Looking for the key to success in student life?
The move from high-school to college is a profound change for many. A fair number of people never get the chance to gain a college degree, hence the reason why going to college is such a big deal in our society.
College isn’t just about achieving a piece of paper (college degree) though, it’s a whole new life experience comprising of several micro experiences that you will remember for the rest of your life.
So, what’s your perception of college life? Homecoming parties, some studying in between and a lot of hanging out in your dorms or football ground?
Well, we’re not in a movie, and real college life demands a lot more studying, being punctual, and of course, getting organized! We’re not saying you can’t party along the way but staying focused and planning everything out is the key to success.
Introduction: What is the key to success in student life?
We admit that navigating through your college journey while trying to remain focused on work isn’t easy. With assignments, presentations, and exams looming, students get stressed out and overburdened.
Hence, getting organized is essential if you want to make your college experience fruitful. This article is going to help you sort yourself out and make the best of a stressful situation. By the end of this short read, you should have a better idea of managing your time and what steps you can take to make your college experience successful and better organized.
Here’s a checklist to acing the four years ahead of you.
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Use a student planner
You simply cannot rely on your mind to remember everything! Not only are you bound to forget about your course work but date fluctuations and additional information may make you forget deadlines.
Using a college planner is usually the best idea. It stores information such as what assignments are due, which professor they are due to, and what needs to be done. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Once you learn your way around the planner, you can fill in informational tidbits that can help you study more efficiently.
It’s a notepad, calendar, and organizer all rolled into one. Sure, you could probably get by without it the way students have for decades, but why wouldn’t you use it if you can catch a break and make the study process easier for yourself? After all, years ago, we didn’t have access to mobile phones or even Google for college assignments, but can we live without them now?
Make a list of your priorities
You’ll want to try and break your assignments down in terms of how important they are and which ones are due first. It’ll just be nerve-racking to finish the one that’s due in two weeks while there’s another assignment due in three days! You would think that’s obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people tend to jumble up their priorities when they don’t have a list prepared, or they’ve just made ‘mental notes’. A simple way to go about making a list is:
- Look at the deadlines and tend to the upcoming tasks first.
- After that subjectively gauge which assignments are the most important and how your professors will react if you were late on the task. Gauging your professor’s reactions to a late submission may seem like a sneaky way out, but it’s important to put your interests first and tackle each task according to how much trouble you can get in if your assignment gets late due to any unexpected circumstances.
- Choose which ones you might not understand and tend to them sooner rather than later.
Write neat notes
It’s a challenge to open your notes for a big quiz at the last minute, and give them a read only to realize that you don’t understand your own handwriting Like most of us, if you open your books the night before your quiz/ exam, you may feel completely betrayed by your notes.
Now it’s too late to ask anyone else, and you have to rely on your gibberish. It would be best to pay attention to what you’re writing and get it right the first time. Write neat, crisp notes with ample spacing between each word, line and paragraph. Not only is this going to help you for your upcoming exam, but is also a very integral part of adult work-life since you’re learning how to document important information in your writing.
Keep your workstation neat and tidy
Depending on where you work, keep that place clean. It may not seem like much of a big deal but, it’s symbolically counterproductive to try and organize your thoughts in a messy environment.
De-clutter, clean and sort your workspace and make it as comfortable as you can for yourself. While you’re at it, clean out your room as well and make studying a cleaner experience for yourself. The mind is sharper in orderly environments and cleaning your room can help your study efforts more than you realize.
Stop going out so often
When you know you have work to do, it would be best if you learned to say,“NO” to your friends and invest that time in your books instead. We know it’s hard, but if you want to finish that degree with flying colors, you need to bear a few entertainment-oriented losses and get things done on time.
Your friends will always be there but you might not get a second chance at the assignment or presentation. Stop procrastinating and get work done when you have the time to do so. You wouldn’t have to say no to going out with your friends if you had finished what you had to do earlier, rather than leaving it to the last minute.
Ask for help when you need it
When getting organized for college, it’s essential to know your weaknesses and overcome them. If you don’t understand something about the tasks that are due, consider reaching out to fellow students and ask for necessary advice and explanations.
No one said you have to walk the road to success on your own. If you can alleviate some of your stress and burden by asking others for help, not only are you tending to the immediate tasks on time but learning a vital life skill as well; teamwork.
Conclusion: Key to success in student life
College can be one of the best experiences of your life. Amongst all the studying and hard work, you learn personal independence, social skills, and of course at the end you earn a degree that helps shape your future, and unlock opportunities for a promising career. However, college can be challenging, and these tips above can help make things easier for you. Organizing yourself with these tips can go a long way in helping you sort out your priorities and tackle complex tasks year on year.