College Success: How do I do it? by John

College Success: How do I do it? by John - September 2014 Scholarship Essay

It’s the summer before your first year of college; you’re so excited about move-in day, meeting your roommate(s) and attending your classes that you barely even sleep most nights. Several weeks go by and move-in day finally arrives; several days later you attend your first day of classes, read the syllabuses and become so overwhelmed with the course load you begin to sweat uncontrollably. There is one vital skill towards college success that will make one’s anxiety disappear and that’s time-management. Many of us, if not all of us, have experienced this and asked ourselves “how am I going to get all my work done and have fun?” Establishing and honing time-management skills is vital as it promotes organization and decreases anxiety/stress.

Time management can be defined as making the optimal or best possible use of available time. With this in mind, individuals who work on managing their time tend to be more organized than those who don’t. Organization, especially in college, is one of the several keys to success as it minimizes a students’ time needlessly searching for documents. This reminds me of my first semester in college and how being organized was a life saver; I had four assignments due on the same day and I became frightened that I wouldn’t get them completed and submitted promptly. Thankfully, I had arranged my assignments in different colored binders so I knew which assignment belonged to which subject. In the end, I completed and submitted my assignments on time all thanks to being organized. Practicing time-management leads to being an organized individual which is essential for college achievement.

Time-management not only enhances a students’ organization, but decreases their anxiety/stress as well. With the amount of course work college/university professors assign it’s no surprise that students get stressed. Many students, I’ve been guilty of this as well, sometimes procrastinate on certain assignments such as papers for an English class. You do everything from hanging out with friends to watching Netflix up until the day before the English paper is due; you start typing anything at that point and hope and pray your professor gives you a passing grade. As days go by, you become anxious as your heart rate rises, sweat arrives in places you’ve never sweated before, and sometimes sleepless nights and as a result, you become even more stressed in your other courses. This is where good time-management comes into play as that horrible English paper that was assigned gets completed in a reasonable amount of time. Which means that one can get other assignments done and still have time to catch up with friends around campus. Great time-management leads to less anxiety and stress and less anxiety and stress means a calm, cool and collected college student.

Overall, college is an institution where you can grow in knowledge and character, but it’s not going to be an easy task. Many will advise future students that in order to be successful in college, one must acquire and hone certain skills that will ensure just that. There are several skills that are vital to college achievement, but good time-management skills has proven to be one of the most impactful. Good time-management skills has proven to make students more organized and in a world where punctuality is crucial, organized students are already ahead of the game. With that in mind, organization creates a stress-free environment that majority, if not all, of college students want to work in. In the words of the late Donda West, Kanye West’s mother, “use school, don’t let school use you.”