It’s official y’all: midterm week (month? season?) is upon us. As Columbia student, our schedules are already pretty busy, but once exam period starts up, things start getting particularly cray. This is a fact that we all knew coming in to college, but for some reason, we keep getting rudely reminded of it whenever we sit down to take an exam. As important as it is to make yourself proud in your classes, we at HC Columbia are here to remind you that letting go and relaxing are equally important. Mental health, anyone? A few techniques can help you balance between your pressing workload and the unrelenting temptation to abandon it all and enjoy yourself. The truth is, we aren’t talking “all or nothing” here. It is very possible to balance work and fun during your time at Columbia University. Because, in the end, though the nights we spend in cramming and typing are important, so are the ones we celebrate being college students in New York, and have a helluva time.
So, without further ado, here’s How To Not Drown In Work 101.
1) The reward system
We all know what it feels like to take all of this week’s readings and assignments and spread them out on the table in front of you, and be completely overwhelmed. It seems as though you could not get up from your chair all night and barely make a dent in your work. However, there is a light at the end of the homework tunnel. A great way to stay focused and motivated while doing homework is through utilizing the reward system.
Essentially, this means setting a certain goal, like reading 50 pages or doing a problem set, and rewarding yourself with something of your choosing once you complete the task. Lately, my method of choice has been an episode of Suits or Arrested Development. But your reward could be anything from taking a study break with friends or cracking open that book you’ve been dying to read but didn’t have time for. Or hey, an ice cream or froyo run isn’t a bad idea either. Using the reward system keeps you focused on the task at hand and helps with honing self-discipline skills. Keep focused until your goal is accomplished, take a break, and start again feeling refreshed!
2) Be honest and prioritize
How much of this work really needs to get done tonight? How much homework do I need to do on Wednesday and Thursday to have a freer weekend? By asking yourself questions like this, you can decide what needs to get done today and what things you can start now but don’t have to finish until a later date that week. This is not necessarily procrastinating; it’s being realistic with your time and figuring that yes, there are other important things you could be doing with your time that aren’t Friday’s homework on Monday. It’s always a great idea to take a chunk out of an assignment every day rather than waiting the evening before its deadline! That said, let’s hold our horses and not finish the all the reading in the syllabus before it’s assigned.
3) Leave Fridays and Saturday nights open!
I never want to subject myself to a 24/7 homework schedule. I’ve been keeping my Fridays and Saturday nights open this semester, and since doing that, my weekends have been significantly more fun. Saturday and Sunday all day is plenty of time to get a lot of homework done. And, if you’ve been managing your time and assignments all week, then it won’t be a problem. We all need time to unwind, be social, and forget about the week of classes we just left behind, if only for a brief period of time.
4) Eat with your friends!
I’m a huge fan of Columbia’s eco-containers. I often find myself scurrying away with my lunch to my dorm room so I can kills two birds with one stone: homework and nutrition. When this habit continues, though, I feel like my day is lacking in a very important social element. I need my friends to keep my smiling and laughing, and there is no better place to do that during the school week than in the dining hall. The buzz of John Jay and Ferris is great in taking my mind off of homework and just enjoy my friends’ company. But on those crazy days when you just have to be a loner and eat in your room, try to grab a coffee or a snack with the girls. It’ll change your day and mood completely by dragging you away from your schoolwork!
5) Group Studying
Not only do group homework and study sessions promote making friends with classmates, studying with other people can be very fruitful. I often miss something important while studying by myself. Having other people to bolster your own knowledge helps when preparing for an exam. Individual studying is great too, depending on your method of studying, but I find that groups for 4-5 classmates can result in productive study sessions.
Hopefully these tips will help you keep smiling even when you have a lot of work. College is about learning information in classes, but it’s also about learning who you are. We all have to achieve a balance between the two.