Oh the joys of college life. From late night cram sessions, to 8 am classes, and surprise pop quizzes- college has some really fun stuff. Today I’m here to share all the “college life hacks” that this sophomore girl has picked up. This isn’t those fun tips like how to boil noodles in your coffee pot, or how to decorate your dorm room- this is the real stuff. Because let’s be honest, college is really just a survival game.

Save your schedule as your lock screen

I’m starting off with one of my favorites, because this literally saved me so many times this semester. Type up your schedule in Notes, screenshot it, and save it to your lock screen. Include each of your classes, with their time, professor, and room number.

Planners are your new best friend

I’m a firm believer that college students can’t succeed without having a planner. Whether you use the calendar on your phone, or buy a cute Lily Pulitzer planner is completely up to you. I use both, and I write down every single thing as soon as I know about it. I write down assignments while I’m in class, so that I never forget about that test or presentation. I put down my work schedule, friends birthdays, events, errands- basically my whole life.

Keep an emergency bag

I keep one of these in my car and my backpack. Use a mini makeup bag or pencil bag and stuff it with all the essentials. Your “essentials” may be different than mine, but I keep bandaids, chapstick, ponytail holders, bobby pins, hand sanitizer, granola bars, tissues, gum, and a little bit of cash in mine. Just be sure to keep it updated as you use products up.

Rise & Shine

One of the top problems among college students seems to be waking up in the morning. I fully get this, as I’ve averaged about five hours of sleep per night for the last week. I rarely have trouble waking up in the morning, and here’s why. Set three alarms on your phone, all with different ring tones, and DON’T set a snooze option. Set it in a place that you have to reach for it a bit. Otherwise you’ll be tempted to just reach out and turn it off without opening your eyes.

To-Do Lists

I’m beyond obsessed with lists, because I’m a really forgetful person, but I like to stay organized. Besides having two planners, I keep a running to-do list under the reminders tab on my phone. Next to each task I put the day that I need to get it done. This way I can look at each day and see what assignments I need to complete, or errands I need to run.

One binder can do it all

After spending one semester lugging around a ridiculously heavy backpack, I decided to get serious and cut down my backpack to be as lightweight as possible. One way I did this was by switching to just one binder. I use colored dividers to separate my classes, and keep it stocked with notebook paper, pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, and my class syllabuses.

Leave your best college life hack in the comments below!