How to Have Your Best Semester Yet
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Being a college student is hard. With what seems like a billion different things coming toward you all at once, including the struggle to balance a social life with academics, it often becomes difficult and stressful to juggle everything. However, the saying that a new year brings a fresh start is certainly still applicable when the new semester is in full swing.
If you’re determined to have a better semester than your last, here are some all-purpose tips and advice on how to make this one your best semester yet — academically and personally!
Get Organized Early
Stepping into the semester unprepared is essentially setting yourself up for failure. Organization is key for school because there’s simply no other way to keep track of everything life throws at you.
To begin, planners are one of the essentials in maintaining organization. Planners will help improve your time management skills and productivity, and they provide an outlet for stress relief.
Start by writing everything down: due dates, exam times and even social engagements. Planners can also be used to schedule self-care activities! Some things I do to get organized include color coding all of my due dates and including a contacts page for my professors and teaching assistants, along with their office hours.
For sophomore psychology major Yirong Moh, getting organized early on in the semester has always been imperative to both productivity and time management.
“It’s always a great feeling to cross something off my planner so that I know my weekends are cleared up to spend time with my friends,” Moh said.
Prioritize What’s Important to You
Life shouldn’t always be about studying. If friends, health or anything else is essential to who you are as a person, find time to prioritize it. Take time to reflect on everything that’s important to you, not just academics.
Regarding health, college is known to have a variety of foods to select from. And not just food, but unhealthy food. We’ve all been there: leftover pizza for breakfast, candy and chocolate for a quick lunch and chips with a cup of coffee for dinner to maintain alertness.
Healthy eating and exercise have numerous benefits, including an especially important one: boosting self-esteem. Maintaining self-esteem helps you evaluate your goals and improve your focus, which will lead to improving your productivity.
However, you shouldn’t completely disregard schoolwork and prioritize another aspect of life if academics are important to you.
Whether it be going out with friends, practicing meditation, going on a run or simply having a quiet night in, it’s important to have time to yourself. Scheduling time to focus on yourself— and only yourself— is just as essential as schoolwork.
It’s simple: It’s nearly impossible to do well in almost anything if your self-care is not addressed. Part of self-care is ensuring that special attention is paid toward personal growth. If you feel stressed or are lacking motivation, it’s a good indicator that you should take a break to not overwork yourself.
In regards to practicing mediation specifically, according to Mayo Clinic, meditation helps bring inner peace and results in a better mindset and overall well-being.
Freshman psychology major Vi Le shared that weekly meditation has allowed her to make a connection to her goals, adding that “it gave me a sense of peace with myself that wasn’t there before.”
Try Something New
With a campus as large as the University of Maryland’s, there are a variety of different clubs, organizations and activities. Being open and willing to try new things may give you a different perspective on life, and you might even find it to be a genuine interest.
Have you always wanted to join a club but didn’t? Or are you interested in taking a gym class but held back for some reason? Whatever it may be, don’t be afraid of new experiences. For instance, if you’re interested in fitness, RecWell Fitness on campus offers a variety of mind-body and cycling classes, such as yoga, zumba and spin.
Sophomore kinesiology major Stefanie McBeth attended spin classes and was immediately drawn to what the class offered.
“It’s a nice mental break from work. The music is motivational, and the instructors are very encouraging,” McBeth said.
So, if there’s an activity that you’re even slightly interested in and have time to get involved with, push yourself out of your comfort zone and take advantage of the multitude of activities and resources this school offers!
While college has its ups and downs, try to stay positive and remember that, while you’re here to learn and develop as an individual, don’t forget to also invest in yourself. This semester will fly by even quicker than the last, so take advantage of any time you have to create memories that will last a lifetime and make this your best semester yet.
