With the start of a new semester’s worth of classes comes a myriad of feelings: nervousness over being back, excitement over having nothing to do the first class or two as syllabi are reviewed and introductions are made, and the thrill of realizing one of your best friends is in it with you. Those positive feelings can quickly spiral, though, as the work piles up and the stress piles on. Suddenly it’s October, and you’ve got three exams next week and an essay due tomorrow. What have you done?
How did it come to this?
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. I know you’ve got a lot going on, and it’s difficult to find ways to stay on top of things. It’s the same for all of us; we’re in this together. Here is a list of things to do to help you stay on top of your studying and assignments and, by extension, your grades.
- Keep a planner! This is so important – it’s easy to think that you’re going to remember everything you need to do for that day, and maybe you will. But as the week goes on, I guarantee you’re going to forget at least one thing. Write down assignments as they’re assigned. Worksheets, reading pages, research; whatever it is, write it down. I like to keep a chalkboard next to my bed and write my to-do list there, as well, including assignments, study topics, and extra-curricular deadlines. It’s something you’re going to look at whenever you’re in your room and will keep the things you need to get done fresh in your mind. When you finish an assignment, cross it off or erase it, so that you can track the process you’re making.
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When you’re assigned a worksheet or research question as homework, do it that night. This leaves no chance of you forgetting, and opens up more time later in the week to do what is newly assigned.
- Go over your notes at the end of the day. Trust me; I know it’s the last thing you want to do after hours of lectures, but it’ll reinforce what you learned that day and help to keep the material fresh in your mind.
- Take an hour or two on the weekends to go over the materials for the whole week once more. This will help you avoid the necessity to pull all-nighters the nights before your exams. If you keep up with it, you’ll only need a couple hours to review, and not several to teach yourself multiple chapters worth of information.
- When it comes time to sit and study, write down the topics that you want to cover and cross them off as you complete them. Doing so will keep you motivated as you have a visual of yourself getting closer to the end.
- Do you have friends in your classes? Get together for a couple of hours and work together. Take turns reading out loud or quiz each other. Even if you’re studying quietly, having them there is helpful to clarify anythng you may be having trouble with.
- Studying with the TV on or surrounded by friends is all well and good when you’re just skimming, or planning what exactly it is that you’re going to need to study, but when it comes down to serious studying a quiet spot where you can spread out is important. If you’re anything like me, you can’t study in complete silence. Put together a playlist of whatever sort of music helps you focus for some quiet background music.
- When you’re spending longer amounts of time studying, taking breaks every now and again is crucial. Don’t go ten minutes and then spend ten checking your Instagram, though. That is super unproductive. Take a half an hour to focus, and then take a walk around the building for a few minutes. Quiz yourself, then go get a snack. Be reasonable with your breaks. If not, you’ll be stuck studying for even longer and you’ll burn yourself out.
- Supposedly, chewing the same flavor of gum while you study and take your exams can help you remember better. I don’t know that I agree with it, but I always do it for a little confidence booster.
I know there are days when homework/studying is the last thing you want to do, but the sooner you take care of it, the less time you have to spend cramming the closer you get to your exams and due dates. Be responsible with your assignments and you’ll do great!