College Life: Plan through the semester

Katherine Daniel~ Editor-in-Chief

Spring Break is such a teaser for the summer (even though I am taking summer classes for some of the semester). I mean really, as I sit here and write this story, Spring Break has been so nice and long and it has been a break, and now we are back to reality, working our butts off in classes and pushing through the end of March to get to May for exams. Even though I did not go to Myrtle Beach or Florida over the break, I did go to Washington, D.C., for a day trip. I have not been since I was a little girl. I got to experience the D.C. traffic, how busy it is with all of the people, and went sightseeing. D.C. is definitely much, much bigger than Richmond, and traffic is much worse. But, the stress to come for this week in classes is always a pain. During Spring Break, you either catch up with work and feel like you got a lot accomplished or you had a lot of fun and still have a lot of work to do for your classes.

You felt like, “Ahhh, Spring Break is so relaxing,” but once the first week after Spring Break hits you in the face, it is like *BOOM, all of the school work*, *BOOM, all of the school events*, *BOOM, all of the midterm exams*. You are freaking out, wondering, “When will I ever get a break again from all of the work?” That is a never until May. The work does calm down and is not so demanding, but you still have to work your butt off. Spring Break cuts the semester in half, which can put quite the stress on a person since they have to get so much done in such a short time frame. Here, I am going to give you 6 ways that are helpful for you to feel like you are not drowning in a pile of work.

1. Put deadlines on yourself in your personal life and school life. You have deadlines for most all of your assignments that are set by your teachers. Now, put deadlines on yourself and your work. Do not procrastinate and have your assignments ready days or a day before it is due. On the day the assignment is due, you will have it completed and not having to worry about getting it done in the nick of time, and you can easily review it before you turn it in. Plan out times of cleaning and “you” time in between the school work so you can get some things done in your personal life.
2. Plan out the assignments. Do everything that is due first. If you have more than one assignment due on the same day, accomplish which one is due first or go hardest to easiest. Make a list of all the assignments you have for each class and cross them off one at a time as you go down the list. It will make you feel much better as a person once you see how much you have accomplished. Crossing them off the list one at time might give you the push to cross off everything on that list in a day.
3. Plan homework parties or study sessions. When you get together with a classmate or friend, sometimes it can help push you to get things done. Some of your classmates might be in the same situation as you are about a question or thing in the class. Once you have these homework parties and study sessions, it helps you answer any question you have on an assignment. Others can help you, and maybe you can help them with any work they have.
4. Allow time for sleep. Even though you might have a lot of assignments to complete, sleeping will allow your brain to function more properly. The brain slows down when you are sleep deprived and you will be left thinking about wanting to write rather than just writing. When taking a nap, remember that a 30-minute nap is more refreshing than a six-hour nap (even though Adam disagrees with me on this).
5. Figure out your priorities. You have friends who are going to want to hang out, but remember that you want to make sure your assignments are done and be able to function. Do some of your assignments and then take a study break. It does not hurt to take a break when you have worked for a couple hours, but do not procrastinate (the worst thing to do). I think that you will have more fun hanging out with friends without the guilt of due dates hanging over your head.
6. Most importantly, have fun the rest of the semester. Being there are only a few months left of the semester, have fun with all of the events and enjoy the university. Go out on the dell and enjoy a warm day or watch a baseball game. Go get ice cream with friends or go hiking. Some of you will miss this place over the summer and some of you will be graduating once May gets here. Either way, have fun the rest of the semester and enjoy it while you can.