New Semester, Who Dis?
Guys we made it! The first month of 2017 is coming to an end. If you’re like me then you’re internally panicking. It’s only a matter of time before all the assignments start pouring in and you fall below. To avoid this impending doom, I’ve decided to share 5 tips I use to completely own the semester.
1. Get Organized
Before you can begin any successful semester, you got to get organized. So get a planner. But if planners don’t work for you, then use google calendar. The basic fact is you need to have a way to keep track of the important deadlines of the semester. If you don’t; you can easily become that “wait, there’s a test today?” student. Don’t be that student. Never be that student. Once you get your syllabus, write down when all your assignments and test are due. You’ll never be caught off guard about an upcoming assignment.
2. Do Your Homework!
It goes without saying that you should be your homework, yet some people still aren’t doing it! If you’re looking for less stress and more calm, then do your homework assignments when assigned. The same applies to reading the textbook. If there’s one thing I learned; it’s that you can’t read 8 chapters the night before the test. Just read the chapters according to the syllabus. Even if you fall a little behind, it’ll be significantly easier playing catchup.
3. Plan for Social Time
Good grades. Sleep. Friends. They say you can’t have it all. Well, sorry to burst their bubble, it’s totally possible. Unless you expect to hold yourself up in your dorm all year, you’re going to hang out with friends. If you take the time to plan hangout sessions, you’ll find that it’s easier to see people and avoid the dreaded FOMO. That’s the fear of missing out (just in case you didn’t know what that meant). Also leave a little bit of flexibility in your schedule for those spontaneous last minute events. However, you can’t attend everything. Once you make your peace with that, it’s easier to find a balance between work and play.
4. Have A Hobby
School can become draining. Almost everyone feels it at some point. That’s why it’s important to give your mind a break with a hobby. A hobby is something you like to do in your spare time. That can be reading, writing, painting, or singing. These are some of the more common ones, but any activity that can take your mind away from school for one second can help. Giving your mind that crucial break can help with stress and being overwhelmed. I try to do something I enjoy at least once a week. And before you say it… No Netflix binges do not count! Yes I know that show that your friend has been recommending for weeks is amazing, but nothing good ever came out of binging television.
5. Get Your Rest
Lastly, please go to sleep! Sleep is a vital part of you absolutely crushing this semester. Sleep is important for memory and retaining information. While you sleep, your brain is busy storing all you learned that day. If you sleep only 4 hours every night, your memory will suffer. So those 8 chapters you read aren’t going to stick. College students should be getting around 8-9 hours of sleep each night. Even if you can’t sleep for 9 hours, at least aim for 7 hours. Once you start getting into a regular and healthy sleep pattern, you’ll feel more refreshed and be ready to take on each day!