8 Ways to Make Your College Life Easier

With a new semester about to start, there's always the hope of having a straight-A semester, staying organized and not getting completely overwhelmed. But welcome to the college life because I'm pretty sure that'll never happen as easily as we all wish it would! College is stressful as hell, and throughout my four years of undergrad, I figured out some things that really helped me to stay organized and make things easier. I only wish they came to me you know, when I was a struggling freshman! ;) Here's 8 ways you can help make your semester go smoothly and help you conquer each and every day:
Maintain a healthy daily lifestyle. It's incredibly important to stay healthy in college because of how much stress there is on your shoulders on a daily basis. Working out as much as possible, eating healthy and *trying* to get a decent amount of sleep each night makes a huge difference even if it seems impossible! I know that when I'm stressed, I eat more (no shock there! ;) but if you're going to stress eat, at least make it healthy. Even in your every day life beyond college the more active you are in a day, the more energized and ready to conquer you'll be.

Take breaks throughout the day. This is another one of those things that applies no matter what stage of life you're in, but most especially when you're overloaded on work. I know most college students (myself included - no questions asked!) tend to cram things in and leave everything until the last minute... But giving yourself breaks and "you time" helps SO much to get more things done. When I would struggle to get essays done in college, I would give myself a 15 minute break every 45 minutes I worked. I came up with different time allocations depending on what I was working on and how long it would take me. If you give your brain a break, it's more likely that you'll come back with a fresh and clear mind ready to finish your work.

Organize yourself. As someone who can't function if they aren't organized, I know this ALL too well! College is literally all about how well you can organize yourself. Think about it - from not forgetting to create a presentation to time crunching work - it's incredible how much better you feel and how much more confidence you have when it comes to your college classes if you're organized. Whether you dorm, have an apartment or are a commuter student, make sure you have a super organized and motivational study space.

Figure out what organization works best for you; for me, it's always been having a planner. I could NOT function without writing everything down, making lists and allotting specific times for different tasks. At the start of every new semester, print out each classes syllabus, keep them with you at *all* times and write down due dates and important notes in your planner as soon as you have the syllabus. I always went through and jotted down all of the notes for class dates in my planner and it made such a difference because I never forgot to do anything or write anything down.

Get a subscription to Amazon Prime Student. Unless you've been living under a rock, you likely know all about Amazon Prime Student. It's probably one of the best things to ever be invented and even better, it's extremely convenient especially for students! As a student, you get even more perks with Amazon Prime Student than you normally would. You get the first 6 months of your subscription free (thanks to Sprint!) and you can cancel your membership at any time, even before getting billed. But I don't think you'll want to cancel when you see how much easier it makes your life - seriously! #LongTermLifeTip. After your first 6 months, students get 50% off the regular price of Prime - making it only $49 per year. Think about everything you'd be buying without Prime, or on other websites and how much shipping costs would rack up to be... Now think about how much easier it'll be having Amazon Prime Student!

Text books are NO joke in college, and to be perfectly honest I don't think I bought more than two textbooks from my campus bookstore. My fall semester of freshman year I bought two textbooks in the bookstore (because what the heck did I know?!) and I'll never forget how shocked I was when TWO books came to $300. It was absurd, and not buying from your book store is one of the few things I tell everyone I know whose starting college. I *always* bought my books from Amazon because it's easy and quick to get and it doesn't cost you more than your meal plan does. The best part is, Amazon has a rental program for textbooks so once the semester ends, you aren't stuck with books you'll never use again! With the rental program, you can decide how long you need the book(s) for and then Amazon will pay for the return shipping come the end of the semester. It couldn't be easier!

You can sign up for Amazon Prime Student here to get your student discount! I first got my Prime membership when I was in college, and now I still have my membership and it *still* makes my life 10x easier nearly every day. Amazon occasionally offers some awesome promotions too that you can find out about on their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat (amazonstudent). Another perk to signing up with Amazon Prime Student is that when you refer a friend who signs up, you and your friend(s) get $10 toward your next purchase! #WinWin

Find 1-2 friends in each of your classes. Making new friends in college isn't always easy, but it's so important to have your very own support system with people who are in the same boat as you are. Finding friends in each class is a nice way to have something in common, but it's also a great way to stay on top of things. If you miss a class you can get the notes you missed, study sessions are better with friends than alone 99% of the time and if you need homework help, you have a group of people you can go to for some help.

Make short term and long term semester goals. The more goal oriented you are, the better every single one of your classes will go. It's important to break down your goals for the semester into short and long term goals so that you aren't struggling to accomplish things in an unrealistic amount of time. If your goal is to get an A in a class, figure out what you need to get there and plan accordingly. If you want to get a head start on a term paper, make decisions ahead of time and allot time how it works best for you.

Have an awesome relationship with your advisor. Okay now all my of life (meaning throughout high school and undergrad) I was blessed with two of THE worst advisors in the entire universe. Seriously - at one point in high school I wanted to become an advisor, simply because I thought they did absolutely nothing and made a helluva lot of money to do so.

Let's be honest; some flat out suck. Some advisors won't know what they're doing, but some will. And some will really, truly care about you and what your goals are. In college, your advisor is based on your major so you may not have too much of a say. BUT, if you weren't lucky enough to have a great experience with advising like me, find a faculty member who can play that roll. My marketing/fundamentals of management/management seminar professor was that person for me. She was in the department so she still knew what was going on, but she did a LOT more for me than my *actual* advisor ever did. It makes a huge difference!

Realize just how lucky you are. While it can seem like a drag now, you don't know how fortunate you are to be getting a college experience and education. There's a TON of people who would kill for what you have. So no matter how hard it gets, be thankful every day and make the most out of it. Your undergraduate years come and go in (literally) the blink of an eye, so make the best out of every situation that comes your way.

If you're starting/about to start a new semester, best of luck! Make the most of it and just remember - 4 1/2 months until summer. ;)
XOXO

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.