By: Yastika Singh
College is a curious paradox of a large amount of “free time” yet too little time to do everything you want to do. Time management is an essential skill in college, especially in engineering, where you can find yourself delving deep into one physics problem and look up and see that two hours have passed (sorry that was a little too close to home). As a freshman in bioengineering, I’m still learning the art of time management but I do think I have come a long way from high school. Thus, I hope my cringey “day in the life” will provide some insights into how to balance all of the amazing but overwhelming things college has to offer:)
Monday March 3, 2025
Lesson 1: 12pm Classes (Blessing or Curse?)
Unfortunately, I am writing this in a week where I have three midterms. So, a lot of my day today was spent studying. But better to see the worst of it, right? My first class today is at 12pm, which is a luxury. However, it is important that I make use of the time I have in the morning, otherwise I’ll find myself waking up at 10am having accomplished nothing. So, I wake up at 8am today and set to work redoing my chemistry recitation problems from the previous two weeks while drinking my morning coffee. Having finished those around 10am, I work out in my dorm as it is freezing outside and I don’t feel like walking over to the gym. Working out is a priority for me because I know it will make me feel good and get me ready for a good day. I also play some Just Dance as a post workout reward because it makes me happy:)
Lesson 2: Location, Location, Location
Next, I shower and get ready for class, heading out the door around 11:40. Where you live on campus unfortunately factors into your time management- I live on the opposite side of campus from all my classes so I must leave time for walking to class. I sit through my first class of the day- chemistry, which is only an hour long, making sure to actively take notes so I don’t return to the material not knowing anything. After chemistry, I grab lunch with some friends, chilling for about an hour before we lock in for our next class- which happens to be a computer science midterm! One thing I’ve learned is it's a good skill to be able to lock in anywhere- dining hall, library, outside a classroom, you name it. Being flexible with your studying allows you to make use of even small blocks of time in the day.
Lesson 3: Rejuvenation Through Breaks
We head over to the lecture hall to take our test around 3:20 and the test lasts till 4:45pm. We quickly grab coffee and debrief a mid midterm and then head over to chemistry lab lecture, which lasts an hour. Next, we head over to the dining hall for dinner. I’ve learned that making time to have meals with friends is the easiest way to destress and to have a social life- everyone needs to eat! We laugh and relax for about an hour and then head over to a chemistry review session for our midterm which is on Wednesday. The review session lasts an hour and a half, and I’ll be honest, drains me. Finally, I head home, calling my family on the walk back. Pro tip- call your family/friends. Talking to your loved ones allows you to take a step back from your day and breathe. It’s better to get things off your chest, otherwise they will eat at you, limiting your productivity.
Lesson 4: Prioritize Your Passions (and Sleep!)
I arrive at my dorm around 9:30pm and study for my stats midterm which is on Thursday :(. Finally, I end the day finishing an application for an exciting SWE event- a perfect ending to a long day. While I am not involved in too many clubs so far, the ones I have joined mean a lot to me and so working on this application was exciting. I retired to bed around 1:30am, which I will be clear, is a late night for me. I definitely do not stay up this late every night, it just happened that you caught me in a bad week!
General Tips:
Every Sunday I carve out twenty minutes in the evening to set up my Google Calendar for the week. While this may seem restricting, I find that having a preliminary routine for the week lets me sleep better at night and have a plan for the week
Make a study plan for midterms a week in advance, doing a little each day to build up your knowledge over time
That’s enough about studies- what about everything else? Prioritize things that make you happy and fulfilled outside of class: for me that is running, hanging out with friends, and SWE! While it may feel like you are using time you could have been studying, having a balanced life will make your studying time that much more productive
Prioritize sleep! I cannot stress this enough- it may seem like you need to be up till the wee hours of the morning to be a “normal” college student but this is all made up; sleep is essential for staying healthy, staying sharp, and staying happy
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