College can be hard to manage for anyone, especially if you are involved in various organizations while also working two jobs! Being a college student means you are in charge as your self motivator. There's no one there to make sure that you actually make it to class, do your homework and study for your tests, and sometimes you can be your own worst enemy!
Here's a list of 10 simple steps you can take to have a happier, healthier and smoother semester of school.
1. Establish a routine
This may seem like an easy task; however, each day brings a different class schedule, meaning you can wake up for your 12 p.m. class on Monday at 11:40 a.m. and have a rather hard time making it to your 9 a.m. class on Tuesdays. There's nothing wrong with sleeping in, but getting your body on a normal sleep schedule can do wonders for your attention span during class, as well as give you some extra time to grab some coffee or breakfast before you start your day!
2. Go to the gym
Similar to the previous step, healthy routines are important and going to the gym has a plethora of benefits to your overall wellbeing. Working out is the best stress reliever and being active is great for your body and mind. Going to the gym every now and then also counteracts the random late night pizza for all-night study sessions.
3. Stop skipping class
Yeah there might not be an attendance policy and the thought of going to class might make you want to die, but lie to yourself and act like there is an attendance policy. If that doesn't work, give yourself a number of skips at the beginning of the semester and strategically utilize them. If it's a class that meets three times a week, make sure you're there 2/3 times, always. If you have a test, you need to study for and want to skip that same class, use one of your pre-determined skip days!
4. Use an agenda or calendar
Not writing things down always seems to come back and bite people. Keeping a calendar of due dates and exams can never hurt. You can even schedule the date of which you want to start studying for an exam, to eliminate cramming and procrastination.
5. Don't go out more than twice a week
Unless there's a special occasion: a date-night, social, birthday, etc., try not to go out downtown on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, AND Saturday. Establish a rule for yourself. No back-to-backs is a good and easy rule to follow. If you go out Friday night, stay in Saturday night, etc.
6. Stop watching Netflix until 2 a.m.
(This may be the hardest step...)
Yeah, you might not have class the next day until noon, but try and save your Netflix binge-watching for the weekends!
7. Limit your all-nighters
Procrastination is something almost every individual has probably dealt with. Sometimes you don't want to study until the day before the exam, but you need to! Studying a little on each day leading up to an exam is easier than staying up all night then hating your life for the next two days.
8. Keep track of your grades
Knowing how you're doing in a class is important from the start. Getting grades back and putting them away doesn't do anyone any good. Your mom doesn't receive your report card anymore (thank goodness), so you have to have the motivation to change that D to a B by working hard. It may be painful at the beginning, but it is easier to pull your grades up when you have a set goal you need to reach!
9. Utilize the weekends
Lazy Sunday is a glorious day, but utilizing just a couple hours over the weekend to get organized and study for a few classes can make the world of a difference!
10. Reward yourself
There's no doubt that following these steps can be tough at times, so make sure to celebrate your own victories... because you deserve it!
