The end of July is perhaps one of the most bittersweet moments of the entire year. Summer vacation is coming to end, which means the endless homework, the long papers, the unnecessary projects, the daunting midterms, and the mortifying finals are soon to come. The short serenity we had for days is slowly fading as the new school year approaches, which brings chaos and stress filled with rewarding and fun moments. There’s some excitement slowly radiating from deep inside you. The end of July means that you are closer to seeing your friends again. Still, the anxiety of the new year is overshadowing your excitement.
The best way to reduce that anxiety is by preparing yourself prior to the school year. Now, you probably think it is impossible to prepare for the school year because school and all of your extracurricular activities are so unpredictable. However, it is really not that hard to start practicing those organizational and time-managing skills required to succeed in school. Honing these skills will make you feel prepared for the school year, so you can get that A+ you deserve.
1. Scheduling.
Most students have a million things going on weekly. Although your head has great storage capacities, it simply cannot keep track of all of the events that are coming up. Always make note of things that are coming up so that you can schedule yourself appropriately. Along with events and classes, you should also schedule your studying and homework times. If you need a little bit more help with time-management, then I recommend scheduling yourself hourly because it gives you a better outline of all of the things you have to do for the day.
One of the most overlooked scheduling apps you have is perhaps your phone or computer’s calendar. The nice thing about having everything electronically is that you are able to have the calendar across devices (like your phone, tablet, smart watch, and computer), which allows you to always keep yourself on schedule.
Another perfect alternative is the classic planner. This is for the kind of people that really need something on paper as opposed to on the cloud. In my opinion, one of the downsides to planners is that they tend to be forgotten simply because it is not something you typically carry around.
You should definitely try both of these scheduling options to find the one that works the best for you. You will be surprised at what you find out about yourself.
2. Accountability.
Let’s be completely honest: It is easy to create a schedule for yourself, but it is difficult to actually commit and get things done, which is why you should hold yourself accountable.
The point of scheduling is to make sure you are efficiently completing all of your tasks with some downtime to relax. If you are not following through with your schedule, then there is no point to your efforts. You have to understand that you are the only one who can get the job done.
If you finish something, then reward yourself. If you did not finish something, note it down and try to see why. Understand why you are not finishing tasks so that you can fix it to maximize your efficiency.
At the end of the week, try to have a self-reflection meeting. This is the best time to analyze what you did well and what you need to improve. Along with that, set your top three priorities and goals for the following week. With time, all of these things will come naturally.
3. Organization.
Lastly, you want to make sure you are keeping all of your things together. A folder full of random papers and notes does not count. A good philosophy to live by is, “If it doesn’t have tabs, it’s not organized.”
I recommend having a binder because it keeps related things together, allowing for easy access and lower chances of losing important items. It is a great studying tool that will keep you organized and focused.
Don’t feel like you are constrained by it; make it your own. If you have things in it that excite you, then you will be more motivated to use it.
You have an amazing opportunity ahead of you, so perfect these skills to get the best experience next year. Hopefully, you will be able to relieve some of that back-to-school stress you might be having right about now.
