We are now more than six weeks into the semester, which is a good time to stop, evaluate your progress, and make adjustments. How are you doing overall? Are you on top of all your work? What study strategies are you using? Have you prepared for your upcoming midterms? Do you have a plan for completing all your projects, papers, and assignments before the end of the year? If not, what adjustments do you need to make?
Adjustments to your System
Many students who come into my office tell me they don’t have time. They feel unprepared, which increases their anxiety, and often results in lower performance. Usually they can turn their performance around by making a few adjustments to the way they manage their time and stay on top of their work. Here are a few common problems and some suggestions for making changes.
Things falling through the cracks: Maybe you need to make some adjustments to how you are planning. Have you listed everything you need to accomplish in your calendar or planner? Determine when you will start each one so you are not working on everything at the same time. Prioritize what you have to accomplish, and watch for lighter time periods so that you can take advantage of slower times to get work done. It helps to keep a monthly overview calendar so you can plan further in advance.
Too behind to catch up: Feeling like you can’t catch up can cause serious motivation problems, leading you to think, “why bother”, and give up. To catch up, try to figure out how you got there. Are you a procrastinator? If so, the key to solving these time troubles is to stay on top of your work so you don’t fall behind. Start by breaking down all your tasks into smaller pieces, until you can find something you can do immediately. Keep working away at those smaller pieces and check them off as you complete them. It can be very motivating to watch yourself making progress.
Overworked: There will always be times when your classwork overwhelms you. Multiple tight deadlines surrounded by long reading assignments will leave you feeling exhausted. Try making adjustments to how you track your work during your study sessions. Keeping a log of your assignments and tracking what you accomplish will tell you whether you are actually working as much as you think you are. Next, look at your weekly schedule and your dedicated study time Make a realistic list of what you will accomplish during that time and how much time you will assign to each task. Organizing your work time in this way can help you stay focused, and helps you stay within your time limits.
Feeling like you don’t have time doesn’t have to result in increased anxiety and poor performance, especially if you make some adjustments to the way you are doing things. If you would like help making adjustments to improve your academic performance, contact the Learning Specialists at the Student Success Center at https://students.uams.edu/success/learning-services/academic-coaching-request/.