Confused about how to start a new semester the right way? Create an amazing academic plan that’ll keep you motivated, focused and help you design the most incredible college experience.

Every college student wants to create a holy grail plan that keeps them productive, passing their courses and on track all semester.  The problem is, it’s easy to be inspired and motivated at the very beginning of the semester but what do you do in the middle when your grades aren’t where you want them to be and your motivation is gone?

You need to nail down an effective semester plan for when things start hitting the fan and you’re not that kick ass productive student you were in week one.

If you’re ready to take your semester planning to the next level, this blog post was created for you.

I’ll walk you through the entire process from beginning to end, from setting goals and meeting with your advisor to fixing failing grades.  By the time you’re done, you’ll be prepared to tackle anything that happens to you this semester and no detail will be left unaccounted for.

If you want some help creating your plan and staying organized all semester long, I’d love for you to join us in Study School.

Step #1: Decide what you want to do, be and have at the end of the next 4 years

You can’t create a roadmap for yourself if you don’t know where you’re going.

Most college students have no freaking clue why they’re even in college. They have no vision.  

They’re spending $50,000/year to write papers, take exams and listen to a boring professor talk about things they don’t care about. For what?

What’s your endgame? What do you want to experience while you’re here? What do you want to learn? Who do you want to rub elbows with? What do you want to see? Who do you want to become?

You failed to show up for your own life. And when something doesn’t have a purpose, when it doesn’t make sense, what’s the point in doing it?

You need to know what you’re aiming for and how these next 2-4 years help you get there.You don’t need to have it all figured out right now but you should at least think about it a little.

As you go through college and find out more about yourself, your vision will naturally change and evolve.

You can start creating your college vision this semester, here are some questions to help you create your intentions and goals.

• What kind of grades would make you feel really happy and content? Please think deep on this one because, for me, B+’s did the job.
• What fields or subject matters interest you? [you don’t have to pick just one right away, sample as many as you can before you have to pick a major]
• Who are the people you adore and want to enjoy this time in your life with?
• What are you most excited about in college, what lights you up? [ex: classes, meeting different and interesting people, internships, studying abroad, student politics, volunteer opportunities, volleyball, drama club, student research]
• What don’t you want to regret about your college experience?
• What’s your biggest fear about your college experience?

Once you have a little bit more sense about what you want to experience you can create a plan that actually helps get you there.

And in case you can’t help but stress over the dreaded question, “So what’s your major?”, this video will help you make a more informed decision before you make it official with your advisor, which is the next step in creating your kick ass semester plan.

Step #2: Meet with your academic advisor to create your initial game plan

Now that you have some idea of the types of things you want to experience while you’re in college and the direction you’re currently thinking your life might go, it’s time to enlist the help of your academic advisor.

Your academic advisor is a great resource to bounce ideas off of.  

The role of your academic advisor is to provide you with resources that are tailored to your academic and life goals and even your current student struggles. They will help facilitate your decision making, and make sure you’re on track with your graduation requirements.

Your role as a student in working with your advisor is to simply use them. No seriously, most students don’t value this relationship enough. They’re not just there to help you pick a major.  

Here’s a list of things your academic advisor can help you with.

• Time Management
• Recommending majors/minors based on your career goals
• Recommending study abroad programs and which classes to take while you’re there
• Recommending classes based on your strengths or weaknesses
• Creating backup plans
• Creating your 4-year academic plan tailored to accommodate your academic pace or personal life
• Connecting you with other professors who might help you reach a goal
• Dealing with failed classes
• Creating a study plan or directing you to the appropriate resources
• Recommending campus clubs/activities that might look good for a grad program, internship or job you want
• Reviewing your grad school applications
• Giving your letters of recommendation
• Recommending graduate school programs or companies to apply to

Top 5 questions you should ask your academic advisor in your first meeting:

1. What is your role as my academic advisor, what kinds of things can you help me with?
2. How can I best prepare for these meetings with you so that we’re both getting the most out of them?
3. What direction should I go with my major if I’m interested in _________?
4. Based on successful students you’ve advised who’ve had similar lifestyles to mine, how should I set up my academic plan to graduate in four years?
5. If I’m struggling in my major or academic life, what campus services should I be aware of and how can I make the most use out of them?

If you want help creating your semester plan, I want to invite you to join us in Study School. Get personalized help creating your plan and staying productive all semester long.

Step 3: DESIGN YOUR FLEXIBLE STUDY SCHEDULE

Students will argue that there isn’t enough time in a day to get everything done so what’s the point of creating a study schedule.

You feel like there isn’t enough time because you’re focusing on 24 hours in a day instead of realizing that you’re actually dealing with 168 hours a week.

That’s a lot of freaking hours, so let’s take a look at how a student could spend 168 hours.

For this scenario we are going to assume a few things about you:

• You’re a full-time college student taking 4 classes and 1 lab
• You work a 20-hour position
• You live off campus in your own apartment so you commute
• You get 8hrs of sleep every night
• You are a super-achieving college student who actually spends 2 hours studying for every hour you spend in lecture

So let’s do the math.

(168 hours per week total) – (16 hours of class) – (32 hours of studying) – (56 hours of sleeping) – (20 hours working) – (10 hours eating) – (10 hours getting dressed) – (7 hours commuting) = 17  hours left over to do whatever you want.

That’s a full weekend and in this calculation, I’m assuming that you’re actually spending 32 hours a week studying. We both know you aren’t spending even close to those amount of hours studying.  

I also over estimate how much time it takes you to commute, eat and get dressed. Which means you actually have way more than 17 hours a week to do whatever you want.

The issue that you’re having isn’t that you don’t have enough time, it’s that you’re choosing to not spend your time wisely.

In order to make time for the things you want to experience and achieve this semester, you have to know how much of the time you have each day is yours to control.  I sometimes refer to this as your “workable pockets of time” or “white space”.

We’re going to use this as an overview look at what your day could possibly look like.  I say possibly because you don’t have to be so rigid with this.  Be open to being flexible because life will happen.

Some days you’ll amaze yourself with how much you stuck to your schedule other days you end binging Youtube plan with me videos.  It happens.  Extend yourself some grace and vow to do better the next chance you get.

You’re going to need a planner. I don’t care if it’s digital or paper, just pick what you like. The only requirement is that it have an hour-by-hour view.

1. For each day of the week, schedule anything that is set in stone.  If your schedule changes every week don’t stress about this step too much.  It just means that on Sunday, you’ll have to sit down and plot your latest schedule into your week.
2. You should have some clearly identified white space after this.  The white space represents the only time you have full control over.
3. Next I want you to pick out one to three 2-3 hour pockets of time with in your white space each day. They are going to be labeled “Study Sessions”.   Study Sessions are 2-3 hour long sprints where your focus is on getting school work done. Whether it’s reading and taking notes, quizzing yourself for an upcoming exam, researching or writing a paper/project or working with your group on a project.
4. The next step is to schedule 1-2 carefree fun session into your week. They can be anywhere from 1-3-hour chunks of time to do whatever your heart pleases.  These sessions are designed to help you avoid burnout and create more free time to live your life, join clubs or simply read something other than a scholarly article.
5. Finally, I want you to find two to three 1 hour slots in your week that will be your “Adulting Sessions.” These are meant for tasks such as calling your mom, laundry, meal planning, grocery shopping, paying bills etc.

Special Note: Any white space that is left over is yours to do whatever you want. You can use it to catch up on work, nap, Netflix. Whatever!

Recommended reading: Why I don’t have enough time is a bullshit excuse as a student

How Does Planning This Way Benefit Your Grades and Sanity?

You might have noticed that I was able to fit a lot in a week.  In the mock schedule I created above, this student is spending about 24 hours studying outside of class.  That’s about 8 hours per class if you’re taking 4 classes.

I’m willing to bet you’re not spending half that amount of time on your classes. Which is the reason why you’re not doing too hot in them.

This way of planning allows you to dedicate the amount of time you need towards your school work, but also leaves you with a bunch of free time to engage in the other things that may be important to you, like your friends, boyfriend or hobbies.

For a full list of things, you should do during your study sessions and how to prioritize your assignments, read this blog post.

If you want some help creating your academic plan and stay organized all semester long, I’d love for you to join us in Study School.

Step 4: Create your Academic Contingency plan for when you’re, feeling unmotivated and uninspired or are struggling academically

My motto is, create a plan, then work your plan.

But what do you do when you’re working your plan and things are still falling to pieces?

You pull out your academic contingency plan.

What’s an academic contingency plan?

It’s Plan B.

Plan B is your back up plan. It’s the plan to use when you’re struggling academically, emotionally and physically and just cannot get it together.

What should be included in your academic contingency plan?

A list of all of the campus resources and go to strategies that you can use to prevent a mental breakdown, make sure you feel like you’re accomplishing something with your life and not fail your classes.

What you have to remember as a student is that you’re never alone. Whenever you run into any kind of trouble, don’t be afraid to seek out help. There’s alway someone willing to listen or assist you through whatever struggle it is you’re currently going through.

Don’t ever let the fear or being judged or embarrassment be the thing that stands in the way of you and your greatness. Lot’s of students go through rough patches and lots of students come out on the other side with an incredible comeback story that helps them land jobs and write amazing grad school admission essays.

Here are some examples of the campus resources that should be in your contingency plan:

• Academic Services and workshops
• Professor’s office hours
• Career Services
• Campus Library
• Tutoring
• Writing Center
• Financial Aid office
• Personal Counseling Center

What you can expect and how do you use some of these resources if you don’t know where to begin?

This video goes into detail on the 5 resources that will have the biggest impact on your college experience both academically and personally.

How often to use campus resources based on what point in the semester you’re in:

Tutoring: 1-2x weekly all semester long if you’re struggling in a class

Office hours: 1x/week to 1x per month

Writing Center: 1 month, 2 week, 1 week, 3 days before your paper assignment is due

Financial Aid Office: beginning of the semester, add/drop period, mid-semester, end of semester and any point to apply for scholarships

Personal Counseling: Anytime and as often as you and the counselor deem it’s necessary

This video also goes into detail on how to make the most of on campus tutoring and writing centers so that you always feel like you got something out of it.

What to do if you’re constantly procrastinating?

Procrastination comes down to managing our thinking and emotions which drive our actions, and our actions create results.

If getting yourself to work on reading assignments or start early on papers is hard for you, it’s probably because of a thought you keep repeating to yourself that is generating a feeling of discomfort which causes you to avoid it.

If you want to begin tackling the procrastination monster, you have to begin by diving deep into the thinking that’s causing your procrastination in the first place.

What’s going on internally? What are you thinking about the reading, the paper or the calculus problems?  

• Are you thinking that it’s too hard for you?
• Are you thinking you’re going to get a low grade anyway?
• Are you thinking that it’s going to take up too much time?
• Are you thinking that you don’t know where to start and you don’t want to do it wrong?

How are those thoughts making you feel about yourself, about the work, about college?  

We’re naturally built to avoid or run away from feelings of discomfort and often we run away by distracting ourselves with things that cause us pleasure. (i.e napping, watching tv, hanging with friends)

The true reason we procrastinate is that we don’t want to feel or deal with those feelings of discomfort until we’re forced to. Until we reach a point where avoiding it causes more displeasure than getting it done. (i.e the paper is due tomorrow and you’ll fail if you don’t hand it in)

I want to leave you with A pep talk on how to handle failure as a student because at some point you’ll experience a less than desirable grade and you need to know how to move forward from it. To the girl who failed, words from a failed bio major who turned things around.

Recommended reading: The one thing you should do before your next exam, especially if you failed the last one.

Good luck as you get started with this new semester! If you want some help creating your plan and staying organized all semester long, I’d love for you to join us in Study School!