It happens to everyone. In college, you just have those weeks where it seems like everything is due and you don't have enough time to get everything done. When those times hit, it's hard to remember that everything will be better in just a couple of days if you can just power through it. I'm here to share my methods of handling a stressful week.
Organize your life. I have a note on my phone that lists every class I'm enrolled in this semester. Every week, I outline the assignments that I need to get done for each class and when I need to work on them. Recently, I've started putting assignments that must get done in all capitals, that way I know I can't put them off. Things like reading a novel for class when I could just Sparknote it and do okay fall to the bottom of the list. Which leads to...
Decide what is most important. If you have a four-page paper due Thursday and reading a couple chapters of a book, just do the paper. You can stumble through a discussion on text you may not have read, but it will be 100% obvious if you don't turn in an essay.
The last rule may not apply in some situations. I have one professor who does not accept late work. It is crucial to ensure that you fulfill your obligations to classes that will not accept late assignments. These should come before everything else.
Push yourself. Spend that extra half hour on an assignment. Work ahead when you can. It'll suck in the moment, but you'll be glad that you did when you've finished an assignment and don't have to worry about it later.
Manage your time well. We've all been in a class that isn't particularly exciting. If you're already comfortable with the material the professor is lecturing on, and it's a course where you're allowed to use your laptop, work on essays for other classes in a google doc. If you're like me, you can pay attention to what the professor is saying while also getting some work done. It isn't much, but oftentimes the hardest part is simply starting a project.
Convince yourself that things are due sooner than they actually are. If you lead yourself to believe that you have to have an assignment done on Tuesday, even if it isn't due until Thursday, you'll at least have a start. Then you can take some time away from the assignment and rethink it if you need to.
Stop saying you'll do it in the morning. Just do it now. Stay up a little later, then go to sleep. You can sleep later and your assignment will actually be done, unlike when you tell yourself you'll do it in the 15 minutes before class starts.
Stop trying to do it all. It's okay to admit that you're overwhelmed and that you'll have to drop some stuff this week. It's okay, you'll get back to it next week. The world will not end if you skip one set of readings. I've gotten As in classes where I barely even opened the book. If you can find more efficient ways of reading (for example, Sparknotes) then go for it! Do whatever it takes to use your time the best way possible.
Just keep working. Don't let being overwhelmed stop you. Get something done. You'll feel so much better when you feel you're making progress. Remember that next week, you likely won't be as overwhelmed. It's all going to be okay.
When you get everything done, take some time to binge watch Netflix. You've earned it!
