Learning how to effectively utilize digital calendars can optimize time management, reduce your stress levels and enhance your productivity as a Brock student.
Think of the mind as a computer with a limited amount of easily recallable memory. Tasks like remembering to do assignments or being on time for lectures take up some of that memory.
Being a student at university is a memory-intensive task. The best way to free up space in your conscious mind is to simply move tedious due dates and responsibilities into a more permanent, reliable storage medium. Planning, scheduling and routines are the not-so-secret secrets to post-secondary success. Here are a few first steps to start your semester on the right track.
Use your phone to your advantage
Utilize a calendar app that can sync with the calendars on every other device you own.
Instead of relying on your memory, utilize the technology available to you. If you haven’t already, start writing important dates into your calendar app with reminder alerts—now you will never have to remember your commitments again. You must only remember to check your phone, which nobody forgets to do.
You have the syllabus, use it!
The syllabus is your best friend in university.
On day one, take a moment to thoroughly review the syllabus of each class. Pay close attention to assignment due dates and their weight on your overall grades, and transfer all important dates into your calendar app. This proactive step will prevent any nasty surprises and help you stay on top of your academic commitments.
Lectures and seminars too
Make it a habit to note down the date, time and location of each class in your calendar and repeat the event every week. After a few weeks, attending lectures and seminars will become such a habit that you won’t forget them anyway. Noting down your class times will prevent you from double booking other commitments and helps to visualize how busy you will be on a given day. By doing so, you’ll ensure that you never miss an important session and stay up to date with your courses.
Work shifts… workouts… seriously, everything
University life is not just about academics; it’s a delicate balance of various personal and professional commitments. Whether it’s your work shifts, gym sessions, club meetings or social events, include everything in your calendar. Having a clear overview of your schedule gives you direction and motivation in your day. Scheduling all your busy hours also provides a clearer sense of how much free time you really have.
Create to-do lists for all things miscellaneous
Some tasks don’t necessarily require a specific date or time but still need to be accomplished such as buying groceries, doing laundry or sending an email to a professor. To avoid mental clutter and ensure nothing slips through the cracks, create to-do lists for these miscellaneous tasks. Review your lists regularly and take pride in checking off what you complete.
Keep up with the organization
Brock life is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Keeping up the organization will help to reduce your stress and simplify your university experience as much as possible. Organization is a virtue and should never be overlooked.
By transitioning tasks and responsibilities from the limited capabilities of memory to the reliability of digital calendars, students can liberate mental space and streamline their academic journey. Not only does effective scheduling simplify the challenges of Brock life, it also cultivates a path to sustained success in post-secondary education and beyond.
