How to juggle study, assignments, work and family

My initial reaction is DON’T DO IT! But in saying that, I have juggled all these balls and more and survived to tell the tale.

My best tip of all is to get organised! “Not again with the organised bit!” I hear you say. Sorry, but it’s the only way I survived. The Library has resources and planners that can assist you in planning your week, month and semester. Take a few minutes to throw yourself into this rewarding task. Yes, I’m serious! It is rewarding when you allocate time and end up not being totally wasted from anxiety and stress.

It’s important to make sure that, when you slot in lectures, tutorials and assignment writing time, that you give yourself time to chillax. Otherwise, the wheels will fall off and you will be totally smashed.

So if I have inspired you to give organising a try then my job is done! Good luck in your studies. If I can do it, you certainly can!

-Jennifer

Procrastibaking

imageHelloooooo my lovely little kittens!

I’m going to let you in on a secret. It’s a well-kept secret that I am sure absolutely no one knows about (read: almost everyone who has ever met me knows).

I am really good at procrastinating.

Not just ‘avoiding study’ good, but ‘managing to get a whole heap of non-study related things done instead’ good.

I try to not be like this. Every semester I tell myself, “This time it’s going to be different.” But it never is. Sound familiar to anyone else? The age old motto of “I’ve got heaps of time” just keeps going through my head. And then when the due date gets closer that changes to “I’ve still got time”, and then “I’ve got all of tomorrow still”, and finally “OhnomyassignmentisdueintwohoursandIstillhaven’tstarteditwhatdoIdo?!”

To be fair, I always manage to hand in assignments on time, I just often manage to leave myself a stressed and crumpled mess by the time I finally get my assignment in. Everything always feels (and is) so much worse when you have to do two weeks worth of work in the space of 24 hours. And I’m positive this means I have not handed in my best work.

But that’s not what this blog post is about. This blog post is about how I procrastinate. My magical skill is, as I mentioned above, getting everything else done instead of my assignment. This can include baking, cleaning, watching movies, and lately, even blogging.

This brings us to the point of this post. When procrastinating by doing things that are not what you should be doing, I have discovered that you must use the correct vernacular.

  • Procrastibaking
  • Procrasticleaning
  • Procrastiwatchingmovies
  • Procrastiblogging

These words, while not currently in the dictionary, seem to me to be imperative in describing the very important skills surrounding procrastinating by doing other things. They make those other things seem somewhat more important, as though you are doing them for a purpose. Well, that’s how I feel anyway.

And let’s face it, who is going to complain if you bake delicious cupcakes instead of doing an assignment? Your friends and family sure won’t. Okay, your lecturer or tutor might. Perhaps give them a cupcake in the hope they will understand and grant you an extension*?

Anyway, I think I’ve done enough procrastiblogging for now.  If I procrastiblogged as much as I would like I would probably end up writing fourteen pages worth and no one wants to read that. Unless they are procrastireading. So I am off. To do something important. Like an assignment. Or some work. Or perhaps I will just go procrastibake…

-Tegan

cupcake

*Disclaimer: We do not endorse bribing lecturers and tutors with cupcakes. I’m fairly certain that would not work.

Stress Management

UntitledUni is stressful — assignments to juggle, classes to get to, campuses to get lost in (hopefully this one only applies to the first few weeks), lecturers that talk too fast… the list goes on. Which is why it’s so important to learn to manage your stress (yes, another thing to add to your to-do list).

Stress1Take breaks while studying! Even though sometimes it seems like a good idea to just hammer away at a problem until it gives in, taking a break means you return to your work with more focus, and you’re more likely to remember the information as well (that’s always useful!). Worrying at a problem for too long can just make it more frustrating, and seem impossible.

Break a task down into smaller, easier to manage pieces. It can be scary to consider writing a massive essay or revising a whole semester for an exam, but revising two lectures or writing a general outline isn’t so daunting.

Exercise. It’s always a good idea; get fit, release endorphins (meaning happier, meaning less stressed!), and increase the blood flow to your brain (meaning it works better! Who doesn’t love a working brain!?). If you feel like you don’t have time to exercise then incorporate it with study breaks. Take a few minutes to do some push-ups and then get back to your study!

Meditate (or nap in the sun, whichever takes your fancy). Also, remember to sleep! Sleep deprivation is not good for you!

Plan ahead. The importance of planning cannot be stressed enough! If you know what’s coming then all those assignments can’t sneak up on you (trust me, they do – it’s like playing ‘what’s the time, Mr Wolf’; turn your back for a minute and they run amok).

If it all gets too much, talk to someone. Talk to a friend, talk to a cat, talk with one of the awesome counselors on campus.

Just remember that it is important to take time to relax. Or your head will explode. I’ve totally seen it happen.

Stress2– Rainbow