I put WAY too much on my plate for this semester. Not to brag, but I think I have one of the most intense lists of extracurriculars out of anyone I know. While I’m not really involved in that many clubs and groups, the groups I’m in are all pretty time consuming! These are all my extracurriculars:
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Assistant Editor of Her Campus
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Sister of Sigma Delta Tau
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Member of the Manhattan College Love Your Melon Crew
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Playing Dr. Billeaux and Ensemble in Urinetown, the musical at school
On top of those, I’m taking six classes, I am a co-founder of a scholarship fund which is currently both fundraising for the recipient and also collecting applications, and I have a boyfriend– and trust me, he’s more time consuming than you’d think.
I definitely put way too much on my plate for this semester. Even if I was just taking five classes instead of six I would be majorly stressed out still, which really stinks. Finding time for myself and for my friends is nearly impossible between rehearsals, meetings, and homework. But, I’ve kind of started to navigate this difficult time a little bit better than I was at the beginning of the semester, and I’ve got a few tips for any of you gals in the same situation as me.
1. Write down all of your assignments in an agenda, and make sure you write when they are due.
If you write down all of your assignments for the week and next week, you’ll be more likely to remember to do them and turn them in. Including the due date is crucial, especially if your assignment isn’t due during your actual class time.
2. Write down, in the same agenda, when all of your clubs meet and where.
Forgetting to go to a club meeting or rehearsal is terrible. If you miss something, or have to miss something because of other commitments, make sure you explain to the E-Board or Secretary for the club or group why you can’t be there, and make sure they know you would 100% be there if you could be. There is nothing worse than seeming like an underenthusastic club member.
3. If the first two tips won’t work for you, block out EVERYTHING in Google Calendar.
Put your classes, club meetings, rehearsals, practices, etc. in a Google Calendar and always keep that Calendar open in your Web browser. Even block out meal times and study times if you need to. Sometimes, I even block out “Social Time” and share that event with my boyfriend and friends to see if any of them are free at that time. Set all assignments as reminders with their deadlines, or set it as a “To-Do” on your Task To Do List on any Google-run site. This keeps you super organized, plus it gives you a really nice feeling when you check these things off your list! I find these three things super helpful, and I hope you do too! School and extracurriculars can get super stressful, but you can get through it!