From undergraduate to college graduate students, the beginning days of the new school year brings with it its own challenges. There is so much to do and manage, that it requires specific skills to keep everything minimally in order. Having the ability to manage college life and find the time necessary to get everything done including your studying requires a skill set all on its own. The following tips will help you handle college stress easily while providing enough time to enjoy yourself.
Using a Calendar – Nothing works better than having things written down on a calendar. You can use a paper calendar, cell phone, a tablet, laptop or any type of calendar you choose. Make sure you have a good one and use it.
Everything in Writing – If you write everything down in a single place by using multiple calendars, a “day keeper” book, or just a large notebook, you can create yourself an ongoing schedule. Schedule all the time you need to do your laundry, go to sleep, do your studies, and even call your parents.
Scheduling Time for Relaxation – Just like everything else you schedule, you need to schedule time to breathe and relax. Giving yourself enough time for sleep, meditation or simply let your hair down. It will make the process of managing your college life so much easier.
Schedule Some Flexibility – Because college life comes with its own complex issues, nothing ever goes as planned. Juggling your life in college involves getting your studying in while also enjoying celebrations, homecoming, holidays and events. By scheduling some flexibility into your calendar, you can easily move things around when you need to.
Plan into the Future – On the first day of class you are giving a syllabus for every class that provided you a direct avenue to make sure your academic semester worked out properly. You learned exactly when your largest research paper will be due, when the final test will happen, along with exactly which days of the week you need to be in class. By planning into the future you can easily complete entire projects, and be ready for any important quiz or test. A simple way to make sure you are planning properly is to work backwards from your due dates and schedule enough time on your calendar to accomplish any task.
Prepare for the Unexpected – While everything seems to work well on paper, you need to plan and prepare for the unexpected. Even if you have left yourself enough time in your schedule to complete all of your tasks, it can quickly become a major issue if you get sick, which is often a byproduct of enjoying college life.
Learn to Say “No” – Would you like to go away this weekend, have a party, order pizza, or just hang out? By learning how to say “no” you can stay focused on your main priority of being in college: to graduate and get a diploma. Even if you cannot learn to say “no” every time, learn to say “yes” less often.
Reward Yourself for Your Organization – If you are just starting out in college you will quickly realize that midterms and finals can create nightmares like you have never experienced before. When scheduling out your life, be sure to include rewards for all of your efforts. That might include an enjoyable dinner with quality classmates after a term paper, or traveling home to see your friends and parents for short holidays.
Update Your Priorities Constantly – If your priorities get out of whack at any time during your college life, it can wreak havoc on your GPA, social life, sleep patterns and talks with your parents. There will be times when things do not work right, including when you get sick or the computer crashes. However, by prioritizing your life you can minimize the stress and struggles and still enjoy time away from studying.
Steven Grella is the owner of WorksCited4U.com, a site that features a works cited maker to make it easier for you to create bibliographies for your research papers and projects.