By Max Murphy

Everyone knows that attending college comes with the expectation of putting in a lot of hard work and dedication. Here are seven habits you can apply to your school life to help make the journey through college a little bit easier:

1. PREsearch
2. Organize with Color
3. Create a Study Area
4. Find a Study Group
5. Prepare yourself for Test / Lab days
6. Communicate with your Teacher
7. Have a Positive Mindset

“PREsearch”- Research Subjects before You Learn Them in Class

Most instructors hand out a course syllabus or outline at the beginning of the grading period. Instead of tossing it into your notebook and never giving it a second thought, try highlighting some of the course material you are not familiar with and do some pre-research for yourself. Give yourself some extra homework or reading material to make learning easier. If you don’t know any of the terms being used, look up some videos on the subject!

Organize with Color

Create a color coding system for all of your classes to keep your assignments and thoughts easy to manage. Mark text books or reading material in different colors for parts you don’t understand, need to memorize or maybe just material you find interesting. Every hue of the rainbow is at your expense, so go color crazy to keep organized.

Create a Study Area

When preparing for school, find a quiet ‘study space’ that you can go to. Some great places are at home, in a library or coffee shop, a quiet park bench, or even your car. It can be hard to find somewhere quiet where we can slow down for a minute with all of our responsibilities in life, but for school work, it is a must. Pro tip: Make sure the area is well-lit so you can take notes and read any course material

Find a Study Group

Working in groups can help fellow students share information and notes while studying course material. If you’re not understanding something, there might be someone in your group who does and can explain it to you. If there isn’t a study group already available at your Centura campus, then maybe you could create one.

Prepare for Test Days

Have you ever shown-up for an important test only for the room to be freezing cold? It’s pretty distracting and you don’t want it to affect your test taking skills after you’ve invested so much time studying the curriculum. Don’t forget to think about the “little things” that might have a big impact: Are you in a classroom or lab? Did you get enough sleep the night before? Do you have a nutritious meal planned?  Don’t let the little surprises throw off your A-game.

Communicate with your Teacher

If you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid to ask questions about it, especially if it makes you understand the course material better! And, a lot of times one person asks a question that the entire class is wondering.  If you are uncomfortable asking questions in front of people, wait until class ends and ask the teacher afterwards. Teachers are there to help you succeed, and if you show them you’re really trying, they’ll work with you to get you the information you need

Have a Positive Mindset

Be positive about your situation, create goals of where you want to be, and aim to achieve them. It can be hard to take on life and school at one time, but if you think about how you can conquer it in small bits and pieces, juggling school with all of our other responsibilities becomes a whole lot easier. By breaking down school into a series of small goals, it can make things a lot less overwhelming. Do what it takes to inspire yourself to succeed, because you’re working hard for a career.

What are some habits you practice to make your school life easier? Leave a comment below.

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