You’ve spent the last 3 nights enjoying the free booze freedom that Welcome Week allows, but as you wake up with the garbage can next to your bed – again – you realize it might be time to buckle down. Classes are looming ever closer and not only can your body not handle another 12-hour hangover, you’ve got a lot of stuff to prepare before those 18 credits take over your life.

So while your friends watch another SATC marathon/discuss what they’re going to wear to the night’s festivities, you grab your schedule and head out for something a little more….fun: school supplies shopping (!!).

Most people wouldn’t find this particular type of shopping exciting, but back-to-school shopping has been the highlight of your Augusts since you were 6 years old. The smell of fresh books, the feel of a new (medium point) pen as it runs across the pages of a fresh, crisp college-ruled notebook. The richness of a new, juicy highlighter. You can’t wait to get it all home and organized for the first day of classes. Read More »

We all have problems managing our time; if you don’t, then post in the comments and let us know how you do it. Seriously, we can use all the help we can get.I’ve picked up some tricks and techniques recently that have really helped to open up my days, make me feel less stressed, and allow me to get everything done on time. Well, almost everything, but I’m working on it.

I’m happy to share – after all, that is what this column is all about – so check them out!

1. Make a schedule for yourself.

This is really the most basic time-management tool. I use a daily planner and I write a new to-do list for each day. Then I cross things out as I finish them. For longer-term projects, I write down the due date and then I write down what I need to accomplish on the project on a daily or weekly basis. You can do whatever works for you—color-code your schedule, write it on a white board, use an electronic calendar, etc.

2. Consolidate activities.

I used to go to the bank every time I got a new check, which sometimes meant I’d be going several times per week. I wasn’t using that money immediately after depositing it, so there was no reason for me to go so often. Now, I only go to the bank once every two weeks. It saves me tons of time, and I just keep all my checks together until I go on my biweekly trip.

Think about the things you do often—run errands, cook, do homework—and then think about whether you can consolidate any of them. Maybe it would help you to cook several huge batches of food on weekends and then freeze them in meal-sized portions to use throughout the week. Can you do a quick math assignment while you’re riding the subway or waiting on the phone for a customer-service rep? If so, you’ll have more free time later. Read More »

Are you Wonder Woman? Do you balance more activities, projects, and tasks than there are hours in a day? Do you think sleep is a myth? If you constantly find yourself having to schedule in five minute appointments with yourself just to down a bagel and keep going, you may have what some people refer to as “a hectic schedule.”

Sure, it seems overwhelming; sure, sometimes you want to break down and cry; but at the end of the day, you love what you do, and you’re proud of the fact that you can accomplish an exponential amount more than most mortals. And you know that everything you do will benefit you in the long run.

I love to feel useful, so it’s always been hard for me to say “no” to picking up an extra shift, or doing an extra project. When I was in high school, I worked part time, was active in drama club, cheerleading, amnesty international, gay/straight alliance, dance classes, and, senior year, I edited the yearbook. And I did it all while making honor roll each semester. In college, I wasn’t so active in extra-curriculars, but I held down two restaurant jobs, took a full course load, and partied my face off, while making Dean’s List. You can call me a nerd; I just think I have a severe case of ADHD that’s never been officially diagnosed.

That said, Wonder Woman, I know the meaning of stress, and I know the importance of staying organized. Here are some of my own personal life-saving tips. Read More »

Shopping for college can be stressful: you don’t know how much room you will have in your dorm, how much is too much, if you’ve brought enough, and if it will match the stuff your roommate has.

Shopping for elementary school supplies was so much more fun – you got to stock up on your favorite Lisa Frank supplies and you begged your mom to buy you a few gel pens because everyone was using them.

This year, instead of making a quick pit-stop at Staples on the way to school and buying a few notebooks and black pens, why not bring some of that grade school excitement back with fun school supplies?

Remember how excited you were to use those gel pens to fill out worksheets in the first couple weeks of school? How cool it was to start a brand new notebook? Here are some funky school supplies that will make you want to head to class, take some notes, and do some hardcore studying. Or at least they will help you make friends by serving as a good conversation starter for the girl sitting next to you.

This stuff puts the “cool” back in school. Yeah…I went there.

Calculator – You will probably need to bring one of those nerdy graphing calculators to your Advanced Stats class, but why not buy one of those enormous & brightly colored calculators for when you just need to add, subtract, multiply, or divide? Math sucks, but bright pink makes everything better. Read More »