1.
Buy a Planner
A planner sounds really boring but it’s
the best way to stay organized! Throughout high school I never used a planner and I
thought that writing down my assignments was a waste of time. I would constantly forget what assignments
were due, causing me to lose points in class. Last fall, when I started CSUN I didn’t
know what to expect but the only thing I heard people talk about was how “If
you don’t turn in one assignment you fail the class!” I was so scared of
failing the class that I decided to buy a planner. Once I started using my
planner I realized how much I loved writing down my assignments and writing
down important test dates. I was never behind because every time I opened up my
planner everything I needed to know was written down. I could have had better
grades in high school if I had taken the time to write my homework down. With a
planner you will always know what’s due and when it’s due!
Most of us probably prefer to do things
later rather
than sooner. We have probably received an assignment a couple weeks
before but we don’t take the time to look at it until the night before. Usually
we stay all night trying to finish it instead of spending an hour or less every
night. In high school, my English teacher loved assigning projects and one
thing I learned was that doing a little bit every night is less stressful and
easier than doing it the night before. If you do it the night before and
something happens to your project you don’t have time to fix it! You have to
turn it in the way it is or lose points because it’s late. Don’t risk your
grade just because you wanted to spend more time on social media, the easiest
thing to do is work on it a little bit every night.
Staying focused and on top of things
is great but sometimes we have those weeks where we have two tests on the same
day or you have two research papers due at the same time and you forget to take a break.
You put so much pressure on yourself to finish the work you have, but in the
end you feel overwhelmed and it stops you from producing your best work. So I recommend
you stop working on the assignment and clear your mind. Take the time to do something
you enjoy! Go get a coffee, listen to music, take a walk, just take a break and
do something that will help you relax. Once you’re relaxed continue to work on
whatever assignment you are working on and you might even realize that you were
starting to go off topic. You might have thought of a better idea and you
realized that’s what you want to work or talk about instead. But don’t take a
break because you want to check your social media, checking your social media
is going to distract you from your work and it will take you a longer time to
finish your assignment.
In
the end, I hope some of these tips help you start your semester with a new
attitude and that you will be able to achieve the goals you have set for yourself.
It’s a fresh start so try and avoid the mistakes you made last semester.
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