Hey, I don’t go to the University of Toronto, I am still in high-school at Northern Secondary school, but my question is beyond general, so maybe you can help anyway. Ever since I can remember, I have had difficulty handing assignments in on time, but lately its gotten exceedingly worse. Things have gotten to the point where that majority of my assignments are either late, or are not handed in at all. On top of this, almost all of my on time work is “half assed” and done the night before. This results in screwed up sleep patterns, lack of concentration in class, and constant stress. To make matters worse, the assignments I actually get in are usually high eighties to mid nineties, so my parents push me extra hard to replicate it. I am also a member of a band, and have been having difficulty balancing the two. On one hand, I know that school should always be my priority, and on the other, I don’t want to become that band member who’s always the one who has to be caught up to speed. As I type this message I have a major assignment half a week over due, two presentations coming up, a DBQ due for American History, and months overdue annotated bibliographies and one Thesis statement, also for american history. What do you suggest?
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I’m glad you asked me that question, despite the fact you’re not from UofT. I’m guessing you were probably procrastinating on Google and stumbled upon this site and, dazzled by my beauty, decided to reach out to me.
Anyway, I don’t think there are any concrete solutions to your problem, but here are some suggestions.
1) Take a step back. With your extra-curricular activities and schoolwork, there seems to be a lot on your plate. Is it possible that you’re overloading yourself with work, and are feeling stressed out as a result? When I was in first year, I undertook a highly ambitious schedule: I took 6 courses, had almost 30 hours of classes (that’s a lot for a University student), and was an executive member in a choir. Though I was pushing myself more than I had ever before, this exotic blend of courses and extra-curricular activities left me more unmotivated than I had ever felt in my whole life. Plus, I had no time for social or family life. So, I think you should ask yourself: are my current goals realistic? Would cutting back a course or two help? There are times when school life will have to be compromised, and times you’re your social life will have to be compromised. Only you alone know where your priorities lie and what you value.
2) Set goals. One thing I learned this year is that it is really important to set goals for yourself. Keeping a calendar/agenda and marking down the due dates of your assignments might help you plan your best mode of attack on your pile of work. Try to set more goals for yourself, and do your best to see them through. Be systematic. Perhaps you could set aside hours in which you will concentrate only on your homework, and nothing else. Also, I know it’s probably difficult to catch up now, but I think you really have to work really hard to meet deadlines. Once you miss one deadline, it?s very easy to start thinking that it’s okay to miss another deadline, and another, until you barely even care about when assignments are due anymore (*insert ‘once the ball gets rolling’ cliche here*).
3) Sleep. Tell yourself, “I’m going to try to sleep at 12 am every night this week”, and actually stick to it. It might sound silly, but a regular sleeping schedule REALLY does help. Take it from me. Last year, I constantly slept at 2 am or later; this year, I made it a goal to sleep every night at 12 am, and I felt so much more concentrated, and so much less stressed. Health is of utmost importance, and school shouldn’t compromise that.
4) Seek help. Emailing me was a great first step. Is there anyone else you can talk to? Counselors at school? Teachers? Parents? Siblings? Don’t think, “Why would I do that?”, because that’s your ego talking. There’s nothing wrong about seeking help. In fact, I think it’s very important to talk to others, because it challenges your own perspective, and if you don’t challenge your perspective, you’ll never change.
To top this post off, here’s a link to some tips from the academic success centre at UofT, and here’s a nice Aqua song with a nonsensical music video that has nothing to do with this post. Enjoy.