College has been one of the hardest and most incredible adventures I have ever embarked on in my life. I have more than I thought was possible in just these first few months on campus. I’ve adjusted to living in a dorm, found my friends, learned how to prosper in each of my classes and established my own favorite spots around the library.
However, I didn’t walk onto campus owning the scene or knowing just how I was going to survive something so radically different from the rest of my college experience. While I know there is still so much I need to learn, here is what I have been enlightened to so far:
1. Do Not Force Yourself To Stay Awake
All-nighters are rarely ever worth it and barely anything sticks in your brain when it’s 4 a.m. and you’ve been awake since 8 a.m. Your body needs a little bit of sleep to process correctly, and you are doing yourself a disservice by forcing yourself to be up until all hours of the night. You simply aren’t processing the information. I have a 9 a.m. every day, and the latest I’ll stay up to is 3 a.m. Even that is pushing it sometimes. I aim for 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. if my workload is heavy. Sleep healthily, especially if you have a test or presentation in the morning.
2. Waking Up Early Absolutely Does Work
A lot of times, I’ll make the decision to go to bed at 12:00 or 1:00 a.m. and wake back up between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. to finish up the rest of the work I have, and a lot of people I know do it as well. It lets you give your brain a rest while making sure you don’t leave anything undone. College completely changes your sense of responsibility, and for the most part, if you set that alarm, you will wake up. Plus, getting up with a warm cup of coffee or tea followed by a hot shower does wonders for your day.
With that said, don’t think you’re going to get up early to review vocabulary or do one last pass-through before you go to class; do that before you go to bed. Your body’s responsibility comes with an urgency meter, and you’re more likely to wake up if you know it’s something you have to do, not something you want to do.
3. Can You Finish That Assignment In One Day? Probably, But Don't
I know that college can feel so overwhelming that, on the nights when you have a lesser workload, you just want to go to sleep and worry about long-term projects later, but don’t. Projects and papers done over a span of a few days or weeks will inevitably be better than the ones you rushed. Procrastination in high school is not nearly as harmful as procrastination in college.
4. Office Hours Are Your Friend
Don’t think that you have to be struggling in class to visit a professor during office hours. Stop by whenever a large project or paper is coming up, preferably with an outline, and have him or her walk you through it. I have boosted my grade in a big way just by getting rough drafts edited by professors before handing in my final product. Also, professors are cool if you just want to go in and talk, even if they don’t play favorites, they will inevitably look kinder upon students who try to form a relationship with them.
5. Study In Your Room As Little As Possible
Unless you are a person of absurd willpower, studying in your room can be a recipe for disaster. With your bed so close, you will inevitably want to take a little nap, and end up sleeping through all of your study time. Head to a common room, a quiet spot in the library (but with enough people around that your pride keeps you from knocking out), or just anywhere you like on campus. Set a timer and commit yourself to the books.
6. If You Don't Feel Like Going Out, Don't Go!
I know that on a college campus, especially during the first term, you feel like you have to go to every party or the one you miss will inevitably be the best one of the year, but that isn’t true. Figure out how many nights out a week works for you (and it might be zero!), and stick to it. If you don’t want to go out one night, don’t drag yourself out because you’re convinced you’re missing something huge. You won’t have fun, you’ll spend the entire time thinking of the work you could have done or the sleep you could have gotten, and there’s so many parties throughout the year, you will quickly discover that it was nothing to stress about.
