Well, here we are. The holidays are long gone, 2017 has begun, the majority of New Year’s Resolutions have long been broken, and if you haven’t started second semester yet, you are dreadfully anticipating the first day of classes. Sure, you told yourself this semester will be great and you are going to study harder than ever before, but that doesn’t mean everything will be perfect in every way. Everyone has something to be nervous or stressed about when it comes to school. To get you through the upcoming semester and hopefully even enjoy it, here are 5 reassuring tips for overthinking students:
1. Make Time for Yourself
As our spring schedules fill up with classes, clubs, homework, work, and more, it is easy to forget to pay attention to the most important thing: yourself! It may seem hard to find free time, but if you plan well, it can be quite beneficial to schedule in some “me time”. Read a book for pleasure, watch a little bit of Netflix, go to the gym; anything you can do to relax and find joy can be helpful. Not only is this a great way to reward yourself for hard work, but it will also help you focus and increase productivity by reducing stress. Think of how hard it is to get things done when you aren’t doing anything to make yourself happy. Treat yourself this semester.
2. Make Time to Socialize
Again, I get it — you are busy. That is not a problem. Just like making time for yourself, socializing will improve your mood and, as a result, your productivity. Focusing on improving and maintaining relationships with others is something that will provide you with a sense of belonging in your community, but, still, is often neglected by stressed out students. Don’t lose your friends to your calculus homework; go to that party, go on that date, go out to eat, and finish your flashcards when you get home.
3- Remember Your Strengths
No one is good at everything, but most of us will have to take a handful of classes we just cannot stand. You should always make an effort at all of your schoolwork, but don’t get discouraged by the things you aren’t great at. So, you have to take a science course you’ve been avoiding since freshman year of high school. Don’t lose sleep over it just to aim for that near-impossible perfect score on the final that’s four months away. This plan of action simply overwhelms you with confusing subject matter while taking your attention away from the courses you could excel at. You may not do as well as you hoped in that one class no matter how hard you try and, at a certain point, over studying can just make you tired and forgetful. If you do not balance your attention strategically between classes, you may not put enough time into your other, stronger courses, leading to a poorer performance than expected. Instead, see your weakest course as a chance to better your understanding of a topic you wouldn’t otherwise learn in order to become a more well-rounded and aware member of society. Though GPA is important, focusing on learning for your own benefit over your grades may actually help you stay positive and clear minded, making for a strong performance. See every day as a fresh start. Do not let one bad test score psych you out for the rest of the semester and tackle each section as it arises. Seek extra help! Your professor may have office hours, your school may offer tutors, and even your friends could help you study. The most important thing to remember to get through a class you hate is to relax and STAY POSITIVE.
4. Don't over extend yourself
Coming from someone who has never wanted to miss an opportunity, I understand how hard it can be to keep your schedule open. There are so many clubs to join and classes to take and doing everything and doing all of it well is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, right? Wrong. I know you overachievers out there who are determined to have a thirty-page résumé and five jobs, be the president of several clubs, graduate early and maybe cure cancer while you’re at it. Turns out that’s actually not possible, believe it or not. And guess what? No employer is even going to read your novel of a résumé, anyway. No, I am not telling you to drop everything and sleep all day. But you may want to take a step back and make sure you’re happy with all that you are squeezing into your busy days. Quitting something does not always constitute failure. Instead, it can be a sign of maturity. You realize that knitting club just isn’t for you and is not having a positive impact on your life, so you make the mature decision to free that time up for more important activities and responsibilities. You realize one of your classes is much too difficult, you do not like the professor, or is not a smart use of your limited time, so you drop it in order to take a better class or even just ease your schedule. You should never be disappointed in yourself for not sticking to a commitment that you are not happy with. Taking something out of your schedule can help you succeed by focusing more energy on more important commitments or simply giving you a moment to breathe in your overwhelming day.
5. Set goals
I might blow a few minds with this one: make and stick to some New Year’s (or new semester’s) Resolutions. I know most of you already skipped a few trips to the gym or ate a few sweets since January first (and if you haven’t, good for you!), but there is never a wrong time to set goals, and never a better time than the start of a new chapter like a year, a month, or a semester of school. Think about everything you did well last year and everything you hope to improve and write them down. Maybe you want to improve your note taking, stop procrastinating, or find a new study buddy. In college, as in life, you should try to be better every day, even if just by small changes or improvements. When you determine what you hope to get out of the semester and make a game plan to achieve that, you will find yourself doing more of the work for yourself than for the professor and you will begin to apply new methods or enhance old ones to get the best experience and the best results possible. Setting goals is such an easy task and can help you get excited to conquer the semester.
As the spring semester of 2017 kicks off at colleges and universities across the country, there is only one decision students can make: to let the semester own them or to own it. The choice is yours, but with these keys to success, it should be a simple one. Good luck, everyone.
