On the first day of university, I remember observing the change. The change of the student body I was now surrounded by; the students who were passionate, hard-working, sensationally intelligent, and witty. Most importantly, I knew they knew how to study. I remember observing this change and then reflecting on my own self: “am I good enough to be here?”, “am I smart enough to be here?”, “did I only get accepted because they feel sorry for me?” While these thoughts consumed me most of first year, a psychology professor in the summer of 2016 snatched my fears away and enlightened me. As he understood that we had concerns about studying for his exams along with the rest of our courses, he offered some advice. He told us: plan, plan, plan. So do you know what I did? Plan, plan, plan. Of course, he was speaking in the context of studying for his course, but I took the liberty to apply it to not only the entirety of my courses but most aspects of my life.
Conscientiousness, according to many, involves being organized, self-disciplined, orderly, responsible, along with similar traits. Before summer of 2016, I believed myself to be quite low on the conscientiousness scale. I had a messy room, I didn’t keep a calendar, I constantly forgot what needed to be done, I paid my phone bill last minute, and overall my life was pretty unorganized. But at once, I started to plan. Instantly, I felt my school-related anxiety being lifted. I realized that the simple act of writing “read chapter 6” under Monday in a calendar or writing “complete outline for English essay” under Wednesday lifted a weight off my shoulders that I had been carrying for years. I also realized that writing “read chapter 6” under Monday or writing “complete outline for English essay” under Wednesday resulted in myself completing the duty which needed to be done— this had been a rare occurrence previously. As someone who has been rescued by this advice, I would like to pass this advice on.
As university students, we are constantly overwhelmed with our school lives. We juggle what needs to be done, what we haven’t done yet, and what we should be doing, while attempting to balance other aspects of our lives alongside academics. When stress begins to build up because you have this paper due, an exam next week, an assignment due Friday, a club obligation next Wednesday, and another paper due at the end of the term, plan! Plan in a way that’s best for you. For exemplary purposes, I’ll introduce my method in planning, but keep in mind this may not be the method for everyone. For myself, I insure to take ten minutes out of my day to sit down, focus my attention, lay out my syllabuses, and write down every single assignment— no matter how little— under the date that it’s due. When my assignment’s due dates are entirely laid out, I take the extra time to delegate specific days dedicated to working on the assignment. I base this on time available and time needed to complete the assignment. While different methods work for different people, I can assure you that in whichever way you choose to plan, you will walk away feeling much more relaxed, your heart rate will probably have slowed back down, the cortisol will probably have left your blood, and most importantly, you’ll feel ready to take on the world! Planning is the way to a happy, healthy life and I encourage this tactic to all university students.
For further guidance, the wellness centre has information on support groups and workshops UBC has to help balance your well being and anything else you may need. Find more information here: https://students.ubc.ca/health-wellness/peer-support-wellness-centre
Written by Alexa Lizotte