It seems like from the instant that you set foot on campus, you get pulled in a million directions. Club sports, cultural clubs, intramurals, coffee or lunch with friends, basketball games, going to the gym, student activism groups, Block Council events, work, exploring Spokane, classes, and homework too. And that’s just the weekdays!
It can be hard to effectively balance everything that you want to do. I still struggle to feel like I have enough time in my days between work, classes, playing in the band at basketball games, friends, and squeezing in my other involvement opportunities along the way. For me, the key has been a few simple steps, which seem easy but can be hard to stick to. Especially at the beginning of each year, when I’m not in a new routine yet, I find that making a schedule, and keeping as strict bed time are the best things to keep me balanced.
Writing out a schedule can really help you visualize how much time you have at the end of your classes each day, and has helped keep me focused on doing homework during breaks when I know I have something to go to later in the night. When making your schedule, be realistic. Don’t be afraid to include down-time, naps, and meal times, these are just as important as intramural games or studying. As you begin to live your schedule, adjust it by adding more homework time, or maybe dropping one club to make time for another. As school gets busier, you might be tempted to push schoolwork to the end of the day, and sleep whenever you’re finished with the day’s work, which is what I did my first two years as a Gonzaga student. That led to me staying up later than I should have, and not being as productive as I could have been during the day. Learn from my early academic mistakes, set a bedtime, and stick to it. This will make getting into a routine easier, and knowing when you have to get to bed should help you focus your productivity throughout the evening.
“But how do I pick what kind of activities to include in my schedule?” you ask. It’s hard to know just where you’ll find your place on campus, so I suggest trying anything that seems interesting (and a few that don’t) at least once or twice. Walk the club fair, enroll in freshman games or another intramural, take a risk on a club you wouldn’t have normally tried, then decide after one or two weeks which ones you want to spend more time with. Trying a variety of activities and groups is the best way to find the place where you’ll click, and when you do, it’s easier to start to create a lasting schedule for your semester!
Zach Frost is the Operations GUide on GUide Core. Meet Zach next week during New Student Orientation!