Being a full-time student is enough to balance and having a part-time job on top of it all can feel overwhelming. There were days where I thought it was physically impossible for me to complete everything I had on my agenda. After a semester of barely keeping up with everything life threw at me, I realized I had poor time-management skills. Who knew chronic procrastination was so lethal? Luckily, I’m starting this semester off strong and here’s how.
You Snooze, You…Win?
If your job is like mine, you’ll work similar hours each week. It does lack variety and can feel bland at times, but I took advantage of this. I compared my work hours to my class times and created a sleep schedule. Since starting this routine, I have noticed that I am no longer as tired as I used to be. In previous semesters, my sleep schedule was nonexistent. I was always drowsy and nodding off during my lectures, and naps were my best friend. But since I was sleeping during most of my free time, I became overwhelmed very easily.
It also helped to ditch the caffeine addiction. At one point, I was drinking multiple cups of coffee a day with no effect. Drinking so much caffeine also led to me crashing halfway through the day. A well-rested mind and body is what keeps me going from seven in the morning to nine at night.
Game Plan
At the beginning of each month, I fill out a calendar with my major tasks, such as projects, exams or appointments. This gives me a nice overview of my month, and it allows me to know where to spend my time each week.
On Sundays, I fill out my schedule for that particular week. My work schedule is released weekly. I like to work out the fine details this way. This is how I track my assignments, readings and any minor errands I need to run. For each class of the week, I list what I need to prepare before that class and what I need to study afterward (studying lecture material right after class will save you so much time). Also, when I have exams I like to plan out my studying too. For example, if the test will cover chapters 1-5 and is on a Monday, the week before I will study one chapter each day Monday-Friday and allow myself the weekend to review all the material. This allows me to track my days down to the exact minute, which sounds crazy, but it helps me a lot to stay on top of everything. It’s also like I’m setting daily goals for myself.
Balance
As much as I push myself to stay on track with life, I never forget to put my mental health first. After each day, I take a moment to decompress. My usual nightly routine is a face mask and journaling followed by reruns of “Jersey Shore”. This is my time to reflect and congratulate myself on a productive day.
Time management will be different for everyone. If you’re like me (a procrastination queen), micromanaging your time will probably work for you. But don’t be afraid to build your resume by working or joining organizations because you feel it will be too much to handle. College is the time to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and try new things!