How to Stay Sane With a Crazy Schedule

When you're a college student overloaded with work, staying sane isn't always easy. The most important thing is organization and time management.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Daily Planner (2 if you're in classes)
• A large desk calendar (don't use a dry erase one because it's too easy to accidently wipe something off.

1. If you're a student, gather all of your syllabi. Usually teachers have due dates for all of your readings and projects on there. Take one of your planners, and write down ALL of these assignments. However, don't write the assignment on the day it is due- write it on the day of the class BEFORE it is due. This way you will remember the assignment before it is due.

2. Keep the planner with all of your assignments on your desk, or where ever you do your homework. This way, you can sit down, open up your planner, and see everything that needs to get done today. You won't be able to use an excuse like you can't find the syllabus when everything is written in one place.

3. Keep a second planner in your school bag. This is used to write down any assignments that you get that weren't on the syllabus. This may seem silly, but you want to keep your first planner on your desk so you won't misplace it. If you don't want to buy a second planner, get a spiral notebook and write the date on the top of each page. Keep this for assignments given in class.

4. Similarly, if you are a parent, get schedules from your kids and write down what they have and when. Write down any important work dates or appointments. Keep this planner in your bag so you can check it or add to it at any time.

5. Use your desk calendar to mark due dates for projects, papers, and tests. Being able to see all of your work for the month will help you budget your time better.

6. Now that you have all of your work organized, make time to do the work! Set aside 2-3 hours each night to do your work. You may not need all of the time you give yourself, but it's better to finish early than to not finish at all. If you stay organized and stick to your schedule, you'll have less stress and better grades!

Tips & Warnings

• Give yourself some "me-time." It's not good to work all the time and forget to take care of yourself.

[FrazzledNanny]

on 2/10/2009 Thanks for the well written article on staying sane with a crazy schedule. I think everyone can relate to this! 5*

[bossypants]

on 2/8/2009 Wise advice for planning to get your work done and achieve success! Thanks!