5 Tips for a Healthy Study-Life Balance at College

5 Tips for a Healthy Study-Life Balance at College 5 Tips for a Healthy Study-Life Balance at College Depending who you ask, college is either a) all about learning and developing skills for adult life; or b) where young people go to behave badly, away from the withering gazes of childhood authority figures. In truth, it’s usually a bit of both. Nobody goes to college if they don’t have at least a passing interest in learning. But being a student is also about becoming independent and trying new things. The key is striking a healthy study-life balance. But how do you make sure you’re making the most of student life without falling behind in your studies? 1. Set Realistic Goals Most of us struggle to achieve a good study-life balance because we take on too much. Going to class and getting assignments done on time is time-consuming enough, so once you add your social life, college societies and a part-time job, your schedule can start looking pretty full. And then you end up feeling like this guy. [Photo: Adrian Sampson] It’s therefore important to set realistic goals at college, taking account of your other commitments and leaving enough time to relax now and then. 2. Get Organized! A regular working routine can help you study efficiently, leaving more time for other activities. Make sure to set aside time in advance if you know you have an assignment due and try your hardest to avoid procrastination. 3. Know When to Prioritize If you find yourself with too much to do, be prepared to let small things slide, which means understanding which tasks are most important and prioritizing them. And in case youre wondering, that doesn’t mean â€Å"not revising for the test because I wanted to go out with my friends on a Wednesday night.† If anything, the opposite is advisable. 4. Eat Healthy and Exercise If you want to throw yourself fully into college life, you’ll need to keep your energy levels up. The best way to do this is by eating healthily and getting regular exercise. 5. Sleep Well (and Get Up Early) As with diet and exercise, getting into good sleeping habits can boost your energy and make it easier to achieve a healthy life-study balance. As such, you should avoid coffee in the evenings and make sure your bedroom is a comfortable sleeping environment. Finally, and we know this won’t be popular, but if you want to make the most of your day you should get up early. Its not that you have to leap out of bed at the crack of dawn; just try to make sure youre fully awake by the time your first class starts!

Exploding Mentos Drink

Exploding Mentos Drink A friend sent me a link to a Wired how-to project called The Manhattan Project in which you freeze a Mentos candy into an ice cube and place it in a carbonated drink. When the ice cube melts, the wax surrounding the candy will be exposed and the drink should erupt. Does it work? Lets find out. Exploding Mentos Drink Ingredients The drink in the original recipe called for whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters (basically a Manhattan plus diet cola), but you can make a rum and coke or whatever you like or just try the non-alcoholic version using two ingredients: diet colaa Mentosâ„ ¢ candy Make the Exploding Drink Ill tell you right up front: a drink with soda and Mentos wont explode unless it is in an enclosed container. Exploding drinks make messes, plus they tend to spray out shards of glass, so its a good thing this drink isnt so violent. Erupting is more what youre looking for here. If you want to cause an unexpected eruption, freeze a single Mentos candy into the well of an ice cube tray. Youll get the best results if you wait until the ice is almost frozen and then add a Mentos candy to each cube so that its near the surface of the ice. You dont want to soak the candy in cold water or its coating will dissolve. If that happens, all youll get when you mix it with diet cola is candy-flavored cola. The premise is that the Mentos will become exposed as the ice cube melts. When the wax coating of the candy reacts with the diet soda, the drink will fizz and bubble like the classic Mentos and diet soda fountain. If youre doing the project on-purpose or else dont mind getting caught dropping a Mentos into someones carbonated drink, you can simply plop the candy in the soda no ice cube needed. How the Mentos in Ice Cubes Trick Works Among other things, the gum arabic that coats a Mentos candy lowers the surface tension of the soda, allowing carbon dioxide bubbles to rise and expand more easily. The candy coating traps the gas, forming bubbles and foam. When I tried this project, I didnt get a spectacular eruption, but you can expect somewhat better results if you use a narrow glass for your drink. Except that the Mentos flavors the drink, I dont think someone with a Mentos-laced ice cube would notice much happening or suffer from an out-of-control foaming drink. The project is still pretty fun.