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Managing time effectively is important when at university, whether it’s studying, completing coursework or exam revision. It is easy to quickly become overwhelmed and feel that there is just not enough time to fit everything in. Making lists of your tasks each day is a great way to keep on top of your work and life. Todoist is one of the best to-do list apps available. All your information and data is stored and synced in the cloud, which means you can access your lists on any device at any time. If you need some help with organising your life and becoming more productive then Todoist is a good place to start. Organising your tasks in a list that you can tick off as you complete them can also be beneficial for your mental health. Firstly, knowing you have all of your jobs in a list can give you mental space and stop you worrying or feeling like you have forgotten tasks. Secondly, looking back at your list at the end of the day can really give you a sense of accomplishment. Especially with the current lockdown, it can feel like days are blending into one, but if you can look back at your lists and see that you have actually done quite a lot. Some of the Key Features of TodoistTodoist can give you a sense of confidence from knowing that all your tasks are organised and accounted for. It gives you a clear overview of your day and the tasks you need to accomplish. Some of the key features include… Quick AddThe Quick Add feature allows you to add your tasks in seconds. You can then easily view all your tasks for the day and mark them as complete as you go along.
Recurring Due DatesThis feature helps you commemorate the deadlines and build habits. FavouritesYou can let go of all the clutter and only focus your energy on the important things by easily organising and prioritising your projects and tasks on Todoist. You can plan out your schedules according to what’s most important first and needs immediate attention. The favourite tab helps you do this.
Delegate TasksYou can also share the workload by delegating tasks to your teammates on Todoist. It’s very efficient and productive for students while working on group projects. The notifications segment in this feature keeps you updated whenever someone completes the task, or post comments. With this feature, you can make all the important information accessible to all the involved members. BoardsTodoist boards let you easily organise different areas of your life. You could have a board for your studies, a board for your exercise, a board for your social life etc. KarmaKarma gives you a broad view of your total progress with using the app. Set weekly or daily goals and foresee your work rate trends. Students can use this feature to keep track of how much preparation they’re doing before the exam. ConclusionTodoist is an excellent tool that you can use in all areas of your life to help keep yourself productive and motivated. It’s free to get started and to use the basic features however there is a pro option which costs around £30.00 per year, however students can get 70% off at this link. Download on the mobile app on the App Store and Google Play store. Or, get the desktop version from Todoist Website. Learn about other useful apps on our blog. Thanks for reading, A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre The post Todoist Organisational App appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger Todoist Organisational App
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Lockdown is back upon us, we are again restricted from doing things we enjoy, seeing our friends, going to the gym, going to the cinema etc. The current situation can easily have a negative impact on our mental well-being, resulting in feelings of anxiety and depression. One thing you can do from the comfort of your home is practice meditation and mindfulness. This study from Science Daily found that just one session of mindfulness meditation can reduce anxiety. If you would like to reap some of the benefits of meditation but don’t know where to begin we have put together a list of the most-effective mindfulness smartphone apps for you. These apps are easy to navigate and are readily available in your app stores. These aren’t ranked in any particular order… CalmCalm teaches mindfulness and offers daily meditation practices in a simple manner that everyone can understand. The calm app contains guided meditations, including a 7-days-of-calm series. It also has a body scan and meditation that eases tension. You will also enjoy timed meditation sessions, over 20 visual and audio nature backgrounds. Calm is free to use but you can unlock more features by purchasing one of their subscriptions. Get on the App Store or Google Play Store. HeadspaceThe headspace app is a creation of a famous meditation teacher, Andy Puddicombe, who describes it as a gym membership for the mind. This application has a free and paid variant, and users can opt for either option depending on their preferences. After downloading the headspace app, begin with the ten-day mindfulness and meditation program that helps users to improve their health. The headspace app has brain development as its focus, and it entails a list of special meditations in areas like a relationship, health, and general performance. You can also explore tons of quick, one-time guided meditations to redirect and calm the mind quickly when you need a fix. One of the more unique features of headspace compared to the other apps in this list is that you can connect with your friends on the app and meditate together. Get on the App Store or Google Play Store. Insight TimerThe Insight Timer app has a huge amount of free content available to consume and experience. To explore the free content, scroll past the button that asks you to begin a free trial and you will then have access to the free library. Insight Timer boasts over 6 million active users and is like a huge community with thousands of guided meditations from tons of teachers who add new material daily. The app houses guided meditations across fields like creativity, stress, and relationships. Another cool feature is that on the app you can see how many people are meditating in real-time, and how many meditations are active on that day. You can also browse through the list of teachers on the app to find out what teacher you prefer and follow their profile. Some popular teachers on the app are Tara Brach, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield. Follow any teacher you love and keep tabs on their content to help you through your meditation journey. Get on the App Store or Google Play Store. Simply BeingAs the name suggests, this app is a simple and straightforward meditation guide created by Richard and Mary Maddux, a couple who make up the Meditation Oasis team. Richard is a music composer, while Mary is a healing arts practitioner and counselor. The duo created this simple and appealing app that users can download after paying a one-time fee. Once you download the app, you can listen to several timed and guided meditations with or without sounds of nature and background music. If you thrive on simple meditative processes, then Simply Being is a useful app of guided meditations. This app doesn’t have a free version but costs £1.99. Get on the App Store or Google Play Store. My Life Meditation (formely Stop, Breathe & Think)In essence, mindfulness is all about stopping, breathing, and managing your thoughts. This is why this mindfulness app has a name that instills the essence and awareness of mindfulness. A cool feature of this application is that you can enter your current mood it will direct you to the best meditations for your day. My Life Meditation is a completely free app created by ‘Tools for Peace,” a non-profit organisation for effective meditation. Get it on the App Store or Google Play Store. ConclusionMindfulness meditation offers many health benefits, but like many good things, it needs constant practice. If you are feeling particularly anxious try and follow along with a guided meditation and see how you feel afterwards. You have nothing to lose. For further reading on meditation check out our previous blog post Meditation For Stress And Anxiety. Thanks for Reading, A2B DSA Assessment Centre. The post The Best Mindfulness Meditation Apps appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger The Best Mindfulness Meditation Apps A record number of students have been accepted on nursing and midwifery courses this year according to the latest statistics released by UCAS. It is believed that increased emphasis on the health and social sector over the last 9 months, due to Covid-19, has led to a much greater number of students looking for a career in healthcare. The statistics from UCAS show that there were 6,110 (or 26%) more accepted applications for students studying on nursing and midwifery courses than last year. A grand total of 29,740 students will be studying nursing and midwifery in 2021. The data also shows a 43% increase in mature students, aged 35 and over who have been accepted on nursing and midwifery courses. Minister for Care Helen Whately said:
If you are interested in a career in health care wrote an article covering the above mentioned nursing grant back in January. Thanks for reading, The post UCAS Reports Massive Surge In Nursing Students appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger UCAS Reports Massive Surge In Nursing Students Moving away from living at home and being independent of your parents for the first time can be challenging. The age span of 16-24 years old is essentially the transition from adolescence to adulthood and this is a high risk period for mental health disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 64% of the University student population is between 16 and 24 years old, and this increases to 83% if you count undergraduates only. Because of this, students span an age range where a wide spectrum of mental illness is seen. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a study by NHS Digital and the University of Exeter found that 13% of young men and 27% of young women between 17 and 22 years had a mental health disorder. This report shows an increase in the rate of mental health problems, especially among young women. What Is Meant By Mental Illness?Mental illness can be thought of as how we think, feel and behave. There are many contributing factors that can impact one’s mental health, such as;
With the correct support and coping methods, people who suffer from mental illness can be mentally well. And likewise, people without mental illness can experience very poor mental wellbeing in challenging circumstances where they don’t have the correct support. Common Mental Health Disorders Among Students.
The impact on studiesA recent report from Randstad gives us some interesting statistics on student mental health in 2020.
However mental health doesn’t just result in students dropping out, it can also negatively affect:
What is being done to help?In the above example of the 55% of students who had considered leaving their course, 71% of them said that the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) had given them the support and confidence needed to stick at it. 96% of students who received DSA support said they would recommend it to others. For students with mental health problems the weekly meeting with the same Specialist mentor for the duration of their course can be invaluable. In a recent training webinar by Optimum Student Support a mentor told a story of how one of her students had gifted her the only ticket to their graduation ceremony. A lovely gesture and it helps to illustrate how the student felt about their mentoring support. There is still some way to go though in increasing awareness around the Disabled Students Allowance and mental health as a whole. In 2019 the BBC reported that due to confusion over what was meant as a disability and poor awareness meant that 60% of students who would be eligible for the DSA had never heard of it. A lot of people aren’t aware that disability refers to anything that has a negative impact on how someone carries out day to day tasks, which includes mental illness. We try our best to raise awareness through our blog and social media pages. If you are student reading this and you do feel like you struggle with mental health you may be entitled to the DSA. Click here to read more about DSA funding and the DSA assessment process. This article was created from notes taken at an online webinar by Optimum Student Support and this Randstad Report.
The post Mental Health Disorders In Higher Education appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger Mental Health Disorders In Higher Education A new Oxford University Study investigating the correlation between video games and mental wellness shows that video games can improve mental health.If you observe the way the media portrays video games, you mainly see negative discussions around addiction, escapism, violence or how much money the developers are making. From TV to the news, video games are consistently getting the negative tag and stigmatised amongst other forms of entertainment. It is very rare you see discussion of the positive effects of video games and we often fail to consider benefits to the life and wellness of gamers. The Oxford study observed respondents who play EA’s shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Nintendo’s recent hit Animal Crossing. Everyone who participated reported greater well-being and positive mental health owing to their gaming activities. Previous studies have been done like this but they didn’t incorporate actual play-time data. Whereas thanks to the online nature of these games they were easily able to monitor the time the participants spent playing. The team at Oxford then connected their psychological questionnaires to the gaming time, making it possible to gauge a person’s mental well-being in connection to their game time. The researchers further solidified their findings by observing several factors connected to gamer experiences, including enjoyment, feelings of autonomy, improved competence and satisfaction. Although this research is a step in the right direction for many gamers, the findings are not all-encompassing. This research was only conducted based on the two games mentioned above, and any other game could have greater or less impact. Another factor is a person’s attitude or disposition towards gaming which can positively or negatively affect their mental health or experiences. In light of these new findings, Oxford University hope that the study will spring up more discussions into the benefits of video games and also help to shed more light on video game addiction. It is estimated that almost 3 billion gamers exist in the world, with a large number of them enjoying the life-improving and overall positive effects of their hobbies. Will this research influence people to stop tagging video games as sinister, stealthily harmful, and as guilty pleasures which we should overcome and conquer? Perhaps, now is the time to change the perspective about video games and their effect on mental and general well-being. Check out the Oxford Press Release and read the full study here check out more of our posts on student mental health or learn more about the dsa assessment process. The post Video Games Can Improve Mental Health appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger Video Games Can Improve Mental Health As the coronavirus pandemic continues with restrictions in place across the UK. BBC Arts are doing what they can to support the arts and artists. Their recently launched Culture in Quarantine Initiative aims to keep art thriving in the homes and hearts of the public despite the pandemic. Back in April, BBC arts invited artists to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 lockdown with their creative work. The commissioning strand was widely successful, with the production of 25 commissions that reached millions of audiences on BBC and other social media platforms. One of the pieces that garnered the most attention was the Swan Lake bath performance, preformed by the cast of swan lake (included at the bottom of this blog post). It is on the heels of this success that BBC is creating the new commission strand, targeted solely at disabled artists to amplify their voices, messages and talent. Marking the 25th year since the Disability Discrimination Act got passed into law, BBC Arts is partnering with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of England, Creative Scotland, and Arts Council of Wales. The strand will see artists across Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England produce works of art that BBC will host on its platforms. Invitations will go out to disabled, neurodivergent, and D/deaf professional artists to apply for funds to produce new audio/visual works. In total, the fund will commission ten new pieces of work. Artists featured on this new strand can produce work telling of the experience of living through the coronavirus pandemic as a disabled creative. However, it is not compulsory to create work in that area. Applications for the new strand opened on Monday, November 9th, 2020, and closes midday on Tuesday, January 12th, 2021. A panel consisting of representatives from BBC Arts, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and the U.K Disability Arts Alliance will select the commissions to be produced. The production of all selected works will likely take place between March and June 2021 and air on all BBC platforms later in the same year. To apply or learn more visit https://www.thespace.org/commissioning If you are finding the second lockdown difficult we have a range of content on our blog that may be able to help. This video of Swan Lake performed in bath tubs was a result of the previous BBC Arts commission…The post BBC Arts Launch Creative Commissions for Disabled Artists appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger BBC Arts Launch Creative Commissions for Disabled Artists In this video blog we have 7 tips on how to minimise anxiety during lockdown.The information in this video is taken from a previous blog post we did on how to minimise anxiety during the Coronavirus pandemic. You can read that article here. Thanks, The post Video Blog #12 – How To Minimise Anxiety During Lockdown appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger Video Blog #12 – How To Minimise Anxiety During Lockdown Researchers at the University of Exeter have started a new study to learn about the mood, emotions and mental health of young adults. People aged between 16 and 22 years are to taking part by logging their feelings in a smartphone app. The app is designed to identify the behaviours of users, improve their wellbeing, prevent anxiety, and depression. ‘MyMoodCoachApp’ will provide cognitive behavioural therapy and self-help techniques to help users understand and handle their emotions. Aiding participants in developing resilience, building emotional and mental strength and improving their wellness. The group of researchers will then use the data to gain a better understanding the mental health of young adults.Why is this Study Important?A growing body of work and research shows that depression and anxiety are a common problem among young people and the rates are fast increasing. A recent survey that compared mental health from 2018 to 2019 found an increase in the clinical documentation of mental distress. From the results, the percentage of young adults suffering from clinical distresses has increased from 25% to 37%. Data also shows that 1.25 million people between the ages of 17 and 19 (25% of the population) have significant anxiety and depression levels. Sadly, less than 1/3 of these people get any professional help. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a study by NHS Digital and the University of Exeter found that 13% of young men and 27% of young women between 17 and 22 years had a mental health disorder. This report shows an increase in the rate of mental health problems, especially among young women. Depression is the most common of all mental health problems, with impacts that cut across every sector of a person’s life. The only way to tackle this global challenge is to stage early interventions to promote positive mental health and well-being among young people. Engaging people with this app is a great step because it will reach them via a favourite medium of theirs. How does the App Work?The MyMoodCoach app will require users to fill in details about their emotions and moods every day, creating an overview of their emotional patterns. In some cases, the app will offer 2/3 of users the strategies to help them handle their emotional well-being. For instance, if a person’s data report shows that they worry a lot, the app can provide such a person some strategies and self-help tips to manage their emotions and reduce worry. The researchers will observe these processes to discover what elements in the app works best to help young people. ConclusionResearch shows that helping young people to manage their emotions better will lead to a reduction in cases of anxiety and depression. If we can help young people worry less, express their emotions, or develop more helpful mind-sets, we can reduce the rates of depression and anxiety amongst high-risk groups as much as 50% over the next year. If this sounds like something you would find useful you can learn more and get the free app here… https://www.mymoodcoach.com/ See more of our articles around mental health or learn more about the disabled students allowance. The post Understanding The Mental Health Of Young Adults appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger Understanding The Mental Health Of Young Adults Google Chrome accounts for 69% of all web browser market share, making it the most popular web browser globally. One of the main reasons Chrome is so successful is it’s ability to add third party extensions that customise how you interact with the internet. In this blog post, we will look at 6 Google Chrome extensions that improve accessibility.AT BarThis is a free, open-source, cross-browser toolbar that gives people the power to change how they see and interact with websites. The idea is to have a single toolbar that gives you all the functionality that is typically achievable with various products and settings. With it, it changes how websites look and feels, reads text out loud and spell checks. BeeLine ReaderBeeLine has a colour gradient guides eyes from at the end of a line to the start of another. Reading will be easier and faster because you can quickly move between the lines. Users have noted a 30 percent increase in reading time with this extension. Grade school students to graduate-level students have used BeeLine to help them with their reading speed. We did a full write up on BeeLine Reader which you can read here. Google DictionaryAt some point it is likely you will come across a word that you don’t know the meaning of. With the Google Dictionary you can can do the following:
GrammarlyGrammarly can be a writer’s best friend, eliminating writing mistakes – spelling, grammar and tone – and provide you with the words that best describe what you’re trying to convey. This extension offers real-time feedback in Google Docs, Gmail, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Anywhere you do your writing, Grammarly offers its assistance. Despite the name, Grammarly focuses on more than just grammar. It makes writing improvement recommendations, so the message is clear to the reader. When you register your account, Grammarly will send you a weekly writing report about your progress and note areas that need improvement. Check out our full write-up here… Read&Write For Google ChromeRead&Write for Google Chrome offers customised support to access web pages, documents and other Google Drive file types a little easier. This app helps people to engage with digital content based on their learning styles and abilities. The primary functions of Read&Write are speech to text and text to speech. Zoom For Google ChromeMake reading a little more comfortable with the Zoom for Google Chrome extension. Use the zoom button and mouse scroll wheel to zoom in or out on any web content. Zoom is easy to use and is ideal for people with various eye conditions or who just have a hard time reading content on a screen. As the best magnifying browser extension, Zoom for Google Chrome offers a zoom slider so people can customise and find a percentage scale that makes it easier to read a site. Thank you for reading and hopefully you enjoyed this blog post on 6 Google Chrome Extensions That Improve Accessibility. Learn more about A2B and the DSA assessment process The post 6 Google Chrome Extensions That Improve Accessibility appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger 6 Google Chrome Extensions That Improve Accessibility Google Chrome is the world’s most popular web browser, accounting for 69% of the total web browser market share. To put this into perspective their nearest competitor is Firefox with a market share of 7.6%. This wide percentage margin isn’t that big of a surprise considering all the benefits Chrome has – device syncing, intuitive interface and outstanding performance. However, it’s the apps and extensions that make Google Chrome so much better than other available web browsers. How so? They give users the power to customise how they access the Internet and use it. In this blog post, we will look at 6 Google Chrome extensions that can boost your productivity.DF Tube (Distraction Free YouTube)Many people use YouTube to educate themselves, for motivation and for background listening when they are trying to get work done. Sometimes it might be used to relax and listen to music or to kill time. Bear in mind that the goal of YouTube is to get as many clicks and views as they can, as the more videos you watch the more money they make from ads. After nearly every video is played, another video is already queued up. When viewing a video, you will see on the page dozens of recommended videos that the YouTube a.i. has decided have the highest chance of getting you to click and are most likely to steal more of time and attention. This is great for people killing time but bad for those trying to work and be productive. The DF Tube extension provides the solution for this. You can hide the recommended videos, hide the custom feed and stop the automatic playing of videos when yours has finished. Making YouTube a better companion for productivity. DuallessThe premise of this extension is to give you a dual-monitor experience. A recent study by Jon Peddie Research found a 42% increase in productivity when using multiple displays. In just two clicks, this Chrome extension will split the browser window into two. The ratio is adjustable based on your needs. One browser window may only appear 30 percent on the screen with the other screen taking up 70 percent. Forest: Stay Focused, Be PresentForest gamifies staying focused and avoiding the internet. When using the extension, you plant a seed. Over the next 30 minutes, it grows into a tree. If you leave the Forest window and visit another website your tree will wither and die. When you can visually see your tree’s growth, it can give you a sense of achievement for staying focused on your task. This app is great if you need to spend 30 minutes working on an article, essay or anything else that doesn’t involve using the internet. There is also a mobile app to stop you wasting time on your smartphone when you should be being productive. Read our full write up here. Freedom (Website Blocker)If you constantly find yourself visiting distracting websites when you should be using the internet productively then Freedom could be the solution to your woes. With Freedom you create blacklists which are websites you do not want to visit, then you set a schedule for those blacklists. If you visit any of the websites in your blacklist whilst the schedule is running, Freedom blocks you from accessing them. Freedom also allows you to sync your sessions across all devices – desktop, Android app and iOS. This blocks access to any chosen website you may browse. Check out our full write-up here… StayFocusdSimilar to Freedom, but where Freedom blocks websites for a scheduled time frame e.g. 9am-5pm, StayFocusd allows you to determine how much time you want to spend on a website per day. For example, you could set it to only spend 30 minutes per day on Facebook and twitter. Then once the time has expired, you can’t visit them for the remainder of the day. News Feed Eradicator for FacebookAre you spending a lot of time checking out your Facebook newsfeed? Do you find time slipping away from you on the social media site? If you can’t imagine getting rid of your Facebook profile but need to spend time on more important things, check out the extension News Feed Eradicator for Facebook. It is a simple plugin that just removes your news feed from your Facebook home screen. Thank you for reading and hopefully you enjoyed this blog post on 6 Google Chrome Extensions That Can Boost Your Productivity. Learn more about us and the DSA process The post 6 Google Chrome Extensions That Can Boost Your Productivity appeared first on A2B Assessments DSA Needs Assessment Centre. via Blogger 6 Google Chrome Extensions That Can Boost Your Productivity |
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