It's that time of the year again where we all are heading back to school. You're probably sitting around thinking about all the things you have to accomplish before the end of the week, ready to cry like Regina George after she found out the protein bars were making her gain weight. From handling classes, work, to extracurriculars, and having a little extra time to socialize, it's not easy. Especially for college students like ourselves, reaching and maintaining that happy equilibrium is a whole mission in itself.
The truth of the matter is there is no magic trick to managing your time. Depending on how heavy your workload is and how well you can handle stress, everybody is going to take on their schedules differently. Universally, there is no right or wrong way to do it. However, from my personal experience, there are a few tips that have helped me keep my sanity in check, and it's usually the smaller life adjustments things that have made tackling life so much easier.
1. Planners
One of the first things I recommend to everyone is to get a planner or a notebook and jot down everything you need to accomplish. I will admit, I was that one person at one point who didn't realize how useful planners were until life started piling up. I felt like I could remember everything I needed to do, but eventually, that attitude caught up to me and I was missing deadlines without meaning to. Highlight or cross out the tasks you have done. if you need to pay a bill or make a credit card payment, write it down. Planners have helped me tremendously in keeping track of my finances, as well. Overall, it's a really overlooked tool that many students seem to forget that may actually make a huge impact on your performance.
2. Set time blocks
Give yourself plenty of time to do everything and set up a tentative schedule of when you'll be doing your tasks. Don't try and spontaneously do things throughout the day—it gets messy after the first few tries, trust me. Prioritize things that need to be done as soon as possible and leave the less important things for last. When studying for classes, give yourself an hour or two and get as much studying done for one class as possible. After that hour, go on to the next class. Don't stay stuck on one thing for too long either—as humans, our attention capacity is short, so if you drag it out too long, you'll lose focus and it will be as unproductive as doing nothing at all.
3. Reward yourself
If you give yourself something to look forward to after you successfully complete all your goals, you're more likely to enjoy it and take it on with a more motivated attitude. Give yourself a little break or tell someone to give you $5 for every class you get an A in. Whatever it takes to get you hype, do it! Taking things on with a more positive note results in better productivity.
These are just three of the many, many ways there are to stay on task. Some people may like working it a more spontaneous manner; others may like their schedules more detailed and on the dot. Whatever style you decide to do it in, always remind yourself of what your ultimate goal is—to keep a healthy, stress-free schedule and to enjoy yourself while doing it! Good luck to everyone this semester and keep the procrastination vibes as far as possible!
