3 . Most of us get distracted with push notifications (通知), text messages and phone calls. With so much going on, it can be very difficult to stay focused, but it’s not impossible.

Turn Off Alerts (提醒)

Constant notifications and text messages are every college student’s enemy.     1     Close unnecessary tabs on your computer. You can fight online distractions by blocking or hiding time-wasting websites and apps.

Break Down Your Work into Smaller Tasks

If you’re having a difficult time studying or getting work done, break up your time effectively.     2     Studies show that taking breaks can help you retain information and increase productivity.

Find the Right Place to Do Work

Some students work best with a little background noise, while others need complete quiet.     3     Are you the kind of person who works better in silence at the library? Or do you prefer the campus coffee shop with noise? Try a few different spaces and see how each study session works out.

Clear Your Desk

Is your desk covered with stacks of papers? Is your computer monitor framed with layers of sticky notes?     4     A messy workspace can keep you from getting your work done. Go through your desk and keep only the essentials. A clean workspace can help reduce anxiety and make room for motivation.

Reward Yourself

    5     Setting up a reward system is a good way to encourage yourself to do something. For example, if you finish an essay without any distractions, give yourself a reward like watching a TV show or taking a nap.

5 . Born in 1990, a wheelchair has been part of Zhao Hongcheng’s life since she was one year old due to poliomyelitis (小儿麻痹症) . And now, as a video content creator who has over 84, 000 followers on the video-sharing platform Bilibili, Zhao wants to be a bridge between the disabled and the rest of society.

“I made my first video in 2019,” Zhao says. “My original purpose was to find a way to reduce my emotional stress. I always met inconvenience caused by my wheelchair when going out, which made me feel sad. I barely had any disabled friends, so I had no one to talk to. I felt quite lonely,” Zhao explains.

Her first vlog was about a trip to Guangzhou with friends. The video was viewed more than 2, 000 times on the first day. “This made me feel that there were many things worth sharing in my life,” she explains. Since then, that first video has been viewed over 48, 000 times. Her fourth video, displaying how she got to work in a wheelchair, made her even more popular. The video has received more than 300, 000 views on Bilibili.

“One of the great things about being a content creator is that I feel like I have the opportunity of talking about the real difficulties and pains that a disabled person faces,” Zhao says.

6 . For people suffering from depression, there’s an all-natural treatment they should use — getting more exercise. It could help fight depression, even if people have a genetic risk, new research shows.

For the study, researchers collected information from nearly 8,000 people and found those with related genes were more likely to have depression over the next two years after examining them. But that was less likely for people who were more active at the study’s start, even if they had a family history of depression. Higher levels of physical activity helped protect even those with the highest genetic risk of depression.

Both high-intensity (高强度) exercise and low-intensity activities were associated with a reduced risk of depression. Adding four hours of exercise a week could lower the risk of a new episode (一段经历) of depression by 17%, according to the study. “Our findings strongly suggest that, when it comes to depression, being physically active has the potential to remove the added risk of future episodes in individuals who are genetically risky,” said lead author Karmel Choi. “On average, about 35 additional minutes of physical activity each day may help people to reduce their risk and protect against future depression episodes.”

Depression is a common mental illness globally, with more than 264 million people affected. “Depression is so ubiquitous, and that underlines the need for effective approaches that can impact as many people as possible,” Choi said. And mental health and primary care providers can use the findings to advise patients that there’s something meaningful they can do to lower their risk of depression.

7 . When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.

Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note — “Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery” — and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically (魔术般) appear.

All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.

There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.

Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊) . Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

8 . How to calm your teen

A major source of teen stress is school exams, and test anxiety is not uncommon. When you recognize your teen is under stress, how can you help your teen stay calm before an exam?

Be involved. Parents need to be involved in their teen’s study.     1     What he looks for is your presence — to talk, to cry, or simply to sit with him quietly. Communicate openly with your teen. Encourage your teen to express his worries and fears, but don’t let him focus on those fears.

Help him get organized.     2     Together, you and your teen can work out a timetable in which he can study for what he knows will be on the test.

Provide a calm setting. Help your teen set up a quiet place to study and protect his privacy.

Give him a nutritious diet. It’s important for your teen to eat a healthy, balanced diet during exam time to focus and do his best.     3     If this happens, encourage your teen to eat light meals or sandwiches. A healthy diet, rather than junk food, is best for reducing stress.

    4     Persuade your teen to get some sleep or do something active when he needs a real break from studying. Making time for relaxation, fun, and exercise is important in reducing stress. Help your teen balance his time so that he will feel comfortable taking time out from studying to spend time with friends or rest.

Show a positive attitude.     5     Your panic, anxiety and blame contribute to your teen’s pressure. Make your teen feel accepted and valued for his efforts. Most importantly, reassure (使安心) your teen that things will be all right, no matter what the results are.

9 . Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways.     1    . Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.

You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report.     2    . Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process.     3    . The following methods may work best for you.

● Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.

●Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.

● Write your notes in your own words.

●    4    .

● Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.

As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand (速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time.     5