Balancing College and your Social Life
College is a unique experience. For many, it may be their first time totally on their own away from home. This brings with it all kinds of freedom that many students didn’t have before. They can stay out as late as they want, go to any party they want and do virtually anything (that is legal, of course). However, they also have the choice to skip class, avoid studying and fail out. Arguably, the most difficult thing incoming freshmen have to figure out is how to balance their school work with their social life. Luckily, there are a few things students can do that can help make this balancing act easier.
Write All Assignments in a Planner
Many students keep a planner to keep track of all assignments they have to do during the week. This can be very helpful for students who forget exactly when certain assignments are due. This can also expel the fear that you’re forgetting something. I used to always have the nagging feeling that I was forgetting something that was due the day of a class, but with a planner I can make sure that everything I needed to get done for the day is done. It can encourage you to get your assignments done by giving you a checklist to see all the things you’re getting out of the way.
Set Specific Times to Study
This is an incredibly useful thing to do for students that feel they do not have enough time to study, or neglect their studies too much. Set aside an allotted amount of time each day for just studying and block out anything else. The particular study time can be in reference to how many hours of lecture you had that day; if you had an hour of lecture, set aside at least an hour of studying. Make it a daily routine to study at a specific time for a class to keep yourself motivated to study each day. It can be at night or during the day, whatever works for you. The most important idea is that you make it a regular occurrence.
Give Yourself Time to Relax
Just as important as giving yourself a time to study is giving yourself a time to unwind and relax. Studies show that it is necessary for a good learning experience not to overwork your brain, and so working too much can actually hurt yourself. Treat yourself after studying by hanging out with friends, going out somewhere or doing whatever else you like to do. After all, you just had a great study session. You deserve it!
Studying is important, but college should be a fun experience too. At the same time, students can turn college into the most expensive four-year party of their lives and get horrible grades; something that is very unwise as well. Using these methods, students can find the right balance between work and fun!
Patrick Scubelek is majoring in Environmental Biology at Bloomsburg University.
