Coming back from fall break you feel ready to tackle all your assignments, improve your grades and be the best you. But it’s Thursday and that essay due tomorrow that you were going to start writing on Monday isn’t finished yet. You thought you had all this time to finish today but then remember you have two club meetings, an appointment and 100 pages worth of reading to do. So you can probably guess this’s how my week’s been, but that’s why this article is going to help prevent this from happening to you. And hopefully, I learn to take some of my own advice!
Put Your Planner To Good Use
Of course, you’ve heard many times how useful a planner is, but it’s still something I often neglect to do. I used to question whether the time I spent writing in my planner would be better spent actually working, but lists are so crucial! Listing out tasks helps you put things into perspective and realize that all of them are achievable. Plus, the best part of using a planner is getting to check off your to-do list. I mean look at how productive you are!
Accomplish Simple Tasks
Maybe setting up an appointment with your advisor or finishing a small assignment won’t take that long, but add those to the many other things you need to do and suddenly you have a never-ending to-do list. Getting these things out of the way allows you to focus on the truly important things and will make you feel productive no matter how much you skimmed the reading. No judgment.
De-Clutter Your Space
Coming back from a long-study session to a messy room doesn’t help your stress levels, and makes it hard to focus. Taking time out of your day to do laundry and tidy up your room will make you happier and make studying or hanging out more relaxing. You know how that saying goes, “A clean room equals a clear mind” or something like that.
Have a Healthy Combo of Work & Fun
Sometimes, you just have to sit down, get to work and voila, 10 hours later you’re done with all your homework. Haha, I’m joking but sometimes it can really feel like you’ve been working non-stop. While having a strong work ethic’s important, it’s not healthy if you study 24/7. On the other hand, you can’t spend every day binge-watching Netflix or you won’t get anything done. College is all about learning to balance your time. So don’t forget to take breaks in between studying, or remember to at least start that essay after 4 hours of Netflix and then that extra nap.
Hopefully, these tips help all of us have a successful semester and accomplish a lot. And don’t be too hard on yourself when you don’t finish everything you said you would. Because you always have next week to be better and remember, we’re all learning as we go!