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You walked the stage on the day of your high school graduation. But will you do it this time around? Though many bright-eyed university students walk onto campus filled with hopes dreams, not all of them leave with a degree. The university dropout rate is 16% in Canada.[1] In the United States, the situation is even worse: a mere 53% of American students actually walk the stage.[2] There are many challenges that make university life difficult, as outlined in Back to School Series: Are you Ready? Unfortunately for some, the academic challenges of university education simply become too overwhelming. Manage Your Time to Manage Your Stress A major obstacle to high scholastic achievement is poor time management. Personally, this was a lesson I had to learn firsthand during my first final exam. I had paid attention in lectures and done most of the readings, but I had not sufficiently prepared myself in the weeks and months leading up to the exam. So, at 1am on the eve of my assessment, I called my parents only to sob on the other end in utter fear of failing. I hardly slept that night. The next day, I dragged myself out of bed and walked down to the examination hall with one eye twitching from lack of sleep. I sat down in a room with hundreds of worried students, and then hurriedly scribbled my answer to the first question. Those three hours were grueling, and all I could think was: “I wish I had studied harder.” Thankfully, I decided that I did not enjoy the end result of my deliberate procrastination. Poor time management had made me into a tired, grumpy, and malfunctioning zombie with hazy thoughts and poor retention skills. After that stressful episode, I turned for help by setting up an appointment with an academic counselor. I also attended a variety of free sessions on how to time manage, study effectively, and manage stress. Combined, they improved my study habits in a way that was tailored to my personality, including my strengths and weaknesses as a student. Thankfully, you do not have to subject yourself to the same level of anxiety and stress that I experienced. Procrastination: The Road to Anxiety According to Palmer and Puri, there is a relationship between the passing of time and your level of stress or anxiety.[3] The closer you are to a deadline for an assignment or the day of an exam, the more likely you are to feel stressed. It follows that the earlier you begin working on an assignment or studying for an exam, the less stressed you will feel and the better you will be able to focus. As soon as you get your course syllabus, draft a study plan that covers all of the readings, assignments, and exams that you will have during the upcoming academic year. Academic Counseling Even better, revise your study plan with an academic counselor – and do not procrastinate on this one. He or she likely has a good understanding of which courses will be more demanding. This can help you achieve a balanced work distribution. Your academic counselor can also help you understand how to study for each course. For instance, a course in history will likely require a heavy amount of readings, while a course in mathematics will probably involve a great deal of practical exercises. These different focuses require different study skills. If you understand what is expected of you, you will also know how to balance your study time and free time. But if you procrastinate, you will probably end up having loads of free time for months and then a combination of stress headaches, cold sweats, and stressful all-nighters at the library - not a great way to end the year. Eat a Frog for Breakfast One of the best words of wisdom I received from my academic counselor was to “eat a frog for breakfast.” The meaning of this saying is twofold. Firstly, do not procrastinate your most challenging work; do your most difficult studying first and then turn your focus to easier tasks or courses. Secondly, work hard and then enjoy your free time – not the other way around. You can only be productive if you eliminate distractions, as argued by Forsyth.[4] To perform well, you need to focus. And this will likely involve studying in an environment – be it a library, a café, a park, among others – where you are not distracted by your fun and gregarious roommate, where you won’t waste your time watching the latest episode of your favourite TV show, and where you won’t be tempted to throw everything aside for a night out with your friends. Learn what your distractions are, as well as when to avoid them and when to enjoy them. Perfectionism Isn’t Perfect Another tendency for some students is to try to do everything perfectly. But this can also become an obstacle to proper time management.[5] Ask your professor or teaching assistant what you need to do to achieve high marks on your exam or assignment. You do not need to read every word of Plato’s The Republic if there will only be one question on the topic. You also do not need to discover the cure for cancer prior to your biology exam. Be reasonable with the amount of time that you devote to each assignment or to studying. You will then discover that you can actually enjoy your Friday night off. Your professors do not expect you to become the next Shakespeare or the next Einstein. You can aim high without going overboard. Time is Not Your Enemy University can be a challenging phase for many students. But you do not need to let poor time management get in the way of a brilliant academic career. Manage your time, and you will find the time to both succeed academically and delight in all the excitement of university life. And if you’re not sure how to plan your studying, then take the time to meet your academic counselor. [1] Postsecondary Status of Young Adults. 2005. Statistics Canada. [online] Available at: <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/2008070/t/6000011-eng.htm> [2] Porter, E. 2013. Dropping out of college, and paying the price. The New York Times. [online] Available at: <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/business/economy/dropping-out-of-college-and-paying-the-price.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0> [3] Palmer, S., and Puri, A. 2006. Coping with Stress at University: A Survival Guide. London: SAGE Publications. [4] Forsyth, P. 2013. Successful Time Management. London: Kogan. [5] Ibid.

Am I the only one who stays up late all week doing things around the house, forcing myself to go to sleep so that I can get up for work the next day, in full anticipation of Friday when I can stay up late to party, or in my case, read that book that left me hanging in the last chapter? Then, when Friday finally rolls around, I find myself falling asleep at the dinner table. It is so unfair. But isn’t that what being a good parent, spouse, employee, friend, etc. is all about? We do everything we can to keep all those proverbial plates balanced high above our heads on that tiny stick so that we have happiness all around us. The problem with that is that my family knows I’m “there” physically, but my brain is in bed dreaming up my own ending to that book that I’m dying to finish. So, who benefits from my exhaustion? We’ve heard about the studies that show how stress makes us less productive at work, how power-naps are great for productivity, and delegating tasks will free up time and allow more productive time on the job. Well, let’s apply this to all aspects of our lives. The take-away from all that corporate stuff is simple. Reduce stress, get sleep, and ask for help. But how on earth do we apply that to our busy family lives? Get Your Priorities Straight The first thing we have to realize is that we must have time to ourselves in order to be healthy for those around us. I know it is a lot easier said than done, but we have to sort through what really matters. The chores are always there, but our kids will grow up, and have their own time management system one day. Define what is most important to you, and start there. If it is 30 minutes during the day to take a walk, or read a book, do it! Schedule it. Teach The Kids About “Me Time” Good habits start young. One way to teach kids about “Me time” and still have some, is to give the whole household that time at the same time. Use different parts of the house to have each person do one thing for a specified amount of time that they like to do on their own. I can do my reading, while my son does his drawing. Uninterrupted bliss, I say. If that doesn’t work, try alternating child date nights between spouse and the grandparents. While the kids are having fun with your spouse, you can get spa time, and then be rejuvenated enough to enjoy the kids on your special day with them. The kids will have a memory of special time with each parent, and you each get some well-deserved solitude. Plan Time To Plan Who has time to sit down and write what you’re thinking, right? No, this is really important. Not only do we organize our thoughts, but it has a way of helping us commit. Plan your meals to save the infamous, “What would you like for dinner” with the “I don’t care” response. Put a menu where everyone in the house can see it. Of course, that also requires the shopping plan too. Shop once a week so that you have one less worry in your week, and it saves money too. Eat Raw Yes, I know how much kids love their veggies, but saving time can be good for them. Salad nights are great dinners, and it saves you from cooking. On grocery day, wash and cut all the produce, and keep it at child level in the refrigerator. In addition to making healthy snacks available to the kids, it allows you to organize your refrigerator, and the best part is that it makes it easy for kids to help make that salad for dinner. If it is all washed and cut, all you need to do is dish it up. Kids can do that. Enlist The entire Family in Chores It is time we start acknowledging how smart and capable our kids are, and give them the chance to feel a part of the household. Even young children can be a big help, and let’s face it, they love to get praise for a job well done. Make a game for the little ones and teach them about seeing things that need to be done. If they see a stray shoe, they can put it in its home. They can shoot some hoops by tossing that sock in the laundry basket. In order to help the little ones learn good habits and teach them routines, place lists where they can see them. Morning routines or even chores can be put on a sticky note for them to do something on their own. An excited “Thank you so much for helping” will keep them looking at those notes daily. White Board The one tool I could not live without is my dry erase board. We each put everything on the board. The menu, shopping list, appointments, lists of things that need to be done, and anything else we may forget, or that other family members may need to know. Placed in a central location, where everyone sees it daily, it also lets everyone know how they can help, in addition to knowing when you are not available. I use different colors for different sorts of tasks, but get creative, and let the kids help. White boards are so much fun for kids. Set Time Limits For those big jobs, set a timer and do as much as you can for just 10 minutes a day. It is amazing what you can get done 10 minutes at a time. Whatever you do, get started. Don’t put it off. Life is way too short to look forward to that fun thing you get to do at the end of the week, only to be too exhausted to participate.