Old-School Tools and Strategies for Surviving an Insanely Busy Semester

Let’s face it. Being a college student can be frustratingly hard sometimes. Balancing learning to live on your own, meeting new friends, staying fit, and establishing a source of income while juggling several units of classes can quickly become overwhelming. This is especially true when a particular semester is more hectic than usual as when you’re taking a particularly difficult course or taking on new extracurriculars. Luckily, the following tips should make surviving an insanely busy semester more than manageable.

Staying Organized

One significant way to avoid becoming overwhelmed is to stay organized. Having a messy workspace correlates to having a neurotic work ethic. Even though this is often subconscious, it’s very significant nonetheless. Start by organizing your desk. Then move on to your room, backpack, etc. What many people overlook are their digital spaces. Making sure your phone is free of distracting apps or clutter and ridding your laptop of all those pesky years-old files that populate the home screen will go miles in helping you deal with your heavy workload.

Having a Plan

You’ve got to have a plan, even if you’re planning on just keeping your head above water all semester. It can often be hard to space out long and complicated projects, assignments all the while keeping up with lectures and studying for exams. This is where a weekly planner can come in handy. Just jot down your goals for the week and when you plan to accomplish them, and you will always have a portable cheat-sheet of sorts which will tell you what you should be doing and when.

Staying Motivated

The above two tips should work wonders for the first half of the semester or so. However, soon after that, a new problem will sneak up on you: sluggishness. It’s during these times that you will need to turn to sources of motivation. These sources can vary wildly from person to person. One student may look at the website of the dream company they want to work for after graduation. Another may look at a picture of their family who sent them to college or remind themselves of their reasons for being there.

Conclusion

We all know how difficult specific semesters in college can be. But by using the above tips, you should be able to manage your workload all the while being able to enjoy what will likely be some of the best years of your life.If you do feel like you’re overwhelmed with anxiety, check out our tips for that (especially taking sometimes to talk with friends and family).