Being a Purdue Student isn't easy. Here are five tips to having a successful semester.
1. Schedule your time.
Writing down what you want to complete in a day is crucial to success in college. Yet, many people don’t do it. This is a skill that will be vital for you in the future. I use Google Calendar and a growth planner to schedule how I want my optimal day to look like. For Google Calendar, I focus on the big events that will occur during my day. These include classes, workouts, events, meetings, etc. These times are non-negotiable - it is imperative that I attend them. One of the most common excuses I’ve heard from people who don’t want to use a calendar is that it’s too confining. If that’s the case, then don’t make it that way. This is your schedule. You don’t need to follow someone else’s routine. If you want to do something, do it! That is the benefit of being in college. We are now adults. We can make our own decisions. However, that also means that we are responsible for what we do. So, take that responsibility and make sure you plan your day out. For my growth planner, I write down things I want to achieve and learn throughout the day. I will oftentimes fail throughout the day in some way. That’s natural. Every single L we take is not a “loss,” rather it’s a “lesson.” Take your mistakes and learn from them. Each day, I write down what I learned from my experience, and I want to ensure that I improve myself in every way possible. Your schedule should be practical for YOU. This is your life. Make sure that you are authentic to yourself. So, schedule your days as you want to see them and as you realistically can achieve them. Shoot for the stars, but you don’t need to go overboard.
2. Focus on your Mindset
Oftentimes, if you think something is bad, then it’s bad. On the contrary, if you think something is good, then it is good. We experience a multitude of things each day. How we interact with those in our minds plays a big role in how we feel. If we think everything that has happened to us is bad, then we’re probably going to feel dejected to an extent. On the other hand, if we think everything that happens to us, even if they are objectively negative, is good for us, then we come out of the situation far more optimistic. This has been a concept that took me a little while to get accustomed to. It might even feel insulting to be forced to look at a negative situation as being positive, but it’s worth it. Even in the worst of times, I always feel as though I’m still okay because there’s always something good to be taken from a bad situation. Here’s an example: I trip and fall on the street, scraping my knee. That is an objectively bad situation, but there is still a positive to it: I learned that I should watch where I step there. We all have our days, but if you can just try to make things a little bit more positive, I think you’ll be in a much better situation.
3. Don’t Procrastinate
Productivity is a very difficult thing to master. We have all sorts of distractions that are fighting for our attention every day. How do you not procrastinate? Well, this definitely depends on the person, but I’ve found that simply putting all the distractions away can help stop you from putting off work. Other suggestions would be writing a to-do list and ensuring that you complete it by the end of the day. I recommend looking up some YouTube videos that cover this topic in more detail. College is extremely difficult sometimes, and the last thing we want to do is make it even harder for ourselves.
4. Focus on Consistency
Something that I’ve noticed that has been common throughout my time at Purdue is that I am very often inspired to make great changes in my life, and I want to complete them now. The problem is many things can’t be done in that short burst of motivation. You cannot complete a massive project in a day. It takes time. Focus on being consistent with your work. If you can just do a little bit every single day, you will eventually make great progress! However, if you even take one day off, you can threaten the completion of your goal. Work just a little bit each day even when you don’t want to. That consistency will stay with you. The temporary motivation you sometimes get will not always be there. It is through discipline and hard work that you achieve what you want.
5. Sleep
During my freshman year, I did not have a consistent sleep schedule at all. This, combined with having Communications 114 at 7:30 AM for 3 days resulted in no sleep. I strongly recommend going to bed and waking up at the same time. It is life-changing when you can wake up every day feeling energetic. This is something that I would suggest everyone work on eventually. Sleep is vital to being successful. Don’t forget!
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