Clubfest is over, and the semester is in full swing. This probably means your inboxes are full of messages from various Listservs you don’t even remember signing up for, and you have just about no time to go to any of the kind of cool sounding events and club meetings you keep hearing about. We’ve all been there. While it’s important to stay up to date on all your class assignments, you’re also in college to experience new things, take advantage of opportunities around campus and join all those thousands of student organizations they advertised on your campus tour in high school.
Fear not! I’ve devised a few strategies that are super useful to keep you on task for school and involved in as many clubs as you’d like.
1. Google Calendar is your friend
I’ve had one of those cute little academic calendars every year since elementary school. It’s a big lifesaver to be able to jot down the important dates and deadlines for your class assignments and meetings. I still like to use a physical notebook for this, but since we’re in the digital age, I also can’t go without my trusty Google Calendar. I upload my classes for the semester, and then I can see all the gaps I have throughout the day to do work or make plans. Then, when I have a club meeting or special event to go to, it’s easy to mark it in there. You can get email notifications or just look it up on your phone whenever you want. It’s super convenient and helpful to layout what you’re planning on doing for the next couple days (or weeks…or months) so you don’t forget anything or overbook yourself!
2. Plan your week
A lot of your important meetings (academic or otherwise) will likely occur on a weekly basis. This makes it easy to fall into a routine, like getting lunch at a nearby cafe between your 10:10 and 1:25 on MWF. This strategy also works great for clubs because most of them meet every week or every other week at the same time and place. Once you set your schedule, you’ll know what your day will be like every Tuesday, which clubs you can go to that afternoon and when you can work in time to get your homework done.
3. Keep in contact
Things come up and schoolwork can overwhelm you. You’re not always going to be able to manage having a packed schedule every week. This is fine! We’re all human, and your peers will understand. It’s important to communicate, though, so people know what’s up with you. You have to skip a meeting this week? Just let anyone else involved know in a timely manner. It’s not a big deal to take some time for yourself as long as you’re respectful to the people who are expecting you to show up. This will also demonstrate that you’re committed to your position in the organization and care enough about your peers’ time to keep them informed.
4. Watch the weather
We all know what Ithaca weather can be like. If there’s a predicted snowstorm on the day you were planning to run to five different meetings within the span of four hours, you might have to rethink your decision. Be flexible with your scheduling so you don’t stretch yourself too thin and make yourself sick or cold.
5. Leave yourself some room for spontaneity
As helpful as it is to plan every second of your day, that’s just not realistic! You don’t want to overburden yourself with a schedule that’s planned down to the minute. It’s essential to be flexible in case what you’re working on takes longer than you expected or you just need to take an impromptu break. Go meet up with some friends and have a long dinner. Your planner should be your friend, not a dictator.
It’s really important that you make time to enjoy yourself and do the things you love, no matter how busy you get. Hopefully, these tips will help you manage your time and stay involved on campus, while also relieving the stress of your never-ending workload.
Happy planning!