I am currently a junior in college, in a way does that statement seem accurate. But that’s what it says on all of my forms, so I guess there must be some truth behind it. Three years ago, when I was going into my freshman year; I read a lot of blog posts and articles just like this one. Some of them were good, some of them were bad. But here’s another, that’s just a little bit different because this one is mine.
Tips and Tricks
Reuse Notebooks
It goes without saying, college is expensive. Between tuition, meal plans, technology, and textbook, the last thing you want to spend money on is school supplies. That’s where this trick comes in! Unless you take very, very detailed notes, you likely will only use about 25-50% of a notebook (per semester). So, just reuse the same few notebooks, over and over again. This is epically useful if you are taking classes in a series (for example 101,102 and so on) or classes on similar or overlapping topics. I tend to just clip the used pages together at the end of the semester. I also make sure to label each section at the beginning of the semester. This one little trick has made it so I have only have had to buy notebooks twice, and I am a junior.
Google Calender
I am sure that this goes without saying, but Google calendar is an amazing tool. I put my class schedule on there, and I schedule reminders for 15 minutes before each class. I like that I can have the reminders sent to everything, my phone, my I pod, my fit-bit everything. One of the biggest differences between high school and college is you don’t have all of your classes back to back to back, and everyone is on drastically different schedules. Having reminders set up kind of acts as your bell system. I like having mine set to 10- 15 minutes before. Under normal circumstances, that gives me plenty of time to get from one side of campus to another. Right now, it gives me plenty of time to finish up whatever I am working on, get all my class stuff set up, and get onto the zoom call early. I also appreciate how easy it is to create different calendars and share them. Under normal circumstances, my boss requests all of our class schedules, so she can figure out who is available to work. With Google calendar, I can just share it with her, and not only can she see it, but it auto-populates any changes on her calendar as well. Yet at the same time, I can have my work hours on another calendar, my personal life on a different one, and my blog and other content planning things on completely separate calendars.
This one might be a little aspirational. But if nothing else, at least starting off the semester with this goal is a good start. Eventually, you will fall into your natural rhythm and routine. And from personal experience, I can tell you that this rhythm and routine will look different every semester. That’s okay, each semester is different so of course, your routine will look different as well. Doing homework as it’s assigned, to me, doing the work that is due next class session the day of the previous one. For example, if you get assigned reading in class on Monday, instead of waiting until Tuesday evening or the before class starts on Tuesday, I just do it on Monday. That being said, I tend to save big projects for the weekends. Partially because If you get assigned reading in class on Monday, instead of waiting until Tuesday evening or the before class starts on Tuesday, I just do it on Monday. That being said, I tend to save big projects for the weekends. Partially because I am not always the best at breaking large tasks down, into smaller ones and partially because I just have longer periods without commitments on the weekends.
Most people will tell you not to take 8 am classes. I don’t support that advice at all. First off, it may not always be possible. I have had classes, that were required for my major, that I had to take specific semesters that only were offered at 8 am. It truly is a situation of trade-off. Most of the time, the earlier you are willing to schedule your classes, the earlier you will be done with your classes for the day. For example, this semester I have a class that meets from 9:05- 9: 55 am Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Now on Mondays, and Wednesdays I have choir from 4:40 to 6:10 pm. Which a) means on Fridays I am done with classes by 10 am and b) on Mondays and Wednesdays I have about 5 hours in the middle of the day to do whatever I want with! Bottom line: don’t be scared of early classes.
Print Out Readings
I am sure that this one varies from person to person. But the concept holds. I have found I have an easier time engaging with readings if I print them out. I am sure that this in part is due to being able to mark up the pages and annotate everything. This may not work for you. For you, it might be better if you read it on your laptop, or tablet, or phone. You might even find it easier to engage with assigned reading if you can have them read to you. Everyone’s learning style is different because every person is different. The point I am trying to make is, figure out what works for you and your learning style, and embrace it. The only wrong way to study is a way that doesn’t work for you.
Get a Planner
But earlier you said to use Google calendar! Yes, yes I did. Here’s why I am now telling you to get a planner. At some point you will need to write down an assignment so you can do it later, in the middle of class, with the professor who hates phones like that is their job, not that matters because it’s dead in your dorm room anyway. My point there will be times where either you can’t immediately point things into Google or it would be inappropriate to do so. This is where the physical planner comes in handy. That being said it doesn’t have to be a planner. It could be a piece of scratch paper, a napkin, I am fond of sticky notes on the appropriate (reused) notebook. The point is you should have some sort of physical place to write down to-do lists and other notes to self, for when technology fails.
I am still working on this. Work-life balance is important and college it’s very easy to work, eat, sleep repeat. I can tell you firsthand, that can and will lead burn out. one way to try and strike that balance is by setting boundaries with yourself. For example, I don’t allow myself to eat while I work. I avoid working in my bed like my rife depends on it. I am also trying to implement “work hours ” for myself”, mainly in regards to checking my school email. No joke, I would check it every waking hour on the hour, which just isn’t a good habit. So I am allowing myself to have it open from about seven, to whenever I am done with classes and homework for the day. At some point, I may even go as far as to close the permanently open tab on my phone that is logged into my email. At the same time, its only day three of the semester…
This one is just a good trick for life in general, as soon as you think there might be a problem talk to the right people about it. No one can do anything about a problem they don’t know about. Whether you are having trouble with a class or with a roommate tell someone. The sooner you communicate the sooner something can be done about it. That being said communicate often as well, this shows that you dedicated to solving the problem, and it was not just a momentary annoyance. Especially when it comes to professors, try to be ahead on the communication. Ask questions, ask for help with assignments, do it as often as needed. If they get annoyed by it they probably shouldn’t be teaching anyone anything and that’s a problem because it’s there job to teach you stuff.
Camera on, Distractions on
This is a timely tip. There is research that shows students who have their cameras turned on during class end up being more engaged. My trick with this if you’re using Zoom is to turn the camera on and as soon as log onto to the call, find yourself, hover the cursor over your box, go to three little white dots, click it, and then hit hide self-view. All of the benefits of knowing your on camera, non, or the realization that you play with your hair a lot. Another timely tip is to make sure your background is distracting. This partially so you won’t get distracted by whatever is going on behind you, and partially so you won’t cause anyone else to get distracted by whatever is going on behind you.
This is part of the reason I suggested having a Google calendar and a paper planner. The more times you unite something down (not type) the more likely you are to remember it. Plus you will have it written down in so many different places it will be hard to forget anyway. The more times and the more places you write something down, the better the chance is you will remember it.
Advice
I wish someone would have told me this before I started my freshman year. Even though there are only maybe three months between your high school graduation and your freshman orientation you are a different person. You can’t hold yourself to the same standards and expectations you did in high school. College is different than highschool good, bad, or ugly it’s the truth In my experience, college is hard, full stop. In high school, the majority of my classes I could kind of just show up and get an A. In college, I have worked for every single grade, whether it was a D+ or an A-. Don’t go into your first semester thinking it will be just like highschool. I did, and I am still trying to get over it. When I didn’t get straight A’s my first semester I felt like a fraud. The reality was my high school classes were weighted, so yeah of course my GPA looked better on paper. I didn’t work in high school, or heck even do my laundry, so of course, with more time my grades were better. But the biggest thing was I wasn’t in high school anymore!
If I could go back and follow my first-year self around for a day, I probably would lose my voice from yelling “Stop, take a break!!” But you need to. If you don’t you will experience burnout, which is a cute look on nobody. Figuring out how and when to take breaks, is important. A lot of college is figuring out who you are, and what works for you. But everyone needs to know how to take breaks and relax. I mean have you seen Hamilton? That’s like the ultimate cautionary tale of the importance of taking breaks.
Sleep, Food, Exercise
You need all three of these things in some shape or form every day. This is not up for any kind of debate. You need to sleep, and you need to do things that will help promote good sleep. You need to eat, for the love of fall don’t eat and work at the same time if it can be avoided. Which, let’s be honest the majority of the time it is with a little bit more planning and forethought. Exercise is the one that most people will probably roll their eyes at. I am in no way saying that you begin training for a marathon you never intended to run. What I am saying is that you should find activities that you enjoy, that get you moving and get your heart rate up. I like taking walks, “dancing” to music behind closed doors, and very basic yoga.
Don’t Study in Bed (Or Maybe in Even Your Room)
Studies have shown that studying and working in bed can lead to poorer sleep. Your body and brain start to associate your bed with the stress that comes with studying. Then, later when you try and relax and go to sleep, your brain gets confused about what it is supposed to do. I would even go as far as to say avoid studying and or doing work in your bedroom. For me, whenever try and do schoolwork in my room I just end up getting distracted by everything else in my room. I don’t even like having my laptop or other school stuff in my room. I just don’t like rolling over in my sleep and being awakened by the light of laptop charging and seeing a pile of textbooks.
Know yourself, know your limits, and respect both. If you are tired beyond belief don’t push yourself to stay up and do something. If you don’t feel comfortable in a situation, get out of it. Don’t ever put yourself in situations mentally, physically emotionally where you could hurt yourself, mentally physically, emotionally. You’re going to regret hurting yourself or not sticking to guns more than you ever would regret missing out on something
All of this based on me and my lived experiences. Your experiences might be entirely different. I hope that you found some of this helpful, but if nothing else you know that the best way to do things is the best way that works for you. Congratulations on getting this far! You’re going to do great things!
