Blog Posts

A Guide to Prioritizing Better in the New Year

One of the biggest challenges for university students is balancing all their commitments. It can often feel like there are not enough hours in the day for everything, but it’s important to set priorities to ensure you can dedicate enough time to the activities that matter most — that should be your classes and studying, even though it may be tempting to spend more time socializing. Improving prioritization is a great aim for the new year, but you need to have a strategy in place to ensure you’re able to mee t your goals. Here are some tips to guide you. 1. Rank Your Responsibilities At the start of every week, create a to-do list. Put the items in order of importance to ensure you finish the most pressing first. Take into consideration any deadlines, as well as the impact of not completing a task on time, to decide on the order for your list. Try to begin your days with high-priority tasks as much as possible, instead of working on the easiest items first. 2. Split Large Projects into Small Tasks Big projects often feel too overwhelming to even begin. Make them more manageable by splitting them into smaller tasks. For instance, if you need to write a paper, divide it into sections and aim to do just one part each day. 3. Time-Block Your Day Split your day into blocks of time and decide what you’ll do during each block according to your priorities. If there are any small gaps in your day, use them for quick tasks on your to-do list. 4. Avoid a Completely Full Schedule If you assign an activity to every minute of the day, you’re unlikely to be able to finish everything. A task could take longer than you anticipated or something unexpected could crop up. Prepare for these eventualities by including some free time in your schedule. 5. Study in Peace It will take much longer to finish projects if you’re facing distractions. Don’t allow yourself to do anything unrelated to the task at hand until you’re due a break and put your phone out of reach with notifications turned off. Also choose an appropriate place to study where no one is likely to interrupt you. 6. Remind Yourself of Your Ultimate Goal As a university student, your main goal is likely to gain a degree. Bearing this in mind when you’re struggling with motivation should help put you back on track. 7. Reward Yourself Add small treats into your day, such as breaks to refresh your mind or something tasty to eat. After you check a particularly big item off your list, give yourself a big reward. You should find you’re able to prioritize better if you’re not constantly facing distractions. Make another goal for this year to move off campus and into your own apartment. You can find Waterloo student housing at myREZ . You’ll have your own room in a five-bedroom apartment with in-suite laundry and blazing-fast WiFi . Book a tour to check out your new space.

4 Leadership Skills That Will Help You After Graduation

To land a job after graduation, you’ll need a range of soft skills in addition to the knowledge you gain from classes. In particular, employers are looking for leadership skills. The good news is there are several types of leadership skills you can develop while still at university. 1. Communication Skills for the Modern Era How people need to communicate in professional situations is always evolving. Today, in addition to being able to communicate in writing, over the phone, and in person, leaders need to be able to manage teams over remote messaging channels, video calls, and project management software. Employers will read your cover letter carefully to see if you write well and know how to strike the right tone for the occasion. In addition, you can give your resume a boost by demonstrating that you have experience using a range of tools common in the business world. It’s also useful to show that you frequently interact with people from a range of backgrounds and cultures for diversity, equity, and inclusion purposes. Lastly, if you’re seeking a position that involves giving speeches or arguing your case, it could be worth joining the campus debate team or taking a public speaking elective. 2. Flexibility Communication is only one thing undergoing constant change in the business world. To succeed as a leader, you need to be able to adapt in many other ways, such as by taking on new responsibilities, learning to use new software, working with different people, and coping with stressful situations. One way to become more flexible is to learn when you need to take a step back and relax. Practice breathing exercises, meditation, or stretches whenever you start to feel overwhelmed. You can then return to the task with a clear mind. 3. Organizational Skills Good leaders have to be organized. If you forget about any aspect of a project you’re managing, everything could fall apart. You need to show that you always meet deadlines, but that you’re also willing to delegate when necessary. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to develop your organizational skills at university. For instance, it requires planning to always complete assignments by their due dates and to reach your goals — academic or otherwise. If you have group projects, you need to come to an agreement about who will complete what task and check in regularly to ensure everyone is on track. If you want to develop your skills further, you could hold an administrative position in a campus organization. 4. Empathy The best leaders are empathetic. They know how to listen, contribute, and create a positive work environment. To become more empathetic, volunteer. Choose a project that will expose you to people from different walks of life to see the world from another perspective. Another skill to develop before you graduate is independence. The best way to do this is to move out of student residence. Waterloo students can find a new home at myREZ . You’ll be close to campus and still living with other students, but you’ll have a private bedroom, laundry facilities in your apartment, and no more meal plans. Book a tour to see how living here could improve your student experience.

What Is Your Preferred Learning Style?

Knowing how you prefer to learn will help you choose classes and decide what tactics to use when you study on your own. There are four main learning styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing. Here’s a closer look into each type. 1. Visual Learner If you’re a visual learner, you like receiving information in a visual format, whether that’s as text, pictures, or diagrams. You find it easiest to understand material in lectures when professors demonstrate concepts on the chalkboard, provide handouts, or use powerpoint presentations. Study tactics to try include taking detailed notes in class and when reading textbooks, making diagrams of concepts, and using flashcards to remember key facts. 2. Auditory Learner Instead of learning best from written materials, auditory learners are most comfortable when they can listen or speak. They enjoy classes that consist of many lectures or discussions with other students. If you’re an auditory learner, you may read sections of your books out loud or explain things to yourself to aid your understanding. Joining a study group where you can talk about the material could be particularly beneficial to you. In addition, you may like to seek out supplementary information in audio f ormats, like podcasts or videos. 3. Kinesthetic Learner Also called tactile learning, kinesthetic learning is all about being hands on. You’re likely a kinesthetic learner if you thrive when you can handle or manipulate the things you’re studying and when you have the chance to put your knowledge into practice instead of just learning theory. The best classes for kinesthetic learners to take are those that involve labs or practical activities. To gain more from your studies, find ways to collaborate with others. When you’re studying alone, try creative activitie s like writing, making models, drawing diagrams, and using flashcards. 4. Reading/Writing Learner If you learn best from written words, you may be a reading/writing learner. You learn both when you read someone else’s words and when you write the information yourself, such as through taking notes. There is some overlap between reading/writing learning and visual learning — the difference being it’s just words that resonate with reading/writing learners, as opposed to all types of visual information. When reading/writing learners are presented with other forms of information (such as diagrams, lectures, and demonstrations), it can help if they write down the concepts and read their notes back later if they need a reminder. Text-based flashcards and quizzes are also helpful for retaining information. When you’re choosing classes, bear in mind that you’re likely to do best at those that involve many writing assignments or a large amount of reading. Whatever your preferred learning style, you’ll need to study hard to achieve good grades. This means having a place where you can study in peace. You can find University of Waterloo housing that meets your needs at myREZ . As well as the desk in your private, fully-furnished bedroom, you can use our large study spaces, equipped with blazing-fast WiFi . Book a tour to see how living here will make your time at university even better.

The Risks of Using AI for Essay Writing

You’ve undoubtedly heard about the new advances in artificial intelligence (AI) leading to tools that are now powerful enough to write coherent pieces of text. You may be wondering if such tools could be the solution to creating an essay for you that you’ve been finding particularly difficult to write. In fact, there are numerous risks to doing this. Here are some considerations to bear in mind. 1. You’ll Be Breaking the Rules at Your School Universities require students’ work to be their own. The use of AI tools will fall under unauthorized assistance at most schools. Violating this rule could mean you face disciplinary action, which could mean suspension or expulsion. It’s easy for universities to detect AI-created content by using academic plagiarism tools like Turnitin. 2. It’s Plagiarism Although an essay you create with AI will likely be unique, it’s still plagiarism because you didn’t create the work yourself. To avoid plagiarism, you’d need to reference the AI tool you used — which would only advertise that you’re breaking the rules. 3. The Writing Will Be Poor Quality AI tools often create essays that are uninspired and feature sentence structures that are characteristic of poor-quality writing. They state the obvious, repeat ideas, and add fluff — all things that can easily push you up to the word limit without adding any value to the essay. It may require more effort to edit these to create an engaging essay that flows well than to write an essay from scratch yourself. 4. AI-Generated Essays Are Often Factually Incorrect A major issue with AI tools at the moment is they’re unable to determine what makes an authoritative source. This leads to pieces of writing that are full of factual mistakes — and will definitely result in you receiving a lower grade. 5. You’ll Lack Citations Even the reliable information in your essay will lack citations, which means you’re once again committing plagiarism. Fact-checking an AI-generated essay to back up the facts with sources is a huge waste of time. 6. You’ll Deprive Yourself of a Proper Education A final reason to avoid AI tools is for your own personal benefit. Most people don’t find essays the most thrilling aspect of university, but they ultimately learn a lot from writing them. Essays are a chance to explore the ideas you’ve learned in a creative way, check you’ve understood concepts, and develop skills you’ll need after graduation. By handing the task off to AI, you’re robbing yourself of a valuable learning experience and failing to take full advantage of your education. You’ll gain the best grades for your essays if you put in the time and effort to study. This is easier said than done when you’re facing constant distractions in your dorm room. The solution is to move into your own apartment. You can find UWaterloo off-campus housing with all the features you need for a great student experience at myREZ . For instance, when you need a change of scene from your suite, you can head to one of the large study spaces. Book a tour to see all the facilities.

How to Tap into Your Interior Design Preferences in Student Housing

Attending university is your chance to discover more about yourself. As well as exploring new interests and deciding what career you want to pursue, it’s an opportunity to figure out your preferences in various aspects of your life. Your student housing, for example, gives you a blank slate to experiment with your interior design preferences. Instead of simply copying the latest trends, aim to create a space that will welcome your home at the end of each day. Here are some tips to guide you. 1. Decide What Defines You Your interior design preferences will be closely linked to your personal style. Think about what defines you as a person and how this can reflect your choice of decor. For example, you may like to use your favourite colour , showcase a hobby, or reflect your personality. 2. Choose a Style Learn the interior design lingo to define what kind of style you want. You may find that something resonates with you immediately or you may need to spend some time researching. Popular choices for students include minimalist (sleek and simple), bohemian (free spirited), timeless (always in style), chic (elegant and stylish), feng shui (a harmonized space), hygge (warm and comfortable), and eclectic (a mixture of styles). 3. Seek Out Inspiration Once you have a specific style in mind, you can search for inspiration online, such as by using social media. You may like to specifically look for ideas for student apartments — these will be more relevant to the kind of space you’re working with. Remember, there’s no need to exactly replicate what you find: the point is to put your own spin on an idea to make it your own. 4. Create a Budget Before you start purchasing anything, you need to decide how much you can afford to spend on interior design. Of course, there’s no need to finish decorating your student housing immediately — you can gradually add more items as you find them. Nonetheless, you do need to have an amount in mind to spend initially to ensure you’ll still have enough for other expenses during the month. Furthermore, you should consider which items will be an investment for future apartments and which will likely be just for your student housing. 5. Build on the Essentials Even when you know what you want to achieve with your space, it can be difficult to know where to begin. The best way to approach this is to start with the essentials and build up. These should include things like your bedding, bathroom accessories, and throw pillows. You can then think about the other elements, such as artwork for the walls and other decorations that match the base you’ve created. There’s little opportunity to explore your interior design preferences when you share a small dorm room with another student. However, you’ll have plenty of room to experiment when you have your own apartment. You can find Waterloo student housing that provides you with your own room in a spacious suite at myREZ . All the bedrooms are fully furnished, meaning you won’t need to worry about buying furniture — you just need to infuse the space with your personal style. Book a tour to check out the housing for yourself.

7 Ways to Stay Productive Each Semester

As you spend more time at university, you may find you start to fall into certain habits that don’t align with your long-term goals. Fortunately, there’s never a bad time to reassess and set new intentions. In particular, here are a few ways to ensure you stay productive. 1. Use a Planner It’s difficult to know where you should be focusing your attention if you don’t have a to-do list. Use either a physical planner or an app to keep track of due dates for assignments and upcoming activities. Check your planner at the start of each week to ensure you know what you need to achieve. 2. Organize Your Desk You’ll definitely waste time if your desk is a mess. Remove everything that doesn’t belong and organize whatever remains. Create a space for your school supplies, making sure you always put items back where they belong to find them easily. Use a binder or separate folders for each of your classes to store notes, handouts, and other physical papers. 3. Manage Your Files It’s likely that many of your notes and other materials for your classes are in digital format. It’s just as important to keep these organized. On your laptop, create a folder for each of your classes — and perhaps subfolders within these to organize by units, assignments, or whatever is logical for you. Being able to navigate quickly to what you’re looking for will streamline your studying. 4. Create a Study Schedule Rather than finding time to study whenever you can, schedule time to work on your assignments. This is crucial at university, when much of your school work takes place outside of your classes. You may like to set a regular schedule, or you might prefer to decide how to organize your time at the beginning of the week according to upcoming assignments. 5. Start with Your Highest-Priority Tasks There will be some days when you’re unable to stick to your study schedule. Whenever this happens, you need to decide what tasks matter most and prioritize them — rather than choosing the tasks that appeal to you. It may help to colour -code your to-do list to highlight what you need to focus on. 6. Work for a Set Amount of Time During study periods, focus just on schoolwork — don’t allow yourself to become distracted by other things. You may like to set a timer to ensure you stay focused for long enough. This will also push you to take a break after an appropriate amount of time, which is equally important for your productivity. Set a timer during your break, as well, to ensure you return to your schoolwork after around 15 minutes rest. 7. Take Steps to Remove Distractions Just deciding you won’t become distracted is not enough — you need to take action to ensure there’s nothing around to distract you. This likely includes putting your phone out of reach and letting your roommates know that you’re busy and they shouldn’t disturb you. It’s always difficult to stay productive when you’re living in student residence. Waterloo students have a better alternative in the off-campus housing at myREZ . Not only will you have the desk in your private bedroom — you’ll also have access to our large study spaces. Best of all, you’ll be just steps from campus, meaning you’ll lose minimal time commuting to your classes. Book a tour to check out the housing for yourself.