If you're in college you can understand the amount of stress that is put on students. It's expected that you attend all classes, do homework, study for each class at least an hour if not more (depending on the difficulty of the course), stay in shape, hang out with friends, join clubs, have a job, maintain good grades, and still have time to visit family back home. This is very overwhelming for most, if not all, college students, and no matter how hard we try there is no way to balance everything out. And if you got to fly by in high school without ever having to study, like myself, you're in for a rude awakening once you hit college. There are other things that can get you in the way of keeping a high GPA, such as changing majors, death in the family, illness or injury, or mental disorders. Throughout this past year and a half I have been dealing with all of these factors, therefore did not maintain a high GPA and am now struggling to catch back up. So, from one struggling college student to another, here's a list of ways to help keep yourself on track and get your grades up while keeping yourself happy and centered!
1. Start a planner/agenda
If you need help keeping track of when everything is due, when you have meetings, or games and practices if you're in a sport, a planner is a great way to start. However, if you have a hard tie remembering to look at said planner, try setting up a calendar through Google and you can get notifications on your or laptop. I also find it helpful to put sticky notes on the desktop of my laptop to bring my attention to important dates every time I open my laptop.
2. Exercise
Running is a great way to get half an hour of working out done easily. Whether you run outside, on a track, treadmill, elliptical, or stair-stepper, it works. If you feel that takes up too much times try bringing your tablet or notes from class and read while you run! You can also do yoga, which is a nice stress-reliever and an easy way to build up strength. There are plenty of videos on YouTube for free yoga lessons and workout apps that can show you how to do certain poses. Working out with friends can help you work yourself better and provide motivation when you feel you can't go on anymore. It is not required that you workout everyday but two or three times a week is a good place to start.
3. Staying centered and mindful
There are so many ways to do this. If you have a smart watch there are apps that remind you to take a break and breathe deeply for a minute or basically anything you want it to do to relax. There are stress-relieving coloring books as well that have recently come out that have small spaces to color to allow you to focus on something fun for a while. Meditation is amazing, turn on some white noise and sit on the floor and just breath. Do this for about 10-15 minutes minimum and you can feel refreshed and focused.
4. Set goals
Setting goals for yourself allows you to keep track of long-term projects, papers, and reading books. Now, if you're like me and you procrastinate terribly, try splitting one goal up into a few smaller ones. For example, if you have a paper due in five weeks, set a goal for each week. Tip for writing papers: Always start with the body paragraphs, after you've gotten a sturdy paper your introduction will be easier to write and you'll figure out your thesis while you're writing instead of limiting yourself to what you believe should be your thesis.
5. Hang out with your friends and family
The biggest part of keeping yourself balanced is making sure you include seeing your friends. Now I'm not saying to blow off homework or class to hang out with your friends but definitely take some time to be happy. Get some friends together and study, you can ask questions of things you don't understand and if you're writing a paper you can ask for their advice on the subject or on what you've written. If you do not have time try to go out to lunch or dinner with them. Allowing yourself to get out of your room and talk can help motivate you to do better and clear your head so you can go back and finish what you were doing.
6. Motivational texts or notes
There are apps you can sign up for if you have a hard time getting motivated and just need a little push from a message. They can send them to you in the morning or whenever you want them to, giving you a little kick into your work. If you want it to be more personal, text a good friend and let them know you're struggling, if you have amazing friends like me they will send you back a message that may make you cry but can also instill some more confidence in you to do your best.
7. Sleep and naps
I know what you're thinking. "We're college students, we don't sleep". Yes but that's why we're struggling. Sleep is necessary for success. Staying up until 3 a.m. and then getting up at 7 a.m. for class is not going to help you do better. If you like coffee than that can help but when you become reliant on it you can make matters worse. There are plenty of apps that track your sleep and tell you when you should go to sleep in order to feel good and get up when you need to. Apple has added a section in the clock app that allows you to choose a bedtime and a wake up time and instead of playing a loud alarm it plays a soothing song that slowly wakes you up. Naps are great as well, in moderation. If you had trouble sleeping take a quick hour nap and then do your homework. Try not to skip classes to take naps or skip assignments.
8. Reminders and lists
If you work better checking things off as you go then make a to-do list. You can feel a sense of accomplishment as you start to check off what needs to be done that day. Also, most smart phones have reminder apps now that can remind you at designated times to do things. If you are like me and tend to turn them off without actually doing them try setting an alarm with a loud ringtone instead. Nothing will remind you to do something more than a blaring alarm.
9. Do the things you love
Even when you are extremely busy and have a thousand things going on, make sure to take some time and do something for yourself. Crochet or knit a little, read a book, play a video game or even go out bowling with your friends. There are thousands of possibilities and if you are happy you are more likely to do better on homework or study better. You deserve some time for yourself to relax and do something that makes you happy.
10. Its OK to not be OK
It's estimated that an average of 1 in 4 adults has some form of diagnosable mental health issue. If you are one of these people just know you're not alone. Millions of students every year have to figure out a way to control their depression or anxiety or both while keeping their lives together. It is very hard. If you do not feel safe being alone with yourself, call a friend. If you feel like no one understands you or you just want to talk, call a counselor. If you just want to scream and cry, do it. Let it all out and tell yourself things will get better, you will pass the exam, and you will graduate. You can do it.
11. A's are not necessary
We all want to have great grades, it's been programmed in our mind that if you're not getting A's and B's you're practically failing. Luckily the grading scale in college changes as the difficulty of the class changes. Here is something that one of my professors told me, "You do not need to get all A's. Do not over-stress yourself about getting perfect grades because when you graduate and get a job in your field of study nobody is going to come up to you and ask what your GPA is. They will just want you to do the best you can at your job." Do not slave over perfect grades. Understand a B or a C isn't going to be the end and work to keep yourself happy and do the best you can in your classes.
