Lesson Number One: Time Mangment Leads To Sucess

College comes with independence, new friends, parties, studying, lots of free time and tons of new responsibilities.  After being at Penn State for six months, I'm convinced that there is a magical force field around this place that speeds up time.  At least once a day I find myself looking at the clock and saying to myself, "Where did the time go?"  I still have thirty things to do, ah, then I go into panic mode.  What should I do first, finish my paper that's due at the end of the week or study for my test on Thursday that's 15 percent of my grade?  Well, I'm pretty hungry and could really go for a burger from the Roxy's, should I go get one?  I can't keep my eyes open anymore, do I have time for a half hour power nap before class?  I feel like I'm gaining weight because all I do is sleep, study and eat, do I have time for the gym so I can avoid the freshmen fifteen? So many things to do, so little time.

They say that you have way more free time in college than you do high school; which I would have to agree with.  However, I learned very quickly first semester that you have to manage that time and if you don't, well, let's just say things could end up pretty badly.  Life lesson number one that I learned from first semester of freshmen year was that time management is the key to success.  The two tips to successful time management are making a schedule and planning ahead.

In high school I never wrote anything down, not even my homework assignments, which is very concerning to me now.  When it came to doctors appointments and meetings, my parents always kept track of them.  College, however, is a little different.  No longer can I just memorize in my head all the assignments that are due in the next week, because truthfully their isn't enough brain storage to keep track of all that is due.  My parents on the other hand, can't set reminders on their phones and call me every time I have a meeting for Thon or a check-up at the health center.  Their lives are a little too busy for that and after all I am eighteen years old.  So I learned quickly that the reminders app on my phone is my best friend through the week.  Every Sunday night the app and I have a date. This includes me putting in my plans for the week and then programming a reminder in my phone so I don't forget about all my upcoming assignment and events.

As I mentioned before, I find myself many times figuring out when I have time to eat, sleep, study, and go to the gym.  In order to slow down time, it's crucial to make a schedule.  This was a foreign concept to me until college.  Life with a schedule, aka, a daily routine makes things much easier.  For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays after I get out of class at 11 am, I work on homework for about two hours. Then I make time for the gym from 2:30 pm till 3:30 pm.  This way, the freshmen fifteen is irrelevant in my life.  This leaves the rest of the day of doing homework, studying and preparing for the rest of the week.  On Tuesdays and Thursday's, I go to the gym before my 11:15 am class and then after I get out of class, I go to the HUB to dive into some homework. With this set schedule, I never find myself lollygagging around wondering what to do next, which helps to prevent procrastination.

Lastly, college has taught me to always think two steps ahead.  This means looking at the syllabi for not just the upcoming week but for the next few weeks.  Giving up Netflix for an hour so that you can have an assignment done that's due in two weeks will be helpful, because we all know how professors decide to fling extra assignments on you at the last minute.

I'm still convinced that there is this magical force field around State College that makes time go by ever so fast. However, with a daily routine and always being two steps ahead of the game, I swear that everyone is able to slow down time here and avoid those panic attacks when you realize you have two tests and a paper due the next day.  After all, time does fly when you're having fun, and State College is a pretty fun place!








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