This semester my schedule is absolutely packed! From taking extra courses, to attending different club meetings and activities regularly, I knew well before the start of this semester that it would be one of my most stressful and busiest yet. With that being, I am really trying my best to make sure that I keep track of everything that I have going on and to ensure that I don’t fall behind in anything.
One of the primary things I’m doing is writing down all of my assignments and important dates. I know this one is kind of a given but I really think that how I am doing this is something worth sharing. Whenever I write down my assignments on my phone, I’ve noticed that I have gained the horrible habit of just swiping the notifications/reminders away whenever they pop up. To better my chances of not missing anything I’ve started physically writing down my assignments whenever my professors mention them in class, no matter how many times they talk about our work. I figure that the more often I write them down, the more likely I’ll be able to remember everything that I need to work on.Â
Something else that I am trying to incorporate into my schedule is going outside and taking a walk when I need a break. Honestly, doing anything besides scrolling on my phone between working on different assignments is encouraged. After scrolling on my phone I am typically more tired and restless than I was before which ultimately makes me lose my motivation. Instead I’ve just been moving to different studying spots, going outside to get some fresh air, and even just visiting the library and looking at all the different books. Doing these things lets me take my mind off the work that I’m working on right at the moment while also staying alert and in the right headspace.
When working on assignments, especially if they’re big projects or will just take more time in general to complete, I can very easily stay in one room all day long and will completely forget to text people back or really just to talk to anyone at all. While I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, I must admit that doing it as often as I do is probably not that great. So, I have been making it a point to meet up with one of my friends everyday/every other day, just to make sure that I’m not I’m not always thinking about school, work, and my other obligations. Yeah, it’s important to stay focused, but it’s just as important to talk to people, go out and connect, socialize, and make sure you’re taking care of yourself socially/emotionally as well as academically.
 I don’t have any overarching advice that I can give except that it’s worth trying new things. After all, it’s only been a little more than 2 weeks that we’ve been back to school, so I can’t say for certain whether or not all of my methods for making this semester easier will work or that I’ll do them the whole time but It’s definitely worth a shot!