Why I Prep All Semester Long Instead of Cramming For Finals at the Last Minute
Okay, so I realize I haven't always been the best at not procrastinating studying before finals — sometimes I waited up until three hours before — but I've definitely been trying to be better than my wild self maniacally cramming for tests at two in the morning. There is a misconception, which I blame partly on teen dramas who glamorize studying late at night with tons of junk food, music, and caffeine, that stress studying is a rite of passage in college.Read More
3 Organization Tips From College That Helped Me Way Pass Graduation
Getting organized is hard, especially when you have a lot on your plate and not enough time to get to it all. For me, college was a nonstop scheduling nightmare. I went from completing class assignments to extracurricular club meetings to social obligations with no time to breathe between each commitment. Those four years were a total juggling act, and I couldn't afford to drop the ball.Read More
The Time Management Strategy That All Busy People Need To Know — It Changed My Life
When I was younger, time management was not always my strong point. In grade school, I vividly remember sitting in front of our family computer for hours to finish "homework" and somehow ending up on the last chapter of a fan fiction story.Read More
I Use These 7 Tips to Avoid Procrastination and Stay Productive While WFH
All throughout high school and right into college, I was a chronic procrastinator. I spent the days leading up to due dates for big essay projects worry free, and the night before I would stare at my computer until the wee hours of the morning, bleary eyed and delusional from lack of sleep while trying to finish something I was given a week or more to complete.Read More
Here's How I Schedule My Calendar To Set Myself Up For Success
I had a love-hate relationship with planners and calendars up until college. I would go to the bookstore, pick out a planner that made me look like I had my life together, and then never use it again after January.Read More
Taking a Daily Walk Is What Keeps Me on Task When I Work From Home
I've worked from home both as an employee of a larger company and as someone who is self-employed. In both situations, it took some time to figure out a structure that helped me maximize productivity.Read More
Following This Easy 5-Step Morning Routine Has Changed the Way I Go About My Day
I haven't always been a morning person. I used to roll out of bed 30 minutes before I had to be at class or work, feeling anxious and rushed because I hadn't given myself enough time to wake up and get mentally ready to squeeze the most out of my day.Read More
I Procrastinated All Through High School, but Finally Found a Way to Stop in College
Sometimes, it's really hard to get work done, and by sometimes, I mean all the time. When it comes to chores, errands or homework, it used to be so alluring to me to just put off tasks until the last minute, until I was faced with a feeling of panic when I knew I was really cutting it close.Read More
This 1 Surprising Change That Helped Me Stay on Task While Working from Home
There are a ton of perks to working from home, but being outside of a traditional office environment can make it more challenging than usual to stay on task. I've been freelance writing full-time for a few years now, and I'll be honest: I've struggled at times with focus and productivity. I tried all sorts of time management and focus techniques, but, surprisingly, none of them worked as well as one single change: setting aside a space to be a dedicated office.Read More
How I Rely on Apps and Spreadsheets to Keep My Son's Schedule Perfectly Organized
Before becoming a mom, I considered myself a fairly organized person. I filed my important paperwork (meaning I jammed it all into a tattered folder), paid my bills on time, and kept a firm grasp on my schedule. Then my son entered the picture, and whatever semblance of put-togetherness I possessed flew right out the window.Read More
How I Made a Seamless-ish Transition From College to Post-Grad Life — No One Is Perfect!
No one really tells you how abrupt the transition is between college and "real" adult life, because it's not exactly a process that someone can prep you for. Sure, I could say you need to prepare yourself for the change, but that kind of change is so drastically varying that it is impossible to fully understand until you're in it.Read More
I Write a To-Do List For the Day Every Morning and It Actually Helps Me Stay Calm
I used to get embarrassed to admit it, and I've definitely been on the receiving end of friends' jokes, but I am absolutely in love with to-do lists. I have special journals and planners to house all of my daily and weekly lists. I use more than one pen to practice calligraphy on them. I carry my lists with me through the day and get genuinely excited at night to see how much I have done. IRead More
I Tried the Cornell Method, and It's Never Been Easier to Study For Finals
My freshman year, I freaked out when midterm season rolled around, because I had no idea how I was supposed to study. Midterms in college can be daunting. It feels like there's so much more pressure to do well on them than in high school because there are so fewer grades in play. So, I started brainstorming a better way to taken notes that will prevent a freak out every semester.Read More
I've Started Coloring When I Feel Overwhelmed, and It Really, Really Helps
My early 20s have felt like absolute chaos. From going to college while also working part-time to graduating and entering the world of full-time employment, there's seldom been a moment in the past few years where I wasn't overwhelmed.Read More
This Is How I Moved to New York City After Graduation
When I decided to buy a one-way plane ticket and give myself a month to move from California to New York City, there was a general consensus amongst my friends that what I was doing was crazy, but it didn't feel that way to me — and that's why I'm writing this from a cute cafe in Brooklyn.Read More
A High School Teacher Taught Me the Life-Changing Calendar Tip I'm Using in College
I used to be a disorganized student. You know those classmates that just shove loose papers in their backpack with no rhyme or reason? That was me. But something changed when I entered high school — maybe it was the workload being larger, maybe not — and I became interested in getting things organized, falling in love with planners, notebooks, and just about any stationary.Read More
The Weeks Before Graduation Were the Most Stressful, Until I Got My Schedule on Track
College is stressful, but those four years don't compare (and didn't prepare me) for the overwhelming stress of the ultimate showdown: graduation. As I made my way through college, I always saw graduation as being the prize at the end of a long, dark tunnel. And that's definitely true, graduation is a huge accomplishment, but as the day got closer, I was absolutely buried in things to do.Read More
Giving Each Task in Your To-Do List a Time Frame Will Make You More Productive and Calm
Being busy is stressful. Whether your schedule is always full or you've just trapped yourself in a procrastination cycle, waking up to a long to-do list is daunting and can set the tone for an anxious day. It may feel like the only way to cope is to engage in some negative self-talk about how you'll never get everything done, but going down that path never does any good.Read More
To Be Your Most Productive Self, Schedule Your Day Around Your Energy Levels
There are only so many hours in a day, and as a busy person, it can be hard for me to steer clear of getting burnt out. Time management strategies are vital to avoid having to stay late at the office or the library wrapping up things before a big project or test. But now I've come to understand that implementing a plan doesn't mean finding ways to cram in as much work in as possible.Read More
When I'm Feeling Bogged Down, I Turn to These 4 Tips to Boost My Creativity
When I turned 18, I promised myself I'd create something every day. Creativity is so routinely taken for granted as a frivolous or useless element of life, but that's a staggering misconception. When you use your creativity, you are engineering and innovating new ways of thinking and producing work, and that is special and unique. But when you're busy with school, work, or life, creativity can easily fall from your to do list.Read More
I Treat My Child's Schedule Like I Did My Job's Calendar and, Hear Me Out, It Works
Before I became a parent, I didn't quite understand the daily juggling act that is required to survive. Having kids means being responsible for little people who can't seem to remember the most basic things, like brushing their teeth two times a day or wearing socks. They don't know how to tell time, manage a calendar or understand what the word Tuesday means, so keeping a schedule is tough.Read More
This Incredibly Easy Trick Helps Me Tackle Huge Tasks Without Stress
Whether it was writing a college paper, renovating my bathroom or starting my own business, taking on a massive project has been stressful and overwhelming for me. In the past, I would focus on how enormous the undertaking was and momentarily get paralyzed. Motivating myself to actually get to the task could sometimes take hours.Read More
5 Things I Do to Proactively Prevent Burnout
I worked in a hospital caring for patients for most of my career, so work wasn't exactly the kind I could take home with me. I had a benefits package that included generous paid vacation time. On top of only being required to work an eight-hour day, I had a lunch break that I was required to take, which forced a breather in the middle of the day.Read More
This 5-Step Nighttime Routine Helps Me Fall Asleep Quicker Before a Big Day
It might seem silly to follow a nighttime routine, but creating one can have great benefits, like helping you get a better night of rest. I'm by no means a night owl, so my nighttime routine revolves around one major goal: getting 10 hours of pillow time.Read More
I Was a Major Procrastinator in College, but I've Finally Figured Out How to Focus
I've struggled with procrastination since high school, where I often found myself rushing to finish homework assignments minutes before walking into class. During college, I saw my grades at the end of freshman year and knew something needed to change.Read More
Who Says You Can't Do Both? Here's How I Manage a Business and Keep a Side Hustle
As a new entrepreneur, maintaining balance can be difficult. Owning a business is a 24/7 job, and if you sprinkle a side hustle on top of that, like I have, where does one find the time? Well, I'm here to tell you that with a little planning, it can be done and it's actually very fulfilling.Read More
3 Hacks to Focus When Working From Home — None of Them Have to Do With Setting a Schedule
I used to think that working from home would be the best — until I actually started doing it. Opening my own skincare business was truly a dream come true, but I quickly realized that I am a one-woman operation and there's an ample amount of paperwork that needs to be done to keep everything running. To be frank, I was misinformed and certainly naive to think it would be easy-breezy to work from home without instilling a strict routine.Read More
