College is by far one of the craziest times in collegiate’s life with endless opportunities to get involved. The pressure to get everything done can be daunting, but there is no reason you should have to pick and choose between your job, school, friends, student organizations, or whatever else you have to do! If you are struggling to find time for anything in your busy schedule, it is time to regroup and restructure so that you can still have it all.
1. Make a complete to-do list of everything that you need to get done- Whether you make the list on a smartphone or paper, this ensures that you will not forget anything. Write down homework, emails that need to be sent, everything! Being busy makes it easy for the little things to slip from your mind.
2. Prioritize- Complete tasks that are due sooner first, but also get a head start on larger projects that are farther away. If you can, do a little bit each day.
3. Look at your calendar daily- This helps to ensure that nothing sneaks up on you and creates a consciousness of what extra commitments you can afford to make with friends or otherwise. Make sure to add new events to your calendar immediately as you find out about them, even if they are tentative. By checking your calendar daily, your days will stop blending together.
4. Find time where there seemingly is not time- If you have an hour break between classes, that might seem like not enough time to get something done. However, this is a great time to accomplish any smaller tasks like sending emails or even just writing an introduction for a paper. Find a coffee shop and take advantage of these small breaks!
5. Take breaks- When you are doing work, plan to give yourself a break that is long enough in relation to how long you worked. If you do two hours of work, give yourself around a half hour break. If you work for an hour, give yourself around fifteen minutes and etcetera.
6. Minimize multitasking- Too much multitasking will cause multiple tasks to be started, but not finished. Only attend to interrupting tasks when they require immediate attention.
7. Stay relaxed- Getting stressed out will only hurt your accomplishment of tasks. Make sure you find at least a little time each day to do something that you enjoy. Go do some yoga, make tea, whatever calms you down!
8. When all else fails, there is always coffee!
Make sure to adjust these to whatever best fits your needs. It is all about finding a routine that works for you. Hopefully these tips can help you achieve everything on your checklist and more!