19 credit hours. 2 RSOs. A part-time job. And a social life. Not possible, right? If you’re anything like me, your head was probably spinning just thinking about those responsibilities, let alone accomplishing them. Well unfortunately for me, I fell into the trap of thinking I could accomplish more than humanly possible, and this is what my Spring 2018 schedule looked like: 19 credit hours boiled down to 6 in-person classes (on two separate campuses, might I add), and a 3-hour lab. No online classes, no easy way to slip under the radar. Why did I do it? Maybe because I’m a certified overachiever, but more realistically, it’s because I’m a certified lunatic.
But here I am, writing about it, so I must still be alive and kicking. And kicking I am, as I have somehow managed to maintain my grades at an “A” average these past 15 weeks. As we head into finals season next week, that might change, but for the time being, I wanted to share my tips and tricks to surviving this crazy lifestyle, because it is, in fact, possible.
Stay Organized
I owe my sanity to my online planner. At the beginning of the semester, I was able to outline all my assignments and their due dates in one convenient place. It was overwhelming to look at first, but as time went on, physically crossing things off my to-do list was such a serene feeling. If you’re not a fan of planners, Webcourses already places all of your assignments on your calendar and crosses them out when you submit them, so you too can watch your worries disappear.
Make A Plan
My usual plan of working on all open assignments at the beginning of the semester in order to get rid of them failed me this semester, as most of my professors chose to open them a week at a time. So, I quickly adjusted this and decided to schedule a certain time each day of the week to work on each class. My number one tip is to work on a class’s assignment immediately following the class, so the content is still fresh in your head. If your schedule doesn’t allow it, pick a time closest so you don’t lose out on that added advantage.
Study Socially
If you’re too jam-packed to study and hang out with your friends, invite them over to knock out some homework while catching up on the latest gossip. It eases the pressure of studying alone in your room, and I noticed that it actually motivated me to accomplish more if my time was sectioned out specifically to study or do work.
Stress-Relieving Extracurriculars
When the pressure of school is too much, it’s sometimes easy to neglect the activities you once had a passion for. Instead of letting that passion die, I made sure to attend all of my weekly meetings in order to give myself a well-deserved break from school. I am involved in two activities that I am extremely passionate about, so I was able to look forward to attending the meetings each week. I even signed up for a weekly barre class to give my brain a break from constant stimulation!
This semester really tried to show me who was boss, but I’ve been putting up a fight to stay on top. Granted, I wasn’t living and breathing school work 24/7, but it was a lot more than I have experienced before in college. Yet, as I said earlier, I’m still alive to tell my story. I am extremely proud of how I managed my time and efforts this year, and if you see yourself in this same situation in the near future, take a breath because you will get through it. Remember that it’s perfectly okay to take an L every once and a while, because accomplishing a semester this chaotic is a huge win in my book.
