Sitting here and saying that I have perfect time management skills would be a full on lie. As much as I’d like to think I’ve got it mapped out between school and work and a social life, I really don’t but I’ve got some few tips that might help. Don’t be surprised if some sound familiar. I don’t want to sound like one of those corny school survival posters or something, but here’s how I manage a full time work load, a full-time job, and a somewhat social life.
First off, get a planner, or use the calendar on your phone, trust me. I know it takes hours to fill in every little thing but it works. The day after I get all my syllabus’ from my teachers I go home and fill in each day in my planner with what’s needed. I keep my planner with me everywhere. When I get my schedule for work, I write those times in and see which days are going to be tight with studying time, or which days I’ll need to ask for off because of a test. Now, for things like major reports and tests, I put those on my phone calendar and have the reminder set for the day before. TRUST ME, as annoying as it is, it’s a life saver. Nothing like forgetting a 10 page paper, or realizing you were supposed to be at work an hour ago.
Establish a relationship with your professor from the beginning. Even in high school my friends always thought I was weird for being nice to my teachers and going out of my way to make sure they felt like they were important, well it’s because they are! These people want to help you, despite popular belief, they truly want to see you succeed and not end up in jail. So be nice to them, respect them during class, even if they are boring or come across as jerks. Show some restraint and pay attention. Don’t text on your phone or update your twitter, because I’m here to tell you, nobody really cares that you’re bored in English class, because everyone is bored in English class. It’s an hour, hour and a half tops of learning for each class. Go to your teachers if you need help or have a question, don’t wait till the exam to stress yourself out, it’s not worth it. Trust me, I’ve sent teachers e-mails at 3 in the morning because of something I didn’t understand. All my teachers know me by my first name and say hi to me in the hallways, it’s really helpful when you need letters of recommendation or references for your resume.
Don’t get involved in drama. Okay, this one I know is hard, because everyone gossips and we all thrive like pigs in dirt with the news of a couples breakup. But seriously, don’t put too much into it, because half of the time, actually 100% of the time, it’s not worth it. Those people that try to start drama constantly are attention-seekers, so the best thing to do is walk away. Go tweet about Kim Kardashians baby or something, but don’t tweet or facebook about anyone or anything that will start drama. It will come back to haunt you, trust me on this. Everybody talks and not everyone is on your side either.
READ your textbooks, even if it’s just a quick scan before class. It’s always better to have a working knowledge of what you will learn in the class. It not only helps you out but it helps the teacher out as well. DO YOUR HOMEWORK, just do it, seriously, you know you have to do it, so why not do it that night? Granted long papers take time, but outline it that day and start researching it the next day, you seriously do not want to be sitting in the last few nights of the semester doing those papers and catching up on homeworks.
Get involved, now this post is totally cliché huh? One of my biggest regrets was waiting to get involved. In high school I was president of student council, president of orchestra, captain for relay for life, a member of the all catholic jazz band, a cast member of the school musicals and part of other various organizations and I loved it. But for some reason I decided I was going to focus on my grades in college and not worry about getting involved. However, this past year I joined jazz band and I love it, I’ve made new friends outside of my Criminal Justice classes and I enjoy playing our concerts and for the nuns as well. I wish I would’ve joined before my senior year and I wish now I could’ve done other activities on campus to meet more people. Just do it, go to one meeting, if you don’t like it then you can leave, nobody is keeping you!
Keep in touch with your family and friends back at home. Nothing like coming home over break and having no one to hang out with. Make sure you send your family and friends a tweet or facebook message every now and then to make them feel like you haven’t forgotten about them!
I’m sure there is more I could think of, but alas, I have homework to do to get it out of the way so I can enjoy my weekend!
Maybe I’ll post tomorrow ;]
Shedding the Light on Knight Life 