Time Management Sessions Offered
By: Tina Huang, Tina Li, Amy Lum
Faculty and counselors alike have identified time management and seasonal depression as two issues that disrupt student life and created accessible, short workshops to provide students entry points into dealing with problems at Exeter. Students gathered in Agora and the Library Commons on Tuesday and Thursday of last week to listen to thirty-minute presentations on “Time-Management Tips for Student Success” and “Happy Winter: Preventing Seasonal Sadness.”
The Center for Teaching and Learning Committee, comprised of teachers and counselors of the Lamont Health Center, ran the workshops. The committee’s goal, according to Associate Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Christopher Thurber, is “to create a center for teaching and learning that is a resource for all the faculty, all the staff, and all the students.”
“Flash sessions”—brief introductions to important topics surrounding important issues to student life—were designed for convenience and accessibility. During the first time management session, Thurber outlined the importance of establishing priorities and adopting attitudes and behaviors that increase motivation in order to be successful in managing one’s time. He noted strategies such as putting in one’s best effort in the amount of completion time, whether that be an essay or a set of math problems, and focusing less on feelings when completing an assignment.
Though students came and went throughout the presentation, prep Michael Goodall stayed until the end. He felt that the sessions were helpful and left a great impact on students who attended. “They could have sent more reminders and notices about these [workshops] though, especially to the students that it's more applicable for,” he said.
In the “Preventing Seasonal Sadness” workshop, Thurber discussed the differences in hours of sunlight between seasons, depending on location and how the lack of sunlight in the winter can affect students living in warmer areas. To avoid a drop in mood, Thurber emphasized the benefits of sunlight exposure in the day. “What we know to be biologically true is that we need a little bit of sunlight for our bodies to make vitamin E, and we need that to be healthy,” Thurber said. “So, even if it's a cold day, even if it's cloudy, exposing your hands and face to a little bit of sunlight can make a big difference in your mood.”
Thurber also pointed out there are six newly-installed spectrum lights in the library, which can serve as an alternative to natural sunlight. “When you walk right into the library, go behind the card catalog and go up half a flight of stairs,” he said. “Doing homework in front of those lights [is really beneficial]. If you experience some seasonal dip in your mood is really good, just two to three times a week, even for 20 minutes.”
For prep Gwen Serrano, this workshop helped her realize the subtle significance of sunlight. “I feel like it [sunlight] is very, not underrated per se, but definitely, at other schools they don’t really emphasize as much,” she said. “People come from so many backgrounds where the winter season isn’t as prominent, it could be a very effective thing to attend this workshop in order to learn more about what Seasonal Affective Disorder is and how you can avoid it.”
Attendee and lower Owen Pallatroni believed that the workshop allowed him to explore ways to alleviate seasonal sadness. “Especially going to a school where homework and social life is very tedious, it's very informative to come to a presentation like this, to learn about ways to keep up your spirits, especially in the winter when it's kinda nasty out,” he said.
In February, two additional Flash Sessions will take place on campus, both focused on beginning tasks. “We’re calling these sessions ‘Starting the Thing,’” History Instructor Meg Foley said. “We’re still designing [the activities]. The task initiation session will include techniques to get going with a looming task.”
In the future, Thurber hopes to enhance the sessions’ publicity and continue their focus on accessibility. “You don't need to enroll [in the sessions]. You don't need to bring your own snacks,” he said. “Many of these things [taught during the sessions], while they take practice over time, they don't take a long time to explain, so if 30 minutes is too long, we could do 10, or some other time.”
The committee is open to feedback from all members of the community. “We welcome ideas from students and faculty and staff about what they want, what they need for teaching faculty,” Thurber said. “Especially coaches and anyone else that has interactions with students. I've even thought about what information we could provide to parents and other caregivers that would put them in the best possible position to support students.”
According to Foley, the committee is ultimately using student feedback from the Flash Sessions to implement future projects. “Our committee's goal is, ‘Let's try these things and let's see if these are the kinds of things that might be a part [of the] programming,’” she said. “We’re just a committee. There is no Center for Teaching and Learning, but there's [a potential] movement towards one.”
Thurber also described the Flash Sessions as an experiment in the committee’s long-term goal to promote student well-being. “This is just one of the dozens of different things that we're trying,” he said. “[We’re] trying to see what sticks and what's helpful and what we have time for.”