Media Room

Staying focused through heavy work workload and a tight school schedule

This fall promises a lot of work and I am looking forward to it.

School is in three days and I can’t think of a better time to get my health together, both physical and mental. For the last few days I have been practicing a new routine in preparation for the busy semester- working and going to school. I dont want to be in a situation where I’m so flustered the day before that I can’t wake up to go to work the day after. It has never really happened before, even with my close to 50 hour work week and full time school last school year, but who said it can’t happen.

Still, a 5 minutes early morning workout, a motivational playlist, and some breakfast has worked for me in the past so I am hoping to get that going, along with a few other strategies to keep me in this game.

Even more helpful, by mid semester I’m all settled in and in control of my schedule, so by then I know what to expect; I know my professors and may have started preparation for mid terms.

Preparing for the unexpected is extremely crucial, especially for stress management. So for this semester, these are a few things that I want to keep doing to get through a successful semester and I do hope, they may actually help someone else:

1. Complete assignments on time – I am usually good with completing my assisgments early enough and not wait until a day or two before the due date. That helps me to keep on track but if it turns out to be a lot of work, I often set my own deadline, which is of course, prior to the professors. There may be cases where professors extend deadlines for whatever reason but unless it’s bad weather or illness, I encourage myself to always be on time.

2. Put exam and test dates on my calendar. I’ve had trouble keeping up with test dates in the past. I remember last semester when I walked into a test thinking it was a regular class. That almost completely threw my final grade off with a fail, but I managed to work it out by semester end. And some professors are understanding. They may offer make-up test or allow a re-take.

3. Know the professor. I strive on building good relationships with my professors. In a sense, they are in-class counselors, so I ask questions and ask for advice at every opportunity that I get.

4. Make a friend. It’s good to have a classmate’s number. Just in case you miss a class or may have missed something in class. Usually having a second contact besides the professor’s, who is not usually available, is helpful and smart.

5. Study the syllabus and stay ahead of the class. Knowing how I will be graded, makes me more comfortable with managing my assignments and tasks. Somethings are more important than others and so I try to do what I know I need most as early as possible and to the best of my ability. Like a paper that will be included in my final grade.

6. Eat, breathe, exercise. This is super important to being able to do anything else. It matters that I am in the right physical and mental shape to do well in my classes.

But also have fun. School can be stressful but only if you are not prepared foe both the expected and unexpected . Good luck to anyone who is going back to school this year.