After almost a full semester I have come up with a few tips and tricks to make college work easier. Before I figured out what worked best for me I was planning on dropping out. Now that I’ve found a routine I feel much more confident in my abilities. These tips will be geared toward online students as that is how I’m currently doing my education.
Tip #1 Do your readings as soon as possible. One of my professors opens the next week’s lesson plan on Fridays. Our assignments aren’t due until Mondays usually. By doing the readings on Friday as soon as they’re available, I get two weekends to work on any projects or assignments. This allows me to do assignments with a lot less stress.
Tip #2 Don’t try to do an unrealistic amount of work. I don’t let myself work for too long without a break and I try not to work for more than five hours a day on school. I’ve found that this is my limit and if I push any further I will not be as productive the next day. I tend to work for five hours on Fridays and then work three hour days for the rest of the week. Scheduling breaks is important, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Don’t forget to eat and drink water.
Tip #3 Make it fun! I like to have hot chocolate when I start my work. It’s a fun thing for me and drinking it while I do my readings or discussion replies makes it more enjoyable. (Does anyone else feel discussions would be more beneficial if we didn’t have to be so formal? I think we could get so much more accomplished in class if we were less formal.) Find what makes you happy and try to incorporate it into your studying.
Tip #4 Microsoft Office has a feature to add works cited for you. If you go to the “References” tab at the top of your document, you should see a “Insert Citation” button. Use it. Seriously, it will make your life so much easier. When you’re done with your paper press the “Bibliography” button and it will insert the works you’ve cited. Also Microsoft Word has an MLA Formatting template. Use that too.
Tip #5 Reward yourself. I reward myself in lots of different ways ranging from watching my favorite T.V. show to making fudge. Rewarding yourself is important, it tells your brain you did a good job. Set your reward at the start of the week and give it to yourself once you have all your work done for the week. You should also have mini rewards/destress sessions at the end of everyday. I like to listen to music while doing the dishes. (Yes, school is sometimes so stressful that I like to destress by doing the dishes. I can’t believe it either.)
School can be difficult so make sure you’re taking care of yourself. I hope you like these tips. These could definitely be used for work and everyday situations too. Let me know if you try them out yourself. What are your favorite ways to make school easier?
