I don’t know about everybody else, but I know I’ve been seriously stressed out this semester—and it just started! From global concerns to COVID-19 worries to constant political updates, it’s been a bit difficult to prioritize all the school work I have. The fact that half of my classes are on zoom certainly doesn’t help. I’ve found it hard to keep track of assignments and due dates. Here’s what I’ve done so far to try to make it a little easier on myself.
- Get a planner
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I know, I know, everybody says to get a planner and it usually just ends up sitting in a long-forgotten corner of your room collecting dust. But this time is different. I kid you not, the only thing getting me through all my assignments in one piece is this cute little purple planner that I got from T.J.Maxx. It’s a godsend. I know exactly what I have due on what days and I haven’t fallen behind in any of my classes yet. Of course, you have to make sure you actually write down your assignments in the planner, which bring me to the next point.
- Keep all your syllabi in one place
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Even though this seems a bit obvious and self-explanatory, it really feels like a life hack. At the beginning of every semester, I download all my syllabi and convert them to PDF’s. Then, I save them to my desktop, alongside the PDFs of my textbooks. Having all of my syllabi in one, easily accessible place has brought me so much more peace than you’d probably expect. If I ever have a question about project due-dates or how a certain class’s grading is broken up, I can pull up the syllabus in seconds.
- Write course grading break-downs in your planner
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I, personally, love knowing exactly how my grade is going to be calculated for different classes. I like to know whether class participation is highly influential in my final grade or just a light recommendation. It helps me to get the grades I want in classes and ensures that there are no surprises when I receive my grades at the end of the semester. If I know I have to participate a lot in a class to get a good grade, I like knowing and going into each class with the mindset of contributing to the class discussion. This one may be unnecessary for some but it’s been really helpful for me.
These 3 tips have been helping me stay focused and not get left behind during hybrid classes. It’s been difficult, regardless, but I really do think these are 3 of the biggest reasons that I’ve been able to stay relatively on track with school during these times.
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