As the semester begins, staying organized and managing your time effectively is crucial. A few tips to consider:
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- You can’t keep track of everything in your head! Consider using an academic planner or Google Calendar to keep track of all your commitments, including classes, labs, homework assignments and due dates, practices, club meetings, office hours, meals, and personal time.
- Make a weekly schedule. By visualizing your entire week, you can better prioritize tasks, avoid scheduling conflicts, and allocate time for rest and relaxation. Try setting aside specific time blocks for different activities. This can help you stay focused and avoid distractions. A well-organized planner or calendar combined with effective time management strategies can set you up for success and reduce stress.
- Find your study space. Do you need quiet and minimal distractions? Try the Slocum Reading Room or Hobson Library. Do you like the hustle and bustle of people? Think about the Merrick lobby or a coffee shop. Find a place that works for you now and start building study time into your routine.
- Make good use of your “down” time. College is different from high school. You will find that you may not have as many classes on some of the days as you do others. Lighter class days are great days to find and use time to complete homework, readings, class projects, schedule meeting times with classmates, schedule tutoring, etc. But you need to use this time intentionally and not let it slip away. If you find yourself sleeping late and scrambling at the end of the day to finish your work, consider building routines that force you to wake up on time and get your day started. For example, sign up to work on the mornings of your off days or scheduling study dates with your classmates or a workout session. Building healthy routines now will make it easier to handle the workload as the semester proceeds.
- Avoid time suckers and distractions. We all have them. Recognizing bad habits and avoiding distractions is critical to your success. Don’t beat yourself up. But do build habits and routines that will help you stay on task.
- Plan ahead. Most of your syllabi will show when your major assignments for the whole semester are due. Put those dates in your planner and start working backwards–thinking about how much time you’ll need to prep. Build this time into your schedule so that major assignments don’t catch you off guard. This will also help you get through crunch times.
- Pro tip: front load what you can. If you have the chance to do something early in the semester (sign up to take notes, or to do a presentation, or to lead a discussion), take the early dates! Your future self will thank you!