Don’t Stress: hit it early

It’s about that time of year. Midterms are over, we have a pretty good idea of how we are doing in our classes, big tests and projects are on the horizon, but right now it’s the calm before the storm.

Some advice: start on those projects and on those readings now.

The reason you want to start on those things now instead of waiting, is that all of your classes are all going to ramp up toward the end of the semester. If you procrastinate and then are having to catch up in addition to reviewing for finals, you workload is going to double, triple, quadruple, maybe even quintuple depending on how many classes you are taking. This can have a snowball effect, because you will be

• losing sleep (see this article from ScienceDaily on the topic) trying to wake up early and stay up late in order to get all the studying in you need to do
• running out of time to do really quality work, because you have so much to do
• losing more sleep because you are having to spend more time catching up
• having a hard time focusing on your studies and projects because of lack of sleep or stress because of bad time management
• etc.

And this can all be avoided if you

• start research now. You don’t need to even start your paper, just spend 15 minutes here and there thinking about your paper topics and writing some ideas down/finding resources that you can use for your required number of sources.
• start reviewing now. Take half an hour and write down some notes (or draw pictures/diagrams or come up with songs or whatever works best for you based on your learning style) on one chapter a day.
• start on your projects now. If you have team projects coming up, take 15 minutes and brainstorm ideas so that you have something to contribute when it comes time to meet. If you are working by yourself, then finish it as quick as you can! If you can get to work on it now, when you have some extra time and can finish early, or get early feedback from your professor, your grades will be that much better because you will have one less thing to do that will divide your focus and energy.

And the great thing is, it won’t even take you that long. Allocate 15 minutes, 10 minutes even for every class you’re taking and spend that time getting a head start and I guarantee that you will be ahead of most of your classmates, which can often mean getting A in that class, especially classes that grade on a curve.

Cut yourself some slack and hit your studies early.

What’s your style?

Don’t be confused: this is not actually a fashion post. The styles I want to talk about are learning styles, and the reason why is that our education system can actually box you in and keep you from getting good grades if you let it. You can let it do this to you if you simply don’t know yourself.

4 ideas for having a better day

Ok, so we’re college students. Life can get pretty routine: get up, go to class, study, go to class again, come home, eat, nap, watch TV, eat, play video games, study, go to bed. Something like that. Maybe you eat more, maybe you talk with your friends in between classes, maybe you work some days (or everyday), maybe you hit the town some nights, or go to the bar regularly. Whatever your routine is, we all have one.

For a lot of us, life can be boring, or it can be stressful, and most of us feel tired constantly.

This can be because of extremely full schedules, bad time management, poor eating, too much caffeine or trouble sleeping.

Personally, I’m tired of being tired.

Starting the semester right

I vividly remember my first day of class in college: it was a little overwhelming. Whether you are a freshman or a senior, here are some tips for my fellow Comets on how to start the semester right and keep ahead in your classes.

Read the syllabus

It takes a little time, but not much. I usually go through with a highlighter and mark important dates, like tests and assignments. Takes me like 5 minutes. This helps you know when things are due, so nothing sneaks up on you. Professors also usually describe the big assignments to you in pretty good detail, so you can know what to expect and don’t miss something that could cost you a grade. It is also your go-to for disputes with professors: what’s in the syllabus goes.

Only worry about what needs to be done today

If you read the syllabus and know what is coming up and plan accordingly, then you should know what you have to do today and therefore know when you are done and can go party it up. If partying is more your forte than studying, work hard so you can play hard. You are going to school. Respect your own time, and get the most out of the classes you are taking them. Who really suffers if you don’t get everything you can out of it? If you have a hard time finding time to breathe and have fun, you need to be able to take a break and have fun and sleep and sleep well. You learn better when your mind is rested, and if you are constantly stressed out, your health will suffer even if you grades don’t. Work hard so you can play hard. Get today’s tasks done and then take a break.

Have some tips of your own? Email us at hashcampuslife@gmail.com and I’d love to share anything you have learned.