Your life is crazy right now. College life is definitely more than you bargained for. You have met some great new people, your classes are excellent, and you have a calendar full of things to do. Sometimes, though, you feel the pressure that comes with a tight schedule. Managing to find a balance between homework and a social life in college can be challenging.
One of the keys to finding a great balance is to keep things organized. Your online calendar is great for this. Using your calendar for every event, class, and important appointment is necessary to maintain that balance. Since you will have your phone with you all the time, it is easy to input your class schedule (be sure to set them up as repeating events and include travel time), and make sure that you don’t plan a study group for the night of the Homecoming game.
Apps like Asana or Trello can help you break large projects into smaller chunks, and manage your time effectively. If you have a paper due in December, plan backwards so that you are doing a few hours of work on the project each week. That way, you have less risk of needing to pull an all-nighter to get the project turned in on time. You can sync these apps to your calendar so that you have blocks of time dedicated to homework, study time, or large projects. As you sync your apps to your calendar, you will be able to see which times during the day fit those blocks of time that you need to dedicate to studying, which to long term projects, and which to other important things like sleeping and eating.
Learning to say no can be difficult in college; this is especially true for Freshman. You have suddenly found yourself in a world with a lot of people who have the same interests as you do, and it may seem like there is an interesting event or activity for you to attend almost every night. However, being a social butterfly may mean that your studies suffer. Remember to say ‘no’ to some invitations. Check your calendar before agreeing to attend any event, no matter how tempting.
The same holds true for friends looking for help. If you stand out in a particular area of study, it will not take long for people to start seeking you out for tutoring help. A “quick question” may turn into an hour of discussion of the deeper meaning of the passage your lit professor assigned. Being firm with your friends about your available time will help them understand that even if the work seems to come easily to you, your study time is a priority to you.
At some point, you may find yourself running out of time. Many students, especially Freshman, tend to under-estimate the amount of time that a particular project takes. They may have only allotted a few hours of study time, not realizing just how hard the class actually is. If this is the case, you may need to look into some of the services available to students.
You may find an essay writing service useful to you if you simply can’t find the time to sit down and research the paper that is due at the end of the semester. Often, these services can write an essay faster than you are able to, because they have more experience researching. An essay writing service should guarantee that the work you receive is original; for best results, you should make sure that you are not actually purchasing an already completed essay. A quality service will make sure that the work you are purchasing is not plagiarized.
If you are struggling with one of your classes, unplanned study time can really interfere with your social life. Most campuses have tutoring services available. You should be able to find information about tutoring services in the Student Union. Many colleges provide free or low-cost tutors, and higher-level students may offer paid tutoring services. Tutoring sessions may be more efficient ways to study, because you are learning in a way that works better for you.
If you are feeling pressed for time, it will not hurt to have a few words with your professor.
While it may not be ideal to use your lack of a social life as an excuse, your professor may be able to recommend other resources or set you up with a tutor that is well-versed in the subject if you are barely managing to understand the material that is being taught. Underestimating the time it takes to complete assignments is a common mistake for college students, and your professor may be willing to make accommodations if you talk to him as soon as you realize that you will not have enough time to complete an assignment.
For many college students, finding the balance between homework and their social lives is a tricky tightrope act. However, there is no reason that it has to be that way. With proper time management, resources utilization, and appropriate help, there is no reason why you cannot explore everything that your college has to offer and stay on top of your homework. Movie nights and football games do not have to interfere with your academic schedule if you use all of the tools available to you.
