To some, transitioning from being a high school student to a college student can feel like being thrown into a pool before learning how to properly swim. Almost instantaneously the overwhelming reality of having to be entirely independent becomes hard to grasp -- especially if you’re not properly prepared.

As a result of lack of constant supervision, some students tend to fall into some type of pattern that limits their ability to do certain things. Let me explain further; a common phrase you will hear while entering college is that out of three activities (sleep, a social life, and good grades), you will only have time for two. This phenomenon is known as the college triangle.

Avoiding the triangle is not impossible with the correct approach. It takes effort, self-discipline, and good time-management skills to find a balance between the three categories.

1. Time Management And Self-Discipline Skills

This is an absolute must. In college, you are responsible for your own schedule, waking up and going to class each morning, keeping up with your meals and completing homework assignments. This, of course, is not all you must be able to do on your own. Being able to create and follow a schedule is something that every person should know how to do before entering college. You should know what wakes you up and what doesn’t.

Most people I know leave their phone in a reachable distance before going to bed so that they can easily turn off their alarm in the morning. I, on the other hand, am not able to do this because I will immediately turn off the alarm and set another for a later time. This is something that I personally had to deal with my first semester of college before realizing that I need to put my phone across the room so I have to physically get up to turn it off.

You should also know how many tasks you are mentally and physically capable of doing within a day. If you are a person who tends to get tired after completing multiple tasks throughout the day, then you should schedule around this characteristic and maybe schedule in a 30-minute power nap!

There are many things you need to keep up with, such as assignments, test dates, and projects. This requires avoiding any type of procrastination. If you procrastinate for too long, you will not be able to save time to socialize on the weekend or during your free time. Everything you do in college requires being able to manage your time and discipline yourself to sticking to the tasks you choose to complete.

Additionally, for the first few weeks of each semester, there are plenty of opportunities to join clubs and experience college life at first hand. But, the difference between students who know how to prioritize and students who do not is that the students who do have the ability to prioritize will know what activities they can and cannot take part in.

2. Use A Planner

In the previous section, I talked a lot about managing your time. A planner, although hard to remember to use in the beginning, can become your most useful tool in college because it helps you easily keep track of what you need to do, where you need to be or when you are able to spend time doing something that you want to do—like going to the gym, watching a movie or hanging out with friends. My first suggestion is to create a to-do list. Firstly, you should mark off any breaks or vacations you have throughout the semester. This can also make the term seem shorter than it actually is.

After you’ve somewhat organized the dates on your planner, make sure you pay attention during syllabus week. Your teachers will most likely outline important dates and topics, which will come in handy when you’re trying to figure out which days/weeks will be busy. This allows you to plan your time accordingly. Be prepared for when your plans don’t work out the way you wanted them to or when something doesn’t fit into your timeframe. Remain flexible.

3. Study With Your Friends

Sometimes it’s really hard to spend quality time with your friends. A solution to this is to study with them! This way it’s the best of both worlds -- you get to maintain your grades while also maintaining a good relationship with your friends. Extra points for you if you’re in the same class because you can test each other on a topic that you both know!

4. Wake Up Early

Waking up early rather than staying up late has a lot of benefits. For one, when you wake up early you automatically get a head start on the day and you’ll feel more productive because of it.

I am constantly hearing how my friends feel like they did so much by noon because they had to wake up for early morning practice. And what’s better about this is that you still have so much of the day left, so don’t fret if you didn’t do much because you still have another 8+ hours of your day!

Also waking up earlier than usual allows for you to get in an extra meal that you might not usually have time for. Eating breakfast in the morning fills you with the proper nutrients to fuel more energy throughout the day. This can also allow for more concentration during class!

5. Minimize The Time You Spend On Social Media

The irony of this section really gets to me, but it’s the truth. The less time you spend on social media, the less time you’ll be distracted from your work.

When you aren’t distracted, you’ll be able to finish your homework in a reasonable amount of time. With this method, there should be no issue finding time to socialize during the weekend.