4 tips on meeting class deadlines!

     Meeting deadlines has got to be the most stressful thing to a college student. There is the looming date of a project, essay or report deadline. Each day it sits in the back-burner simmering. It hovers on top of everything you do to remind you that you still have to do that task. Sometimes it is hard to  balance homework, work and a social life, so here are some tips to help you out!

Mid-Semester Madness

You know those stressful times where you have 3 tests to study for and homework in 2 other classes? I don't! Well, not anymore.

As a child, my Kindergarten teacher described my by saying "Her internal clock just isn't ticking!" I was all about the fun and socializing, and I easily lost my focus when a task was at hand.

At some point in my educational career, I really turned things around. REALLY. Now, most of my friends and family would describe me as a hyper-organized individual that almost plans too much!

This was a to-do list that I made for myself last semester. Intense...I know.

I made sure to cross things off as I completed them!

But fret no more, my fellow students! I'm about to give you the keys to the kingdom! Or...just my personal organizational habits that have VASTLY improved my time management skills.

My Car as a Study Place, Seriously

This is what happens when you people give me a camera during midterms~

Getting Stuff Done

This weekend was another busy one. I didn't spend as much time reading, so that was a relief. I did spend a good deal of time recording, most of which was of the Housing blog we've been doing (click this link for the latest one). my vlog's still in the process of being edited, but it'll be out later this week and it will be awesome. I'll be profiling Patriot Village for all of you, so be sure to watch!

On another note, there's something I've noticed about my study habits. First off, it gets really frustrating trying to remember everything you have to do for the next couple days. From papers to journal entries to recordings, hectic doesn't even begin to describe my assignment agenda. Not to mention the extra field work that comes with earning a teaching certification. Mind you, none of this work is really difficult; it's just a matter of putting the pieces where they fit when it comes to time. It seems that my work, no matter how much I have, can be easily managed so long as I make a chart of everything I have to do. I kind of came up with the system myself. Seeing as I'm too absentminded to use a planner, I decided to make a list. Not just any old list, though. It's got to be specific for me. Just for visual effect, here's what I do:

Class 1	Class 2	Class 3	Class 4	Class 5
1.       Assignment	1.       Assignment	1.       Assignment	1.       Assignment	1.       Assignment
2.	2.	2.	2.	2.
3.	3.	3.	3.	3.
4.	4.	4.	4.	4.
5.	5.	5.	5.	5.
6.	6.	6.	6.	6.
7.	7.	7.	7.	7.

First, I put down a column for all of the classes I have. Then, I take my syllabus for each class and write down what's due in the columns. This next part is a little tricky. This is where I take each assignment and assign a day to it. The longer assignments would get more than one day. For example, write a paragraph for History would be under the History class column and would only be for Monday. Write 5 pages for General Biology would be under the Biology column and would probably take up Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Hopefully, this can be a way for you to organize if you're not so great with actual planners like I am. For more tips on time management and sorting, see Courtney's blog post.

Don't Let Your Time Manage You!

Time management. These are two relatively small words yet something which is so hard to accomplish for college students. I am not sure how every other student functions, but I am always very busy and it always feels like I never have time for anything. Recently, this has affected my relationships both friendships and romantically. I want to say that my life is truly SO busy that I honestly don’t have time to fit EVERYONE into my schedule, but the truth of the matter is that I am terrible at time management. I have improved since I entered college, but I am still lacking at effectively managing my social and academic life while still fitting in a run here and there so I can stay active. (click here for more on staying healthy in college) I want to do everything and still spend time with everyone, but I have to choose. Because I am paying for my education anything associated with school usually wins over my social life. Honestly, this just kind of sucks. I don’t have time to invest in my relationships like I want to because I am trying to get an education to be successful. Does success really mean that I can’t have friends? I think for some people this is true. I mean there are plenty of movies about people who are too successful to actually have a social life, but those people are just bad at time management. There are people who go through their entire life being socially disconnected from their world, but I am determined this will not be me! How am I going to do this? Through constant persistence to not let my schedule rule me, but instead I will rule my schedule. There are a few helpful tips