I know we’ve all heard it before, but college is drastically different than high school. There is a lot to juggle, from keeping up with classes to remembering to do laundry. While it is easy to look at everything on your plate and get overwhelmed, I think it’s important to know that there is a way to balance it all! Here are a few tips that might be just what you need to get you back on track.
1) Look Ahead
Almost all professors give a very detailed syllabus with dates of each assignment. A good habit is to start looking at each syllabus at the beginning of the week. This will take five minutes and then you aren’t surprised by a paper that is due on Wednesday or the 100 pages you need to read by Friday. It also allows you to plan out your time effectively. If you have a two-hour break in between classes on Tuesday and Thursday, maybe that is a good time to grab lunch and eat in East College with a book or head to the library and knock out some homework due at the end of the week. If you are planning your whole week out, you aren’t constantly getting behind. This will most likely lead to less late nights and more free time on the weekends.
2) Write Stuff Down
I highly recommend getting a planner. Lilly Pulitzer ones are really popular on campus, but there are also tons of reasonably priced ones on Amazon that work just as well. This way you have a place to write down everything you need to know: birthdays, when assignments are due, or meetings for clubs on campus. Writing stuff down not only ensures that you will see it later and be reminded of the task, but studies have shown writing things down makes you more likely to remember them. So, you are actually helping yourself twice.
Amazon Planners: https://goo.gl/cZxCsJ
Lilly Planners: https://www.lillypulitzer.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&keyword=planners
3) Clean Your Room
I know that when you have hours of homework, cleaning your room can be the last thing on your mind, but it has been proven that a clean room equals a clean mind. An article on Elite Daily (link attached below) talks about how having a messy room can hinder your ability to focus. Not to mention, not being able to find the shirt you want in a heap of laundry or the paper you printed yesterday on your cluttered desk is the last thing you want when you already are stressed. Having a clean room keeps your mind at peace and makes it easier to function in your living space.
http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/clean-room-clean-mind/1044185/
4) Go To Sleep
Going to bed might seem counterproductive when you are drowning in work, but forcing yourself to stay up all night to finish a paper is going to run you down and make it hard for you to be productive the next day. Also, there is a good chance that the work you do at 3 in the morning isn’t your best. Sometimes the best thing to do is go to bed so you can be well rested to tackle everything you need to get done the next day. The better you feel, the more you will accomplish. College is a marathon, not a sprint, so it is important to take care of yourself along the way.
These are just a few tips to get you started, but everyone finds their own way to get organized and stay on top of stuff. Now is a great time to get caught up and start some new habits that will make you successful in the second part of the semester. You will be surprised how much easier your life will be when you can stay a little organized.