How should I help myself time manage in college to have fun and focus on school
I love basketball and hanging out with friends. #savetheturtles
2 answers
Sandra’s Answer
That is a great question! Making time for everything that is important to you is an ongoing dilemma that goes well beyond college so good on you for thinking of this early on!
I was in an honours program in college, kept 3 part-time jobs and played both Rugby and Soccer and I found the biggest things for me were organization and honesty:
Invest some time early on in organizational tools that work for you. Keep an updated digital calendar for everything from milestone birthday parties to getting a random coffee with one friend or from attending study group sessions to final exam dates. My suggestion is to start with the things you know for sure are going to happen and work your way down the list. Input every school or assignment deadline you are given in your class outlines and every major life event with your family or friends first. If you're playing sports, input practices or big games next. So on and so forth until you are inputting the smallest things like reminders for laundry or garbage days. Take a step back once you're done and you'll notice 2 things: 1) that you have more time than you think you have for everything including fun and impromptu things and 2) that you don't feel as much pressure as you did before about it all because it's all laid out for you to follow week after week. De-mistifying your schedule and getting it all out and organized is invaluable! You can't do that as clearly or efficiently when it's all in your head. There are some great youtube tutorials on how to keep an efficient Google Calendar: you should do some research and come up with a system that works for your lifestyle.
Also, you're going to want to be honest in your expectations for yourself and everyone around you. No matter how organized you are things will pop up unexpectedly. If a basketball practice is planned but a study session just popped up that you know has the potential to change your final grade, well you might decide you want to miss practice to attend the study session. The hours in a day will be nice and organized in your calendar for you to see plainly, but being honest with yourself is what's going to make you decide between attending the things that serve you and the things that do not ultimately. Try to be honest about what is important to you and attend the things that will contribute to your wellbeing.
Life will always be about balance! keep organized and honest and you'll do great :)
Medha’s Answer
Try out some digital calendars as suggested by the other answer and see if it helps! For some folks just a list on paper works well too - so really its a trial method to find the best way to organize your day.
Good luck!