Spring 2013: Plan to Get Ahead!

The first week back has certainly hit me upside the head with a very painful and very obvious reminders that, yes, sleep is elusive and not something we should take for granted, and no, sanity is not as important as the two-inch-high stack of readings (but seriously, in font size 6.5, too, mind you) you have to get through this weekend.

Feeling overwhelmed? You’re not alone. There are days when I think to myself that I will have to become Hermione Granger, timeturner included, in order to survive this semester; there are other days when locking my knees is the only way I won’t crumble to my feet, and the concept of thinking is well beyond me.

Nevertheless, classes must be attended, readings must be perused, rehearsals must be powered through, and assignments must be completed. There are tests to be taken, proposals to be reviewed, applications to be submitted, and generally stuff to be done and done. Here’s the age old question of: how to manage?

Flustered? Panicked? It’s only the first week in of an entire semester to come, so now’s the time to get yourself organized before the real crazy settles in. Plan activities; plan outfits; hell, plan routes between classes and study spots for time gaps and afternoon snacks! Plan your meals, if you have to, or even plan your laundry days ahead of time.

The process of planning, first of all, will calm you down because you have an idea of what’s to come. Wishy-washy, up-in-the-air, last-minute plans for your time can only stress you out when you realize that, oh, you forgot about that research paper due date when you lost your syllabus. Not good.

Next, make a list of all the assignments and readings and due dates on one page so you have an idea of your workload. Transfer the list into specific dates in your planner (and if you don’t have a planner—at least a virtual one—go get one because it will save your life). Now you can clearly see the weeks that you’ll be working what seems like forever and the weeks that you can take a breather.

Personally, I’ve implemented a policy upon myself to start earlier in the semester so I’ll always be a week, or at least a class, ahead at all times (the probability of this succeeding is still to be determined). Getting ahead will curb the overwhelming sense of urgency that might just drive you insane. Got readings for Tuesday? Try to finish the Thursday readings, too. It’s always a pain to cram readings during the week with the general, rushed feel of a weekday, and you never know what might come up later in the semester that hinders your schedule significantly. This way, you have room for a make-up day if you ever needed to forgo homework to pass out on your bed from sheer exhaustion, or unwind from all that tension and take a night off.

It’s not difficult to become organized (though I wasn’t inclined to believe that when others told me until I’ve had to do so or perish), especially with set times for classes and other activities and deadlines handed to you at the beginning of the semester. Keep on track, and remember: don’t fall behind; get ahead instead!