Balancing a Social Life and Homework

Eleanor Johnson

Converse 101

The week of Big Sis/Little Sis consumed a lot of my time, which made it hard to focus on my studies. This past week has shown me that it is really important to stay on task when it comes to my school work.
Almost every day of last week I was constantly doing my homework after 10 o’clock PM-this scenario is not the most ideal path to take when trying to get good grades. Like most college freshmen, I put off my homework as long as I could. In the end, I have realized that it was not worth it to stay up late trying to intelligently complete my homework as quickly as possible. My work built up on top of itself making me stressed out, which is never a good thing. Even though I have learned from this mistake, I am sure it will happen again, but now I know how to avoid it as much as possible.
I already put my coursework in my assignment note book, but that is not enough. I have to make sure I complete everything that is on my list of things to do. For now on I will try as hard as I can to fight the urge to procrastinate, and I will make sure I do not let the time slip away so my homework does not get put off until the last minute.

Time Management with Organizations

Eleanor Johnson
Converse 101
September 9, 2008

I was excited about the involvement fair last Wednesday because I was looking forward to getting involved in the Converse and the Spartanburg community. Even though I like being involved it is sometimes hard for me to do my homework along with my extracurricular work at the same time. So hopefully this year I will be able to balance both.
At the involvement fair I signed up for the Art Club, Stand Darfur, Boys and Girls Club, Project Serve, and Hospice. Five organizations may not be a lot for some people, but for me it is quite a bit. I do not think being involved in these organizations will interfere too much with my school work because even though I would like to be dedicated, I won’t be able to participate in all of the clubs every day.
To manage my time I am going to have to make sure I stay active in these interests, but I will have to complete my school work and not let my work pile up on top of each other. I will have to make some sort of list or schedule to manage my time. It is hard for me to stay continuous with my list making; However, to keep my grades up a schedule will be critical.

Differences Between High School and College

Independence and dependence are the two main differences between high school and college. In high school, teachers and dorm parents are constantly reminding the students to study and to be places on time. In college, the teachers expect the students to be responsible for their work without any reminders.
Dependence on not only teachers, but also other adult figures can be very crucial to a student’s high school carrier. These figures usually set certain rules, for example: curfew, allowance, and study hour. A parent or dorm parent usually sets a curfew on weeknights and weekends. These curfews make sure a student does not spend too much time out side of a work space. A parent has control of how much money a student has per week and if anything comes up, most of the time a parent will give their child some extra cash. Study hours are mostly in boarding school, and usually last from eight o’clock to ten o’clock P.M. These hours are critical to a boarding student in high school so the student doesn’t get distracted and completes his or her homework. A student can’t nap, play music on a stereo, take a shower, or leave the bedroom during theses specified hours. On the other hand, college life is completely different than in high school. Success requires responsible independence, which would mean following rules that are not forced by an administrative figure on a college student. Not having a curfew is an example of the rules a student should follow. The freedom of not having a curfew can cause a student’s grades to slip. So, motivation is very important when it comes to finishing work. Allowance is a hard responsibility to deal with when first starting college. Instead of getting an allowance some students get money for a month rather than for a week, which makes the person have to budget their money for a longer period of time. These differences in high school and in college can be difficult to over come but there are methods of getting past them.
Time management is an important concept to learn when starting college. Making a time table of things to do is a form of time management that will help with teaching a student how to balance a schedule with staying out too late, dealing with money, and taking time to study.