Life Hack for Fun In School by Joseph

Life Hack for Fun In School by Joseph - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

Here's the thing. A guy wants to have fun in school. There are games to either play in or watch, clubs to join, movies to see and sometimes even a party or two. The problem is that everyone else wants you to study and succeed. The truth is everyone else is right. They do not expect you to study and succeed to the exclusion of fun, but they know what your priority should be. I learned the hard way, so I’m sharing this hack with you: BE ORGANIZED TO HAVE FUN.
Being organized sounds ridiculously simple, but do not be fooled; it takes just a little effort to become organized so you can have more fun. Organization in your work habits gives you more time to have fun. The first part of this trick is to write down when everything is due. If you are super organized, you can color code every subject or topic on your list. Using a calendar along with a regular to-do list will help keep the assignments visible all at once. It is extremely satisfying to cross things off the list when they are done because it give you a real sense of accomplishment.
Next, plan on working on long term assignments a little bit each day by breaking the assignment down into smaller tasks. For example, research, reading, first draft, edits, final draft, etc. can all be broken down into smaller tasks. When researching, plan on reviewing one resource per day and annotate the important parts of just that resource for the day. Fifteen to thirty minutes every day for an assignment due in 2 months, should be plenty. If you find yourself with some unplanned free time, put in a bit more effort on a long term assignment, which will keep you from feeling like you will not finish in time. It prevents the panic of procrastination.
Daily assignments have to be done and turned in on time because that will help you learn and will keep your grades higher. Doing your homework helps you learn the material consistently. When the test is coming up, you only have to review what you know and not cram to learn it all in one night. Keep your notes, homework and tests to review for mid-terms and final exams. Use your free time intelligently. If you know you want to go out on Friday and Saturday nights, but you have a test on Monday, then you know you must use Sunday to review for the test. You can also add 10 minutes per day during the preceding week to start studying. Planning ahead will help you to ace that test.
The way all this organization leads to fun is that by devoting small amounts of time every day to your studies means that when something fun is suggested spontaneously, you can go have fun. You will not risk a bad grade by skipping just one night because you have been doing your work all along. Using lists and calendars to keep track of your work load will give you the overall picture of where you stand and how much time you need to devote to work before you can hang out with your friends. You can fit in fun with the work by putting a little effort into organization.