Luke ScherzJunior BIOSC major Entering freshman year as a new student immersed in an environment filled with opportunity for social development and new academic obligations can be an overwhelming experience for anyone. For myself, I struggled initially with the transition from high school to college since I never put consistent effort into my high school academic workloads. Like most people I have talked to, high school classes consisted mainly of regurgitating information implicitly outlined in a provided study guide rather than actively learning material to build long-term memory and understanding. Before college, I never understood what it meant to study or what that phrase really meant in terms of time commitment. Over the past three years, I have learned the art of time management and hope to give some advice on how you could master it and all of the benefits it confers to both one’s academic and social life. As a science major, many of you know of the intense academic expectations that accompany science courses. Not only does each course require 2-3 hours outside of class (sometimes even a lot more - I am looking at you, biochem), but students are also expected to be involved in social clubs, building and maintaining relationships with professor, conducting independent research, exercising, and oh, also sleeping for 8 hours every night! As a freshman, this can be a daunting challenge to many since most incoming students lack the ability to effectively manage time. In order to become a successful college student, time management skills must be implemented early into one’s routine since they are crucial to both academic and mental health. Now I am well aware of the stress that comes from trying to maintain all of these activities during the semester. After some trial and error throughout my own academic career, I have finally perfected my organizing routine and can happily say that I have a strong grip on my time management capabilities. Giving some insight into what my routine looks like, I am going to discuss some of the techniques I employ throughout the semester to stay ahead of my course material!
Setting the scene: it is the beginning of a new semester with new classes and new professors. It is the first day of classes and I have just now finished my last class for the day and am headed home. Once I get home, I warm up some leftovers from the fridge and head to my bedroom so I can begin to organize my semester outlook. At the beginning of every semester, I copy all important dates such as exams, project deadlines, quizzes, and homework due dates into my planner as soon as I receive all of my syllabi. This is the first component of my time management routine and I cannot stress how important this part of the process is to success! As all college students know, time moves fast, which makes it very easy to forget about smaller projects or homework deadlines. By copying all important dates at the start of the semester, it is near impossible to become blind-sided by an unexpected due date (just make sure you are looking at your planner every day). After eating my leftovers and transcribing all the important dates into my planner, I unwind for a little and listen to some music or watch some TV. As the day comes to a close and I am getting ready for bed, I plan out my objectives for the next day in my planner before going to bed. With this being the second component of my time management skills, planning for the day ahead is a crucial step since it clearly establishes what I need to accomplish and keeps me on track in terms of homework planning and studying times. I use a sticky note and stick it to the day block but whatever method works for you in terms of planning your daily objectives, go for it! As long as you clearly outline what you need to get done for the day then you will be on your way to success. I do suggest though that when you are planning for the day ahead, put some thought and effort into it. For example, if you have an exam in a week, try to split up studying times across the week so you do not have to cram for an entire day. After deciding how you are going to split up the times, be sure to write the amount of time you plan on studying the next day and stick to it! As you know, studying is all about efficiency. Fast forwarding to the first wave of midterms: it is a week before my first two exams. I am well aware of these tests since I copied them into my planner weeks prior and have also accounted for them in my daily objectives. Now all I have left to do is study for them. When it comes to studying, like I said before, it is all about efficiency. In order to be an efficient student, one must learn the art of time management. Let’s say that I have an upcoming exam in biochemistry. How do I approach this exam in a time effective manner? My first piece of advice would be to start as early as possible. Now I know this does not sound ideal to most students but trust me when I say that if you want to succeed in your courses and retain the information for the long run, begin about a week from the exam. Depending on exam overlaps, you may want to begin a little earlier since science material can be dense and overwhelming at times. Before delving into studying, plan out your week and how much material you want to cover each day, whether it be a chapter or PowerPoint per day. Once you have developed your plan, be sure to actively study and engage with the material. Take breaks every 30-45 minutes and make sure to eat and drink plenty of water. In terms of time management, if you stick to your plan and stay motivated and are taking breaks and drinking water, you are guaranteed to study efficiently. It is all about the organized plan! Stick to it and you will see yourself covering more material in a lesser amount of time and who doesn’t love less time in the library. Moving to the end of my exam week: I have just finished my last exam. What now? Do I go hangout with friends or find something else to study? My answer to that question is to go out and hang with friends! Life is all about balance and managing your time effectively gives you the freedom to go out and have fun while still staying on top of all of your responsibilities. School is very important but so is your social life. Go out, make friends, and have fun! After listening to some of the techniques I use to time manage, I hope this has inspired some of you to prioritize this skill since it offers nothing but benefits. Balancing school with a social life can seem like a daunting challenge but it is something that is extremely attainable by all students. Time management allows for students to balance it all and still have fun while doing it. On that note, stay motivated, stay focused, and be sure to have some fun!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Pitt Bio BlogThe Pitt Bio Blog is maintained by the Department of Biological Sciences Advising Office. Posts are authored by our students Archives
January 2022
Categories |