The bookstore has a lots of supplies for the year ahead (File Photo/The Daily Campus)
It’s that time again, folks! The time when we have to say goodbye to our summer routines and get thrown into the whirlwind of our class schedules, various club meetings, and the oh-so-foreign concept of “keeping our sanity.” Everyone is usually a little nervous about starting a new school year, even if it’s your senior year and you think you’re familiar with everything.
One of the most important things to focus on when starting classes up again is starting and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule. Personally, I enjoy waking up early because the morning is the time of day that I’m most productive. If you also get up early, it means you probably need to go to bed at a reasonable time, so it’s important to plan your schedule accordingly so that you’re not pulling all-nighters.
This goes hand in hand with time management, which can be a difficult skill to master. I experienced that, once I got into the flow of college, time management became much easier. I’d 100-percent recommend getting a planner to write down every detail of your life.
Writing things down not only helps to reinforce them into your brain, but a planner also acts as a place to which you can look in order to see every task laid out. Crossing things off or putting a check mark next to them as you complete them helps you to remember what you’ve already done and what you still need to do.
On the nutrition side, there are certain foods and drinks that will keep us feeling better and more motivated. I enjoy tea in the morning or at night (or both), and I make sure to carry my refillable water bottle around with me everywhere.
Most college students automatically go for coffee when they need to wake up and get moving, but there are some proven downsides to drinking too much coffee. It can increase feelings of anxiety, which is not good when you’re stressing about an exam or just stressing about life in general. It can also increase your risk for osteoporosis and other bone-related issues.
One last con to drinking coffee is that it can actually make you more tired. Similar to how the body acts when on sugar, drinking coffee can lead to a crash. You’ll feel that initial boost of energy at first, but then eventually you’ll be even more tired.
Tea is a good substitute because you can still get it caffeinated. It’s also a diuretic, which means it helps keep you hydrated and flush out toxins in your system. I know that not many people are big fans of tea, but it’s definitely worth trying, especially if you’re experiencing crashes or anxiety from coffee.
One last tip to be prepared for the upcoming school year is to really evaluate your overall goals. Don’t treat every class or activity as a chore, but look at it in a more positive light. Get involved in things you know you’ll love doing and have an interest in. It will be much less tedious to go about your day when you genuinely enjoy what you’re doing.
Knowing your overall goal for the year (for example, what grades you want to get, what activities you want to do with your friends, and what clubs you want to be a part of), is extremely important. The way you think your year will go is the way it will go. A positive attitude and knowing what you want to achieve can really make your year exactly what you want it to be.
Tessa Pawlik is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at tessa.pawlik@uconn.edu.