"There's just not enough time to do all that they expect me to do. I have two papers to write and two tests to study for in the next week. How am I going to find time to do all that and still get good grades?"
It's not unusual to hear in-coming freshmen say that the day just doesn't seem as long as they remember it being. The length of the day is still twenty-four hours, but now it seems to speed by like twenty-four minutes.
The reason may be that you need to develop different time management stratigies to handle the academic workload.
Learning these strategies helps to lessen stress and increase both productivity and satisfaction and success.
Some helpful hints include the following:
- Be sure you know what the professor and the assignment are asking you to do. More time is wasted "guessing" about the assignment than working on the focused task. If you have a question, ask it. Professors hold office hours to help you when you have a question. You are not bothering them when you ask; they want to help.
- Be sure to break the BIG task into a series of little tasks. It's easier to move a large piece of furniture like a desk if you first take out the drawers, and then put them back in after it has reached its destination. Working on a project a little while each day (15-20 minutes) reduces the longer sessions that may be both physically and mentally draining as well as unproductive in the long run.
- Be aware of when you are most productive. Find your "up-times." Some people work best in the morning, others, in the afternoon, some, in the evening, and some late at night. Do the work you find the most challenging at the times you feel the most productive, even if it means napping during your "down-time" (except if you're in class, of course.)
- Be organized. The syllabus each professor provides for the course and the use of a monthly calendar will help you see where everything fits and when it is due. If you know when the "crunch
times" are, you can plan to meet your goals without "pulling an all-nighter."
- Be aware that the objective is to enjoy yourself as you learn. Remember to breathe. People actually do forget to breathe during times of stress, which actually creates more stress in the process. Remember to smile. Discuss, even commiserate with peers about what's going on. You are not alone. We are a community of learners.
The Writing Center staff stands ready to help you achieve success and wishes you well on your time well spent.