Author: Jesus Girl

I’m currently in my first year of college and I have many academic stressors. One being time management because I don’t have a planned organized schedule which would indeed help me get assignments done in a timely manner. It would also be useful for work so that I won’t miss a shift just in case I forget. I’ve thought about the things I could do to better help me with time management, so I downloaded a few time management apps to help me plan out my daily schedule. One of the apps that I really enjoy is called Habit tracker and it’s free to download. This app helps me keep my schedule organized, and it also reminds me ahead of time when I have something due, or something planned. You can also color organize all your plans therefore it won’t be confusing to locate.

Another academic stressor of mine is the workload. Due to having so many assignments from most classes and those classes being difficult to pass, I rarely have time to spend time with friends, because studying and grades are two of my top priorities in addition to my alone time and mental health. And if I do spend time with friends, that means I will not get most of my assignments done on time. I am glad I have time for my normal daily activities like reading, showering, eating, but rarely sleeping. Most days I’m exhausted and ready to sleep the whole day away and I’d rather be enjoying my day than to be exhausted and drained. To better manage my workload this also ties into time management. I believe if I had a better organized schedule, and if I were to get my assignments done early in the morning, I would have the rest of my afternoon and evening to myself. I could even make more plans with friends and not worry about when I’m going to get that one assignment done. I believe being better organized and more diligent during the day would remove the stressors of time management and workload from my mind, and I won’t be so drained from a day full of what feels like labor.

(Habit Tracker app below in apple store).

 

Looking back, one of the mistakes I will not repeat is procrastination. Procrastination has decreased my chance of getting my desired grades due to my lack of motivation to get my schoolwork done. It also drained me mentally due to the lack of eating and sleep. My way of avoiding procrastination last semester was avoiding my first meal for 18 hours or more so I wouldn’t get distracted from doing schoolwork. One time I didn’t even eat from 5 am which is my normal wake up time to 1 Am in the morning. Bad right? I felt terrible after, but I ended up getting work done. To stop procrastination, I’ve learned to not speak it into existence by constantly telling people I procrastinate and normalizing it. The more you normalize and remain comfortable in something that isn’t good for you, for example procrastination the more you keep on doing. Instead, I give it to God and let Him deal with it because if it’s one thing I’ve learned throughout the past nothing is too heavy for God to carry.

One thing I would repeat from last semester is, deleting social media. Deleting social media has become a huge stress reliever for me because I am no longer focused on other people’s lives. Sometimes when you begin to envy or compare yourself to other people, and how good their life seems that can defiantly have a negative effect on your life. So, it is better to take a break realizing and appreciating the things you already have. Plus, I can get my work done early because I am no longer on my phone. Another thing I will repeat from last semester is staying focused on Christ. Last semester has been stressful and full of doubt due to grades, and personal problems but because I stayed focus on Christ, I was able to make it through first semester by Faith and determination that Christ would bring me through, and He did just that. One poem I found recently that touched my heart was “Footprints in the Sand” by Mary Stevenson. This poem reminded me of fighting the good fight of faith even when I can’t see the journey ahead (Hebrews 12:1-2). By placing my Faith, trust, and obedience in Christ alone and focusing on Him instead of the battles that seemed so far ahead He made sure I made it out giving me true peace and joy at the end.