Dorky Gets Stuff Done: The Secrets to College Success
November 2, 2009 | Emma Seemann
You always know midterm week because the usually empty library is packed during the wee hours of the morning, and all the study rooms filled to the brim. Many a college student procrastinates until the last minute and then has to cram from 2 a.m. until 7 a.m., pulling an all nighter, for a midterm at eight. You see, we college students have difficulty sitting down and doing work. Procrastinating by going on Facebook: no problem. We have hours to do that. Or to cook mac and cheese and chat with friends. Time management is not a strong suit for many of us.
Some students strut around the next morning, bragging about their all nighter and how they wrote an amazing paper, given the time constraint. But to the rest of us, such students just sound silly. Those time constraints were self inflicted. Had they only managed their time better, they would have finished their paper three days ago and gone out with friends that night, not to mention had a good night’s rest.
When I first got to college, I vowed to never become one of the students who procrastinates until the night before a paper’s due. And so far, I haven’t written an entire paper the night before the big day. But I have shown up in class and legitimately panicked when people were talking about how their papers turned out. What papers!? I think to myself. We didn’t have any papers! Did I forget?! Then I remember: they are talking about the paper I finished three days ago. Oh, that paper. Dorky, I know, but the truth nonetheless.
But you know what? Dorky gets stuff done.
When I moved into my dorm, I received a planner that mapped out every hour of my day. At first I set it aside. I mean, who really uses those? But after a few weeks when the professors began piling on the work, I began to look at it again. One day, in an attempt to procrastinate, I sat down and scheduled my week. (How ironic, now that I think about it!) I marked out times for class, homework, gym, sleeping (i.e. naps—yes, I planned them!) and time to hang out with friends. A bit anal retentive, I know. But planning out my week gave me an immense sense of freedom; I did my work when I should and knew that later in the day I could be lazy and do as I pleased. Scheduling my day gave me the pressure I needed to get work done. When I knew I only had an hour and a half to do my English reading, I actually read instead of messing around. The self-inflicted time constraints kept me on track, but without the panic of all nighters.
The planner also helped me organize when I had to do everything so I never worried about forgetting to show up somewhere. For the record, I’m one of those students who bites off more than I can chew and then chews like hell. Seeing all of my commitments on paper helped me look at my day realistically and I didn’t feel as tied down as before because I could see where I scheduled free time rather than hoping I could struggle to create it later.
At college, I highly recommend scheduling out a typical week. Block out study time to ensure that you don’t have to decline going out with friends to pull an all nighter. Visualizing what you need to get done should help you not only get it done on time, but help you to not take on too many commitments. If you manage your time well, you can hit the clubs at 2 a.m., not the library.
