Student Feature
College Prep and Career Development
Student Success
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. One thing that can positively affect your first day back to school is what you do the night before.
The first day of school is always tricky– especially when school is online. Your day-to-day environment isn’t changing a whole lot since you aren’t physically going to classes. Your way of learning may need alteration in order to keep up. Getting back into a solid school routine can be difficult. After all, a majority of online school is driven by yourself.
The transition from break to school looks different for everybody, what with work, class load, location or certain subjects that are harder than others. But, the one thing that is constant for all is how you choose to prepare the night before the first day of school. The best ways to prepare for the first day of school the night before may sound cliché, but when applied, they can alter more than just your first successful day of school.
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Supplies? Check!
Even with school being online, school supplies are still a necessity. During the Winter Intersession, I took my required math course (begrudgingly) and found myself completely frazzled on the first day. Turns out I needed a calculator, mechanical pencils and a lot of scratch paper (as an English major, I had none of those things handy). With my other classes, I have been comfortable taking notes online, but with math, I had to write out equations, formulas and definitions in ways that worked better for me with pencil and paper. If I had envisioned what I needed the night (or couple days) before, I wouldn’t have had to scramble on the first day.
Cut the extra stress from your life, we both know you don’t need it. Look over your class list and think of the supplies you need to have on hand for the first day. With supplies checked off the list, your tools for combating the first day of school are secured.
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Plan Your Breakfast Routine
We all know, the most important meal of the day. But seriously! According to WebMD, “breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, helping you burn calories throughout the day. It also gives you the energy you need to get things done and helps you focus at work or at school”. The stomach is like the engine of the body: once you turn it on by feeding it, your brain and body can begin waking up, using the energy you give it. If you skip breakfast, you neglect to turn on your engine.
During the night before the first day of classes, plan what time you will eat, what you will eat and when you will get started on school. Since there is no physical classroom tying you down to arrival at a specific time, you must be the decider of your school hours. Planning your breakfast routine will enable you to have a sharp, ready-to-learn mind and help you dictate your day by establishing a schedule.
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Schedule the First Week
Speaking of schedules, one of the most successful tips that I’ve used during online college is to schedule out my first week of classes the night before. With your school supplies and breakfast morning routine completed, scheduling out the first week of your online education will empower you with necessary skills. A steady routine and effective time management are two important traits that, according to TheBestSchools.com, are vital to online education survival and success.
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The night before every semester, I plan out what classes I will focus on on specific days. Say that I am taking a computer science course, a management course, an accounting course, an English course and a music course. Dropping into a bombardment of five classes on the first day of school can (and will) be overwhelming. But, during the night before, if you schedule each class to be designated to a specific set of days, then your task list will be more manageable. Find freedom from stress by scheduling your first week of school the night before.
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Veg Out (But Not Too Much)
An important part of break is being able to enjoy your life. The night before school starts is still a night of your break. Vegging out, whether that is watching a movie or tv series, playing your favorite video games, going on a hike or doing whatever else you can’t do as often because of school, is important. With that said, being responsible and realizing that you have things to accomplish (like planning your breakfast routine and scheduling your first week of school) is still a priority.
Don’t go overboard to where you don’t get good sleep and inevitably have a horrible first day of school. While basking in the joy of your favorite activity, remember that your future starts tomorrow. You are the author of your destiny.
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Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep is important every night, but especially the night before the first day of online classes. According to SleepFoundation.org, setting and maintaining a sleep schedule a week or two before the first week of school is the best way for you to feel consistently well rested. Setting a quiet time for yourself by limiting electronics, eating less and avoiding caffeine can help your night before the first day of school be more effective. Before I go to bed, my favorite thing to do is read around ten pages or a chapter, depending on the book, in order to get my eyes and brain tired before bed. Whatever your sleep strategy, getting a good night’s sleep is crucial for a successful first day of school.
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With every tip listed above, make them your own. Experiment with each one and find out what works and doesn’t work for you. Finding the perfect middle ground between too much or too little of something can be the defining factor in your educational success. After whittling away and finding what makes you effective, your college experience will serve you and boost you towards the career you want and the person you want to be.
