College students are familiar with the feeling of wanting to push off homework until the last minute and realizing time is running out. Games and TV shows have no deadline, but homework completion dates don’t wait. In high school, homework may have had over a few weeks for it to get done, but in college, homework is typically expected to be completed in a week or less.
Not keeping up with schoolwork can lead to a chain reaction that will leave students behind not only in one class but possibly in every class.
Keeping up with assignments in college classes makes all the difference because pushing them off does not make them go away – even if we wish it did. Work completed in the middle of the night can turn out sloppy, and doing work late can be detrimental to a student’s health.
When sitting down to finish assignments, the to-do list seems more overwhelming than it needs to be. This will lead to heightened anxiety. This can be fixed by starting earlier and calming the unnecessary emotions that follow.
Doing work early instead of at the last minute helps by leaving more time for editing. Instead of the work looking “mediocre”, it will be turned in to the instructor without rushing it.
Students need sleep, especially in college. It is stereotypical for college students to stay up all night making sure they drink three cups of coffee just to finish a paper. It is essential to get a full night of rest. If this is not prioritized, it can significantly deprive a student of their health.
Waiting till the last minute can lessen the chances of getting help from instructors. Clearing up any questions may be the make it or break it for quality work. Making sure to contact instructors or classmates during office or tutoring hours, as well as sending a simple email, goes out the window when cutting it close to assignment deadlines.
When it comes to the weekend, nobody wants to be waited on or wait on someone because they decided to procrastinate on their work that was assigned a week ago. Good time management helps us appreciate the “college life” and not have an overbearing to-do list hovering over our heads at all times.
Think of the reassurance at the end of the day when students know all their work is completed, and others may be disorganized because they decided to wait. When students steer clear of procrastination, they will keep their grades from dropping significantly, but also have a sense of calmness at the end of the day, knowing everything is completed.
