Helping Turn off OCD Behavior (Adults) Under Stress? plus College Studying Tips?

I am definitely a visual learner. In college, I usually had 3 to 5 handwritten copies of my notes. Recopying them is how the information stuck in my head. To this day, if you tell me a phone number or something, it goes in one ear and out the other. If I write the number down and immediately throw the paper away, I will still remember the number.

That's all I've got. Good luck to you!

When you read, take notes, lots of them. Use a highlighter, and then type or write out what you highlighted. This will give you "cliff notes" for studying. I suggest reading the chapter before class, and then doing the notes after.

As to the OCD stuff, I get that way when I am stressed. Baby step it. Look at your list and pick one thing to do on it. Do it. Then do another. Give yourself a 15 minutes break after X many of items.

As you hear the lecture, visualize what the Professor is talking about.
When you read a chapter, visualize what you are reading.
That is what I do.
Many people are visual. So, with that in mind, visualize what you hear and read.

Taking notes is visual. To me. You hear it then write it. It then reinforces what you are taking in mentally or via your ears.

You also need to get organized and time manage.
Using things like a desk calendar on a wall, so you can SEE it after you write in what is due etc.
Use highlighter pens to organize your classes and color code it.
MAKE an actual schedule.. of WHEN you will study and for how long. And keep to it.
Keeping things organized and being... organized, are two different things. One utilizes keeping objects in its place. The other takes, keeping you... in place. ie: being on task. And focused on completing assignments.

Other Various Tips:
1) Chew gum, as you study. It helps one to focus and concentrate.
2) Get an iPod and ear buds, and listen to music as you study. It will keep out unwanted distraction.
3) As you study, squeeze a "stress ball" in the other hand. It will help you to focus to the task on hand.
4) If you are a coffee drinker.... don't drink too much. For some, this makes their brain too unfocused. But for some, it helps them to focus.
5) Hyland's Calms Forte (for adults), helps with stress but does not cause drowsiness. Its a pill. One of those homeopathic things. I have used it.
6) KNOW that the more you procrastinate, the more things will not be done. And then you will have to cram it all, at one time, and may not get good grades. So just plunk down, in a quiet room or go to the library, to study.
7) If you cannot, complete your classes or assignments, and don't get good grades, and if you have to withdraw from a class, you will lose your money. And that is a lot of money, per class per credit hour.
Tell yourself that. That is a repercussion of not doing school work.

What worked best for me was to rewrite my lecture notes after class, especially redoing the math examples. I also retained more if I took notes while reading the textbook. It helped me really focus on the important parts of the text and sort it out in my mind.
For procrastination, which I indulged in waaay too often, I HAD to find a place outside of my house with few distractions and where I wouldn't run into anyone I knew. The computer would not be turned on unless I actually needed it.

Hello,

Record the lectures and listen to them....I found that most everything covered on the exam was in the lectures themselves! History and Biology I had the highest marks in the class just because I recorded lectures.

S.

Don't worry about reselling your textbooks -- annotate the books, which means mark them up. Any time I see anything important or interesting in a textbook, I highlight it and put comments in the margins.

It makes a huge difference in being able to internalize and remember what I read, and refer back to it later.

I'm a visual learner too. What worked best for me was taking notes, constantly. During lectures especially. I would sometimes go back and recopy them because the act of rewriting helped me get the info to actually implant into my brain. Not only rewriting but retyping as well. It was all good :-)

I had this strange note system that may help. I kept a pop up of those little sticky note tabs. On the tab I wrote a reference number and stuck it in the book that related to the lecture. In my notebook I would write the reference number and then take the related notes. By doing this I didn't have to take notes on what was in the book, I only wrote the professors embellishments on what was in the book.

I am a tactile learner so I have to work through problems to learn them. By doing it this way it freed up time for me to work through problems as the professor was speaking, adding my take to the notes.

I think what is important is understanding how you learn and adapting to that. Sometimes that means getting way outside the box.

I always kept the room I worked in spotless and organized. That way I just focused on what I can see and not what is beyond my line of sight. I don't know if this sounds familiar but I could ignore the world but if one game was sitting where I could see it I would obsess on that game until I got up and returned it to its place.

When I was in college my bedroom, master bath, family room and kitchen table were always spotless the rest of the house could have fallen off the earth for all I would have noticed. :) If you knew the layout of my home that would make perfect sense.

If you can afford it, buy a Live Scribe pen (perfect Christmas gift!) I just took a couple classes (biochemistry) at UCSC and I had the highest scores in my classes. This pen gives you a huge edge by recording the lectures. You write on special paper (it's about $5/notebook) and it records the lecture and connects it to what your writing. So when you review your notes, you can touch the pen to any word on the page and it will play back what the professor was saying when you were writing that word. You can also just listen to the audio and upload your notes onto the computer. It's amazing.

This was the first time that I completely skipped reading the text book because I was able to get every word of what the professor said. I took upper division courses in biochemistry, organic chemistry and thermodynamics. There was never a test question that was not covered in lecture. At UCSD there would have been questions from the text only but probably not at SJSU (?) Maybe you can ask your professor or double check the green sheet.

Without the pen, I would take careful notes rewrite my notes and create a study guide throughout the course. I would photocopy key figures from the book etc so come test time, I have a more concise set of material. When taking notes, if you miss something or don't fully understand something than make a note of that in the margin (e.g. a squiggly line or question mark). Talk to the professor, another student or reference the book to get clarification immediately. Also, reading the text before lecture makes a world of a difference in comprehending the material as it is presented.

In Biology and Physiology, there is a lot of memorization so I find flash cards are particularly helpful. The act of making the note cards is usually as effective as reviewing them. You can also buy them or check to see if there is an appropriate cell phone app (I have a couple for OChem). When studying I always take at least a 5 minute break after every hour (even if I don't feel like it - I know it's necessary.)

I have a tendency towards obsessive thoughts too. School actually helps me because it gives me an appropriate outlet. I'll carry around flash cards and fill my mind throughout the day by reviewing them. Eating healthy and exercise are also good to clear the mind. If you actually have OCD (which is nothing like you described so I highly doubt it) than you should be on medication. It may be worth checking with your doctor. Xanax works well too ;)

Good luck mama!