Formula for Success
My 1st year of engineering taught me many things. I learned that my study habits suck and my school meant it when they said “getting into the program is easy, the challenge is getting out.” I also learned that I can get really really lazy and when I hit that zone, I stay in that zone. It’s not good. So with this post, I hope to outline what I did wrong and hopefully be able to help anyone who has struggled/is struggling with school or work productivity.
There were 3 things that I needed to master last year (besides my courses) in order to be successful
- Organization
- Commitment
- Balance
If those 3 work simultaneously, I guarantee that I would’ve earned higher marks.
Organization - I get so pumped getting organized. I have notebooks and desk planners. Apps on my phone. You name it. However, I can’t stay on my schedule. This is related to commitment but it starts with getting yourself organize and planning out what you need to do. Start with a checklist for your week and check off what you’ve done. Write out everything and I mean EVERYTHING.
Commitment - Stay on that schedule! For organization to work, you need to maintain and stay committed. I have a problem with this. I still don’t know how to stay committed unless I’m threatened to do so. Even with my gym schedule, I get lazy very easily. I guess when I realize that I have competition, that’s when I really start doing work. Just do what works for you but without committing to your schedule, it just wouldn’t work.
Balance - School, work and social life. You need to have a balance of everything. I realized that I started succeeding 2 weeks before my final exam. It was horrible. For the last two weeks, I stayed later at school to do homework, I went to the gym consistently and I dealt with life outside of school OUTSIDE of school. I maintained a healthy balance and I wish I started that sooner.
Even though I didn’t do so well this past year, I’m still very blessed and fortunate that I made it out without failing any classes. I hate that feeling after Final Exams. I hate not knowing whether I’m going to make it or not. I hope that I’ll have a better experience next semester.
kq
