within this field.

Chatbot Creator: Businesses have increasingly utilized chatbots for customer interactions. As a Chatbot Creator, your role would involve designing, developing, and maintaining chatbots to improve customer experiences. As such, this position requires an in-depth knowledge of natural language processing and user experience design principles. As a Chatbot Creator, you’ll create bots that can manage various customer interactions effectively.

Software development offers many career options beyond these roles. You might become a Data Scientist using your coding skills to extract meaningful insights from vast amounts of data. You could also become a Systems Analyst by combining business and IT knowledge. A project Manager in tech may be what’s needed. For those hoping to start their own venture, Tech Entrepreneurism might just be your calling. Thus, use your software development degree as a springboard into an exciting tech career path!

What You May Need as a Software Development Major

As a software development major, you must equip yourself with tangible and intangible assets. Tangible requirements include a powerful computer equipped with the necessary software tools and coding and development platforms. Regarding programming languages, proficiency in Python, Java, or C++ is highly beneficial. Knowledge of databases like SQL, and version control tools like Git, is also essential.

Intangible requirements include a strong foundation in mathematics, especially discrete mathematics, and statistics, for logical problem-solving. Acquiring analytical thinking abilities is crucial for breaking down complex problems and conceptualizing software solutions. Strong communication skills are also necessary, as software development is often collaborative.

In addition, cultivating a knack for learning new technologies and adapting to changes in the field is vital. Ultimately, a software development major will need an inherent passion for technology and a dedicated work ethic to succeed in this constantly evolving industry.

Conclusion

Studying software development in college can open up an exciting range of career prospects. Understand your interests, the necessary skills for software development, and the potential career paths available to you. This will allow you to make the most of your college years and pave the way to an impressive career path in the tech industry. Each step you take will bring you closer to realizing your ambitions for this endeavor.

Written by Taylor McKnight, Author for Apex Chat

SEE ALSO: Understanding the Differences Between a BA and a BSc Hons Degree

Learning to Cope: Six Wellness Activities for College Students

Learning to Cope: Six Wellness Activities for College Students

There is no way around it. Being a college student can be stressful. There is constant pressure to get good grades, impress your instructors, and work towards a bright future. When you are on your own and away from home, it is easy to try and cope with stress through unhealthy behaviors like drinking or hanging out with a bad crowd. However, it is important to manage that stress in a healthy way. We’re here to tell you that there are many wellness activities that you can try that can help to quell some of that unwanted anxiety. Consider some of these helpful tips and see what works for you.

1. Look Inside Yourself

The first activity that you should try is to take an honest look inside of yourself and decide if you are becoming mentally drained or burned out. Sometimes, something as simple as your college major could cause you stress. Recent research shows that some of the most stressful majors are education, psychology, and science. So, if you are entering one of those programs, then you need to already have a plan of action to maintain your mental health.

Sometimes, we may try to convince ourselves that we are happy, but inside, we may be struggling. The first step is to understand the signs of burnout, which can include trouble concentrating, reduced energy, or a general lack of motivation. If you notice that you’re having consistent issues, then you should try one of the activities below.

2. Get Creative

It is not uncommon to focus on your schoolwork so intently that you forget to take breaks and rest your mind. As a solution, consider intertwining your work with some new creative hobbies to get you back on track. There are many fun hobbies that can help with your memory and concentration, including painting, playing a musical instrument, and learning to knit and crochet.

These hobbies can be helpful because they allow you to put schoolwork aside while you do something that you enjoy. It is easy to get lost in a painting or to fall in love with playing the trumpet and watch as your anxieties melt away. Playing an instrument has also been found to reduce cognitive decline. So, if your school has a band, consider joining.

3. Go Out With Your Friends

Another way to get the healthy mental breaks that you deserve is by going out and keeping up with your social life. Getting out of the dorm and meeting up with friends is a great way to do something completely different and take your mind off of your work for a few hours. Plus, your friends likely have similar issues, so you can talk with them and learn the methods that they use to handle their stress.

Consider the idea of combining your school work with your social life by forming a study group where you can meet up, attend to your studies, and improve your social skills along the way.

4. Spend Time With Animals

Many people deal with their stress by adopting a pet. A dog or cat will act as a constant companion that will give you a purpose and a sense of responsibility. Since many colleges may not allow pets in the dorms, you can try a different approach.

Look online and see if there is a stable or equestrian center nearby and ask if you can ride or work with the horses. There are many benefits to riding horses. Among them is the ability to strengthen your core, legs, and back as you ride. Horses can also have a very calming presence for people, and riding through the wilderness can bring you back to a more natural place where your worries can drift away. If you are able to care for one of the horses, then you could also get a sense of routine and companionship that can help you to ease your mind.

5. Get Your Feelings Out

If you don’t find healthy ways to cope with your stress, then your anxieties can escalate over time. A good way to find peace is to get your feelings out. If you have mild stress, then you can clean up your mindset by talking to a friend or consider journaling. Writing all of your feelings out can do wonders for your psyche. The best time to do so is before bed. By writing out your anxiety and stress of the day, you can get it out of your system and ensure that you get a good night’s rest.

6. Reach Out for Help

Finally, if you try the activities above as well as your own relaxation methods but you are still feeling stressed, then you may want to join a group or speak to a professional. The fact is that if you are feeling mentally drained or upset, you are not alone. Student mental health is a priority on many campuses these days, so school officials are making it a point to provide services that can help young people in need. Look at local bulletin boards, speak to your resident advisor, or talk to your counselor about groups on campus that can help.

In the end, if you are a student who is coping with anxiety at school, then know that you are not alone. Consider the activities discussed here, and seek extra help if you need it so you can thrive during your college career.

SEE ALSO: Five Scams Targeting College Students and How to Avoid Them

The Chair That Supports You While You Study

The average American adult sits around 6.5 hours a day – and increases for teenagers to near 8 hours according to the National centre for Health Statistics. Now more than ever people are sitting for longer periods of time at their office or computer. Why then, are people not focusing on the environment in where this sitting takes place?

Arozzi has designed gamer style chairs, desks, and other peripherals for offices since 2013 to optimise sitting spaces and accommodate for those demanding hours.

Chairs

Arozzi chairs are designed with adjustable features to cater to various body types. Some features are focused on posture like adjustable neck and lumbar pillows to support the spines curvature; the great thing is they are adjustable to fit a wide variety of body types.

Sitting at a desk or computer, the elbows are in need of support to compliment correct posture. Adaptable armrests are a must, and in this case Arozzi has padded and even 3-Dimensional armrests that go up, down, forward, back, and rotatable to adapt the most comfortable position for the elbows to rest easy.

Hard workers always deserve a rest to recuperate and get back to work rejuvenated and refreshed. Arozzi chairs have functions like rocking and steep recline up and 165 to get into relaxation mode.

Another chair aspect that most don’t of is the material of the chair. Pleather chairs are an excellent choice for easy cleaning and contemporary style. On the other hand, fabric chairs have become somewhat of a trend giving a softer and more breathable feel to the user.

The great thing with Arozzi’s chairs is the wide selection – whether big, small, fabric, pleather, high end, or just the basics – there is a choice for everyone.

Desks

In 2016, Arozzi introduced the Full-Surface Mouse Pad Desk design and it has exploded in popularity. It has been used by top streamers and gamers such as Dr. Disrespect, Eaton, and many more. Each year it has made prestigious top lists and numerous awards with its patent pending design.

The Giant Mouse Pad is custom fit to each of the Arozzi desks reaching up to 14 square feet in surface space. The especially thick mouse pad also has an anti-slip rubber bottom to ensure cushioned support to wrists and elbows. Underneath, is steel legs that support up to 176 ibs (spread evenly) optimising the support of multiple monitors.

The Arozzi desks are also equipped with an impressive Cable Management system with 3 cut out holes to support 3 monitor mounts and cables. Those 3 cut-outs lead to a mesh basket that fits tightly underneath the desk so all cables are out of the way and in order.

Blue Light Protective Eyewear

As technology progresses the common person is not only sitting more, but also in front of digital screens more often like computers and phones – this exposes people to potentially harmful blue light produced from those screens. Conditions such as DEF (Digital Eye Fatigue) or DES (Digital Eye Strain) are becoming more and more common and research suggests that one of the causes is from over exposure to blue light,. The thing that differentiates blue light to other light frequencies is that blue wave lengths are shorter – making it more prone to penetrating further into your eye. Digital eye fatigue can cause symptoms such as dry, tried and irritated eyes as well as trouble with sleep.

In short, over exposure to blue light can potentially have negative effects, which is exactly why blue light filtering glasses were invented. Arozzi has designed Protective Vision Glasses to filter out this blue light. During such long hours of working or gaming, the soltution to Digital Eye Strain can be as simple as filtering out that blue light.

Office Space Optimization

Working, studying, and even gaming at a desk now has new standards to the amount of time we spend sitting at a computer. Choosing the right materials for the office space can be a touch choice – but having a variety of options to everyone’s preferences is key. Arozzi can offer a large variety of these essentials plus much more like microphones, floor mats, and even racing simulator stands.

To know more just visit the website.

 

Ways to Implement CBD into Finals Season

Four Ways to Implement CBD into Finals Season

It’s exam season. In the library, students are squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder at communal desks, working profusely, noses buried in textbooks and fingers flying across keyboards to finish their term papers. Across the room, a group of students are huddled together, discussing their techniques for staying ahead of the stress. A conversation between two drifts into earshot: “I hear people are getting CBD manicures now,” a young woman says between gulps of coffee, “I’m not sure what it does, but I’m down to try it.”

CBD has become one of the defining wellness trends of recent years, and CBD infusions have crept into everyday culture. It has assimilated into the mainstream market and may be considered the next staple for daily wellness. Many people are jumping on board to help manage their day-to-day stress and busy lifestyles.

CBD’s growth in popularity is due to the fact that it is a versatile supplement with diverse uses. Whether in the form of a tincture, topical, or edible, there is undoubtedly room for exploration to find what works best in an everyday routine.

We’ve rounded up some fun and creative ways to implement CBD into your finals season.

Bath

Burn the midnight oil last night? Add a few drops of full-spectrum hemp CBD into your morning bath for an extra dimension of relaxation. If you feel like taking it to the next level, we also suggest trying your hand at making a homemade bath bomb and adding CBD, giving full control of your dosage and an opportunity to get creative! We suggest adding essential oils that are said to aid anxiety, such as lavender or eucalyptus oils.

Smoothies

If you jumpstart your energy in the morning with a smoothie, amplify it with a dosage of CBD. Populum’s Premium Full-Spectrum Hemp Oil is flavored with orange oil and stevia to curb the taste of cannabis and make taking it that much more enjoyable. The extra boost of sweetness will make your morning ritual more delicious, and it’ll give you that extra level of equilibrium to take on the day and keep cool, even if you haven’t studied.

Baking

Take your wellness with you by enhancing your favorite treats with CBD, adding a dosage to any oil-based ingredient when baking. If you’re looking for inspiration, we’re huge fans of this Chocolate Chunk Olive Oil Ricotta Cake recipe. We also suggest referencing this guide to baking with CBD to ensure you’re reaping all the benefits of hemp infusion and keeping the CBD active in your baked goods.

Muscle relief

Sometimes stress manifests in your body. If you’re looking to explore CBD usage outside of a typical tincture, hemp-infused lotion is another option intended for targeted muscle relief. Keep it in your backpack and you can massage it into your neck and shoulders between classes.

Populum’s Cold Therapy Hemp Rub includes other natural ingredients such as chamomile, arnica, and aloe vera to soothe and calm the skin while providing fast-acting cooling relief for sore muscles.

You can see Populum’s full line of products at populum.com.

Make the Natural Choice Come Test Time

Make the Natural Choice Come Test Time

It’s test-taking season, and y’all aspiring grads know what that means: long days, longer nights, and a hefty addition to your caffeine consumption.

Relax, we’re not quite there yet—you’ve got several more days of procrastination ahead. With days of added stress and sleepless nights, it might feel like you’ve been on a semester-long bender. But alas, there’s a natural option that’s quickly grown from a knock-off hippie faux pas, to a legitimate alternative, to other crash-and-burn options.

We’re talking about CBD; otherwise known by the white coats as “cannabidiol.”

Before you pack your bowl and light your spliff, let’s get one thing straight: CBD is not pot!!! Hemp and marijuana both hail from the Cannabis sativa plant variety, but vary in composition.

Marijuana is bred to have a much higher THC:CBD ratio. Legal hemp will have higher CBD concentrations and lower THC content. Under the newly signed 2018 Farm Bill, hemp plants must contain less than 0.3 percent THC.

In layman’s terms, hemp packs the same potential health punch as Mary Jane, minus the Half-Baked high.

CBD and You: A Natural Match

CBD works naturally with your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system is responsible for a wide range of bodily functions: from memory and muscle movement, to maintaining homeostasis and improving overall immune functions.

CBD works synergistically with your ECS and cannabinoid receptors to closely emulate and intensify functions; this results in a range of natural benefits.

When it comes to test-taking time, these potential CBD benefits can be the difference between walking across the stage (diploma in hand) and watching from the crowd as you prepare for your Super Senior year.

Achieve A+ Results with CBD

When it comes to finals, any aid is warmly welcomed. If that aid could improve your memory, help you sleep, and promote healthy relaxation, you’d welcome it “With Arms Wide Open,” amirite? Say less Creed.

You don’t want to waltz into test day looking like a cracked-out Squidward dashing back to the Krusty Krab to catch the devious Spongebob inquiring, “Did you finish those errands?” Don’t let a mental fog, lack of sleep, or test anxiety be the reason you ride shotgun on the struggle bus to Failuretown. Instead, let CBD products be your lifeline to becoming the next episode of MTV’s True Life: I’m a College Graduate.

Pencils Down

Two words you’ll probably inevitably hear come test day. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared for the day of reckoning. Now that you’ve done your studying, on both test matter and CBD, let cbdMD give you the natural boost you’ve been searching for. With a comprehensive line of products—topicals, tinctures, capsules, bath bombs, and much morecbdMD has high-quality CBD to help you feel relaxed, sharp, and ready to walk across that stage.

Don’t you dare forget that No. 2 pencil. Wait, do they even use paper anymore? Regardless, godspeed soon-to-be grads.

Click here for more information and use promo code: SCHOOLROCKS for 20 percent off the cbdMD website