Formula for Managing Your Time

July 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Americans lead busy lives. It seems they’re always saying, “There aren’t enough hours in the day!” They get stressed out trying to get it all done. Time is one commodity for which you can’t get a refund. Time management can become very important in a person’s life, especially if you feel you don’t have enough time to accomplish things.

One of the most important aspects of time management is learning to say no. Do not over extend yourself and pick up projects or duties that immediately add stress to your life. You will know in your gut whether it’s a responsibility that you should accept. Listen to your intuition.

One of the first things to examine is how you spend your time. Keep a log and get a clear picture of exactly how you are spending your time. The more accurate the log, the more accurate your formula will be.

The 10/70/20 formula is a popular time management tool. This formula requires you to divide your time into Past, Present and Future. The idea is to spend 10 percent of your time dealing with past duties such as paying bills or finishing a project. The present should take up the most time (70 percent) doing things like working or researching online courses at eLearners.com. Twenty percent is spent on future duties. Future duties would include something like preparing an agenda for a meeting next week.

You can even tweak the numbers for this formula depending on how you log your time. You can change it up and use 20/60/20 if that fits your lifestyle. The important thing is to look at your log and manage your time in a way that fits your needs.

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Real World Value: Mathematics

July 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Square root of x formula. Symbol of mathematics.

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Mathematics is a fiendish thing: a gathering of cruel numbers and impossible formulas, the angles that refuse to relent. This is your certainty, earned from years of schooling, the drones of instructors who never dared to smile. It’s a subject with no value and no appeal. You’ve gained nothing from it — except frustration. You despise it.

This is a common philosophy. Students — young and old — consider mathematics tedious. They lack all inspiration with it, sure that nothing beyond confusion can be earned. And, once the lessons are done, they toss away all they learned.

This is a mistake — but an easily corrected one. Individuals simply must gain awareness of real applications. Math must be recognized as useful, rather than dull.

Numbers surround us: from observing the price of fashion to crafting budgets to even planning for retirement. Totals define the world. It’s essential that individuals understand this, noting that even their attempts to haggle for better store deals result from math. And, when teachers stress this, the process seems far more appealing.

Applying math is a simple thing. Its basic formulas are involved in daily life. Mastering addition, subtraction, fractions and percentages is therefore necessary — and can provide aid in shops, dealerships and more. Allowing students to see this is vital. It ensures that the lessons are deemed important instead of irritating. Real-life examples must be offered.

Generating interest in math is often considered impossible. It instead merely requires patience, however, and the ability to channel numbers into reality.

 

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Mathematics in Education

June 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A leader teach is able to help this student wi... 

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Education has changed drastically from the three R’s, reading, writing, arithmetic. Now schools have the pressure of adding character education, art, physical education, music, science, history, social studies, the list seems to go on.

How do schools focus on honing student’s mathematical skills with such a vast array of other subjects that are required in schools today?

Integration is one tool that teachers utilize that connects mathematics to other subjects. While mathematics might be the most challenging to integrate, science often works well and forces students to utilize those precious math skills. Application of mathematics knowledge is key.

Homework is often provided to students to practice the skills that are being taught since there is less time to complete this work in the classroom. Homework is such a controversial topic, since teachers use homework so differently.  Homework realistically should be a review and practice, not take students hours to complete every night. Homework does show parents what skills their child needs to work on outside of school. Unfortunately math is often one of those subjects.

Creativity is often necessary to help students learn new concepts, apply the information on a regular basis and provide opportunities for students to explore with the skills that they’ve just learned. Manipulatives for younger students is often used to help connect real numbers to objects. Board games and other tools are exposed to students that are slightly older, and higher order math gets the old fashioned pencil and paper.

Mathematics isn’t going anywhere in the education system. Teachers are just forced to be more outside the box thinkers to teach and hone skills of their students.

 

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Learning Math Can Lead to Winning at Cards

May 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It does not matter if your game is blackjack or poker. When you understand mathematics and statistics, you are going to become a better player and have a better chance of winning money. The professional card players know the odds that they are up against on every hand and use that information to plot their next move.

As the old poker saying goes, “You got to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.” Playing poker is all about exploiting your opportunities to have a good hand. Texas Hold ‘em is the most popular of the casino games online right now and the key to being successful is to know when you have a realistic chance to win. Even the best hands can get beat sometimes but if you stick with playing hands where you have a reasonable chance of victory, you will be a winner in the long run.

Blackjack players can have an ever bigger advantage if they are skilled at following the cards. Expert mathematicians can track in their head how many face cards are out and will increase their bets if there are many remaining in the deck. The player knows this will improve his odds of getting 20 or 21 and improve the odds of winning. Blackjack is another of the casino games online that is being played at any time of the day or night.

Some players think that succeeding at cards is about intimidating your opponents and reading other players but really it is about statistics. Follow what the odds say and in the long run your will be a winner.



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2 + 2 Equals Human Advancement

January 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Don’t knock the nerdy math teacher. Yes, many of us didn’t care for calculus in high school, and some of us aren’t good with numbers at all. But let’s face it — mathematics is one of the only truly universal languages out there. Adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing — they’re the basis for everything we do in life and how we operate. Even with words and writing, numbers exist!

Here’s the truth: if you have a love for mathematics and are generally good with numbers, you basically have a ton of options at your fingertips as far as online programs out there for education. Think of the possibilities: accounting, general mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering, astronomy, and so many more. All of it revolves around numbers. The use of mathematics! Some of these majors lead to some of the most important jobs to date in the world.

Don’t worry; you don’t have to sit in a classroom and be bored by lectures about numbers. Because as said before, numerous online programs exist out there that allow you to do your coursework from the comfort of your own home. Deal with the numbers, do the work, get the grades, and you’re set. While you actually might not have the patience for numbers, if you’re good with them, utilize that! The best advancements in humanity revolve around numbers. So don’t be afraid of math. Thankfully, once you’re ready to go with the highest quality experience for some of the best jobs out there — astronomy and engineering — you’ll notice that all your past boring days of calculus learning and the fraction stuff will simply fade away into memory. The bottom line is your use of numbers will mesh into your basic process of working. It will become your mantra, your code of work ethic.

As said before, don’t knock the nerdy math teacher. Passing on math knowledge — nurturing a young math genius who will later do great things in life — is one of the most important jobs there is.

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