Not getting enough sleep can affect your concentration and cause memory problems, hindering your learning process. A healthy sleep schedule should be kept up as lost sleep has a cumulative effect on your mind and body. As a general rule, the required amount of sleep for optimal functioning is:  9-11 hours a day for children 8.5-9.5 hours a day for teenagers 7-9 hours a day for adults As a general rule, eating healthy will improve your overall well-being, both mentally and physically. Improve your capacity to learn by consuming healthy, “smart” foods that aid with concentration. Make sure to eat a well-balanced breakfast every day, avoid high fat foods, and try to add learning-friendly foods to your diet, such as:  Omega 3-rich fish (e.g. salmon) Whole grains Avocados Blueberries Dark chocolate Regular exercise is a key component to concentration and learning potential. If possible, exercise right before studying, which will raise your focus for 2-3 hours. If your concentration starts to fade while reading or studying, take a 15 minute exercise break to renew your energy (e.g. a quick walk around the block).  Exercise also releases endorphins and serotonin, which boost mood and fight depression. You don't have to bust out the weights or sports equipment. A brisk walk or jog around the block will do. Get the best learning experience possible by keeping an open line of communication with your teachers. Ask questions at appropriate times (e.g. after class), visit during office hours, and follow-up by email to confirm that you have absorbed what they told you. Reaching out will let a teacher know that you appreciate their time and wisdom, and that you should be taken seriously. Setting clear goals for your learning process will keep you motivated and organized. Be realistic about your goals in terms of time and complexity. For example, if you want to learn the theoretical component of how to drive, aim to read and retain one chapter of the driving manual per week.

Summary: Get enough sleep. Eat a healthy diet. Exercise regularly. Communicate with your teachers. Set goals.


If you're putting strings on a new violin for the first time, you'll have to seat the bridge, which takes some care and measurement. The first step, though, is to put all the new strings on and leave them slack enough to slide the bridge under them and stand upright. Following the basic method for changing a string, letting them stay somewhat looser than you normally might. The bridge should be horizontally centered on the instrument so that there is an equal amount of space between each string and the edge of the fingerboard. Use the small nicks on the insides of the f-holes to square the bridge to the center-line of the strings. To center the bridge, use the curve of the "f" on the interior side as a guide. It should align equidistant between them. You can tighten the strings somewhat to reduce the rest of the slack when you've positioned the bridge, but let it rest for at least 24 hours before attempting to fine-tune the instrument. It's possible to snap the bridge and ruin all your hard work, and also to pop it out and flatten it against the violin. Let it rest and settle.

Summary: Put on all the new strings and leave them slack. Use the f-holes to align the bridge. Let the violin rest.


For example, if you’re organizing deep shelves in a linen closet, try dedicating 1 shelf to blankets, 1 to sheets, and 1 to towels. Then, stack the blankets, sheets, and towels that you use most frequently on the front half of their respective shelves. Stack the blankets, sheets, and towels that you seldom use on the back half of each shelf. Even if you’re not using plastic containers to organize your deep shelves, you can still organize them to be tidy and efficient. When organizing a pantry or kitchen cabinet, store similar types of food on the same shelf. Dedicate 1 shelf to pasta and rice, 1 to breads, and 1 to snacks and canned goods. Place items that you’ll use more often at the front of the shelves, and items that you seldom cook with on the rear half of the shelves. So, the front half of a shelf could be filled with canned goods, rice, and pasta. The back half of the same shelf could contain oatmeal, grits, cornbread, and cake mixes. Linens, including bath and beach towels, quilts, and blankets, can be folded into thirds and rolled up. Then, stack 3 or 4 towels or quilts on top of each other on your closet shelves. Rolled and stacked linens will take up less space and look tidier than linens that have only been folded. Rolling linens will also make it easier to re-arrange linens seasonally. Each spring, move the heavy quilts and blankets to the back half of the deep closet shelf, and pull cotton sheets, light blankets, and beach towels to the front half of the shelves. To free up shelf space in your closet, install a rod at the top of the closet. Use the rod to hang small items, including jewelry, shorts, and skirts. You can also drape seasonal items over the closet rod when needed, including winter gloves and scarves. Hanging rods can be purchased at most large hardware stores and at home-supply stores. People often feel anxious about filling every possible inch of a shelf, simply because it’s open storage space. However, there’s nothing wrong with leaving the back half of a shelf empty if you simply don’t have supplies to put on it. Or, deliberately leave half of a deep shelf empty. Use this space to store miscellaneous items that you don’t currently have a permanent storage space for.

Summary: Store frequently-used linens on the front half of shelves. Organize kitchen items on the front and back halves of shelves. Roll and stack linens to fit more on a shelf. Add a hanging rod to the closet. Leave the back half of a shelf empty if you can’t fill it.


The tail and claw hold the tastiest meat, but there's plenty in the lobster's body as well. Pull the shell off by hand or crack it open. If you want every last bit of meat, press the meat out of each leg with a rolling pin, starting at the tip. If the lobster is cooked, you can instead place the end of each leg in your mouth and pull the meat down with your teeth while sucking. These are pale, feathery objects on the side of the lobster's body. Take care not to remove the meat in between them. Pull out and throw away the gritty "sand sac" just behind its eyes. This soft, green substance serves as the liver and pancreas. Not everyone finds this appetizing, but some people add it to sauces or spread it on bread. However, if the lobster's diet includes toxins, they accumulate in this organ. If you want to stay on the safe side, limit adults to one lobster's tomalley per day, and keep it away from children.  Discard the tomalley if there is a shellfish ban in your area due to PSP (paralytic shellfish poison). If the lobster consumed toxic shellfish, the poison accumulates in the tomalley, but the meat is safe. If you are harvesting a raw lobster, the tomalley will be grey and very perishable. Keep it ice cold and cook it as part of a sauce within a few hours of killing the lobster. Fish out the little chunks of meat around the ribs. Discard the papery shells between them. Simmer them for no more than 45 minutes. Overcooking them can ruin the flavor. Do not include the sand sac or gills in the stock.
Summary: Access the body of the lobster. Twist off the eight lobster legs. Throw away the gills. Throw out the sand sac. Save or discard the tomalley. Pick out the meat from the body cavity. Boil the leftover shells into lobster stock.