Over-Worked and Under Stress

Nineteen credits this semester may have been the worst decision of my life. Not to mention the part-time job on top of it. I'm slowly drowning in schoolwork and there is nothing I can do about it at this point except just keep on pushing through. The only thing keeping me sane is the constant countdown on my calendar of how many days are left until this mess is over. The only thing I want in this world right now is to put that cap and gown on and walk across that stage...

That will make this semester of insanity worth it.

With the sheer amount of research projects, papers and exams I have had in the last week alone my stress level has sky rocketed and my social life has dwindled to nonexistence. The only things I have time for are homework, school, and eating. It's a good day when I'm not doing some sort of homework on my phone, or catching up on that extra bit of sleep because I didn't get enough, while sitting in the shower (dangerous, I know). I've found a lot of strange ways to maximize my productivity while still getting everything important taken care of.

My (Weird) Productivity Tips:

Planning:
1. Color code and itemize how you will spend your time: I do this in a big ole planner, and I highlight blocks of time for every assignment or task and that's how long I spend on it. Plan for showering, eating and sleeping, and make sure to use different colors for everything. I have 5; essentials, class times/schoolwork, work, social, appointments.

2. As one of my teachers told me: when writing a paper it's often easiest to simply open the document write your name, save it, and then close it until you know what you want to say next. Don't stress about getting the words right the first time, get the thought down and let the editing wait until it's time.

3. Take your laptop or tablet everywhere... The amount of times I've thought of the answer to a question in the bathroom or the shower and then forgotten it by the time I get to the computer... is embarrassing. Plastic Ziploc bags and your tablet will be wonderful friends for shower time when you've got a paper on your mind.