Julia SwarthoutBIOSC Junior, Secondary Ed minor, pre-med Hey guys! Today I wanted to talk a little bit about my journey to living a fulfilling and efficient lifestyle. After a few semesters of trial and error, I have finally gotten to the point where I feel like I have figured out how to balance my time, and I thought I would share a few of the tips I have found out along the way in hopes that it might be able to help one of you. 1. DON’T spread yourself too thin! Coming in to college and adapting to a new lifestyle can be a really difficult and scary thing for many people. Often times people feel a lot of pressure to throw themselves into project, club, sport, job, etc., as soon as they can; this can be super helpful for acclimating to college, but it is also important to not put your grades and schooling on the backburner! After all, you are here first and foremost to learn, and it’s important to develop good study habits early. There will always be more semesters to join those clubs or find those jobs, whereas it’s better to establish good study habits early on.
2. Figure out what works for you. If you’re anything like me, how I study for college classes turned out to be a whooooole lot different than how I studied for high school. First semester of freshman year tends to be the hardest for a lot of people (myself included), and it took some adjusting to figure out what works for me. Everyone has different methods of studying that work best; some are auditory, where listening to lectures seems to be the best method, while others are really visual, where drawing and looking at pictures helps them the most. Figuring out your individual learning style can be crucial in learning to study effectively. Below is the quiz I used to help me figure out my learning style, and has helped me study ever since! This website also has a quiz to help you determine how you can improve your study habits, which is especially helpful if your first semester didn’t go exactly as planned. http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles.shtml 3. Set weekly/daily goals. This was something I began doing recently, and it has proven to be incredibly helpful. Every morning, I make a list of the things I need to accomplish, and as I work through them, I get the satisfaction of getting to check them off the list. This is a really rewarding tool that helps keep you on track with tasks and homework. 4. If you feel like you need a break, take one. If you find yourself feeling exhausted, and like you’re caught up in the constant cycle of going to class, doing homework, and going to bed, you probably need a break. Learning when to give myself breaks was one of the most difficult but most necessary things I’ve done. During my first two years, I found myself in the library every night till 10pm, and every Saturday and Sunday all day, without fail. While I earned the grades I wanted, I was burnt out beyond belief. Sometimes you just need a day to spend time with your friends, or catch up on your favorite TV shows, or eat an entire jar of ice cream. Take those days. There will always be work that you could be doing, but it is important to put your health first, and time for relaxing is often just the break you need. 5. Find something that makes you happy, and find a way to work it into your schedule. This tip kind of goes right along with the last one, but it’s important enough for its own bullet. Make sure you make time for the things that make you happy. For me, it can be something as little as making sure I grab a chocolate ice cream cone on my way out of Market. Do something every day that makes you smile, especially on the days where it feels like nothing can. Eat an ice cream cone. Sit on a park bench and reflect for a minute. Read your favorite book. Anything. If you took the time to read all that, I hope you found at least one thing beneficial. These are all tips I wish I had realized sooner, but better late than never! It is never too early (or late) to start getting yourself into healthy habits for a fulfilling college career. Please feel free to visit me during my office hours to talk more about efficient studying and finding balance in your life: Wednesdays from 9-10 in A230 Langley!
1 Comment
11/25/2020 10:41:33 am
Without following a survival guide, it becomes difficult to cope with daily challenges
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