As students go back to school and break comes to a close, we often forget how to prioritize ourselves and our studies. Implementing new actions within our daily schedule can prove helpful for a successful and promising semester! Listed below are just a few to get you on the right track.
1. Take Care of Yourself
When returning from home, students can oftentimes put themselves last as school is prioritized. Although academics are important, an emphasis must be made on the well-being of students. Some important actions to add to your daily schedule are drinking enough water, sleeping eight hours every 24 hours and treating mental health problems properly.
2. Be Prepared
A lack of necessary supplies is not a great way to begin a semester. Ensuring you have all the proper materials is important to rock your class and perform your best academically! Read over required texts and supplies for each course to make sure you have everything that’s needed to be successful.
3. Socialize
A tidbit for college that I often forget is socializing with my peers. Sometimes my mind is so focused on my studies that I forget to talk to those around me in my classes. An important tip to remember is that isolating yourself can lead to mental health effects such as depression; therefore, building a strong support system will not only encourage your studies but your social life as well.
4. Take Notes
Taking notes for each course is important for retaining information and preparing for exams. Even just jotting down simple main points from class can prove to be the reason for passing or failing a certain section! Using loose-leaf paper and pen versus typing notes on a computer can also prove useful for further information retention.
5. Practice Time Management
Allotting time to balance school, work and yourself is important for not feeling so overwhelmed. Not only can a calendar help you plan your day-to-day, but removing personal pressure to complete everything at once can give you a great base for a less chaotic schedule.
6. Study
Although this one is a given when enrolled in academic courses, a reminder always needs to be made to study the material being taught versus memorizing it. Last-minute cram sessions are hard and most of the time don’t allow important information to be retained properly. To reduce the chances of not understanding the material and performing poorly, a willingness to study and understand which learning techniques work best is needed.
School can be tough, but the pressure we often put on ourselves can be harder. It’s important to know our personal boundaries and our academic capabilities in order to manage our studies, mental health and social life. Hopefully, the tips listed above allow you to do just that and perform at your personal best to rock the new semester!