Every day, I write out a to-do list. Every day, I make a schedule. Every day, it’s in vain.
The life of a college student is forever in flow. One day, you’re living on campus and the next day you’re at home. Suddenly, it’s time to find a summer job. Also, don’t forget it’s a new semester, so time to adjust to the new arrangement. It’s pointless to make a schedule when life is constantly in flux.
Making a schedule and failing to follow it makes it hard to sleep at night. It’s easy to blame yourself despite the many unforeseen circumstances that can get in the way of sticking to a schedule.
This can also be applied to a ‘life plan’. If you know what age you’re going to get married and where you’re going to live, great. However, it’s advisable to maybe focus on life goals instead of time goals. Life changes in moments, and having every minute detail planned sets up failure, stress and heartbreak.
Here’s a crazy statement I just learned about: all procrastination isn’t evil. Sometimes, there’s a reason we choose to put off an issue. For example, we might still be pondering how to go about doing something, or our brain needs time to regulate stressful emotions. It’s not inherently bad to take a walk before doing a task, eat a snack, or scroll through social media. At the end of the day, moderation is key.
With that in mind, going with the flow is necessary. It’s possible one task might take longer than expected, and you can’t beat yourself up about it. Our brains have different energy levels throughout the day, so allow yourself the time to figure it out.
If a schedule falls through, I find myself upset things didn’t work out, and it’s easy to start blaming others for getting in the way or not following along. Here’s the thing: if you never had a strict schedule to begin with, you wouldn’t be as upset.
I find a to-do list to be extremely helpful, but never write an unattainable one or an overwhelming one. Keep the number of tasks low, and if things get skipped, push it on over to the next day.
If a schedule is necessary for you to function, try to be as vague as possible. Instead of crunching down the minutes, plan windows for certain tasks.
The life of a full-time student sometimes means there is no time to waste. And if that’s the case, focus on tasks like your life depends on it. If you need to take the time to de-stress, do your favorite hobby or journal. If a deadline gets missed, reach out to who you need to and ask for help from professors. Hopefully, that assignment isn’t an end-all assignment, but even if it is, you tried your best.
Oftentimes, successful people swear by to-do lists and schedules, but strict schedules allow zero nuance and no flexibility. Set reminders instead and take it easy. Life is hard.
