5 things that help me in college

I have completed half way through college. Here are the 5 things that make my life in college much easier, especially as a student juggling with class schedules and academics. (This is also to remind myself how to be for the next half way out.)

1. Wake up early. Early need not necessarily mean at 5 or 6 AM, it can even be around 7 AM. But, it gives you so much time to get things done. Things like exercise, cleaning a messed up room, writing, reading books, making a checklist for the day- all of them may seem impossible to do if you wake up just in time to run to class. And, here's a brownie point- you just have to take an effort to wake up early the first one week. After that, your biological clock automatically ensures you wake up around that time. 

2. Sleep early. This is something that is unlike the others in this list. It not only is something that makes your life easier, it is also something that is very important for everyone. I have seen my friends sleep at 3 AM, or even later, everyday! And, the first question that hits me is HOW?! Seven to eight hours of sleep, for a lot of people today, seems impossible. I have friends in college who talk of it as something that they never get to do. But it is very simple, for college students at least. Sleeping early, again, does not mean you go to bed at 9 PM. Try to hit bed by 12-12.30 AM and that's sufficient to ensure you get your 7 hours of sleep even if you decide to wake up early. 

Points 1 & 2 will force you to schedule your tasks better, and ensure that you get them done through the day. So, yay, you get to sleep peacefully!

3. Keep a no-gossip policy. It's impossible. Whether you ask for it or not, you are bound to get fed with the unnecessary incidents of other people's life. But, establishing yourself as a person who doesn't want to waste time hearing anything that does not involve you or the people close to you, or contribute anything to any aspect of what you do, is very helpful. It makes people skeptic to come and tell you unwanted, trivial issues, most of which are usually blown out of proportion. Life is weird, and interesting. And, there's a lot to talk about what interests you. So, let people know you'd like to stick to that. 

4. Plan your study. This seems obvious, but a lot don't do it. By planning, I refer to a plan that's physically jotted down on paper. Personally, I list all subjects and the modules under each subject that an examination has. That gives me an idea as to when to start studying in order to cover the syllabus  of all subjects with enough breather space. If you are like me, then mostly you wouldn't stick to the plan. And, later do a full-on marathon session to complete the course. But, this is still amazingly helpful as it makes sure that you are aware of how much you need to study, even if you don't really go by the plan and start studying. 

5. Do non-academic things. This is very important. If you are a sincere and naturally academically-oriented student, it is very easy to get lost in the brilliant world of academics. Though it is something to be appreciated, it is important to do something non-academic as part of your life through the semesters. It refreshes your brain, and helps you get back to it with better perspective, better creativity and more productivity. It could be anything, and it is usually your hobby. Even though it is very easy to not do it in college (like I stopped writing a lot), it is very important to keep it going. 

Though these are small things of common sense, we easily find excuses not to stick to them, and hence the reminder for myself before I step into another new semester of college in 2020.