I love summer. I love the warm weather, I love the beach and the ocean. I love having three months off from classes. Except after going to college and getting used to a schedule that never ends, the empty days of summer didn’t have the same allure as they once did. I know, only boring people get bored, but what happens when you’ve watched everything you’ve wanted, read all the books, worked a part-time barista job, and the summer days are still tiringly long? You adjust and find ways to fill the time, often with sleeping or watching more TV or accompanying family members on taskless errands just to get out of the home. The thought of going back to school left me with daydreams that lasted all summer, but with the start of the semester fast approaching, all the time I spent doing nothing seems like a luxury I didn’t appreciate. Classes haven’t even started, and I already am struggling to find the time for everything this semester. Here are some helpful tips to help you and me find time for nothing this semester:
Alarms and Reminders. The class buildings and dorm rooms aren’t new, but the numbers have changed and it’s easy to walk to the wrong place when not thinking or used to the new locations. To help with this, and to make sure I always leave myself enough time to get to class, I like to set alarms on my phone thirty-minutes before each class. This takes the pressure off of me to remember and makes sure I’m always on time. I also like to leave myself reminders—on my phone and in notebooks—so I know what building and what floor new classes are on.
Finding a Routine. Life is so much easier when you have a routine. It helps establish good habits, and keeps you focused on daily tasks. With a routine, your mind and body adjusts to be more productive. Routines help people to manage and budget their time and resources to do the best they can with work. Without a routine, things could be forgotten and short moments of time could be lost when they could’ve been spent doing work or taking a moment for yourself.
Organize Yourself. Calendars, notes, or whatever works for you, just make sure to write out your schedule so you aren’t double booking yourself. I personally am a visual person and like to use a planner. Within the planner, I color-code my classes and orgs, keeping up to date on assignments, meetings, and deadlines. With a million things going on in your head, it is easy to forget that an article was due Tuesday at midnight instead of Wednesday, or to do next week’s reading instead of the one due for class that day. By organizing yourself in a way that works best for you will keep you on top of everything happening in your life, and will make sure that you find time for everything.
Sleeping and Taking Care of Your Body. When assignments pile up and the days start to seem too short, remember to take care of yourself and get plenty of sleep! I have fallen victim to lack of sleep and a missed meal or two, and while all my work got done, I felt terrible and when I finally felt better, the assignments were too much. It becomes a vicious cycle with either your grades or your mind and body suffering—but it doesn’t have to be like that. It would be better and easier to stay up and finish the paper or to miss lunch for some more research, but nothing is gained by wearing yourself out. In the long run, it will negatively affect your body and you will burnout, a very common thing amongst milleninals and Gen Z-ers. The burnout will put you more behind than a full eight hours of sleep would.
Recognize if You’re Taking on Too Much. Speaking of burnout, everyone has their limits. In a society where people are constantly trying to get ahead, and where college students need stacked resumes to get a paid internship, it’s hard to say no to a new opportunity that could put you ahead of your classmates. But if you don’t have time for yourself, and if you wear yourself too thin, the work you’re trying to do will suffer as well as your health. While it is important to be involved, it is okay to have empty days and not to book yourself for too many things. It will only eat up more of your time, and take away from work you want to put a real effort into.
It can be hard to find time for everything in a semester. With classes, work and internships, and organizations, there is hardly time for anything else. But to be successful, you need to remember to take time for yourself and the things you are passionate about. Finding the time for nothing, for the things you want to do, is the most important part of time management. Without that time for yourself, you will burn out and your mental and physical health may suffer. Using these tips, hopefully you (and I) can find the time we need for things that aren’t stressful this semester, as well as staying on top of our work.