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Holiday Break Scaries: 3 Practical Tips For Catching Up On Schoolwork at Brown

Elle Horst Student Contributor, Brown University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Brown chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Life at Brown University can be equally as hectic as it is exciting and fun. Amid all the clubs, events, and meetings are rigorous classes with arduous projects and papers. This balance can take time to manage. As finals draw near, being behind on schoolwork can be stressful and overwhelming. Here are three tips I implement while tackling a growing mountain of assignments. 

Breaking each assignment into individual tasks 

It’s easier to take a few small steps than one giant leap. Seeing a boatload of assignments all at once can be extremely overwhelming. Breaking these assignments into individual tasks and attacking them one step at a time helps me restructure the workload into a much more achievable feat. 

Creating an assignment list! 

I organize my assignments into a list in order of due dates and estimated preparation time. Then, based on this list, I come up with a couple of achievable goals for each day. This helps me work my way down a list in small chunks and successfully complete tasks, which boosts my confidence as I become more productive. Creating a realistic timeframe for each assignment to be completed is especially helpful. 

Scheduling out my days beforehand 

Organizing my days into scheduled chunks helps me keep myself accountable and stay on top of my work. Being detailed with this planning — setting specific times to wake up, eat meals, work on particular assignments, and take breaks – helps me keep a consistent routine and avoid procrastination. Tools like Google Calendar, a journal, and other applications that send time-sensitive notifications encourage me to stay on track. 

Incorporating Daily Movement 

Taking care of my body during academic stress is essential for completing high-quality work efficiently. Incorporating stress-relieving practices like exercising or meditating in my daily routine calms and energizes me, enabling me to perform my best during exams. 

Elle Horst

Brown '26

Elle Horst is a junior at Brown University concentrating in Business/Economics. She hails from the Bay Area, CA but has fallen in love with life on the East Coast and Brown! This is her third year as a member of Her Campus, for which she is the Director of Marketing. Outside of her studies, she is involved in numerous organizations on campus, including Women in Business as a Marketing and Communications Chair, Fashion at Brown as the Web Design Director, and the Kappa Delta sorority. In her free time, she loves cooking, work out classes, coffee dates, and reading! She can't wait to give readers a glimpse into life as a student at Brown and the greater Providence area!