With finals week approaching rapidly, many students may find it difficult to find calm within the storm. With having to juggle studying for exams, surprise pop quizzes, clubs, work, and other responsibilities, you may find that your plate is piled high. How could anyone balance all of that work while also effectively studying and trying to find time for themself? Luckily, it’s not impossible; it just requires a bit of scheduling! And hopefully this article will relieve a bit of the stress of the crazy.

Please keep in mind that everything you read in this article is my opinion and not a set way of doing things! If you find that doing something a different way helps you better, do that! After all, every person works differently.

Scheduling should be your first step. You can’t form any sense of stability without knowing what is going on and when. Regardless if you want to find time for yourself or not, scheduling at least your classes will bring a small sense of calm by knowing what is happening in your life from day to day. Making a schedule can be as easy or as done up as you would like. Mostly anything that can be written on can be a planner. A whiteboard, a regular sheet of paper, a normal notebook, or a themed planner can be used. How you prepare and form your schedule is really up to you. It’s all about personal preference. Though there is a small list of things I recommend having on your schedule that will make life a lot easier.

Classes/School: With classes taking up most of a student’s time, it is very important to figure out your schedule. This includes classes, tests, breaks, or other due dates like projects or homework.

Clubs/work: If you work, make sure to put on your schedule whenever you have a shift. For clubs, you can look through when meetings will be and fill that in your schedule too. That way you know what times on what days will be taken up.

Workouts: While not everyone works out, if you do you may find it helpful to schedule when you do it. Even though times can change, it gives a sense of stability and helps give you an idea of when you’ll be busy

Meals/Showers/Daily Routines/Sleep: I know it seems crazy, but hear me out! If you loosely schedule when you eat or shower, that gives you a more accurate idea of what your day-to-day life will look like. Of course, this doesn’t have to be on the hour, but having a general idea of when your body will eat or sleep can help you have a better eating and sleeping schedule

Any extras; Need time to study? Time to hang out with friends? Or just time for yourself? Now that the important stuff is filled into your schedule, you’ll be able to accurately tell what times you have available without worrying about things overlapping or getting times and dates mixed up

Exam season, and college in general, can be hard. But it is manageable if you have the right tools and practices to help yourself be the best student you can be.