College life can be hard, overwhelming, and exhausting. There is a lot of things you must deal with. Things like:

• Registering your classes
• Making sure your tuition is paid
• Buying your books and needed supplies
• Attending and getting to class on time
• Understanding your class assignments
• Doing homework
• Studying for test
• Club meetings and sports activities (if you are involved)

What some people might not understand is that this is only half of what a student must deal with. What about the everyday things in your personal life? The things you were doing before you went to college. Things like:

• Your job
• Your bills
• Your automobile and the upkeep
• Your household chores
• Your family
• Your health (mentally and physically)

Between school and your personal life, it can be a challenge to keep up with everything. What are you to do when it becomes too much to handle? You could just give up and quit school as an easy way out, but why? You decided to go to college for a reason. You just need to get organized and plan things as best you can. Things are going to happen that are beyond your control but do not panic. I have some tips and advice to share with you that I have done while in college.

First, do not call it quits. Life happens. Consider this a test as to what can and will happen once you graduate. Now for my tips:

• Make a list of everything you must do for a month. (classes, work, homework, bills, chores, errands, and family time)
• Pick a different color for each item. (I use gel pens and sticky notes) If you see things in a certain color, you will be able to distinguish one item from another.
• Next, make a weekly planner using the colors. Don’t forget to include those major projects or papers that can take more than a week to accomplish.
• Set a reasonable time to accomplish each item.
• When you have finished a task, mark it off.
• When something unexpected happens; like you get sick, your car breaks down, or you have a family emergency; stay in contact with your professors to catch up on anything you miss. They are here to help you not to see you fail.
• Make sure you get enough sleep and eat right to stay mentally and physically healthy.
• Take two to three hours a week for fun or to just relax. Overwhelming yourself can put added stress on you.
• Stay in a positive mood. You can do this by surrounding yourself with positive thinking and acting people.
• Try to avoid any negative behavior while achieving your goals. Negative attitudes can bring added stress you do not need.

These tips will help you get started in organizing your life and school. Life does go on and things happen that are not expected, just remember the reason you decided to go to college. Some days will seem harder than others but remember you are not going to be in school forever. The lessons you learn today will help you achieve your goals and a lot more, later in life.