Tips for Starting Your College Semester off Right

It’s that time again! Students are making the trek back to college all over the country. For many parents, the worries return and questions abound.

• Will my son or daughter do well while away from home?
• How much should I contact them?
• Will they remember to get their homework done?

Finding a healthy balance between hands on and hands off is not an easy one.

Students, was last semester a struggle? How was your sleep schedule? Your grades? Did you ever have moments of panic, wondering if you were forgetting something? I think we can help. Here are a few tips for starting your college semester off right.

In my experience with clients, I have found that when college students put together a master schedule and a weekly schedule in their first two weeks of the semester, they do much better. Most often, college students have not had to deal with a schedule with the variety that college brings. High school most often has the same schedule day after day and open weekends. Through most semesters in college, each day of the week is different from the others. Students are often not prepared for the amount of time management they are saddled with when that first semester begins.

Why not use all these great pieces of technology to our advantage? With clients, I recommend a “Master Semester Calendar” after their first week of classes. We often work on this in session. Using your calendar app of choice (Apple or Android usually), enter each assignment and test and give each of these events an appropriate reminder so that your phone will remind you when things are due a week and a day ahead of time. This will help make sure an assignment isn’t missed and if a last minute scramble to get it done needs to happen, so be it.

Stopping at that step may lead to too many of those last minute scrambles. What can we do about that? My clients have gotten used to a phrase I often say: “Designated Productive Time.” It’s a non-negotiable time scheduled during the week to work on schoolwork, set in an environment that is best suited for the student’s productivity. As an example from my own life, I struggled to remember when things were due in college and grad school. I would have moments of panic throughout the week, often daily, because I am not naturally good at remembering what is due when. During grad school, I was able to commit to this Designate Productive Time concept. I found working at Starbucks from 7pm to 9pm two days a week to be very helpful. Not only did all my friends know that I was unavailable during those times and the Starbucks employees got to know me pretty well, I was able to “train my brain” so to speak. By the time I sat down at that same seat at Starbucks on those Tuesday and Thursday nights, I was in the zone. It was not hard to get started on schoolwork. I had a finish time, I was there for a purpose, and my brain was used to Starbucks being a regular place for schoolwork. I used that time to check my schedule, get my assignments done, and sometimes I even worked ahead of the class. That was so unlike me!

At Stenzel Clinical, we want to help your students start the school year off right. If you or someone you know is struggling to manage the demands of college life, come see us! We can help set up a plan and support you along the way. ”