Pen and Paper are Mightier then the Sword by Emily

Pen and Paper are Mightier then the Sword by Emily - December 2017 Scholarship Essay

The power of the list is the most underrated study tool yet happens to be the blood that keeps my academic career alive and successful. In a world where technology seems king, the humble paper pad and an ink pen are often under looked, which I find a dreadful shame. Lists are the key strategy for my academics for they maintain or enhance the orchestration of other study tools through organization, a factor many forget the importance of.
I have always been that kid in class with a color coordinated, dripping in ink, overfilled agenda, and I have served in that title proudly. But if you think about it, the agenda is a glorified list. List of event dates, list of due dates, list of optional tasks, list of dear God don’t forget this tasks, list on list on lists. Electronic calendars are lists with fancy notifications and ring tones. University software systems with the “tasks to do tab” is, you guessed it, a list! You may be wondering already, why is this girl so excited about lists? Well, firstly, without lists my academic record would not be as strong as it is. Secondly, lists are why other study tools work, without making some form of list, tasks get lost in the chaos of life. When going to academic support resources, one of their first steps they have you complete is getting organized using lists. Yes, even after all the technological advancements the past decade has brought, lists still hold unmatchable power.
Through out our years of education, we are given a laundry list of different tips to aid our study process, these might include studying in specific time intervals, using flash cards, turning off your phone, seeking teacher help, etcetera etcetera. But ask yourself this, how can these be effective if you don’t know what it is you need to do? How can studying for fifteen minutes and taking a break for five on a repeat cycle work if you don’t know what material needs to be covered? If you don’t remember what subject has an exam coming up, how are flashcards useful? How can you budget in time to meet with a professor if you don’t know what your time looks like for the day? The answer is simple, you can’t! Lists organize everything, they put it in one place allowing you to see what needs to be accomplished to stay on track. Additionally, they provide a visual aid, if the list is long, you know the phone needs to be locked away to avoid distraction. If it’s short, you can rest your brain a little, and who doesn’t want to know when they can do that? Lists show everything helping combat the fear of forgetting to complete a task and allowing your brain to focus while working instead of being distracted by trying to remember what is needed to be done.
Lists also play into human’s natural need for reward, and this is done in two ways. Firstly, through the organization lists provide, we can budget in time for ourselves. Humans are naturally motivated by reward, lists show us what is needed to be done, which can be converted into a schedule, thus allowing us to see when a study break can be fit in. It’s easy to be less motivated when it seems all time must be spent working, but lists expose gaps in our schedule that can be used for personal care time. When we know personal time is coming, digging deeper while working is less dreadful and the work is of higher quality because of the more positive attitude had while working. Secondly, lists give small bursts of satisfaction every time we cross off a completed task. Yes, the idea seems very insignificant to scratch off a line on your note pad, but personal experience and frequent conversations with colleagues have shown that the little sense of personal accomplishment is a key motivator, especially as work loads increase through out life.
Lastly, lists combat one of the biggest problems faced by students, stress. Too much stress is physically and mentally damaging as it causes doubt, anxiety, and distraction while students work. But, lists decrease the number of stress factors students face. Lists eliminate the question of what must be done, when something is due, if something is being forgotten, and many other questions laying burden in the student’s brains. Lists allow students to mentally prepare themselves for the heavy or light work load ahead as well as find time to budget in mental breaks to keep them motivated. So as you can see, I am a huge fan lists. This paper only shows some of the many benefits waiting for students to gain with lists if they would take advantage of them. They’re easy, they’re quick to make, and will reduce your stress level in some fashion or another. So, if you have never tried a list I say give it a shot, you might be surprised as to how your academic life will change for the better with this one simple tool.