It’s a new year, a new semester, and a new chance to get the GPA you really want. School is hard, everyone struggles at some point with it. So you’re not alone when you hit that wall and just want to give up. But there are many things you can do to make the semester easier and get the grades you want.
SLEEP!
First things first, sleep. You need to relax. According to Dr. Lawrence Epstein,
“Recent studies have shown that adequate sleep is essential to feeling awake and alert, maintaining good health and working at peak performance,” says Dr. Epstein. “After two weeks of sleeping six hours or less a night, students feel as bad and perform as poorly as someone who has gone without sleep for 48 hours. New research also highlights the importance of sleep in learning and memory. Students getting adequate amounts of sleep performed better on memory and motor tasks than did students deprived of sleep” (2017).
Without a good night’s rest, your body and mind become weaker. You increase the chances of getting sick, sleeping through a class, and performing poorly on assignments. To prevent these from happening, you should create a sleep schedule. A sleep schedule is when you set a time to go to bed and wake up knowing you will get a full eight hours and be fully rested. Personally, I try to fall asleep by 11:30 pm every night and then be up by 9:00 am. Having a solid sleep schedule and staying on top of work can be challenging to do, but our next step will help balance them both.
Get/Stay Organized.
Stop procrastinating and get organized! Being organized can relieve a lot of the stress that school causes. Many students get overwhelmed with the amount of work they have, but the majority of the time it is because they have waited until the last minute to do it. Use a planner or other organization systems; these systems will help you multitask all your due dates, clubs, personal demands, and much more. It is one thing to make a plan to get organized, but you have to initiate your system for it to work. I don’t know how many time I’ve gone to the store and bought a pretty new planner and said to myself, “this is going to be the year I finally get organized” and then that planner sits on my desk all year long and doesn’t get used. Start by getting into the habit of using your system by putting every small detail into it and checking each item every time you finish a task. Staying organized will help you balance the studying and having fun.
Attend Your Classes.
The next step is to attend all of your classes. Don’t lie. We all skip class at some point, “it’s cold,” “it’s raining,” “I have a headache,” etc. The excuses go on and on. Going to class is very important, and the majority of professors have some type of attendance tracker. And while attendance is usually a small percentage of the final grade, it can be the deciding factor between a letter grade. When you miss class, you are missing notes, valuable information that might not be on the lecture slides, and explanations of complex material. When you skip class you are only hurting yourself, the professor is still going to get paid no matter your attendance record.
Ask for Help.
It’s okay to ask for help! Asking for help doesn’t mean that you are dumb or weak, it shows that you are smart and are accepting that things are starting to get out of control. Professors understand that you aren’t only taking their class. They are more than willing to help if you explain your situation to them, and come up with a game plan to solve your problems. Virginia Tech offers multiple tutoring services on campus, and the majority of them are free. Take an hour out of your day and visit the Student Success Center for help or visit their website at https://studentsuccess.vt.edu/svcs/tutoringprogram.html.
Start Your Day Off Right.
Last, but not least, start your morning off right. As Navy Seal William H. McRaven once said, “if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed… If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day…” (Projects, 2019). By making your bed, you start your day off by completing one thing on your checklist. This gives you the chance to continue checking things off and make the most of your day. If you want to take it a step further after making your bed, make breakfast. Starting your day with a breakfast full of grains and proteins will help your mood and keep you energized until lunchtime. Nobody likes morning classes, so make it easier on yourself by making your bed and breakfast.
Everyone struggles to balance school, social lives, and good health. Implementing these few easy tasks into your everyday routine will make that balance a little more leveled. Take each step one at a time and just do your best. Don’t stress about all the little things; just think about all the fantastic things you will get to do with your degree. It will all be worth it in the end.
References:
Projects, C. T. (2019, January 10). United States admiral. Retrieved from https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_H._McRaven
College students: Getting enough sleep is vital to academic success. (2017, November 06). Retrieved from https://aasm.org/college-students-getting-enough-sleep-is-vital-to-academic-success/
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