Right now you may be more focused on packing for college, preparing for move-in day, or living with a roommate for the first time. In the back of your mind, however, you are likely starting to think about adjusting to the pace of a busy college schedule.

Are you ready for your first semester of college? As you approach this fresh start, you may be starting to panic internally. How will you adjust to the busyness of college life?

Discover 3 habits you can form before college starts to help ease into the busyness of college life!

Stick to a schedule.

A schedule, a planner, or a calendar may seem to restrict your freedom. In reality, they increase your freedom. How so? A schedule gives you a place to visualize all of your to-do items, your responsibilities, etc. It helps you to see how you currently do use your time and how you potentially could use your time.

While you probably want to enjoy the freedom of summer, slowly easing yourself into a regular schedule can help prepare your mind for college life. How? Here are a few ways sticking to a schedule prepares you for college:

• You are starting to discipline yourself. With no structure or no schedule, you are free to use every moment of the day as you wish (work shifts aside). A college schedule will provide you with more freedom than you experienced in high school, but in order to succeed you will need to regulate how you spend your time. You can start training yourself to do this now.

• You are starting to deny yourself. This concept sounds odd. What does it mean to “deny yourself”? Essentially, it means saying “no” to yourself. When you want to watch another episode but the clock already shows midnight, deny yourself, say no, and go to bed. When you want to hit snooze (again), say no and get up. You can help yourself adjust to college by saying no now.

Sticking to a schedule may still sound a little intense, considering college doesn’t start for at least a few weeks still. You certainly don’t need to deprive yourself of all the luxuries of summertime yet. How can you adjust to a schedule without missing out on the freedom of summer? Here are few suggestions:

• Give yourself a realistic wake-up time and bedtime. You don’t need to wake up at 6 a.m. (unless work requires this). You don’t need to go to bed at 10 p.m. But, you do need to start forming healthy sleeping patterns so that you are well-rested before getting to college. 

• Eat at regular times. Sometimes eating regularly gets demoted in your priorities when college becomes more demanding. Start eating regular meals at usual times before heading to college. By making eating well a priority, you are setting yourself up to keep healthy habits once college gets busier.

• Make small daily and weekly goals. This isn’t too ambitious. In the weeks leading up to the start of college, give yourself achievable goals. These goals could be packing certain areas of your room, buying items for college, or taking care of paperwork for college. Make your goals small but achievable and stick to them. 

Learn a new thing every day.

After a summer of vegging, your mind may take a little while to get back into school mode. Add to this that you are adjusting to college school mode, and your mind may feel like a muddled mess. How can you start preparing for the learning pace of college? Learn things now.

Start in areas you enjoy. Learn something new about an area you currently enjoy each day. For example, if you like playing a sport like soccer. Learn a new drill or a new skill each day. Learning this new piece of information doesn’t have to be strenuous or exhausting. You may only need 10 minutes, but take the time needed to learn something new about it each day.

Why is this important? And how can this help you?

• Learning well prepares you for college. College is all about learning. In your college classes, you will be learning or even re-learning concepts and skills. In your dorm room, you will be learning how to live with a college roommate. In your relationship with your parent(s), you will be learning how to communicate enough information and communicate frequently enough from afar. 

• Learning well takes practice. Just like most things in life, learning is a developed skill. Like a muscle that needs regular exercise, learning is a skill that requires use otherwise it shrivels up and becomes practically useless.

• Learning well requires effort. In high school, your classes may have been fairly easy. If you put in effort, you usually were rewarded with an A. In college, your classes will likely be more challenging. If you put in average effort, you will probably be rewarded with an average grade (a C). 

You can use different methods to learn new things. Google may be a good place to start, but don’t merely stick to the “easy” methods of learning new things (e.g. watching a Youtube video or reading the first Google entry). Consider cracking open a book, reading an article, or listening to a podcast. These methods will help prepare you for a more college-like approach to learning.

Write something each day.

Writing is not equally appreciated or valued by everybody. And writing is also not equally as easy for everybody. Writing, however, can be one of the best habits you form before college begins.

How can writing every day help you? 

• Writing can help you process your thoughts. When you are feeling overwhelmed, confused, or even unsure, taking time to write out your thoughts (and even maybe reading them back to yourself) can provide clarity. 

• Writing can help you organize your thoughts. One of the biggest things your freshman-level English and speech classes aim to teach you is to organize your thoughts. Even if you have great thoughts, these thoughts won’t be able to be shared if no one can follow your thinking. Learning to communicate effectively is key to experiencing school, career, and even life success.

Writing every day can help you, but you don’t have to stick to formal writing methods to write something every day. Consider these simple habits that can help you practice writing every day:

• Morning journaling: After waking each day, take 10 minutes to write out your thoughts. These thoughts could be deep and meaningful or light and casual. Choosing what to write is up to you.

• Frustration journaling: When you find yourself feeling aggravated, angry, discouraged, or misunderstood, take out your phone or pen and paper and write out your thoughts for yourself. This simple habit can help you find healthy ways to express your feelings and allow you to practice responding to people before actually talking to them.

• Photo-journaling: You don’t have to be a professional photojournalist to use pictures to describe your day. Taking a picture of a moment associated with strong emotions and then writing a small paragraph to describe that situation can be helpful to you too.

• Inspiration journaling: When you’re feeling inspired, take time to write out what you’re inspired about, what you’re going to do, what you’d like to do, what you wish people would do, etc. Get your thoughts out in writing.

While I made up most of these journaling titles, the idea is to write when you are strongly feeling something and at key points in the day. By making a habit of writing, you are practicing communicating your thoughts. This habit will help you when you find yourself writing a paper, trying to find the right words to explain what you want to say.

College is quickly approaching. As you pack your bags and say your goodbyes, don’t forget to prepare mentally for the start of the school year. By implementing these 3 simple habits, you can help the beginning of first semester feel less overwhelming.