For most people senior year is completely different from all their previous years as a student. Often seniors find themselves juggling a full course-load, a part-time job and an internship.
With school, work and an internship, you might feel like your head is about to explode and now you have to start thinking about applying and interviewing for jobs. Except these applications aren’t for an easy part-time job, they are the first step in your future career. It’s an extremely stressful, overwhelming time, and it’s easy to fall behind.
However there are some simple steps you can take to stay organized and keep your sanity.
- Buy a planner and carry it with you everywhere.
That planner is your new best friend. Write anything and everything into your planner and review it often. Inside that planner make a daily to-do list and check things off as you go. This to-do list helps to make sure assignments or tasks are not left forgotten. If you’re a person that uses their smartphone for scheduling, try making your to-do list on a free app called Todoist.
- Do your work ahead of time.
Often professors will attach a schedule to their syllabus showing what assignments are due and when. Use this to get a head start on homework that might not be due for another week. You don’t want to work too far ahead and get lost, but if you always stay one week ahead, you will be more prepared for class and have more time for assignments you may not be anticipating.
Also, if you have one or more classes with a big project due near the end of the semester, get a head start on it and do little pieces at a time. This way you’re not doing the whole, lengthy assignment during finals week.
Procrastination is your enemy. Do everything you can to avoid it.
- Take time to relax.
If you don’t take a break and enjoy some time to yourself, you will burn out fast. Make time for weekly bubble baths and bad reality TV, or a night out on the town. If you get stuck on something, take a break and come back to it later. It’s important to turn your brain off and give yourself a rest, especially when you’re stressed.
It also helps to do all of your work in the library, and treat your home as your sanctuary.
Senior year is hard, but you can and you will get through it. If you stay organized and stay focused, you’ll be a college graduate in no time and on your way to an exciting new career.
For more college organizational and study tips, check out these two awesome blogs: