Be On Top of Your Game: A Guide to Keeping Up With Current Events

Are you the last one to find out the breaking news or latest buzz? Do you cringe when your professor asks you your thoughts on the latest debate and you haven’t the foggiest idea of what he or she is referring to?  Want to keep up with current events but can’t find the time to read everything in the newspaper and online?  

That’s ok, because you don’t have to spend hours a day researching every news site to become aware of the current issues happening around the world.  Making minor changes to your daily routine can prove extremely beneficial in the long run!

Before leaving your dorm in the morning, stop and pick up a FREE copy of The New York Times, USA Today, or The Washington Post and read it in between classes or on the metro on your way to your internship.  The Collegiate Readership Program was established so that students have access to newspapers and share what they read to create a “community of awareness.”  Take them, and read them; they’re free!  Not on campus?  Many newspapers offer free or reduced subscriptions for students to online or print publications.

Always checking your Twitter account?  To make the most of your time, create Twitter lists to filter industry-specific news; such as major newswires (@nytimes, @cnn, @AP), tabloid/celebrity (@peoplemag, @THR, @TMZ), fashion (@voguemagazine, @instyle, @marieclaire), and business (@BW, @Forbes, @WSJ).  Lists make it easy to read articles or even just headlines throughout the day rather than setting aside a specific time just to read the news.  

Making a habit of actually watching the news is a painless way to get caught up on the day’s top stories—much easier than scouring the Internet for hours.  Broadcasts are short and to the point; you can turn it on in the morning as you get ready for the day, at night when you’re making dinner, or even while working out at the gym (elliptical, anyone?).

From my experience, the easiest way to keep up with current events and become engaged with issues happening all around you is to regularly share and swap articles with friends.  Creating a collective news-sharing group allows friends to read articles they are actually passionate about, become knowledgeable about the topic, and then share with the group everything they’ve learned.

Tweet something that caught your attention, bring an article to TDR, create a special Facebook group and have every member post an article a day; the possibilities for sharing are endless, and the rewards are plentiful.  

Just think, if each member of a group of five share one article a day for a week, everyone in the group will know 35 more current events than before! 

Try it! And modify it to fit your needs and lifestyle.  I think you’d be surprised at how easy and beneficial it can be!