Planning Ahead

If there was one thing I would recommend to younger students, it would be to plan everything ahead of schedule, and I mean everything. Sure, in high

 school, it’s easy to be reminded of all your responsibilities when your parents are constantly by your side and your teachers are always there forcing you to use your planner. However, come college, it seems like the entire world is trying to schedule a meeting with you and you are alone in complete control of your life.

In college, I found that without planning ahead, it is simply impossible to work efficiently and keep your head straight. By scheduling events ahead of schedule, whether it is meeting with a friend or doing a certain homework assignment, you realize that time will start opening up and you will no longer need to cram for assignments you only remembered the night before their due dates. Furthermore, by scheduling ahead, you can avoid situations where you must cancel a previously planned meeting. I have had too much experience with calls literally minutes before an appointment and telling me that they can no longer make it on time.

Eventually, you will discover that your parents will not be there forever to remind you of what homework to do or what practices you have. It will be up to yourself to ensure that you make time for everything in your life. Without planning ahead, it is easy to neglect certain responsibility and disappoint a lot of people who might be depending on you. If anything, a lack of planning may lead to much more serious consequences, such as dismissal from work or failing grades in school. Therefore, it is essential to start practicing schedule planning as soon as possible!

It is not difficult to remain in control of your life. Students use many different methods to plan ahead, with the most prominent ones being a physical planner, google calendar, and smartphones. A written planner can be purchased from most stores, and students may use even a simple notebook for such a purpose. Google calendar is a popular venue for schedule planning, since it allows you to see your schedule weeks ahead and also has an option for a “task list”. Finally, most smartphones have apps with scheduling capability, many of which can conveniently sync up with your calendar online.

By keeping a well organized schedule, you will never have to feel frustrated with not knowing what you need to do or where you need to be at any time, and it is vital that students start doing so to avoid an overwhelming college life.