September 13th, 2019
Three weeks into freshman year here at UIC, and I can already say with much confidence, that I’ve learned a lot. I’ve met people from all over the world, and faced a few challenges, but I know that this is just the beginning. When I was in high school, many people used to say that I had a great time management system, and they were right. Even with all my Advanced and AP classes, I still used to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep every night. But for the first two weeks of college, it was a whole different story. My day planning agendas just never seemed right. Frustrated, I sat with a few friends, and talked to them about making a better time management plan. By taking input from everyone, I was able to come up with one great plan to better manage my time. Here’s a few tips.
Tip 1: Every single minute is important. The biggest mistake many people tend to make during their break times is wasting it on social media. The best part about the college experience is meeting a lot of people from different educational backgrounds and getting a chance to make more friends and to try learning different things.
Tip 2: Check your assignment schedule. It is really easy to forget some assignments when you’re drowning in work, which is risky because some assignments could be weighted . Add all of the due dates of your assignments and other important dates on your calendar (Physical or Google calendar, as you prefer). This way it will be easier to track all your assignments.
Tip 3: Make time for revision. Not all classes have homework everyday, and sometimes we don’t understand all concepts perfectly. These revisions will help you understand and track your progress.
Tip 4: All of my commuter friends, this is for you. If your commute is usually longer than thirty minutes, you can do some of your reading/smaller assignments while commuting back and forth. Some professors upload their slides early: you can also go and read these slides ahead of time.
Tip 5: If you like something, then go do it. Sometimes you might only get one chance, and you should use every chance given. There are always a lot of events happening regarding career paths, clubs, sports, and so on.
Time in college is more precious than money. Try to explore yourself and find your passion within this time: you are not going to get your college years back. You can earn money anytime but you can never get back the time that you wasted. Plan it well and enjoy it as much as possible.