Recently, I was tasked with giving a presentation on study tips and time management to a group of freshmen based on my years of experience in college. I have to admit, although I am typically a pretty good student, I am actually not the best at studying. I am even worse when it comes to time management when preparing for exams (if you are my Egyptology professor reading this, I am completely prepared for the midterm and have been studying for weeks). I think this is mostly because, as a history major, I have mostly research papers as assignments rather than typical exams. Even though I am definitely not the best at studying, I have picked up some hacks that help me stay organized, which I thought I would share here.
One thing that I do at the beginning of every semester is make a master spreadsheet of every assignment that is due that semester. I make categories for the assignment title, class, professor, assignment type, and most importantly, the due date. It is also color-coded by class! When I am done, I reorder the entries by due date so I always have the closest upcoming assignment at the top of the list. I delete the entries as I turn the assignments in.
Another organizational hack is planning my upcoming week every Monday morning. I have a Google Doc entitled “Weekly Schedule” that I fill in every week with new assignments. I first have my list of courses and other responsibilities, where I write down every assignment, exam, and task that I need to complete that week. Below that, I have the days of the week listed so I can fill out what I need to complete each day. This helps me make sure that I do not forget an assignment and that I have a realistic plan to get everything done. I have a paper planner, but I like the Google Doc template that I created. I also have a paper daily schedule template that I got from Amazon, which I fill out every night before bed so I know what I am doing the next day.
I have anxiety, so I cannot relax without a game plan for everything I have to tackle the next day. I like the daily planner because it has a section at the top for the daily priorities as well as a section to plan out appointments, on top of the daily schedule. This means I can highlight the things that are most important and the actual appointments I have to attend so that I do not miss them.
Another tip that has helped me with procrastination is using the Pomodoro Method while studying. If you are anything like me, you will sometimes sit for long periods of time before even starting an assignment or get sidetracked easily and space out, causing you to waste unnecessary amounts of time while doing homework or studying. The Pomodoro Method is to diligently work for twenty-five minutes, take a five-minute break, and repeat for about four cycles. After that, there is a longer twenty or thirty-minute break to recharge. This method breaks studying into manageable chunks, rather than working until an assignment is complete. This is great for chipping away at longer assignments or motivating yourself to continue making progress.
These are some of the tips that I have found most helpful when tackling college assignments and are what I always recommend to other people. If you are feeling lost when it comes to studying for midterms and finals, feel free to try out these tips and see if they work for you!