effective college planning

Am I the only one who gets ridiculously nervous whenever school starts? I really decide that I am totally overwhelmed and will never be able to do any of the work that is assigned to me and I will fail every class and I'll never get a good job or even graduate from school and it's just a big ride aboard the struggle bus for about a week.

No one ever said I was a logical thinker.

That would be a terrible lie.

Then by the second week, I usually realize that it's not too much work, I'm not going to die, everything is going to be okay, blah blah blah. And that means I'm slowly sinking into my routine. Which, for those of you who are curious, looks a lot like this: DO HOMEWORK NEVER SLEEP.

Just kidding.

So, let me go ahead and segue into what I'm really going to talk about — ways for YOU to stay on top of your ish so you don't have any mental breakdowns this semester.

Do it.

Buy one.

You can find a planner for under $10 — yeah, not everyone needs a really fancy pantsy one apparently — and it has all the same bells and whistles as any other planner.

So just do that. Buy a damn planner.

Write everything down. Keep track of when things are coming up or happening. Write in when you need to do laundry or eat, for god's sake. Whatever makes you get things done, remember to do things, be productive, WRITE IT DOWN.

If you have to be stubborn and not buy a planner, then you NEED to invest in something that will help you keep track of something. Whether it's an app or a program for your computer or even just a notebook. Invest, buy it for free, whatever. 

Have something concrete that you know will be where all of your tasks can be found. If your professor mentions a deadline, RECORD IT. Somewhere. Wherever your little place is, use it.

I am a terrible hypocrite when I say this, but every professor will advise the same — START YOUR PROJECTS EARLY.

If you have a 10 page paper due, don't start the night before it's due. You will write an awful paper, you will get no sleep, you will be a zombie the next day. Be smart. Plan ahead. It's really not as hard as it seems. 

Even if you only write a page or two or work on a few factors of the project, start it in advance. You'll thank yourself.

Deadlines surprise the hell out of me sometimes, especially if I haven't written them down.

For example: Last week, I started all of my classes while also doing my job at the DTH. I missed two online quizzes for my classes because I had no idea they were even due. If I'd written down my deadlines or even paid attention to when these deadlines were, would I have missed those quizzes already? No probably not.

Why do people hate to-do lists? You need to write down your priority tasks! This is a big thing. Write down what you need to have done and you'll feel GREAT when you scratch things off your list. I promise, you will. It's a great feeling.

I use lists for everything (everyone knows that, I'm obsessed) and I definitely think, even if it stresses me out a little more, it increases my productivity and increases the unlikelihood that I forgot something.

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