Tips for approaching your classes:
The purpose of this section is to show you how I personally handle my classes. Although the following may not work for you, it has made my classes more manageable.
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During the quarter, learn concepts as you go along. Take the time to master concepts that you don't fully understand, no matter how small it is. These small misunderstandings build up, and will leave you with an enormous amount of catch-up work for the midterm/final. Furthermore, Physics often builds on previous concepts; a lack of understanding of a previous concept may restrict your ability to learn a new concept.
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Study smart. I see the allure of going over every topic for tests, but all you're doing is creating more stress. When you review, spend less time on concepts you are familiar with. If you see something you know, skip it, and move on to more challenging concepts. You can always come back!
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The same applies for reading the text book. If something makes sense, skim it, make sure you know it, and move on. I highly recommend checking out the SQ3R Method. At first it seems tedious, but adapting it to your needs can do wonders.
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Make time and space for your classwork. Allot time for doing your work. Between classes is a great time. Personally, I work best in <2 hour time periods, so between classes is best for me. Space: I often have difficulty working at my dest, in my room, on my computer. Sometimes it just creates too much of a distraction. Creating a space where you study trains your mind that when you go there, it's time to work. You'll learn ultimately work most efficiently in that space. I recommend the upper floors of our beautiful Ayala Science Library.
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SLEEP. It's so important I bolded it. This quarter, we all have MWF 8am classes. If you can sleep at about the same time every night and get 8+ hours, you will learn better, be less stressed, and overall be more happy. Sleep is a key part of keeping your Cortisol (stress hormone) Levels Low! Note: 4 and 5 of this webpage are kind of overkill. Nice graphics though!
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Eat well: Although it is difficult to understand on face value the relationship between how you eat and how you feel, eating well is a key part of keeping your mind keen and ready for problem-solving-action. I highly recommend the documentary Hungry For Change.
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Lastly, stay organized! Life of a college student is crazy! There's an enormous amount of deadlines to remember, so don't! Use a calendar, planner, ToDo list, etc. Below is a list of tools that I use to organize my life. Feel free to email me with suggestions to add to this page.
I have found that the way I best keep a calendar is through a virtual calendar. Through your UCI email, you can use Google Calendar which then can sync with different applications. Apple has their own similar products (like iCal). I then have these sync to my phone, computer and tablet so that I can update my calendar wherever I am.
However, I find that I often have small task (like print something out, etc) that it is not worth making a whole new event for. For this I use Evernote. Whenever I have a lot of pieces to remember, I make a note that has my list of tasks with checkboxes. You'd be surprised how satisfying checking them off can be.
Lastly, the more effort you put in to your calendar, the more you will get out of it. Since I have a very busy quarter, I have put all my class times into my calendar, in addition to when I have free time to work, and so on. This certainly was not necessary for me in the past, but putting enough effort in to your calendar will help minimize the overwhelming nature that is college.
Timewise is a useful app for working in chunks, and rewarding yourself with breaks. If you're having trouble staying focused, I recommend it.
If you ever need any help organizing or feeling less stressed, or anything, feel free to email me. I'd love to listen and help. I might even crack a few bad jokes!