College Can Be A Lot Sometimes. Over The Past Two Years Ive Learned Some Helpful Little Tricks That Help

College can be a lot sometimes. Over the past two years I’ve learned some helpful little tricks that help to keep me sane and on top of things, and it’s time I passed them on to all of you! Ahead in part one: scheduling classes, going to them, and homework. Be on the lookout for part two soon!

i. scheduling classes 

Take a full load, but keep it balanced.

Don’t schedule all of the tough classes for one semester. 

Also try to schedule it so that you will have a variety of homework (ie a mix of writing, tests, and worksheet focused classes)

Always speak to your advisor before scheduling classes.

Keep in mind that you will need time for homework and online classes when making your schedule.

Whether it means choosing not to have classes on certain days, putting a two hour break in between classes, or having all your classes in the afternoon so you can study in the mornings.

Keep in mind your personality when picking times.

8AMs are rough. Unless you are the world’s biggest morning person, avoid them if you can. 

Be sure to have a plan for eating meals!

Some schools will let you bring your lunch into class, but I prefer to have a break during lunch so I can relax while I eat. 

Look at a map of campus when scheduling and try to schedule classes in the same building back-to-back, or at least near each other. 

ii. classes

Never go to class without a bottle of water and a pen.

If it’s a workday and you’re given the option to leave class and work elsewhere, actually use that time to work.

Sit wherever you’re comfortable. A lot of posts say to sit up front, but I personally prefer to sit further back so that I can fidget without worrying about distracting others. Figure out what works for you.

After about the third class, seats might as well be assigned. Don’t move and throw everyone else off unless you really have to.

Always be respectful and kind to your teachers and classmates.

Make at least one friend in every class. You don’t have to be bffs, but chat with the person you sit beside before every class so that you have someone to study or share notes with if you need to.

If you need to fidget to pay attention, consider bringing a small container of Play-Doh with you to lectures (you may want to let your teacher know what’s up, they’ll almost definitly be cool with it).

iii. homework

Unlike high school, you really can’t skip homework. Instead of getting lots of small worksheets, your grade will be decided by a few bigger projects or papers. Try to stay on top of things!

Break larger projects up into smaller deadlines.

If a class has a lot of worksheets as homework, start a study group so that you can all work on them together. 

Try to start homework as soon as you get it.

Don’t be afraid to ask from help from teachers, tutors, or classmates.

As soon as you get a syllabus, enter all of the due dates into your planner. If you wanna go the extra mile (hint: you do), go ahead and add in dates to start working on projects, too. 

Work ahead so that you have the flexibility to hang out with your friends at the last minute, instead of being stuck in the library working on a project that’s due first thing in the morning. 

Never plagiarize. It’s the fastest way to get kicked out of a class, or even a whole program. If you’re not sure if it needs a citation, it needs a citation. 

The number one rule is simple: do all your work, and do it the best you can. As long as you follow that, you’ll be golden. 

Happy studying, and be on the lookout for part two coming soon!

Thank you everyone for helping me reach the 300 followers milestone! As a gift, I’d like to present you with some of my tips :)

Recently, I met a group of very motivational people, and they gave me tips on how I could manage my time better. I obviously took notes and thanked them so much because it definitely helped me out a lot.

Note: These tips won’t apply to all people as it is mostly focused on junior students (I’m a junior, so it might not be as helpful for the students in uni/college??)

It is a common thing for all students to have struggles with organising their time (especially me– why am I giving tips; wtf??), so I present to you: how to sort out your time!! 

What I’m going to cover:

Finding time to do work

How you can beat procrastination

Homework

Revision

Assignments + Exams

Be prepared, because this is an immense post. *Looks down* Yeah, it seems like I’m about to jump down a cliff made of tips. 

Keep reading

I’m sure we all know how tricky time management and productivity can be, and also how crucial it is to be good at it, to succeed. So, I’d like to share a strategy of effectively managing all of those tasks you have at hand! 

Introducing Dwight Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States. He lived a super productive life, and during his presidency he implemented many transformational programs including NASA and the Atomic Energy act. Before then, he was a 5 star general in the US army, serving as the supreme commander, he was also the president of Columbia University… I could go on. 

My point is, he did all of this while still having time for personal interests and hobbies like painting and golfing. He was amazing at time management, and his most famous method of handling tasks, is called the Eisenhower Matrix. 

It’s a method of prioritising and sorting out your to-dos based on urgency and importance.  

It is super helpful is making us question what is important and actually necessary to do. I think that we often fill up our time with tasks that do not help us in reaching our core goals, and this method helps us narrow down our todos, saving us from wasting time, energy, and resources.

The 2nd and 3rd quadrant (not urgent important, urgent-not important) is what really minimises our productivity, if not properly managed and scheduled

I personally think its a fairly good way of understanding all that you have to do, what you should do first, and how you can deal with the rest. You don’t have to necessarily plan everything out this way, but its a good mindset to adopt when managing your workload. 

I’m so so awful at being concise (I’m so sorry for the long post!!) But I help this has helped you guys. Hopefully I’m going to post a printable of the matrix in the near future, so keep an eye out for that :)

What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important. -Dwight Eisenhower

only two exams left!! and they’re both mechanics which I love soooo

stationery asks!

ask me anything! (i tried to relate the asks to the stationery somehow? idk tbh?)

muji pens: what are your favorite stationery?

pilot juice pens: what is your favorite drink?

mildliners: what is your favorite color(s)?

tombow dual brush pens: do you like to draw?

moleskine: what are your dreams, goals, and/or ambitions?

hi-polymer eraser: what is something you regret?

sharpie highlighters: what is your brightest moment?

post-it sticky notes: what is something you’d like to remember?

papermate flaire pens: how would you describe your handwriting? 

bic mechanical pencils: do you consider yourself to be a gentle person?

papermate inkjoy pens: do you have feelings for anyone?

sharpie fineliners: what kind of pens do you prefer? 

bic correction tape: what is your biggest mistake/embarrassment?

staedtler triplus fineliners AND stabilo fineliners: what/who makes you a better person?

or make up your own! send me an ask with your favorite stationery and a question attached to it!

I'm creating my own dictionary! My hope is to add a new word to it every day. I also plan on highlighting all of the phrases to make them easier to find. Overall, it was a productive day!