First-Year Student Journals : Nicole : Journal 10

20 March 2003

This semester has been absolutely insane. Today I sat down and realized that for the last three weeks all I’ve tried to do is catch up. Nonstop work had led me to believe I was being incredibly productive when in fact I’m not even close to being on top of things. This false sense of productivity lasted only until I recently found myself reading for philosophy in English and copying English notes in science.

I’m not quite sure what made me think that I could get by with studying sporadically and randomly completing one or two homework assignments a week. For a while I fooled myself into thinking there was a method to this madness. There really is no method.

Some advice. Do things well in advance. When you catch yourself thinking that you have time to have long conversations on the phone, or type one- to three-page e-mail messages, or maybe take a couple of hours and nap, think again. Remember that paper due next week? Do it! Because next week that paper will be piled in with a list of meetings and reading assignments that will be just as imperative. Keep your conversations short, your e-mail messages concise and your sleep at night.

One more thing. AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). Yes, it’s very convenient for keeping in touch. However, it can prove to be detrimental to time management. I don’t mean to get too dramatic here, but know that it can be addictive. I’m told the novelty of Ethernet eventually wears off, but knowing that you can be signed on all the time can become a huge temptation. And if you catch yourself checking people’s away messages, just get up, walk away from the computer and know that there are better ways to spend your time.



	Nicole \| Profile \| Reflections \| Journal 7 8 9 10 11 12 Fall 2002 \| Home
	20 March 2003 This semester has been absolutely insane. Today I sat down and realized that for the last three weeks all I’ve tried to do is catch up. Nonstop work had led me to believe I was being incredibly productive when in fact I’m not even close to being on top of things. This false sense of productivity lasted only until I recently found myself reading for philosophy in English and copying English notes in science. I’m not quite sure what made me think that I could get by with studying sporadically and randomly completing one or two homework assignments a week. For a while I fooled myself into thinking there was a method to this madness. There really is no method. Some advice. Do things well in advance. When you catch yourself thinking that you have time to have long conversations on the phone, or type one- to three-page e-mail messages, or maybe take a couple of hours and nap, think again. Remember that paper due next week? Do it! Because next week that paper will be piled in with a list of meetings and reading assignments that will be just as imperative. Keep your conversations short, your e-mail messages concise and your sleep at night. One more thing. AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). Yes, it’s very convenient for keeping in touch. However, it can prove to be detrimental to time management. I don’t mean to get too dramatic here, but know that it can be addictive. I’m told the novelty of Ethernet eventually wears off, but knowing that you can be signed on all the time can become a huge temptation. And if you catch yourself checking people’s away messages, just get up, walk away from the computer and know that there are better ways to spend your time.