Just some general advice, don't rely on motivation. Motivation is fleeting and no matter how you plan your days, sometimes you're just not going to be motivated but need to get stuff done. You seem very set on what you want to achieve. I know it sounds very generic, but you just gotta do what you gotta do. Don't do things because you want to do them. Do them because you know it's the right thing to do. If you can keep up with this attitude, and you're genuinely interested in those fields, it'll be fine.

Time management, keeping a schedule etc. can be very hard in some situations and for some people. What I find most important is the skill of prioritization. If you get very good at evaluating the tasks you have in front of you, taking into account their urgency, how much time they will take, how tedious they are, and how you feel right at this moment, you will not need a perfect schedule. Instead you conciously choose each task after having deemed it appropriate to work on. This involves making a lot more decisions than blindly following a schedule or plan, but for some it is doable. This allows for a fluid, ever-changing, "schedule".

One aspect of prioritization you can practice right now, is to ruthlessly eliminate some of the tasks/projects you have in mind. If everything is important, nothing is important, so you must sacrifice some activities that interest you less, to benefit you in the pursuit of meaningful areas. That's the essence of making a decision. You burn a boat, close a door, create space -- to focus.

Similar to the first response, I set office hours for study time to make sure that I did it and also to keep a little more work-life balance. Studying is something that I never feel I truly could finish; I always wanted to give it more, review it one more time, so this helped me. It was also easy to not do reading assignments when clinical demands increased, so office hours for studying helped keep it from falling away.

One thing I always recommend for grad students is mapping out your time factoring in classes, clinicals, meals, showering, all personal care, and work time. This I have as the first sheet in an excel document and then map out all assignments on the next sheets in monthly calendar format (there are many formats you can download). I also typically color code assignments for different classes

Im of the mind that "reading assignments" are not as important as one would think (I'm talking textbook chapters. Articles for class discussion are a must). So I pay attention in class and get notes from friends since I'm horrible at note taking.

I love that I've set work hours for myself that are really work-life balance boundaries that I can carry into the field next year. For example, I don't do any school work or answer any emails outside of 9-5 hours Monday thru Friday. It's been GAME CHANGING since my first semester (which was awful). I have plenty of time for myself and house chores while still getting work done. If I have a later session (like 530-615) I'll do my SOAP right after since paperwork is due on date of service, but other than that, don't stress too much. I'm a firm believer that no one cares about your masters GPA as long as you graduate, are licensed, and knowledgeable (also willing to do research for your clients needs for treatment).

You'll do great!

As a non-type A, my list of priorities was governed by urgency of deadlines. I didn’t hold myself to “rules” besides get it done. I wrote all the deadlines on my calendar each month and crossed them off when each task was complete. When I saw days cluttered with multiple deadlines, I would try and do those early. I stopped bothering with time blocks because all it did was lead to disappointment because as another poster said, you always feel there is more to do, so it takes longer than blocked 99% of the time.

I wasn’t so good at the time for myself part. Though I did benefit from making hard externalized deadlines for things like hangouts, extra curricular classes, etc. so I couldn’t put them off. This kept me from only existing in the SLP bubble. Also, if I was having a relatively light week I forced myself to either do non glamorous self-care or knock out easier future assignments as a present for future me.

Already some pretty good advice here, but if I wish I changed anything in my first year, it'd be to stop prioritizing notes like I did in high school. Literally, you don't need notes (outside of class) in chem, physics, psych, and calc. Yes, you will need obvious formulas and knowledge but most of these classes just require tons of practice to do well. Do the practice exams early, and do them gradually (don't do more than two in one day for one course).

I also like using another method called the Feynman Method. Just take a blank piece of paper and write down a concept in the middle, and try to pour out your ideas about it in an organized way. It'll help identify what you do and don't know, and will save tons of time studying.

I can't really speak to biology/psychology, but I think I can give you some advice about chemistry/physics/calculus.

For subjects like math (physics and chemistry are quantitative enough to be grouped here) practice > reading.

During the first two or so weeks of university, I spent lots of time making notes for physics/calculus, walking myself through the proofs and ensuring I understood them. While this was nice for filling gaps before I did the exercises, it was ineffective.

It's much better to review (just read) notes after lecture and attempt the suggested problems. Then, find gaps in your knowledge through the suggested problems you're unable to complete. Take notes on the textbook sections relevant to these gaps and attempt the problems again.

This method effectively halved (if not more) the time I spend on these quantitative courses. If the prof lecturing a particular subject isn't great and you find your lecture notes confusing, I highly recommend going to another section if possible.

Personally, the only notes I ever took were during classes that the professors said things in lectures that weren't on the slides. Other than that, no notes from textbooks or study notes based off the lecture. I find that people sometimes spend too much time and effort on making notes and not actually learning or reviewing them. Once you have the content down once (textbook, lecture slides, lecture notes etc.), start practicing problems and reading the text again and again, specifically working on tough memorization concepts etc. Good luck!

Don't make notes for Biology 1001 from scratch. Tom likes to test you on lecture material more so than textbook readings.

I found Stephen covey’s 4-square priority list (can’t remember the actual term for it) very helpful.

Edit: Covey Time Management Matrix

• Quadrant 1: Urgent and important.
• Quadrant 2: Not urgent but important.
• Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important.
• Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important.

The book is an ok read, a little overblown in my opinion but can be helpful if interested (7 habits)

I have an academic calendar that I fill out the night before so I know exactly what my goals are the next day. This presets you for the night where you know what to do, and then in the morning you aren’t scrambling to figure out when to start or what to do. When I deviate from this, I am not as efficient

Honestly? The way that works for you. Digital calendar, paper planner, lists, sticky notes, notification reminders, emails to yourself--it takes trial and error for some. It's the reason there's so many organizational systems out there.

I personally have a mix of all the above. Physical notes when I need a constant reminder and digital for everything else.

Google Calendar will be the hill I die on, it has my meetings, my study sessions, when I eat, when I sleep

I find that little sticky notes or to do lists worked best for me in med school.

Just make a daily list and get through everything.

You can add time frames if you need to be more disciplined.

My issue was I would just forget to do things. Not that I wasn’t necessarily managing time incorrectly though.

Study groups,thanks

I agree with all these points though am not a BA student

I think using essay writing services is a smart option, especially when deadlines are tight, and you’ve got multiple assignments to handle. It’s a great way to ensure you’re getting quality work while managing your time effectively. I’ve used them a few times when my schedule was packed, and it made a huge difference!

Couldn’t agree more with taking care of yourself. Burnout is real, and no deadline is worth sacrificing your well-being. 💪

Solid advice! I’ve been there with the overwhelming workload. Btw, has anyone tried to pay for essay services through Reddit? Curious if it’s worth considering when deadlines are crazy tight. 🤔

Nike: Just do it

Have a planner or use an online calendar service like Google Calendar to plan out your days. The key is efficiency, where you're always doing something during the day without long gaps where you have nothing to do.

i put all of my activities that had a specific time (going to my lab, clinical work, volunteering) into my google calendar, and then from there i could see which of my days were the busiest.

each week i'd make a list of all the things i had to get done that week as far as school work or work for my extracurricular activities, and plan out which day i would do them. i would also do smaller assignments during my downtime at other activities to maximize my time. for example, i worked as an emt for a medical transport agency, and if my partner was the one driving and we didn't have a patient, i would do some work in the passenger seat.

i'd also generally try to avoid scheduling things a day or two before i had an exam and during finals week so i could just focus on school during that time.

but at the end of the day it was mostly, "i have to get this thing done no matter what" and even if i'd procrastinate, i was going to get it done because i had to get it done.

and lastly, you also want to make sure to have fun/relax. i'm a strict believer that work time is work time and fun/relax time is fun/relax time. don't trick yourself into thinking you can just casually watch a tv show while you're doing an assignment because you probably won't finish the assignment as fast as you could if you just focused on it, and you're not able to enjoy the tv show either. i think that if you just do both things separately, you'll be more efficient with your work and be more satisfied by your fun activities.

1. Getting off Reddit

2. Pomodoro

1. Put your phone in another room. Turn off notifications.

2. Set a timer for a set amount of time. When it goes off you get a break.

3. Plan micronaps. 15-20 minutes every two or three hours. Do not think about anything, just lay down, get comfortable, and close your eyes. Let your mind wander, try not to think of anything about school. Have a daydream. After 20 minutes (set an alarm) get up and stretch. This helps your neurons replenish neurotransmitters and hormones from study and boosts concentration, and get fresh blood supply in to clear metabolic wastes from the areas you're using during study. Not to be queen of the nerds here but I think of this in D&D terms where they discuss how magic users need to take a "short rest" to restore a spell slot.

4. Be mindful, recognize when your mind wanders and discipline yourself by reflection on why you are not focusing, then pretend someone you love or deeply respect is encouraging you to get back to study.

5. When you accomplish a study goal make sure to mentally recognize your achievement. Again, pretend someone you love or deeply respect is proud of you. Train the voice in your head to be an asset, not an asshole.

Being realistic about how often and how long my breaks are, instead of making a schedule that I immediately don’t follow

Anki during rounds. Anki during dreams. Anki during shower. Anki during bathroom. Anki during party. Anki during exam. Anki during TV. Anki during eating. Anki during gym. Anki during sex. Anki during match day. Anki during wedding. Anki during birth of child. Anki during retirement. Anki during deathbed.

Pomodoro with the Forest app that locks my phone in between