Lately, it feels as if I’m in a Samuel Beckett play. With four weeks to go until I graduate from high school and hardly anything worthwhile to do, I find myself stuck in a waiting game. My school days are drawn-out and boring as anything; the highlights of my days are the art house films we’re watching in French and the various incarnations of dodgeball my gym teacher keeps thinking up. I keep looking at the calendar each day, and although my parents tell me the weeks will fly by quickly, graduation could not be farther away in my mind. And not to mention freshman move-in day, which seems like light years away.

I have, however, found a few things to keep me occupied until graduation. It’s not much, but at least it’s preventing me from losing my mind from anxious waiting: Read More »

Every college library is similar – always too hot or too cold, smells kind of bad but you aren’t sure why, phrases etched into the tables, and a mixed population of students either writing on each others’ Facebook walls or writing 20 page term papers in a single night.

Good times!

I used to be very anti-library (who isn’t), but this semester I have found ways to make it more comfortable, enjoyable and conducive to a productive day/evening/month of work-doing. It’s all about being prepared (for anything) and as long as you have these essentials in that backpack of yours, you can be successful too.

Water bottle: This seems obvious but you’d be surprised. I once pulled an all-nighter without bringing a water bottle and because I was so into the work I was doing, I never felt like going to get water. Stupid mistake! I got tired and sick, and spent my night drooling on my laptop instead of researching on it. The next time I filled that sucker up a few times per hour, got everything done, and felt great the next day. Also, drinking only coffee, tea or Red Bull (or Bawls...) will almost definitely dehydrate you, cause you to crash sooner than without caffeine and probably give you a terrible stomachache (which may explain that weird smell in the libs….).

Personal hygiene products: I’ll admit that I’m a little weird when it comes to hygiene – I carry toothbrushes with me wherever I go – but I highly suggest anyone going to the library for an extended period of time should have at least a toothbrush thrown in their backpack. Some other products that always come in handy for me are hand sanitizer, lotion, tissues, chapstick, and deodorant. Trust me, it’s better for everyone if you smell like a “Satin Pear” (whatever that is) than whatever 10 hours in a dirty library smells like for a 9:35 Italian class! Read More »

Your 10 page paper on the complete works of Shakespeare is due in less than a week. You vowed to spend all of Sunday at the library working on it, but an impromptu beer pong tournament broke out at your house on Saturday night and you were so busy eating Oreo Cakesters and chugging Vitaminwater that the entire day passed you by. Now it’s crunch time and you have no choice but to bang it out.

You decide not to waste any time, so you skip the long walk to the library and work at home. You tell your roommates not to bother you, lock the door to your room and settle in for some serious paper writing.

Only your desk is really messy. You can’t focus when you don’t even have space to spread out your books. So you clean it. Twenty minutes and a garbage can full of papers later, you decide to take out the trash. But before you do that, you might as well make sure there isn’t anything else that needs to be thrown away. You begin to clean your room. Once it is clean, you tell yourself, you will be able to focus. 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 »

2009 is just around the corner. I don’t know what your year was like, but I am looking forward to saying goodbye to some of my ‘08 mishaps and start anew in ‘09. Of course, I say that every year. Some years, I make resolutions, and some years, I know that I’m not going to stick to them, so I don’t bother.

However, there are several things I should consider pledging as the ball drops. Whether you’re stuck on your own resolution, or just need a fresh start with the new year, the following are some resolutions that many of us should consider.

1. I will go to the gym regularly.

When 2008 struck, I was on a regular gym regime, and resolved to keep at it and lose ten more pounds. I did. Then summer hit, and I found that poolside cocktails and outdoor keg parties were taking their toll on my thighs. The fact that this semester has been excruciating contributes to my lack of gym time, and isn’t helping my quest to tone up. Losing weight and getting in shape is one of the most common New Years resolutions, but it’s also one of the hardest to keep. Still, if you have taken to wearing sweats to class every day because you can’t zip up the skinny jeans you bought in August, you may want to give the gym a go next year. Read More »

Who needs good grades when you can impress your friends and family by quoting movies instead? Not me, that’s for sure. Throwing those textbooks out the window does present a sticky situation, though… so many movies, so little time. Luckily, I’m here to break it down for you by presenting the best 5 movies to watch instead of studying.

5. When Harry Met Sally.

Seriously, who doesn’t love this movie? I bet it was a super-smash hit when it first came out, but it’s now a super-smash source of entertainment that’s run on cable all the time. As we all know, free movies are better than costly movies, so record this one and pop it in anytime you feel kinda sorta like NOT doing that physics assignment.

4. 10 Things I Hate About You.

A Heath Ledger tribute is always justified, and this movie is a great excuse to do one right. It’s also a good party movie because almost everyone likes it, and even some guys can be coerced into watching it. Read More »

So, I was out at the bar with some coworkers last week, and a guy started talking about “The New Facebook.”

“There’s a ‘new’ Facebook?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Is it bad that I want to go home right now just to try it out?”

“Definitely,” I responded. “Stay here and get drunk. New Facebook will be waiting when the bar closes.”

Facebook has had quite the impact on American pop culture. I mean, really? This guy wanted to leave the bar to try it!? Whenever there’s even a minimal change in the layout and operation of the social network, it causes an uproar.

Remember when mini-feed first popped up? Immediately, groups sprouted all over the internet:

“Down with Mini-Feed!”

“Boycott F/B if They Don’t Get Rid of Mini-Feed Immediately!”

“Facebook Makes Stalking Easier with Mini-Feed!”

You get the point. Of course, now we’re all used to the program, and many of us keep updated via mini-feed every day: “Hey, I saw on Mini-Feed that you got a new job, congratulations!”

So, even though I’m hesitant to add too many applications (I don’t like that we have to check a box giving the ‘application’ full access to the info in our profiles), and even though I’m fully content keeping tabs on my friends the “old way,” I decided to check out the hullabaloo that is The New Facebook. Read More »

It’s been a solid thirty minutes since you set up shop at the library and somehow you can’t quite get past the first line of chapter one.

Your eyes have been wandering over to gaze at that cute boy in your American Lit class (Damn, he’s got nice arms), you’ve gotten up to use the bathroom about ten times (What? You had to pee) and you’ve perused through your roomie’s new photo album on Facebook (Where’s that pic of you in that tennis ho outfit?).

We’ve seen it a thousand times and you know what it’s called: procrastination. Unfortunately, friends, we’re pretty much sabotaging ourselves.

Why? Two procrastination experts – yes, they study our laziness for a living – came up with a Top 10 list (but be forewarned: one of the psychologists is Canadian).

10. For 20 percent of the population, procrastination is a lifestyle. On college campuses, we thought 87 percent sounded more accurate, but we’re no psychologists.

9. Our culture doesn’t take procrastination as a serious problem. They say there’s more of it in the U.S. because we’re nice people and don’t call others out on their laziness. We believe the doctors have never visited New York City or driven through rush hour traffic in Los Angeles.

8. Procrastinators don’t have time management problems but are more optimistic about time than others. Read More »

Thursday night rolls around and being ready in time for the nightly festivitives of beer pong and flip cup requires that you skip your weekly date with the doctors of Seattle Grace.

No big deal, now that you can catch it on abc.com tommorrow right?

Well, to the Writers Guild (those in charge of writing every show you watch on TV) it’s more than a big deal.

So much so that today the writers decided to do something about it… picket signs, matching t-shirts, megaphones and all that hullabaloo- everyone loves a strike!

How does this affect you? Here’s the breakdown:

The Writers Guild (all 12,000 of them) feels they deserve residual payments for movies and TV shows viewed on the internet. Why shouldn’t they get a portion of the profit now that you can watch their work on the internet post walk of shame?

Yet the producers claim that the new media is still too new to figure out a way to compenstate their writers.

So what exactly does this mean for all of us die-hard TV watchers? Read More »

Not even a month into my senior year of college and I’ve already skipped two classes, started my homework for all of them the night before or the morning of class, and most impressively, have yet to even open the textbook for one class. It looks like this will be my finest year of procrastination yet.

My procrastination however, is actually quite productive in its own way.

I don’t simply lounge around on the couch and troll Facebook to see what my best friend from elementary school is up to these days. I mean of course I do that too, but you’d be surprised at how effective your time-wasting can actually be, aside from effectively lowering your GPA. Check out these sites next time you’re procrastinating, which will likely be within in the next 24 hours:

Watch TV on alluc.org

This site has years of procrastination in store for you, from anime cartoons to movies to guilty-pleasure TV shows from simpler days. “Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place,” anyone?

Get Life Advice at tomatonation.com

This gal Sara “Sars” Bunting is a humor writer and totally addictive. You’ll find all sorts of essays on her site, but it’s her advice column that has me refreshing her page an alarming number of times a day. Best of all? Her advice archives are separated into categories, so no matter what your current life drama, you’ll find some sound advice or at least some comfort in knowing that you’re not alone in your all-consuming hatred for your roommate’s cat and why won’t it stop peeing on the couch?! Read More »