by Brooklyn Adam

NJHA Director

Time management

Moving away from home and having the freedom to do whatever you want and whenever you want can create bad habits. Being able to pick when you go to classes, how late you stay up, and when to eat are just a few freedoms that can take your time management off track. The good thing is that are there are many things you can do in order to keep your life organized and be successful. We all know that the main reason we go to college is to get a degree and do good in school. Making time for studying is very important in order to do so. I have three good tips to help you stay organized and manage your time.

• Create a habit. Regardless of whether you take night classes or day classes. It is important to wake up and start your day around the same time. This will cause your body to naturally be alert and awake when you need it the most.

• Have a planner. One way to make sure that your events and “busy-time” won’t overlap is to write everything down in a planner. Once you finish a task that you set to do, you can mark it off in your planner and move on to the next. This will also help you prioritize your time.

• Do not procrastinate. Procrastination is very easy to come by when you make your own schedule. Make sure that you know all your deadlines and due dates so that you can make time before that to get the work done. Knowing the amount of attention each piece will need and allowing yourself time to finish it will also help you manage your time.

Eating right

Having a healthy diet while in college can be one of the hardest things to do while away from home. It is a known fact that unhealthy foods tend to be cheaper than the healthy foods and in college we are all on a budget. It is not expected that college kids have a perfectly healthy diet, that is nearly impossible for anyone. There are many factors that lead to weight gain and bad eating habits in college, and almost all of them are avoidable. 6 tips to avoid unhealthy eating include:

• Avoid excessive alcohol

• Regulate your sleep

• Avoid excessive snacking

• Be active

• Drink one gallon of water each day

• Avoid any types of drugs.

There are many more things you can do to avoid unhealthy eating and if you are interested in knowing more please look at your campus resources! Poor diet is the leading risk factor for disability and premature death in the U.S!

Saving money

College debt is one of the most dreaded parts of attending college, especially if you go out of state or to a major university. Finding time to go to class, work a part time job, and study is very difficult as a full-time student working towards a four-year degree. In order for us students to stay on top of our debt, we either have to work while in school or take on tens of thousands of dollars out in debt. The good news is, there are thousands of scholarships that students can apply for to help save money and many more ways to save money. There are also campus jobs that will work around class schedules and apply some of that money to work-study.

One good way to save money while in college, if you have taken loans out, is to pay early on your loans and take some of the stress off of yourself in the future. Applying for FASFA is crucial when attending college to see what money grants you qualify for, this can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Hope these tips were helpful!

Brooklyn Adam is a director on the National Junior Hereford Association’s board. She is currently a junior at Iowa State University.