Studying and homework– we spend so much of our lives doing them – or at least being told to. But somehow, even by college, most students still don’t have figured out. Sure, we manage to study somehow and get our work done, but far too often we get behind and of course, end up getting stressed out.

Obviously there are tons of methods to doing well and keeping up in college, but here are some that I find helpful that might help you as well.

1. Plan ahead.

This is where we tend to have the most trouble. We’ll see the date of the test or assignment and think, “Eh, that’s so far away! I’ll have plenty of time for that later!” But then as the days pass, other assignments take up our time. Then there’s all of the other stuff going on in our lives. And before we know it, it’s the night before and all we've done to prepare for it is go to class (hopefully, anyway.)

So how can this problem be fixed? By planning ahead. Instead of waiting until the last minute, set aside some time every day to study or work on an assignment a reasonable amount. But of course sometimes things happen – other things get in the way or your professor doesn’t give you much time. But even when that happens, finding even just a little time on a day or two in advance will keep you from cramming so much.

2. Find the right background noise.

Some people swear by the rule of studying in complete silence – they think it’s the only way that someone can truly study properly. Don’t listen to them. Although the silent rule applies to some, it’s definitely not something that can be applied to everyone.

So how do you know what works for you? You just have to try different things. Something I’ve noticed is that the environment I prefer depends on what school work I’m doing exactly. For things that involve more writing, sometimes I prefer silence. But for studying, I tend to prefer the background noise of a tv. The point is, don’t assume needing silence for one type of work means you need silence for every type.

3. Give yourself some breaks.

This is where we tend to go from one extreme or the other. We either work for a long period of time straight with barely or no breaks, or we get too distracted and take too many breaks. Sometimes, the breaks last longer than the time spent studying.

Find a balance. Depending on how much you have to do, decide on a reasonable amount of time to work. Then decide on how much of a break you’ll give yourself once you’re done. But in order to do this properly be sure to…

4. Set realistic goals.

So no, your goal probably shouldn’t be to read 50 pages in fifteen minutes or to just read until the coffee wears off. Rather, be realistic. Decide to read a reasonable amount of pages in a reasonable amount of time and then take a break.

It may seem simple or not helpful but seriously, it helps. A lot. It’s partially just a mental thing. If you tell yourself to do something overwhelming, or even impossible, in a short amount of time, you’re not only going to not accomplish it, but also end up getting distracted and get nothing done.

5. Reward yourself throughout.

It’s not uncommon to give yourself an incentive to get work done, but most of the time we save it for the end only. But by doing that, you’re just making it unnecessarily harder on yourself. Instead, give yourself small rewards throughout.

In other words, instead of just deciding when you’ll take a break and for how long, decide to do something in particular during it. That way, you not only have a break to look forward to, but something in particular as well. This can be more helpful than working to take a break to just waste time on your phone. Unless you consider that an award for yourself, in which case go with that. Rewards don’t have to be huge, but you should still save the best for last!