One of the most amazing things about being a Connecticut College Camel is that we have an incredible Academic Resource Center (which has helped to save many a transcript, lemme tell ya)! Noel Garrett, Ph.D, who is the Director of the “ARC”, as well as Dean of Academic Support, believes that the biggest mistake people make when it comes to time management is “not paying attention to plans you’ve already made. If you make a plan and then don’t follow it, it’s useless. Also, [the] number two [mistake] is not planning ‘fun time’ into your calendar, time that is for just having fun.” Additionally, Noel says that the top three tips he would give to Her Campus readers about time management are: “Balance your plan, don’t plan study time blocks less than two hours (or more than four hours without taking a break), and make sure you give yourself time in your schedule to reward yourself for a job well done!” Yes, yes, and yes.
Here are 10 easy tips for time management and studying from a young grasshopper who, in time, has gained much wisdom from the masterful ARC:
1. Put that phone down!
…Or any other electronic device that, let us not tell lies here, you use primarily to take selfies with (oh please, Photo Booth, don’t act like you’re so innocent!). Until all of your work is complete, tell your friends you’ll talk to them later – or Kim Kardashian that you can play her game later. Don’t even give us that judgmental eyebrow; we know you’re obsessed with “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” too!
2. Skip the sugar, but not the nuts.
To make the most of your study session, you want to be sufficiently energized minus the awful crash that comes after a sugar high. Save the overly-sweetened coffee drink for a Sunday morning instead – and by Sunday morning, we mean at 2PM when you finally get out of bed. Ummm, pass those pistachios over here, please!
3. Music can be highly questionable.
Have you ever written a paper, only to find that when you’re checking over your first draft that you’ve accidentally typed in some of the lyrics of the song you were listening to!? We suggest sticking to classical primarily for the reason that it doesn’t have any lyrics in it, but also because Bach and Beethoven had achieved, in their time, the 3 B’s of Babe-Status: brilliant, brooding, and brave. Talk about the perfect combo! (Bonus tip: Never hand in your first draft unless it’s absolutely flawless, which is sadly, a rare occurrence for even the most literary of scholars.)
4. Get to your happy place before you even think about looking at a textbook.
Face it: that biology is not going to sink in very easily if you’re mourning over the loss of your ex-boyfriend. A quick fix is to listen to Arianna Grande’s “Problem” three times in a row (dancing around your room is a given, sorry roommates), and then getting back to that diagram of mitosis!
5. Dress the part to play the part.
If you’re wearing your pajamas, your brain will tell you that you really ought to be in bed and sleep for another five (or ten) hours. But if you put on your go-to pair of black leggings (the lesser of the two evils, which, as a plus, matches literally everything else you own in your closet) and layers on top – think tank top, sweatshirt, vest – then you’ll still be comfy-cozy but hopefully more alert than you would be otherwise in your footie pj’s with the casual butt-flap. Four for you, Glen Coco, if they’ve got “Hello Kitty” all over them…
6. Pinterest is not pointless.
One of the best ways to achieve your goals is to visualize them. If you prefer the old school method of printing out photographs and hanging them on your wall, that’s great, or, if you’d prefer to make a “virtual” board, now you finally have a legitimate excuse to get pinning!
7. Meet with your professors… often.
Whether you go to a huge university that’s practically the size of a small village, or a cozy college where everyone gets individualized attention, make a real effort to get to know your professors on a more personal level! This way, whenever you go for extra help, you will be visiting a friendly face rather than a total stranger, which can be awkward, uncomfortable, and just flat out intimidating. Ask them what inspired them to become a professor, what in particular interests them about the subject they teach, and other related questions so you can have a greater understanding of who they are and what they stand for. Don’t forget to share a little bit about yourself!
8. Get your (fabulous) butt over to the gym!
Want to get your mind working? Start by working out your muscles! The blood flow and overall boost of endorphins will pump you up, feeling motivated to tackle anything the day seems to throw at you – exam tomorrow at 3pm? Piece of cake! Oral presentation tomorrow at 8am? Still #eternalmisery, but at least your mind will be clear and ready to show off just how well you know your stuff (hint: really well)!
9. Tackle the terrifying things first.
A good friend isn’t afraid to stage an intervention when you’re eating Twizzlers out of the bag nonstop, and this is one of those times. Rather than eat your feelings, ask yourself what work you have that’s really stressing you out. If it’s a term paper, begin that before you keep chugging along at the rest of your work. Even writing a paragraph of your introduction will make you feel like you have some sense of control (hey, even if it’s merely an illusion, we’d still prefer it!).
10. “Expect the unexpected” is a cliché for a reason, ladies!
Maybe you’ll meet a rather spectacular gentleman at Saturday night’s party that you want to go out to dinner and then a movie with during the week, or maybe your bestie will have a family crisis and you need to offer her your shoulder to cry on for an entire night. Regardless, always be sure to leave some empty blocks of time in your schedule for things that will pop up out of nowhere!
We wish you the best of luck with achieving all your goals, and as long as you follow those 10 tips, we know you’ll totally rock this semester!
Photo creds: http://dgchaacicgqa5.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20090331-pistachios.jpg
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