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StudyPlan: Plan X


Most probably you've known about Plan A and Plan B. They are great plans for their times. But what if things aren't going the way they're supposed to? Maybe you missed something? Or maybe you didn't follow any at all? Fear not! Here's PLAN X.

The Situation
It's been weeks or months. Things are not as you really wanted. You're supposed to be ready but you aren't. There are still quite a lot of topics you've missed or you have yet to understand. And exams are right around the corner..about three to four weeks maybe? So this is what you can do.

Cover Up
I'm sure there are a number (if not many) of topics or chapters in any subjects that you are still weak at. Are you going to wait until the bitter end to cover them all or are you gonna do something about it? Well, since you're here, might as well we do the right thing (no, not play games..). First and foremost, you should actually find out, what are you really lacking right now?  What are those topics that you really need to study? Then, how bad are you at it? or how much do you think you need to acquire to master that topic? When you are aware of these, you might get a clearer picture of what you're supposed to do. Nonetheless, you have to also be aware of the time you have. You need to allocate enough to time to study what you've missed and also not get left behind of what you are currently learning right now.

The Advanced or Basics?
Know your weakness first. That said, there are basically two issues: Do you know parts of the topic/chapter  or nothing at all?
If you know parts, then strengthening (or in other words, exercise) is what you need! But if you know nothing, then go back to the basics. And sometimes, even if you know parts, you might also need to strengthen your weak basics. A common mistake would be to directly jump to advanced parts and try to work your way there. Not a good idea. Why? Because chances are, you might not understand a thing, make lots of mistakes, get stuck in the middle then feel frustrated and give up! If you start from the basics, it would easier and then working from there (like playing a game), you level up and subsequently face the advanced parts which will be simpler for you then. But do you know the easiest way out of this? Ask your friend(s) to help you out.

Time..Again and Again
You should realize by now that time is running out. If you don't start recovering now, you might end up having to go loco in the end. So, it's best to act swiftly and do your thing. One of the easiest way is to ask for help. Help will always come when you need it..unless you don't have friends..real friends..

Commitments
If you're holding top or important positions in a society or activity, this is the time when you might have to consider laying down your arms for a while (if not permanently) or maybe just lessen up your commitment a bit. At times, there might be too many meetings and sometimes your presence doesn't really have any effect (you might just be there to wait..wait..wait..and listen) so it might be a good idea to ask someone else to help take down important notes and brief you later. Simply to say, prioritization is very important here. If you think you can sacrifice your study time for these commitments and make up for it, then it's ok. But be careful because you might end up too tired and in the end study too little or not study at all.

And of course, go and exercise in the mornings or evenings if you must. It's good and can help reduce stress.

Conclusion
This is the time when you have some (or a lot of) catching up to do. Don't waste it. Don't procrastinate. Don't leave till tomorrow what you can do today!

or else you might need another plan....



"Doc, why is it that you have plan A, B then X?"
I believe..you don't have that much time to use all the other letters. XD


image from: thevolumerocker.deviantart.com

Language and Brains

I have always been amazed by people who can speak more than two languages. Last time I went to the Malaysian US Embassy to attend my VISA interview. While waiting (it was a very very long wait..), I overheard the conversation of the interviewer with his interviewees a few times. He spoke in English most of the time and once or twice he spoke Chinese and Latin! That's three..and I think he might be able to use more.

Ethnologue stated that there about 6909 languages in the world!
Being multilingual (able to use several languages) is an advantage when it comes to employment. Firstly, it's amazing enough that you can do so. Secondly, if it's an international company or a company that has international relations, they could really use someone that can talk to people from various countries. It's safe to say that even though English is widely used internationally, those who can actually speak the native language of a person can attract more attention from him/her and in business, attention is something precious.

That's not all.

According to guradian.co.uk and Society for Neuroscience, learning more languages improves your brain function! Simply to say, the more languages you know, the more better your brain is. How can that be?

The brain is not as some people assume (that the more you study, the more tired it becomes). Your brain is like your muscle. The more exercise you get, the tougher it becomes. It's a fact that your brain can store and process more data and information compared to a supercomputer. Besides that, in terms of functionality, the brain is far better compared to a computer's memory capacity and processing capability. When your computer has too much data, it slows down but it works otherwise for your brain. The more you know, the better it gets.
Our brain needs exercise too.
In the research carried out regarding language capability and brain functionality, students who know more than one language are proven to be better than those who don't. This refutes another assumption where people claim learning many languages can get you "language confused". Apart from that, older people who have retired are encouraged to learn new languages to avoid inactivity which can degrade the brain or in other words, leave the brain to rot. Furthermore, it can really help avoid forgetfulness and Alzheimer's disease!

Isn't our brain cool? The more we learn, the better it gets. As we learn to do more things, it gets better at doing things. So, let's learn a new language (and try to speak it out)!

p/s: Google Translate helps :P

Fine..it's not New Year yet..but why put to tomorrow what you can do today? :D


*images from: compleattraveller.blogspot.com, compleattraveller.blogspot.com, & languagematters.com