Another school year has started and for many students that mean school work is already piling up. The real question here is how do you stay on top of all of the work that’s already being doled out? Between club meetings, social events, residence hall meetings, and everything else busy college students like to do – where is the time to study and get your work done? Some might even wonder, will they ever find time to do it all? Have no fear! Here are a bunch of helpful tips to keep you at the top of your classes, and leave you with enough time to relax and enjoy all that your school has to offer.

Keep a planner.

There’s a reason our elementary school teachers had us write down what our homework was every night. It was so we could go home, look at it, and know exactly what we needed to do in terms of work for the next day. This same technique is useful in college. Whether you buy one from a designer like Erin Condren or pick up a cheap composition notebook from the school bookstore, find a place to write down all of your work throughout the day. Take it out at the beginning of class and keep it with you until the professor mentions what the work will be, then write it down. As you go throughout the day, you’ll have a better understanding of what work is required of you for before the next class.

Write down your class schedule and post it somewhere in your room.

As a commuter, I have a white board in my room that details the times and locations of each class in a neat manner. Some of my friends in suites all write down their schedules and post it to the front door where everyone can see it and keep track of each other. The nice thing about having a physical manifestation of your daily plans is that you have a representation of what kind of time your classes will take up during the day. You’ll be able to see that if you have an Anatomy lab that runs until 6pm on Thursday and a weekly quiz in Calculus on Friday morning, then you might need to take some time Thursday night to study. Don’t assume you’ll eventually get it done, look for places in your class schedule that can be dedicated work times.

Make To-Do Lists your best friend.

A to-do list can work wonders for your productivity. The night before, make a list of everything that needs to be accomplished the following day. This way you have an idea of what you’ll need to do and the time it will take before you even begin the day. Try it for a week and see how much more productive you are!

Set times for study breaks before you begin studying.

Your attention span is not as long as you’d think, so prepare for long study sessions by planning ten minute breaks for every forty-fifty minutes of studying. Give yourself time to walk away from the material. Have a snack, check your social media, go finish a Grey’s episode; just do something that will rejuvenate you before you buckle down for another study session.

Try out these four helpful tips as school really gets in the swing of things. Before you know it, you’ll be on top of your game and all of your friends will be asking you how you managed it. Best of luck in classes this year!