Being a student is not only about constant cramming and tests. It’s about various after-class activities you are likely to appreciate. It’s about night-long parties with loud music and a lot of fun. It’s about a wide range of opportunities for personal development. You can hardly find a student who devotes all his or her time only to study.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, students spend about 4 hours per day studying.
As you can see, an average student tries to combine social activities with classes. Yet, it’s not a piece of cake, no matter whether you are a sophomore or freshman. The thing is you have to balance homework, exams, and jobs. It’s a tough and challenging task. There is no wonder that the majority of students are always stressed.
According to the McGraw-Hill Education 2016 Digital Study Trends Survey, 63% of students consider managing finances to be the most important part of a student’s life. 57 % of them are sure that the most challenging thing is balancing school and job. More than 41% think that doing well in classes is of primary importance. Is it possible to balance social life and studies? Of course, it is! There are 9 tips to make your college or university life more effective and productive.
Setting Priorities
The first thing you should understand is what you actually want. You can make a chart and fill it with your desires and wishes. Yet, you should understand that? For example, your aim to find a good job is impossible without studying. At the same time, if you want to become a sports star, you have to pay attention to physical activities. It’s worth keeping in mind that you still need education although it’s possible to confine a “C” in literature, for instance.
The best way to set priorities is to follow the well-known 80/20 principle by Vilfredo Pareto. It means 80% of your outcomes come from 20% of your inputs. For instance, 20% group may include studying for tests while the 80% group includes the most typical college activities like making easy assignments or doing homework while watching the favorite series.
Say No to Academic Underachievement and Dropouts
It’s not a good idea not to stay uncompleted one task after another. The reasons why it happens may differ. For some students, it’s difficult to catch up with even the basics of some subjects. Other students believe they have enough time to cope with all tasks.
There are various reasons why students fail to graduate. The most common are finances, failing, full-time work, family, and stresses. It’s up to you to pick up the course you can afford and catch the curriculum.
Asking for Help
When you understand that you can’t cope with this or that assignment, it is worth finding the ways out. Your academic advisor is the first person to ask for help. He or she may advise additional literature or recommend changing the learning techniques. Yet, sometimes it happens that even the assistance of the best course students or tutors cannot help. For instance, for many students, there are no worse tasks than writing an essay. You should stop torturing yourself and find another way out. Luckily, nowadays, there is an established essay writing service that can take care of student papers 24/7. A team of highly qualified academic writers can cope with writing an assignment of any level of complexity in no time.
Creating or Joining Study Group
It’s always easier to understand the subject when working in a group. In such a way you will spend less time studying and have more on social life. You can find an appropriate group by searching the college chats and forums. If there is no one fitted variant, you can create your own group. It benefits not only your academic performance but relationships with other students, too.
Being Organized
Perhaps, it’s one of the key elements of the successful try to balance social life and studies. It’s up to you to schedule your way or week. It’s important to devote enough time to both studying and leisure. Yet, it’s worth highlighting that very academic performance is of primary importance.
It’s possible to use special online utilities to follow your timetable. Some types of software can even provide you with analytical data on how to make your day more effective and productive.
Taking Breaks
We are all humans. It’s impossible to work all the time. You can’t but agree that studying is like any work. It takes your time, energy, and endless efforts. Sometimes you just don’t have the desire to entertain or visit various events. When you feel you are extremely tired and want nothing, it’s high time to take a break. Yet, such breaks shouldn’t be too long and frequent.
Motivation Is Important
Procrastination is not a good thing when it comes to studying. You have to understand why you don’t want to do this or that task and solve the problem. Moreover, you should know why you are doing this. It’s important to set both short-term and long-term goals.
Only Healthy Style of Life
Being ill affects all aspects of your life. In order to stay healthy and energetic, you should eat healthy food. It’s worth going in for sports. By the way, different sport sections are the perfect way to communicate more and find new friends.
Get Involved
You should keep on time. It’s important to visit college events and celebrations. You shouldn’t do it every day, of course. It’s enough to come to the most interesting ones.
Comments are closed.