Have you ever felt like a have too much on your plate, and it’s difficult to make it all happen? This is a problem a lot of us college students experience. Many of you just haven’t found the right techniques to make your busy schedule work. Personally, I can sympathize with many of you when it comes to balancing my life. I am an 18-credit student, one of the classes being online, on the track and field team, in seven clubs and organizations, and still work. While yes, there are times where it becomes hard to juggle everything on my plate, I have a few things up my sleeve to make the experience easier. Here are my tips and tricks for balancing your busy schedule!
1. Keep an agenda
Keeping a planner will help you to keep everything you need to do in one place. I always get a planner with a large space to right for the week and monthly calendars. This will allow you to write down when you have meetings, sports events, and your class schedule. I also recommend writing down your assignment or meeting time as soon as you find out, so you do not forget.
2. Don’t Procrastinate
When it comes to school work it is best to get the assignments done ahead of time. If you know that you are going to have to work or will be away, plan to set up a time to do your homework that will be due. Personally, after my classes I will grab something to eat and go to the library to do as much work as I can for the day.
3. Plan out your work schedule
When it comes to working while in school, it can be difficult to manage time for homework and time to make money. What I’ve seen to work the best is taking a piece of paper and writing down everything that you normally have going on every day. This can include your classes and weekly clubs for the organizations you are involved in. Set aside one or two days during the week. These two days can be used to spend at home or the library getting ahead on any school work that you may have. The remaining days and weekends that you do not have a lot going on can be used to work.
4. Always take breaks to de-stress yourself
I know we would all love to just do all our homework at once and get it done and over with. However, it is not good for you to cram so much information into one homework session. You should take several 15-minute breaks throughout the time period. You can just get up and walk around, go to bathroom, or just grab something to eat. This will allow your brain to veer away from school work and relax for a few minutes. This will make it easier for you to concentrate, and your mind will not wander as much.
5. Limit distractions around you
Many of us have the urge to tweet, post, or scroll through social media when doing our homework. This can cause us to not get as much work done as we would have liked to. Its best to turn off your phone and other devices to fight the urge to look at your social media. By having less distractions, you will be more focused on what you are doing. Not only will this allow you to get more work done, but the quality of your work will also increase.
Yes, school is tough alone and with added responsibilities it may seem like it is impossible to handle. However, with this few tips and tricks, It can make even the busiest schedule feel like a piece of cake!