Homework Tips for Busy College Students

It happened to me too. I, nearly at the end of my first year of college, found myself panicking over the impending due dates of every assignment under the sun. One girl from my hall and I were walking back from one of our classes together and she said, "Can you believe there's only a month left until the end of the semester?" The weight of this statement made me panic. At that very moment I had at least two or three assignments due in each of my classes, on average, and most of them had similar due dates: next week.

However, not all was lost. I was fortunate to be blessed with good organizing skills and some good advice. Needless to say, I met the deadline with a day of breathing room to spare. These are just a few of the tips that helped me get through it:

The Library is your best friend - One thing I learned at school, which helped quite a few of my hall mates out when it came to staying on top of their homework was that they forced themselves to live at the library. This meant that before they could go back to their rooms they had to have their homework at least 60% finished. By doing that, it was easier for them to finish up the homework later, especially if they did it several days ahead of time.

Plan around due-dates - This is especially key for classes such as photography classes where you have to go and print off photos at places such as Wal*Mart or Walgreen's. Plan to go and get anything you need printed off at least three or four days before you'll need it. Most people will plan around that day right before everything is due - this means it will be PACKED. Packed places means you may be there for several hours, just waiting. Getting it done ahead of time will definitely save you time later, no matter how much effort it will take you to make the drive.

Do your presentations first - If you aim for that first day of presentations, instead of the last, you'll have two less things to worry about: Doing the project to begin with and having to match a standard for people who have already gone. With that out of the way, especially at the end of the semester when most classes will ask for your presentations, you'll be free to focus on other assignments.

Don't have everything you need for a paper? - Don't worry! If you're missing a book, or some other important piece of information you need to write a paper, and the assignments are piling up, just write what you can! Just getting a bibliography and an introduction out of the way for a paper will make you feel a lot more at ease when you move on to something else. It will also make the task seem easier to jump back into once you've actually started it!

List, List, List! - I cannot stress how useful a list of what you need to do is. I live by the way of Post-it notes. This may sound ridiculous, but just having the post-it attached to my computer's monitor for me to look at is a big reminder for me. It's also very encouraging to have when you can look over to a list that a week ago was trying to smother you and see that a good portion of it is struck-out. Ego boost and organization! You can't go wrong with it.

The key to getting your homework done is to plan for it and work with what is best for you when it comes your way. While my own tips may not help you the same way they helped me, they may help you form your own good habits. Good luck!