Set your priorities straight. As you’ve entered school, you know that your academics are basically one of your priorities, aside from your personal health. You are a student, after all. You should know that you should be making time for all the school work you’re supposed to be dealing with. If you’re having trouble with this, I suggest you write your priorities down, and rank them according to which one weighs the most. This will make you feel much more headstrong and goal-oriented.
Use schedulers and planners. You’re human and it’s okay to forget things. Get digital with apps and programs or get traditional with notebooks and planners. Involve your planning with a combination of both. This really helps especially if you’ve created a system for remembering things more efficiently, eg. color-coding, bullet journaling, weekly overviews, having legends, etc., which leads us to the next point:
Schedule in advance. Complete the difficult tasks, the easy tasks, the medium tasks. Do what you can. Set deadlines for yourself. If you’re fully aware that three weeks from now, you’ll have 3 exams in a day, start studying as early as possible. If you have to attend to an event and have an exam the day after, bring any study material with you. Do homework the day they’re given to you, especially if they’re fairly easy. If they need some research or data collection, make it a point that you do it after class or on the nearest weekend. Break the habit of doing something because a classmate has already started doing his/hers. Instead, do it for the motivation that you’ve set for yourself.
Prevent causes of distraction. There are only 24 hours in a day, and a fraction of which we use for fulfilling our basic necessities. Utilize the remaining time for productivity. Delete social media apps if you have to, or turn off your internet. Better yet, turn off your phone and exchange phones with your roommate or your friend. Keep it. Forget about it for a moment. You can always leave your feed but it will never leave you. You can always return to it after you’ve done your work.
Multi-task! I can never stress the importance of learning multi-tasking enough. Whenever I’m in a long meeting, I usually bring my laptop to review notes or write a paper. Of course, it would seem rude to some so it’s better if you would give them a heads-up. If I’m in a class I find easy and if the professor allows us to study or drift off, I usually study for other classes that I need more attention in. While I take showers, I discuss the exam material from my memory out loud. If you have to wait in line for some errand, bring a book. Sometimes while doing my night care routine, I would listen to audio recordings of my professor. Some of these examples may come off as rude or off-putting, I know. But that’s just me. You can always find other safer situations where you could practice multi-tasking.
Now, not tomorrow. If you happen to finish a scheduled task and got a little free time, it gives you all the reason to do some of the things you have scheduled for other days. If you can do it now without any constraint, why would you choose to do it later?
Ask for help. If a friend’s not too busy, don’t be afraid to ask for a little help! You can ask them favors of proofreading your essay. You can ask them about the notes that you didn’t take down of. You can ask them about how this certain professor's exam types. The possibilities are endless. Just know the right people and places. Don’t dwell too much on tiny details. If you have misunderstood a certain topic, ask your roommate, ask the person next door. Go to the nearest library. Check the internet for answers. You can consult your teacher or professor. Don’t be afraid to ask for a little assistance. No man is an island.
You have all the time on your hands. If you believe that you can do it, and if you really want to do it, you will. Taking up other commitments and responsibilities is never a problem, as long as you know you can handle them without sacrificing another. You are always allowed to say no. If you have as many organizations as me, remember that work should never get in the way of your priorities. Just keep in mind that everyone has their certain limits, and you do too.
If all else fails, CLUTCH IT!! I’m not joking, I’ve done this multiple times. I came out alive but I have to admit that not all of my crammed output had the best marks (although some of them did!). If you don’t want to be in this heart-racing situation, then be as diligent as possible with your work! Make it a habit.
Always remember that these tips may or may not help anyone the same as it did with me, but I’m glad that I have this opportunity to get this out there. Find your rhythm. I know it takes time, but don’t stress yourself too much because all of your efforts will be successful. Some efforts may just be rewarded in ways that you didn’t plan to, while some just lead you nearer to your dreams. Just keep doing you, and you’ll get through this.
I believe in you.
