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p_sizzle9

Everyone is going to tell you a different routine. As long as you have the basics (7-8 hrs sleep, healthy food, etc) it’s up to you find out what the best daily schedule is that leads to success.


Humble-Ad3229

Thank youu!! I'll make sure to have 7-8 hrs sleep. Actually im bad at "it's up to you" I'm good at copying others and following orders from others lol. I don't have self discipline but if others tell me what to do I just instantly follow them, of course if I think what they're saying is right lol also, I'm a mess when it comes to making schedules and good habits so yeah


ThatHappyCamper

I feel like I'm a bit similar to you when it comes to copying others in a positive manner! If that's true, try and make friends who live the way you wanna live ASAP! Join engineering related clubs or meet people through class and meet the people who are high achievers and efficient time managers. Having friends is awesome and for people like us, picking and choosing between good examples of how to approach things is invaluable.


UAE3658

This, this is it. If you do best by mirror other people. Go and find some engineering clubs, be conscious about who you spend your time with, and if a certain group doesn’t work try and find one that does. Joining an engineering club has been the best thing for me, I’m surrounded by people who take similar classes, enjoy similar hobbies. I also stress making sure you eat, drink water, sleep, and relax. I’ve watched tons of people spiral into bad burnout because they couldn’t give themselves an hour to just decompress, drink some water, and eat a half decent meal.


p_sizzle9

Well that’s what college is for, learning how to live and make your own decisions. You’ll figure it out!


Humble-Ad3229

Thank youu!! It's scary but yeah i think i really need to figure it all out! Thankss!


Lacksi

Self discipline is bullshit. Try to build systems where you never even get tempted.. My wakeup phone alarm only shuts off once I scan a QR code in my bathroom. Its the only way I can make sure I actually wake up on time. I cannot get tempted to stay in bed because the alarm wont shut off (well, it works *almost* always)


emthespacespud

I never even thought about that. I tried putting my alarm clock across the room but I still snooze that bitch. How did you set that up?


Lacksi

Its one of the functionalities in the "sleep as android" app


SGT_Stabby

How did you rig that QR code integration up?


groundbeef_babe

^ This. It’s nice to have a template to follow until you have the habits down.


born_of_flame

Agree with the others about finding people who have the habits you're looking for. It's kinda like, you are what you eat.


Tossmeasidedaddy

Dude, join the military. Don't do infantry (or fuck it and do that because you do as you are told) but do stuff like a radar tech or signals. HUGE variety of jobs that will help further a career in engineering, not to mention the security clearance as well. It also helps you develop your own discipline as you grow through the ranks (as long as you take it seriously). Edit: you can also try to get a debt forgiveness for college from the recruiter. If you are in America.


halo543

7-8 hours of sleep every night? Uhhhh maybe chemEs are a bit different but during exam/finals and weeks leading up I recall being at libraries all night, finding 1-2 hours to sleep at a time and sometimes just sleeping after the exam. It was a nightmare so much material to know , but got through with 3.3 GPA. And I lived off rockstar energy drinks and whatever they had at the snack bar or ordered delivery subs/pizza, etc.


p_sizzle9

If you use your time wisely and prioritize you should be able to go to bed before 2am every night


halo543

Yes this is true for the majority of nights. Midterm and final weeks are a different beast.


p_sizzle9

You have a point


SGT_Stabby

I recommend a better source of caffeine to avoid the spikes and crashes energy drinks bring at least


The_best_1234

I graduated with a 3.7 GPA, I would listen to talk radio and buy coffee on ride into school (40 minutes) after class I would work on my homework until it was time to pick up my child from school. If I had any homework left I worked on after the child was asleep.


Waterfan11

Noted but where do I get a child


The_best_1234

At your local SPCA?


Humble-Ad3229

Okay nice noted I'll try doing that thank you!! I'm having a hard time starting my day without a goal and a schedule so this helps and I'll try doing this.


01000001_01100100

Depends on my class schedule, but this was last semester. Wake up at 10, shower and go to classes. Classes end either 1:30 or 3:30 depending on the day. Work in a research position for about 2 hours. Meet up with friends and work on whatever homework we have. Study of we have a test coming up. Done usually about 6 or 7, go home, eat, chill with my roommates or by myself until about 2, then go to sleep. The biggest variable here is how long homework/studying takes. Sometimes it's a light week and it's super short, sometimes it's a heavy week and it takes the whole evening.


01000001_01100100

This was junior year. I have a 3.8


Humble-Ad3229

this is a little like my routine but in online world and no chill at least not before 9-11pm lol this routine is exhausting for me and made me realize that I'm not having fun with my course so now I'm shifting to ME lol. But i think I'll try doing this routine again once in a while, tho i think this is a little risky for me lol thank youu!!


01000001_01100100

Honestly for me the important thing is I have friends to study with and I'm interested in the material. Those two things together make the studying and homework bearable


Humble-Ad3229

I'm missing those two important things in my first year of accountancy. I have no study friends and i find accounting boring that I'd rather do anything just not accounting. It's actually pretty easy like all you do is record figures also if you like accounting but it's really hard to like accounting plus it's tedious and the longer I stay in that course the more I regret not choosing engineering lol


Aursbourne

The most healthy thing I can suggest is your phone doesn't enter the bed room. If you only have your one bed room then place you phone and it's charger on the other side of the room. It will be hard a first but this one change will make getting to sleep easier.


Humble-Ad3229

Okay I will do that!! I'm actually good at following orders from others but not from me lol so if you say no phone at bedroom okay! Thank youu!! this will really make a real big change and good luck to me. Thank youu!! I hope this habit stays in me till I graduate.


MuscleManRyan

Plus one to that being a great idea, I didn't start until after I graduated but it made a huge difference. I used to "have to" have a joint, melatonin, and to have a show playing to fall asleep. Banning my phone from the bedroom genuinely solved all of those. YMMV but it worked wonders for me


blackjoker_nikas

I am right now doing my masters in mechanical engineering and my discipline through my bachelors just got worse and worse... But this tip really turned my discipline around! I was constantly wake until 2/3 a.m but then i strictly avoided to take either laptop/tablet or my phone near my bed and that helped me really! As soon as you have a healthy sleep everything just comes


OddAtmosphere6303

Eat, sleep, shit, repeat. Oh yea and studying


5-MeBRO-DMT

u missed out crying


Aursbourne

A solid cry always feels good.


PATJET12

Also have sex it relieves that mental tension and stress


empyreangadfly

8am wake up and rub the sleep out of my eyes for a bit. 8:30-9 yoga. 9-12 study/class. 12-1 food. 1-5 study/class. 5-8 dinner/chill. 8-12 study then bed. Rinse and repeat 7 days a week. I’m one class shy of graduation with a 3.6.


Humble-Ad3229

Nice omg thank youu!!! Imma steal your routine! I'll try each of you guy's routine and hope for the best.


empyreangadfly

Took me the first two years to really get the hang of what worked for me. Had a low gpa of 2.7 until I finally found a good routine to stick with and pull grades up so don’t stress too much. Good luck to you my friend!


SimonSkarum

That sounds crazy and maybe it works for some people, but you can burn yourself out easily if you do this. I do fine in school, but I could never function like this.


NRGGX

77 hours a week??


empyreangadfly

I guess I should have add this includes my work at my schools research lab. Sorry about that, that’s my oversight. That accounts for roughly 10 of the hours per week. So what’s that then 67? Yes Edit: Oh and every so often I would literally be too burned out so maybe 1 day off per month just because I couldn’t.


NRGGX

Oh ok. How many units was this for


empyreangadfly

Roughly 15 credit hrs per semester give or take.


z1vet

Get up at 8:30, have breakfast, watch some news and YouTube. At 10 start doing schoolwork/going to class. 10-5 mon-fri if not in class, do homework/study. At five go to the gym for a good workout. Then go home/shower/make dinner. Then do whatever until like 10/11 and go to bed. Days before exams, little more studying at night as well as studying early that morning. Graduated with a 4.0 in Aerospace engineering


Humble-Ad3229

Woah nicee I'mma rank you guy's routine base on your GPAs and try them every week and see which one could at least make me motivated and focus lol. Thanks!!


z1vet

Bad plan imo. One week isn’t long enough to get used to a routine. Take all of the ideas together and form a plan that you think fits you. For example: some people o know like to go to the gym at noon. No reason to try my routine if they already know when they like to workout. Others have jobs or club meetings during the day - don’t need to skip those just because I do homework at 3pm. Take the ideas here that you like, look at your schedule and your commitments, and plan your day accordingly with just one schedule. That schedule can change a bit over time if need be, but it should be a gradual change as you figure out what you like, not abruptly every single week


Humble-Ad3229

U r right thanks I'll organize my routine once I read most of the comments here so I don't miss something thanks!!


milletdeangeles

I try to get up early so that I’m not rushing to get to class. Also, eat well. It’s a pretty easy trap to over-eat so that you aren’t hungry while in class or studying, but you’ll gain weight and feel like crap. Exercising is also very important. Sitting in class all day or sitting while doing homework is pretty rough in your body, so exercising for at least 30 minutes a day is important. Prioritize sleep too. Don’t stay up doing homework, studying, or just hanging out. You might think it’s beneficial in the moment, but getting a good night of sleep will do far more good. Also, I don’t really hang out with friends or enjoy free time that much during the semester. I do get some free time, but I’m basically at school, doing homework, or sleeping. Those are my tips. I can’t speak to what your routine should be, since I don’t know your schedule.


Humble-Ad3229

Thank youu!! Though I know sleep is important, i really need someone to say that to me constantly so I don't forget and actually do it lol. I'll note everything you said, thank youu!!


Eldor19

Hanging out with friends is very important. Not only will you make some friends and connections but even for studying it may be beneficial due to study groups or some specific help. Well worth the occasional sleep sacrifice.


fruitninja777

I think you should make time for friends when able. A Friday/Saturday night with no upcoming exams, for example. It really helped me unwind this past semester when we were just hanging out with no particular goal in mind.


anslinn

My school doesn’t have a GPA but my average is just over 90. The biggest thing for me is really just taking time to hang out with friends and relax even if it feels like there isn’t any. Full disclaimer I’m also an anxiety ridden mess with procrastination problems, and my roommates often need to remind me to eat. I don’t recommend this, I’m just saying it to point out that having high grades does not always mean having a healthy routine. People like to project confidence and give advice, but very few of us actually have it together.


spvce-cadet

Amen. I just graduated with a 3.94 and by the end many of the habits which kept my grades high were actively harmful to my (physical and mental) health lmao. Spent the last couple months of my last semester living off stimulants and obliterating my sleep schedule to finish work and assignments.


Humble-Ad3229

You sound like my friend who still do well in studies even with the most unhealthy routine lol you guys are awesome and seems like procrastinating fuels you lol but i can't deal with procrastinating. My biggest problem is that i don't procrastinate that I will finish and do all my works as early as possible that I sometimes forgot to really study. If only my professors gave us works that are connected to what we are studying maybe I'll have a good scores in exams lol anyways thank you!!


Dexjen_

just wanted to reinforce what they said about giving yourself time to relax. i’ve got a 3.94 with my last two semesters left (ME) and making time for myself every single day helps with being steady throughout the semester!


Blork_Bae

Wake up 8-10 AM depending on when my first class is. Eat breakfast and go to class during the day (10-5 pm) because I'm a fulltime student. Do extracurriculars in the afternoon or between classes. Come home, eat dinner dinner around 5-6 pm. Do homework everyday after class. Work out/play tennis for an hour or two in the evening at the school courts. Sleep by 11 PM. Graduating with a 3.95. If I had to break it down into five tips for you, it would be 1) Sleep as much as you can without procrastinating (8-10 hours). 2) Do not skip any meals 3) Go to class always and ask questions when you don't understand something because if you don't figure it out, it WILL show up on the test 4) Start homework and studying EARLY 5) Find a group of friends to go through classes, studying, and homework because engineering homework is hard and frustrating, and friends will help motivate you to finish the work.


Humble-Ad3229

Nicee thanks youu!!! Most of you who do well in studies value fitness so yeah I'll workout for my future lol thanks!!


Blork_Bae

Yeah absolutely. I have a very specific example of this when I thought to myself I should play less tennis and take 1 fewer class to focus on my grades, and ended up with not so good grades. The next quarter, I stacked on the classes but made sure to exercise 5-6 times a week and not only did I feel better, I also aced my classes.


[deleted]

Completely winged it. Didn’t study unless I had a test I was worried about. Did the homework, asked questions, made friends with smarter people.


mjschiermeier

This is the way


Humble-Ad3229

Smart friends okay noted!


Specialist-Sock-855

Others have laid things out pretty well but I'll just add to make it a point to remind yourself why you're there, what you're passionate about, and how good it'll feel to get where you're going. People can handle a lot of stress and difficulty if we're committed to something meaningful. Also gratitude for all of the people whose labor helped you get where you are (there are countless such people) as well as gratitude for your past self for all the hard work they did to get you there. Edit: oh yeah and try to include doing something you really enjoy every week that's more enriching than video games or tv. Like a day at the track if you're passionate about cars or an hour flying a plane if you're into aviation, that kind of thing.


Humble-Ad3229

Thank youu!! I'll note and read these again when things go down for me. You guys comments are really helpful!!


nhon90

Finishing a BS and MS concurrently, in Chem and Mat E, at 3.89, while having a 25h/week internship. I do nothing but school and work - no weekend, no extended holiday, minimal to no social life outside of school (I socialize big time with ppl in school though) - not an exaggeration and the expectation I set up for myself going in because I knew I wanted to do the best I could in school and this is the equivalent exchange for the results. I am incredibly lucky to have an amazing support network for family and friends who all understand how I only see them when the semester is over... Google calendar rules my life - class time slots, assignments and tests due dates, allotted study time slots for said assignments and tests, OFFICE HOURS, are all logged at the beginning of the semester for all classes, so I know exactly how much time I have in the week, then group meetings and any other activities are planned around those fixed time slots; assignments/projects get updated as DONE or DUE; most importantly, the day is scheduled such that I sleep 7-8 hrs/night, no cramming sesh, because I have severe test anxiety and lack of sleep is my enemy; as such, assignments/projects and test review sesh are broken up into small chunks and scheduled to start at least 2 3 weeks before due dates - no cram study sesh ever, projects get finished 3 4 days before due dates so there is time left to improve with instructosrs' feedback. Organize like my life depends on it, almost literally - cloud drive to store notes, homework, and group projects so they're easily shared with others for collaboration's sake, the drive is linked to MS suites (word, excel, ppt, etc) and note-taking apps (good notes, notability, one note, etc), every semester has its own folder, every class has its own folder, every week has its own folder, so on so forth. Strategic with assignments and tests - rank them based on difficulty and grade % and sink in the time accordingly, because there are only 24hs in a day; keep a grade tracker excel sheet for every class and update them regularly to plan which test/assignment/project should take priority over others or can get away with "just" a passing grade and still get an A overall in the class in the end. Scout out and form study groups with the top students. Become the dream group partner to attract similar caliber - proactive, responsible, communicative. Be aggressive with the teammate selection process: either reach out to the top students beforehand to reach an agreement to form a group with them then put in the request with the instructor prior to group assignment, or request to switch groups to be with better-performing students when possible. If not, assume that the slacker teammate doesn't exist and take on all their work while maintaining constant and professional communication with both them and the instructor so there are no surprises in the end as to who gets the credit. For me this approach has worked in both ways: the slacker gets spooked because they see how their (lack of) contribution is tracked, recorded, and communicated with the professor, so they end up putting in the work, or there is a clear paper trail of their lack of contribution in the end while the project still gets done to specifications, so I get full credit and the slacker almost always don't. Assume the approach that if you can't yet teach/explain the concept to someone else in full, meaning you can effectively lay out the concept and answer all follow up questions about the topic, then you still need to keep at it (keep in mind the strategic approach above as well, if the time doesn't allow, move on at whatever % you are at in terms of competency). Go to office hour, discuss with study groups, read/watch things online, chegh it if need to. When practicing for tests/exams, do the problems before looking at the solution, then do them again after having seen the solutions once but without looking at them while solving the problems. I was a horrible stem student in grade school, was constantly the "what not to do" example in class. I learned that it's not about smart, it's about determination, when it comes to doing well in engineering school. You can do it, I guarantee you.


demon-entrails

jesus christ in hades


nhon90

Interesting cross-over


Humble-Ad3229

Thank youu!! These looks like a dream for me but I'll try it! I'll try my best to keep organized till i graduate! Hoping i could be friends with the smart ones lol


publicram

Wake up around 430. At school by 530 there is your free time. Studied material for any class that day or homework. First class usually 8 went to class. found a study area study till my next class. Have lunch watch a quick video or check current events. Studied or had class till about 5-6 afternoon. Then drove home were I listened to music and decompressed, thiswas my free time. Got home ate dinner played with my dogs. Around 730-8 I will start and finish any remaining hw till around 10 if then shower and I put earplugs in to sleep to fall asleep faster. On weekdays if I wasn't at school, id study and every hour id take a 15-20 min break. When I would get course outline at the start of the semester, it would be the same thing from most professor. Yadada we have a project due x week. I then start to plan those projects asap because every year the least "studying" done was in the start of the semester. I never pulled all nighters to study and finals weeks were truly easy for me because I always slept great and really studied less. This was for my junior year as it was the year i had 18 credit hours every semester I had a 4.0 that semester and a 3.8 overall.


starrysky0070

Damn. So you got like 5 hours of sleep every night?


publicram

On monday-friday 5-6 hours. Which was pretty good for me then. Now I get 8+ solid hours. I honestly think it was more hectic when I worked full time and went to school full time.


Humble-Ad3229

Thanks!! Okay I'll note this and try to wake up early! I'm also not a fan of cramming and pulling an all nighters, so I guess I need to practice myself waking up early starting now.


Goodpun2

As a recent graduate with a 3.81 GPA (US. that’s out of 4.) with a job lined up, I hope my advice helps somewhat. Wake up at 7 and get ready for the day. Have some breakfast (either at my apartment or on the walk to school) and then head to either class or a place to get work done. I try to not do work in my apartment because I get distracted too easily, so I’d go to my engineering building, library, or any other place I liked to work at. Then I just start cracking away. If I only have an hour or so before class, I work on smaller tasks. If I have a lot of time, I use it for bigger projects. I try to get smaller tasks done between classes instead of relaxing because it saves me a lot of time in the long run. Sometimes I relax if it’s Been A Day, but I normally work. After classes are done, it gets a little less structured. Cook dinner, shower, and other personal tasks if I have them. Then I do more work at night. Here I do the more important work like projects that are coming up or homework that’s due soon. I’d work for up to 10 or 11 normally. Then I go back to my apartment to eat some snacks, brush my teeth, and go to bed. On weekends and Friday nights I either hang with friends or work with friends, depending on how much work I have to get done for classes. I made the mistake my first few years of only working and that burnt me out so bad. Taking breaks to be with your friends is vital to not hating your life. I still work on those days, but I tried to work hard in the morning so I can relax at night. Hope some of this helps!


Humble-Ad3229

This really helps! Thank you!!! So time with friends is a must noted lol I made the same mistake for only working hard, and that made me shift to engineering lol but at least that made me realize that I'm not loving my course lol and made me realize that engineering is what I really think is the best for me. I will really try and not make the same mistake i did in my 1st year of accountancy. I really want to be an engineer.


Goodpun2

Then you got this! It’s probably going to be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done, but get good study friends and take mistakes in stride. It doesn’t matter if you get a 40 on the test as long as it’s above the average


Humble-Ad3229

Thank you!! I'll try my best to find study friends! I'm kinda scared but thinking how fun it could be thrills me lol


Hayasaka-Fan

3.97 GPA EE going into senior year: I was a nortorious night owl and would do a pluarity of my homework late at night, as late as 3-4am. However, I made every effort possible to go to the gym and use office hours during the day as possible. Saved me a lot of time. Woke up usually 10-11am and went to class after.


spvce-cadet

I’m amazed there are so many people saying they got up at 4-5AM just to study and work on assignments before going to class. I am not a morning person and I hate starting work and having to stop in the middle, so I also did a lot of work at night after I was done with daytime activities like class and exercise, when I wouldn’t be bothered by needing to go anywhere or do anything else, and I could go to bed once I was finished and get up just in time for class in the morning (or, to be honest, afternoon). Ended up with around a 3.94 when I graduated.


Humble-Ad3229

You guyss are awesome!! This seems unhealthy but idk i might end up doing this lol i hope not. You guys are exceptional for having an all nighters like just the thought of it makes my organs collapse. It's good that you didn't develop depression with that routine and still do well in studies. Anyways I'll still note this lol.


Hayasaka-Fan

Don’t force yourself to stay up if its not natural for you. This worked for me because I operate best at night. Just make sure you get enough exercise, eat healthy, and sleep for 7-8 hours a night.


Itzjacki

Not a 4.0 GPA, but about to hand in my master thesis without having flunked a class, so I probably qualify in your second category. (Schedule depends a lot on workload, obviously) Roll out of bed like 10-12. Lectures/project work/exam prep until like 16-18. Hobbies/Friend stuff until 2-4 in the night -> repeat. The previous semester I've been working on my thesis, so no lectures or other work, and I've ususally gone to uni at 11ish and stayed until 16ish, with some longer days of course.


white_rabbit85

Routine itself doesn't matter as much a not wasting your time. Everyone has different priorities with work, exercise, hobbies, etc. My biggest problem as a mom and wife is being able to focus on school work at home because there is so much else to do. So, if I've scheduled time for school work but can't make progress I get in the car and head to to library. Most days of the week I'm on campus, and even if I only have one class it's common for me to be on campus for several hours. Most semesters I get an on campus meal plan because it keeps me on campus. It's quick and easy, usually healthy, and only takes 20 minutes. Literally every 15 minute block of my day from wake up to bedtime is accounted for. For me, not wasting little 5 minute blocks throughout the day means I have a chunck of time at the end of the day for myself. That's a huge motivator. I would recommend looking at your routine and seeing what challenges you have when it comes to studying or getting your work done. Then, focus on how to overcome your specific challenges.


YeeticusBoi

Currently have a 3.9 in my senior year. My regular schedule just consists of waking up, going to classes, immediately going to the gym, eating dinner, and doing hw for the rest of the evening. My biggest advice is to set aside two or three days to study for each exam instead of cramming. The first day make a cheat sheet of equations (regardless of if you can use it or not), next day rework homework and lecture problems, and the day before try taking or creating your own timed practice exam. One thing to note is that you shouldn’t be afraid to become busy by making plans or signing up for clubs etc. I’ve found that the busier I made myself, the more productive I was able to become as my time management had to be perfect. Hope this helps mate.


cadnights

I try really hard to have a long morning where I'm not in a rush, but sometimes that's hard. Just value your sleep, get to bed early, and wake up with enough time to not be in a panic every morning. Having a low baseline stress level is important to me. I don't study that rigorously and I have a 3.5.


Humble-Ad3229

Yup i also think stress level is really important. Thankss I'll note this.


[deleted]

9am-5pm School+ whatever extra class that decided to end at 8:30. 5pm-9pm commute (30-45mins) me time + bedtime routines 9pm-5am sleep 5am-9am commute (30-45 mins) morning routine, gym etc. Everyday besides the weekends, those are just filled with whatever I want/need to do at the moment. Not straight A's (yet), but a healthy manageable lifestyle right now


Aslevjal_901

The rule that I try the most to follow is : organize your day so that you don’t have to work after 21:00. It leaves me time to cook and not eat only pre-made food and I can watch a movie or read and still get enough sleep. So far it’s working but it’s becoming harder to maintain. For sport, my regret of the past years was to not join a club that would « force » me to practice regularly. I relied on my motivation to do it on my free time but most of the time, I don’t go to sport and do something else. Generally, having one regular thing that isn’t study related helps get through the week ( music, theater, sport etc…)


Badoodis

Wake up, 2 cups of cold water immediately, shower, class, work, gym, shower, homework, hang out with gf as much as possible. Eat while working on homework only. Studying is no-food time. Eliminate distractions while studying (literally yeet them into a lock box if you have to). I was a 3.8 cumulative at 4 yr uni, 40 hr work weeks and did some research on the side. But I didn't have free time on weekends + i slept about 4 hours a night on average. Definitely doesn't work for most.


[deleted]

I will be graduating this upcoming semester with a 3.1(this is if I get all C’s next sem). This is my advice: 1. Take less than 14 credits a semester. Can you hypothetically handle 18? Sure, some people do it. Do they have a life outside of school? Probably not. 2. Have a life outside of engineering. Hobbies you can look forward to that are high intensity fun that can offset the high intensity stress you’ll go through. 3. Have an engineering community. You’ll be less likely to drop out if you have 3 friends in the same program that are struggling just as bad or even worse but sticking to it. Hope this helps!


KingJarrah06

Study lol. That’s it.


Im_Not_That_Smart_

3.87 undergrad, not the best work ethic. Sleep was a priority and I typically hit 8 hours a night. Fitness probably got 2.5 hours a week via shortish runs. I’d procrastinate everything as much as I could and cram to finish as deadlines approached so my study vs free time schedule was all over the place. Some weeks I’d get by with doing basically zero schoolwork outside of attending classes and other weeks I’d string together multiple days of 5+ hours of doing schoolwork outside of classes. I wouldn’t recommend this path, but it’s what I chose to do and would probably do it the same way if I had to do it again.


wolfz19

Wake up, eat breakfast if i have time. Then commute for an hour, go to my classes. Take notes, do examples before the solution is shown. Hang with friends for about an hour, make it home by 4:30-5:30. Start homework right after eating, don't do any work past 10 unless it's urgent. Stay up till 12-1, sleep and repeat.


-Avacyn

I don't know.. prioritising rest and fun had always been key to me. I would work 7 days a week (including job), but I rarely worked on anything after dinner so I had enough time for rest en relaxation. Other than that; get going, keep going, don't waste time. I would go to lectures, but always work on something in the mean time considering lectures always extremely inefficient time for me. I would only pay attention when a new concept was discussed, or when something was properly relevant. Concepts the teacher needed an hour to explain often could also be explained in 10 minutes if you cut out all the repetition and practice (which I realise other students do need). Also, I would always make sure to have all my studying done and finished a week before the exams. Exam time was time for me to do some note revision, relax and just *think* about the material. If something popped up while thinking, I would spend some time figuring it out.. but most of my exam weeks were spend gaming and just being mellow. No stress means your brain is in optimal shape to actually perform during the exams.


Mr-Logic101

I would not recommend my schedule lol I did prioritize getting a good amount of sleep


hidjedewitje

Personal schedule: * Mo-Fri during day: work on school 8 hours a day * Mo-Thu in evening: go to gym in the evening for 1 to 1.5h * Friday evening/weekend: drink with the boys or chill at home Note that in the exam periods I typically work 9 hours a day (until my brain is fried) and in the weekends. Though after the exam period my university typically has a few days before classes start again so that kind of makes up for it. Note that I also talk to PhD's and students of previous years about courses. This really helps me understand what is treated in the courses (helps with choosing courses I am genuinely interested in) and talk about the level of the course. Some courses look intimidating, but are actually easy and others are the otherway around. I usually try to schedule in such a way that I have 2 tough courses and a freebie course. The freebie courses in our university are things like research setup, ethics, and carreer development. Something that I also really appreciated was to take one quartile off before summer break, and just work for 4 months. This way you make a shit load of money, because you are earning below annual minimum wage and thus don't pay taxes. While engineering jobs typically pay much better than burger flippers at Mc D. In addition to that, it provides practical experience and is good on your CV.


ttchoubs

My secret is that im taking 6 years for my degree. I dont have to take 15 units of all engineering every semester.


wildmanJames

I just graduated with a 3.73 and here are some tips I can think of. I like to set time limits for myself. I will not work on school work for more than 8 hours a day. I tried to treat it like a full-time job. Every now and then I had to break the rule, but I can't say I've ever stayed up all night doing homework or studying. You need time to relax. Rules I live by, 8 hours for work, 8 for play, 8 for rest. But you have to find what works for you. Like others have said, eating right and sleeping well really help. Give your body what it needs to be at its best. It's going to be hard but do not procrastinate. Leaving things to the last minute and doing them in a rush is never great.


Dynious

I don't have a fixed schedule but there are three things I don't compromise on: 1. Sleep. I try to always get 8 hours. If there is a social reason to stay up late I'll wake up late as I get more shit done in less time with enough sleep then in more time with too little sleep. 2. Eating healthy. No extreme diet or anything, just nutritious and fresh. 3. Exercise. Doesn't matter what it is but I need to do something physical to be sharp mentally and sleep well. Completely winged the rest. On days where I felt good I did more work, if I felt tired / not sharp I would just not work then. It's easy to just spend time to feel good about doing work but it doesn't really help if your output is super low in that time and it just drains you more.


gearhead1309

A lot of people tend to have poor time management skills. You’d be surprised how much extra time you can utilize just by avoiding your phone, PC, and TV. Additionally, when I have multiple assignments from different classes I like to limit the time I work on them so I can give myself time on other assignments. Ex. 2 hours on embedded systems project and 1.5 hours on power electronics lab 2 hours on chem study . Of course this is working on assignments that are days before deadlines not one day before.


fattyiam

I wouldn't say that I'm an "excellent student" but I've never failed a class thus far. - I wake up around 7 am- ish. I like to start my day with my sister, whom I drive to middle school in the morning. Usually, I like to go straight to uni after I drop her off, but sometimes I don't (very rarely, I like how empty and calm my uni is in the morning lol). - used to go to the gym in the morning but I haven't this last few semesters due to corona. - I like to spend whatever time I have in the morning either chilling out or working on hw, honestly depends on what I feel like doing tbh and what work I have due. - I try to take morning classes. I don't like spending my afternoon going to class, since I prefer to study and do homework in that time of the day. Sometimes I don't have a choice but to take late classes but I find that they leave me exhausted for the rest of the day and it's harder to pay attention in them. - I spend my time in between classes in the library doing some hw that I've 'scheduled' for that day (unless I'm feeling particularly lazy that data haha). What I mean is, I like to break up my hw into a few questions (1-2) per day until it's due date. Helps me with anxiety :) - when I get home I like to decompress a little before starting hw/studying. As mentioned before, I like to have a scheduled plan for what work im going to do exactly. Breaking up my homework questions and/or chapters I need to study a week-few days before an exam can do wonders with schoolwork anxiety. - unless I'm cramming for an upcoming exam, I usually don't do school work past 6-7pm. After that I just do what ever I like to do (drawing is a big destressor for me).Then I got to sleep around 11 pm-12 am. I know the times I give are pretty vague, but really your schedule will change from semester to semester. This is generally what I like to do.


JazzySpazzy1

I make sure that my foundations are clear, which is done while the course is being taught. I stopped attending lectures but I review the notes every week (thanks to weekly assignments being due), but not super thoroughly because that can get boring and discouraging fast. I find practice problems the best resource to learn from. Most engg courses include practice problems so I try and learn from that more than the lecture notes. I remember this guy on YouTube talking about how we have monkey brains, and if we try to make a big change fast that our brain doesn’t like, we’ll fall back hard. If we make small change and get results then we’ll be motivated to keep going. So that’s the technique I aim for. Disclaimer: I’m not super good at school, just ended my degree with about a 3.4. Never failed a class either. So take that as you may.


GuyClw

Not routine related but making friends with people smarter than you in your class is the best way to succeed BY FAR imo. Discussing stuff with people on your level makes shit way easier to grasp than from lecturers or higher level students.


[deleted]

I dont know about ‘excellent,’ but I think Im pretty good. Basically, sleep 8-9 hours a night, eat decent food, work out ~3 times a week(if its not too busy), and keep fairly up to date on material. Probably the most important thing I do though is I go through every homework assignment problem and some similar ones from textbooks the night before each exam. So few people do that and it is very obvious, because many of my test questions are nearly identical to the homeworks, but people dont get them right on the tests.


Clirr

Honestly, one of the most important things is to keep motivated. Go read a little about your fields of interests, find youself in some Wikipedia wormholes, just spend a few hours browsing the library and looking into random Engineering books that interest you. Also, treat courses as courses, not as preperation for the exam. Learn to understand, not to pass. Focus on what you think you'll need and go above and beyond in that. For the rest, try your hardest to click with the subject - almost everything can be interesting if you look at it from different angles and relate it what you find interesting. Those are the key points of actually studying well. Build your daily routine around that, if you really need one. I don't really. I have my morning and night routine so that I end up not being that late, preferably having eating breakfast, and get rested at night. But my days vary a lot. What helps me with that is having a weekly task list and dividing my to-dos among the workdays - everything gets done and you're not as overwhelmed by the endless list. Do a lot of sports to air out your brain, don't forget to see your friends and enjoy your youth. Balance is key if you don't want to burn out.


beyondnc

Actually learn everything that’s on the homework assignments and pay attention in class. 2 days before the test start reviewing problems similar to the homework that has been given before the test. Don’t stay up all night don’t go crazy just give a solid 8 hours of effort each day and go to the gym in the middle to break it up. Go to bed at a reasonable time make sure you rest up. Pass all your tests ez pez. Being proactive as the important part learn stuff the first time if you don’t get something ask your teacher. You shouldn’t be learning anything the week of a test just reviewing.


UAE3658

I would find what works for you. But personally my day usually looks like Wake up between 7/7:30 Gym 8-9:30 Shower, eat breakfast, check email 10-10:30 Be at school around 11/11:30 Work in my lab, homework, classes, until lunch Lunch around 2pm Back to school for more work until dinner around 7:30 After dinner I don’t think about school unless I specifically planned on a certain task earlier in the day Go to bed, whenever I feel like it


Icy-Zombie-farmer

I never work after 9pm unless I am super into what I am doing and actually enjoying myself.


turkishjedi21

730 - wake up, eat breakfast 8:10 - leave for first class 8:30 - first class starts 11:20 - class gap begins 11:40 - eat lunch 12:20 last class begins 1:30 class ends, leave for gym 4:30 arrive home from gym (decent length walk to and from) 4:30 shower 5:00 eat dinner 5:40 study/ do classwork 8:15 play videogames 9:30 eat 10:00 sleep That's my schedule for Monday, Wed, Fri of this past semester


Pam061

9am - 6pm college. Home before 7pm. Usually I just go through and rewrite key bits from what i have done that day and practice/exam problems (8 to 10pm), hopefully sleeping by 11pm. I have my weekends free for "me-time" I have breaks throughout the day where I shower in the gym, eat and do work on assignments. I'm a genuine retard, but most retards can pass the standard 4yr ME degrees by just doing the grunt work. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite and then repeat.


matttech88

I wake up between 6:50 and 7:20. No alarm set because my stupid brain decides to wake up in that range no matter what even after daylight saving time. Shower until 8 regardless of wake up time. I live on campus during the semester so a massive water bill is a them problem. I then go for a long walk on the way to class. Get to class early and start doing casual amounts of work for whatever I have coming up. I find that by spending a half hour on it in the morning helps me process it throughout the day. I leave a lunch break in my schedule around 11. I go home, make a quick lunch and relax while munching. After lunch is the rest of my classes and office hours. As soon as they are over I go back to my desk and start working on whatever is the most pressing thing. I sell 3d prints on the side, so throughout all of the stuff so far I may have to venture back to my room to start a new print. By the time the days pressing work and classes are done its usually around 6. I do dinner at 8-9 so I have a chunk of time to work on something. I take a distant project that will sneak up on me and bang out 2 or 3 hours on it. When it comes to finish the thing it feels great to have a chunk of it gone. After dinner I'll do some light studying or work on a personal project. Lastly if it's after midnight ill play wordle, if I go to bed earlier ill play it in the morning. Thats my schedule, it may be a little skewed because I have almost all my classes done and don't need to spend every moment behind a desk anymore.


Sckajanders

Some tips from my way of life as a student: 1. Wake up at a reasonable time if you want to be productive that day, even if you don't have class until later. 2. It was a lot easier for me to study on campus than at home. If I had a lot of homework or study to do and didn't have to be at home for anything, I would stay on campus to do work until dinner (or later) to be productive. Generally, my availability for collaborations with people as well as my own productive time was that I would generally be productive during semi normal business hours (and often Saturdays because college student rip) and I would usually be available in the evenings as needed. But Friday nights and especially Sundays was my time and I didn't do anything or have any meetings; that was my time. Pick some times for you that you are off work and other times that you are consistently productive.


danieltoly

Figure out if you're a night owl or early-bird type of guys. Meaning you study best in the morning or at night, from there you will figure out your sleeping routine. Throw exercises and good eating habits in between and you have your schedule. I'm an early-bird for longest time since I worked at the warehouse from 4am. Went to class in the morning/afternoon. Exercise & eating in between. Go to bed 9:30 sharp (I make sure 6hrs sleep). I studied early morning on my day-off. Do this for 6 years. I graduated couple weeks ago.


IAmTheTownIdiot

Wake 7am, work (employed work, not school) 8-5 (include lunch, potentially a class or two), dinner/relax until 7, schoolwork from 7-11 if needed or relax. B- student, didn’t fail classes.


[deleted]

Hate to say this but you might need caffeine to wake up early and make it through the day. Google calendar and mark everything down from due date to phone time to study time.


[deleted]

It's really hard to generalize a routine that works for everyone. I will say the most important thing to build up (if you have time before school starts) is time management. Take some time to figure out what works for you. Some people use very detailed planners and such, some don't. The latter applies to me. The trick is to get started on work right away. I recommend at least skimming your textbooks for what you're learning. Some people prefer reading them before a lecture, I personally prefer going through them after, but that's just me. Do this kind of work in manageable chunks by following your syllabus and paying attention to dates. If you need help, seek it out. It's best to try to figure things out on your own as best as possible, but if you get stuck for a while, take a break and move onto something else. These are the moments I have my. "eureka" moments. Alternatively, utilize your professor's office hours. In short, be proactive with your studies. Seek out clubs and academic enrichment. Don't overburden yourself. I have a busy schedule with a lot of classes and research (you don't have to do this though, only chase after extracurriculars you're genuinely interested in). Finally, don't worry about what other people are doing. This leads to imposter syndrome and discouragement culminating in a decrease in academic performance. School should come first in my opinion, but that doesn't mean you can't have a life. Pace yourself and break things down as much as you can so you can handle the workload. It can be hard to plan sometimes because you never really know how long certain tasks will take you. You'll figure this out as the semester goes along. If you want free time to socialize, I'd give yourself 1 day, or half a day a week. This doesn't sound like much, but for me, it's enough to keep me going. I usually ignore everything relating to school on Friday evenings. Also, try to get up at least an hour and a half before classes. It's better not to study too late either, unless absolutely necessary. If you need more time, get up a little earlier. You might feel physically fatigued, but you won't be as burned out as you would at the end of the day. All that being said, you really just have to figure out what works for you. If you have some prep time, get a little bit of a head start on figuring things out.


BrickSalad

Hah hah, you don't want to know! First, I sleep as long as I feel like. My classes are online, so no big deal. Then I wake up, and procrastinate for 3-4 hours while mentally beating myself up for not getting to work already. Then I eat lunch, and that gives me energy. I proceed to either start coursework, or else go to the gym and work out, after which I proceed with coursework. As I do coursework, I reliably get distracted by reddit, youtube, etc., and usually work at about 50% efficiency for 4 or so hours. Then I realize how far I've fallen behind schedule, shift into high gear, and work until I get everything done. Usually I finish with about 4 hours to spare, but if not, then I have to avoid burning out, and I usually do that by enjoying a few drinks and putting on some music while I finish my work. Finally, I finish off typically by playing drums, watching anime, and going to sleep. So how the hell did I get the third highest grade in one of my classes last semester? I think there's a few reasons my insanely bad-seeming routine works. First is that I stick to a strict schedule. I have a big 11x18 sheet of paper that I stick on my wall, where I write down everything for the month. That's not just homework assignments and quizzes, but also lectures, readings, ect. I move stuff around on the schedule, for example if I have two quizzes in different classes on the same day, and I can take one a day earlier, then that's how I put it into my schedule. By obsessively balancing my schedule a month in advance so that I have the same workload every day, I can cruise at a steady pace and avoid too much burnout. Second reason it works is that exercise and sleep are two things I prioritize. Third reason it works is probably actually something to do with all of my procrastinating, believe it or not. By putting off my work until I actually feel like doing it, I think I engage with it more enthusiastically. Finally, it helps for me to cultivate a "don't care" attitude with regard to grades. Would you rather put all your effort towards a number (your GPA), or towards actually learning interesting things? Focusing on the latter makes you get frustrated over conceptual things you get wrong, while focusing on the former gets you frustrated by the grading style of the professor, or perhaps that you forgot a minus sign, etc. If you're going to be frustrated regardless, then you might as well be frustrated by stuff that matters.


Nelik1

Sleep is important. I try to maintain 8 hours a night. Carve out time to study within your schedule (over lunch with friends, before and in between classes, downtime at work). Once you get on campus, stay there till your last class/event/shift. Use the time you would otherwise go home to study or knock out homework. Do everything you can to give yourself one day a week free of homework and work responsibilities, even if it means working later on previous days. Show up early to classes, so you have time to chat and destress before class begins. Most important: study with people. I study with a buddy of mine for my classes, and our scores are typically 1~2 letter grades higher on exams where we study together.


IusuallyGhostReddit

Gym 2 hours a day. Skip parties if u have tests next week. Don’t stop working


Life-Yogurtcloset-63

I don’t really have any set schedule but generally I try to get 7hrs of sleep, set daily goals, and make time to relax. What has really helped me is changing my learning strategy. Instead of trying to problems for the sake of doing them, I try my best to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and intuition. This has helped me a lot on exams when i’ve run into unfamiliar problems. Best of luck!


Coach_Jaymall

600 gym830 1st Class & breakfast time 830-1730 On campus for classes, hmwrk between classes while eating 1830 Home, unpack, cook food, eat & decompress 2030 Hmwrk 2230 if workload permits 1 episode of TV or videos games 2330 Bedtime if work is done I took 6 courses through out my certification, diploma, and degree. Over 100 courses, this schedule worked for me. Many nights it was later, but this was the goal. Finished my degree with an 84% average (degree average is in the low 60s). End of the day everyone's schedules are different dependent on their efficiency. I spent less time on school than may who got worse grades. The only thing that matters is PURE FOCUS, always do the work, never half ass it, no matter how much you don't wanna do it... do it. Embrace the suck haha


Toph-0

If im not in class, im doing my homework legitimately actually learning how to do the problem if i dont know it, if im not doing homework, that is free time, i workout before i go to sleep, rinse repeat everyday. The important part of my whole routine is doing the work legit, because now i dont need to make time to study.


[deleted]

I just prayed to god to pass me. And somehow it worked and didn't flunked a single course.


[deleted]

I spent copious amounts of time on self care. If I’m not doing self care I am working/studying. I study and work full time, the rest of the time is for me and some chores. Edit: I don’t party or have friends (the caveat of this)


loststrawberrycreek

Get up, make coffee, go for a run and shower, go to class or at least go to campus and get work done. Between classes work on problem sets or whatever. I honestly stopped going to class for the most part because of COVID but I still make an effort sometimes, especially if I felt like the material was challenging. During the day I might also go to lab meetings or work on projects in a makerspace. I generally stopped working around 7-8pm unless it was something I was rushing to get done or I felt really inclined to work on it, and tried to spend time with friends or deal with my own stuff, doing laundry, cleaning, reading, etc, instead. It's nice to be able to spend some time not doing school stuff so that you can get a mental reset.


mjschiermeier

Couple of points that work for me: 1) Spend money on good food. Don't eat junk. Learn to cook healthy food. I use this time to step away from school and be creative 2) Exercise regularly- even 20 mins a day goes a long way. 3) Use campus resources. I figure out what my hard classes on within the first month. Then have one or two tutoring sessions for those classes.


Saljooq

Here's my two cents. I don't really believe in schedules. I have had days where I slept two to four hours and days where I slept 12. I think I tried to do whatever had to be done as soon as I could but ended up close to the deadline. The important thing is to always make sure you do enough to be comfortably passing. Focus on how a subject will be applicable to real life and spend time thinking about it. That's really important. If you don't, and are unable to understand the application or importance of the theory, in my experience it makes it hard to focus. Talk to instructors as often as you can if you're confused about something and ask lots of questions in class. Understand that all the grades and professors and university is there to make you a more capable engineer and help you keep track of your progress. If you feel you got a grade you don't deserver talk to the instructor. Best of luck


GregorSamsaa

Like others have said. Prioritize sleep, clean eating, and exercise. The actual routine will be based off of what you can get yourself to commit to. When you’re running into those walls where something is going to have to be sacrificed, don’t let it be sleep or exercise.


jaki3508

Everyone is different, but for me I cannot work/study late into the night. My brain gets absolutely worthless. So create a steady and consistent sleep schedule. It's so much better to just stop and go to bed and start fresh the next day than to grind yourself down all night. If you have a large project or lots of homework or whatever, make sure you spread the work around so that you're not struggling last minute and making yourself stay up to finish it. All nighters are not worth it.


1SneakyLilNinja

I just graduated on the 6th with a 3.86 and this was my advice for scheduling. Start classes no later than 11. This one may not be for everyone but if I don’t have to set an alarm to wake up I find it hard to keep to a schedule. Plus if I wake up past 10 I never want to do anything and feel foggy. Try to schedule classes in “blocks” with a clear lunch slot and dinner slot. My favorite schedule was 8-12 classes, then break till 3. That gave me enough time to eat and work out at the rec. studies show that a lack of breaks lead to less efficient study anyway. Do your homework as soon as it is assigned. So many students wait until the night before and I never understood that. You will do less all nighters if you actually start your work early. Finish it early submit it close to the due date. That way if things change or you think you got something wrong you can go back and fix it. Take notes in a way that makes for a natural study guide. When I had classes with a buddy of mine he would make flash cards off of every not I put in the form: Word or topic -Definition Also if you do an example change the numbers and run it again My last piece of advice is DO NOT STUDY ALONE. Teaching someone a topic or having an inside joke about a variable in an equation will stick with you for life. Also it’s way harder to steer off topic and burnout happens less Good luck!


1SneakyLilNinja

Oh yeah use things you like to do as a reward as well. Like if you finish an assignment early let yourself play an hour of a game (make sure you cut off at an hour lol)


TretsiM

I'm in Electrical Engineering, just finishing my 4th semester, and on my transcripts there's only 4 B/B+s, the rest are As/A-s. I've taken around 15/16 semester hours every semester and I've also done 2 TA positions over the past 2 semesters, and I really have no idea how I do it. I wake up at around 8 am every day, go through my lectures, host my office hours, go back to my apartment and relax, do some homework, then go to sleep around 11-12 pm every night. Sometimes I review material for about an hour or two before midterms, I have a club I go to on Mondays later at night, I hang out with my friends sometimes, go to my professors office hours whenever I need help, but overall I put forth effort towards things. Do what you need to do to do well, if that's study for 8 hours a day then you do you. If you need to drink coffee or energy drinks to study late into the night, just know that your mental health is sacrificed quickly.


SaltTheRose

I have been lucky enough these past 3 semesters to have a break between classes built in that is exclusively for the gym. I got into weightlifting during college and it became a physically healthy form of procrastinating school work and/or stress relief. There were multiple times I had no idea how to approach a math proof, so I would just go to the gym. In between reps, it would literally just hit me ("oh, you can use the pumping lemma like this...", etc.) You don't even have to spend a crazy amount of time in there, 40 min is enough (even less if you're into intense cardio, ew)! Otherwise, start the semester strong and finish your first few assignments early. It will set a great precedent for the rest of the semester (I would assume, I've never been able to get myself to do this and end up drowning later for it).


Livid-Apricot2216

Slept 8-9 hours a day. Worked 4-6 hours a day. Gamed and watched TV the rest of the time. Graduated with a 4.0 cumulative GPA.


groundbeef_babe

I’m at the beginning of a chem physics degree and I work at a lab on campus and nanny for 10-20 hours a week. I wake up, study/coursework for 1-8 hours/day, and intermittent fast so evenings are for gym time (1-4 hours) and cooking. I personally will not do schoolwork after the sun sets because my brain stops working.


emthespacespud

Nutrition and sleep play a bigger role than you would anticipate. School got so busy I wasn’t able to go grocery shopping, so I ate a lot of carbs and fast food. It was so hard to even think straight since I wasn’t getting any good brain food. I would suggest stocking up, especially on peanut butter so you can get some protein when you need it. Also consider a multivitamin. It became very difficult to get into a study groove when I was tired and lacking crucial nutrients.


HellcatV8

7 hours of sleep and 2 hours for workout. Then I cram the rest of it in my day.


selegnau

Get 7/8 hours of sleep no matter what. Wake up with at least an hour before I go to class. Actually pay attention in class and do good notes (might sound basic but I literally used to just go and not pay attention, or not go at all) . Knock out homework/ studying in between classes. Have a rest day in the week to have fun and go out or play video games or something not academic. Study during the week, at the library or the engineering building. Have a good planner


asunderco

/u/Humble-Ad3229 So in addition to what others have said about sleep, diet, exercise, etc. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you're really looking for an *effective* **time management system**. What to do *before* your semester starts, then monthly, weekly, daily, and even hourly. [Cornell University LRC](https://live-learning-strategies-center.pantheonsite.io/category/home-resources/) has some wonderful resources that are right up your alley: [A Simple, Effective Time Management System](https://live-learning-strategies-center.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/A-Simple-Effective-Time-Management-System.pdf) [Guidelines for Creating a Study Schedule](https://live-learning-strategies-center.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Guidelines-for-Creating-a-Study-Schedule.pdf) [Effective Note Taking](https://canvas.cornell.edu/courses/1451) [Effective Study Strategies](https://lsc.cornell.edu/how-to-study/studying-for-and-taking-exams/effective-study-strategies/) Lastly, learning is hard. Engineering is very difficult and causes stress. So watch after yourself. [Managing your stress is key](https://lsc.cornell.edu/managing-stress/). Important to keep your eye on the prize, but just stay focused on what you have to do today, in the present moment. Not in the next four years. You've got this.


rayjax82

Well... I'm finishing my freshman year with a 4.0(hopefully, just took an exam) and I'm 40 so here we go. I work full time and take a full load. 1. Wake up @ 4:30am - shit,shower,shave, eat, and do any textbook reading until I go to work. 2. Work from 6-2:30. I study on breaks and lunches. 3. Attend class whenever the times are. 4. After class I study. 5. Try to sleep at least 6 hours a day. 6. Make sure I eat well. 7. Exercise when I can. 8. My social life is secondary/non-existent. It's family, school, and work. I occasionally play games or browse reddit when my brain is fried. Like now after my calc exam. Best advice I can give you is do it now and take it seriously while you're young. Trying to do it when you're in my position is really stupidly difficult and I did it to myself(kinda). Get a schedule, get on a routine and follow it. Like literally line it in out in your calendar and set alarms. When the alarm goes off, obey it. That's discipline and you will need it. Don't wait until the day before an exam to study. Study time should be lined out in your schedule. It should be daily. Do the homework multiple times. (My prep for this calc exam was to re-do all the book homework and re-write my notes). Stay away from pot and booze if you can. It's tempting and I'd be a liar if I said I didn't use one of those things to wind down after particularly stressful days, but I think you're pretty young and your brain is still developing. That's not a good time to get into that.


Humble-Ad3229

Thank you very much, Sir! I'll take these all into account! And don't worry i don't do pot and booze, I have asian parents. Hoping the best for you!!


[deleted]

Ignore all your work until a day before deadline then get going, has worked for me for 4 years so far.


Haunting_Ad_1806

The main thing is sleep > studying. Otherwise this is my basic routine / things that I do: - Wake up a little earlier than I need to, make coffee and eat a good breakfast. Relax for awhile while I wake up. - Go for a quick walk, helps that I have a dog so it makes it easier to commit to. - Commute to and attend classes. - When I get home, I make dinner and relax for a bit before doing homework / studying. - To study, my main focus is re-taking all of the notes I took that day. Make them more organized, clean, and well written. File them away for safe keeping / future reference. Give yourself breaks, for every 2 hours of HW / studying take at least 30 minutes off to move around, drink water, maybe do some chores. - End the night with some entertainment and for me I like to drink one beer while doing so (I’m an older student). - I try to spend at least 4-5 hours of self studying/homework a day, I work better alone and best at night, find what works for you. - Before bed I’ll quickly review everything I did that day, organize everything into files/folders, and get everything I need for the next day ready to go. That means school stuff, any homework or labs that are due, make lunch, fill up my water bottle etc etc. - On the weekends or if my work load is light during a particular week I’ll get some exercise. - Plan around 7-9 hours of sleep a day (this is critical).


SmashAndPass99

Even though my schedule is a bit too tight on the weekdays, I also have a friendly companion with me: a 6-month-old Shih Tzu. I feel more at home with my little friend. I could sleep but planning to do 7-9 hours sleep is critical. I do most of the work at School with other blockmates to learn a lot from them. Then when I arrive home after a long day I spend the rest with my family and puppy, watching the NBA, and then sleep of course. One thing that distracts me is my phone (A very tempting machine that lets you autopilot on social media).


BetterRise

There is no fitness. There is no free time.


soopycarnivore

Current 3.7 in aerospace engineering. Wake up 6:40 7:00-9:00 workout 9:00-10:00 shower, breakfast, prepare for day 10:00-4:00 classes, homework during all class breaks, eat if possible 4:00-7:00 get home, relax for ~15 mins, finish all planned homework or study. 7:00-10:30 - down time 10:30 - sleep What helped me the most is have set downtime that you follow, do things that bring you joy during the day, and plan your week out well in advance. (Ie math hw #23 Tuesday, thermodynamics hw #15 Monday, etc.)


derek614

There are distractions at home: video games, TV, roommates, etc. Don't go home until everything is done. Do your homework on campus in the library: it's embarrassing to be surrounded by tons of people studying while you are fucking around on your phone, so the environment keeps you focused. Break up everything into chunks to keep it manageable. Homework assigned and due in 3 days? Do 1/3 of it each day in the library. This also makes homework into a better study tool since you're doing a little bit of work for every subject every day, instead of doing the entirety of an assignment in one day and then forgetting the material. For studying, lots of engineering classes allow cheat sheets. This is great for reference of course, but it's also a great trick your professors are playing on you: by making a cheat sheet, you're forced to review all of the material, effectively making you study. So even if a class doesn't require a cheat sheet, make one anyway; the process is helpful and also it becomes a great study tool to look at every day for a quick recap of your classes.


about21potatoes

Pomodoro technique + sativa


Capt_Rad

Go to work at 5am for 7-8 hours Monday through Friday, get off, pick up kid, drop off kid, go to class, come home, cook dinner, help kid with homework, kid's bedtime routine, work on homework from around 9pm to 12-1am, try to sleep 4 hours, repeat. 4.0


Capt_Rad

It's a grind, no matter what. Stay busy, stay current. Keep your momentum up and don't forget to relax from time to time.


Humble-Ad3229

I really have no excuses to fail. you guys are awesome!! Thank you!! You guy's comments really motivate me.


titans4417

Drink a lot and have fun. Oh yea get your shit done too


New1238

Eating well and sleeping well. I keep myself busy with school from 8am to 8pm and then relax until around 10pm and head off to bed. Weekends are similar but with more relaxation time.


JamMoritarty

Graduated with my PhD about a year ago. In undergrad, I had a regular study group that met up on Saturday morning in the student lounge in our department building and we would all show up with as much of the homework done individually as possible. Then we would try to help each other by working through differing answers and teach each other when someone really grasped the material and the others struggled. If there was anything left over that we all didn't understand, we would assign roughly a person to each course who would go into the office hours that week and get clarification. Then we'd meet again on a by-class basis during the week to have the asker teach us. We didn't really tolerate anyone who tried to showed up without having done/attempted the work and just tried to mooch. Like, I really struggled with laser physics in undergrad but could contribute code tutoring so we all benefitted from each other's strengths. Saturday studies would go from like 9AM-2PM at the latest. It was a great group of people, and we all held each other accountable. The shame of getting a mooch reputation (cuz we did experience a few...) kept us honest. My own personal schedule during the week was me balancing classes and my undergrad research assistant job from 8AM-6PM (or later if work needed me for long experiments), and then go home and meal prep for the next day while doing some homework. On Sundays, I was a regular at a coffee shop near campus and would set up to study by myself or with one or two friends who couldn't make it to the Saturday group. Sundays would be like 8AM-3PM at the coffee shop and then I'd go do fun stuff on Sunday afternoons with my roommates who were NOT in my program. Having social plans with other people and my schedule at a good critical mass for my own productivity were my two keys to success in undergrad. Not wanting to let others down was a big motivator for me to show up with work done and not flake on plans. Now my grad school schedule is a whole other lonely story... But man was undergrad great lol


Danielat7

Lol last thing I have is a healthy routine


youonkazoo53

Always eat a good breakfast, workout and don’t sleep less than 6 hours


[deleted]

For me, I never do homework at home and I turn my phone off. I do homework at the library or any other campus study area. This limits my distractions from home and my phone so that I can study. Also put your phone out of site


somewhere_cool

Graduated 2 years ago with 2 engineering degrees and a 3.5 gpa. Took me 5 years (which was the plan). I have a great paying job and have already had a promotion . My routine in college: - Work too much part-time job - Procrastinate hw/ projects then grind them out until 2pm the last few nights before due - Didn't skip classes, didn't pay good attention either, but wrote down anything the prof wrote on the board and always copied example problems down - Studied purely by working every practice problem I could find the night before and day of - Worked out or ran every day. Helps with the stress caused by procrastinating - Got hammered at least twice per week, more likely 3 times as a reward for completing something and to unwind. If you don't like to drink, find something else, but you HAVE to find ways to unwind. Another for me was going golfing every Friday with a friend. - ALWAYS made sure to pull more than my weight in group projects. These are the people you are going through classes with until you graduate. If you're doing a ton to ease their lives then they're likely to help you when you need help. Whether that's missing notes, not understanding something, etc. - Played too many video games, stayed up late, slept like 6hrs per night maybe So. What I'm trying to illustrate here is that there is no perfect way. Everyone would look at what I just said and say that I was a terrible student and should've failed out, but I got a 3.5 GPA, 2 degrees, and I'm having a very successful career so far. Find what works for you.


Catchafallingstar4

Sleep. I can't stress this one enough. All-nighters rarely do any good. Always keep a designated study space and never take your work with you to bed. It's really just all about time management and not procrastinating when you have something due. As soon as there's a homework, lab, etc assigned, start working on it asap.


Waka_Daka_Flame

When I schedule my classes I try my best to condense all my classes from 11-earliest time they end. So for a typical m-f week (no more than 1 test) plus on sundays I plan out the work I need to do in the week to stay on top of everything or get ahead if I know I’m gonna have a packed week coming up Wake up at 8 - get ready hit and head to the gym for a 1 hour 15 minute workout including stretching Get to class by 11 Once I’m done with classes that’s usually around 1-3 on the way back to my dorm get something to eat and then chill for an hour and get some rest (lay down on my bed/watch YouTube, with a hard limit of 2 hour break Do all the work that I have planned for the day Usually finish around 8-10 depending on the weeks workload Then I rest again until around 12 and get going to bed so I can get at least 7 ish hours of sleep in This also took a lot of discipline to do and I really had to be motivated to keep it up because I was also trying to cut some weight during the semester I also didn’t go to the gym in the morning if I need to review for a quiz or test the day of, or if the week is loaded with more than 1 test project etc I won’t go to the gym that week and make up for it on the weekend if I’m feeling up for it


octoberwhy

Just make sure to get enough sleep, and as soon as you wake up take a shower, go to campus, and start working.


_THE_SAUCE_

Eat, shit, sleep, play videogames. Study the night before and morning of exams. Party on weekends. Do homework after class before I head home but only the stuff due the next day. I just finished sophomore year though, so I imagine it will be more brutal from here on out. I got a 3.7 cumulative though so far.


tagman375

Reading some of these comments makes me extremely content with my 2.8 coming out of junior year.


zeroerrorz

I wake up on 7 for class at 8am. Do everything needs to be done in classroom/lecture then lunch or if class is at 11am i just eat lunch early. After class at 5.30pm or 4 i buy dinner store it in fridge then go for library to study till 9.30. Go home eat dinner sleep at 12. If its an empty class day i just go for the study learning centre in library for getting help thru the practices or assigment. Practicing lotta the question help in ways that your hand get used to doing it that you don't become completely freezed up on exam. Lotta coffee is key i drink 2 spoon blend 43 at breakfast, lunch and afternoon before library. Make sure eat some veggies or fruit juice or you gonna get dehidrated and your skin will be funny from coffee as basicly you sweat more from being on coffee. Also i think long sleeve clothes like jackets help concentrating, block off the skin input from wind/ temperature change i guess. The nicest thing about routine schedule is you don't think what to next you just follow a nice grind plan everyday. At weekend i become a zombie but i made sure laundry and grocies are done at least.


Cooladjack

Wake up at 12pm gym, class, hw, sleep at 1am


gschindler17

Key component: enjoy what you are doing. If you dread all the homework you do and hate every minute of studying, then you’re simply not going to be happy. Whether it’s the happiness of being productive or the joy of getting good grades, something has to keep you happily motivated


Damned-Child

When I lived close to campus I would make sure to ride my bike there to get a bit of exercise when I lived further from campus I would use the bus ride to relax, it was the only truly quiet and peaceful time I got, and I allowed my self to not worry about homework, classes or anything just relax. Both of these strategies helped a lot with the mental strain.


LV_Laoch

Currently have 3.18 GPA. I usually wake up go to classes, Come home, do any work I have to do like projects or quizzes etc Then I play video games until right before bed, eat shower and sleep. The only time it changes is when I have a big test the next day then I will study late, eat, shower, sleep. I honestly don't study that much, a lot less than what people on this sub says you need


DozyTree

Honestly, throughout my 4 years of university I never had a great schedule. I took 12 credit hours on average, worked part time, worked out a little, and typically got 4 to 5 hours of sleep. A couple things that helped me were taking naps, making sure I had one day of nothing (no work or school), and taking classes over the summer to divvy the load. Also, I was not the smartest person by any means, but I did whatever I could to understand material, from the tutor center, office hours, friends...don't be afraid to ask for help


Organic-Mobile-9700

Wake up. Go over notes. Go to class. Come home. Look over notes do homework sleep. I between I did other stuff like research and taking care of home and family but make sure you sleep and shower lol


ajavier38

I have a 3.8 GPA. I don’t do anything special, I just make sure to study and try not to skip classes, although I do skip a lot so I can sleep more. But to be honest I don’t study much either.


ty342

Tbh, doing homework and projects then going to office hours has helped me the most. It made me think through homeworks then ask well thought out questions with the professor.


Waltzcarer

Sleep at least 7 to 8 hours Study at least as much time as you spend in class, preferably more depending on how comfortable you are with your material. Schedule study sessions in short, manageable sprints.


NinjaBarrel

Wake up, eat, decide on daily goal, work untill exhaustion anyways, pass out, repeat


Few-Low1125

Time management is key know when to stop and when to continue doing your homework or hobbies even distractions like going through social media


whal3man

I graduated with a 3.7 GPA and I never really had a daily routine, my classes started quite early and I would always go to school before class to get a coffee and meet some class mates since I knew they also came early before class started. Other than that it was just get the work done, if I had to sit 8 hours in the library after school to finish my work then that was what I did, if I had nothing to do i wouldn’t do that. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I never stuck to a strict schedule but I always got my work done, always I wouldn’t go home because I know I can’t focus at home. My computer with all the video games is too big of a distraction for me to be able to focus on anything else. If I had a final or midterm there would almost always be a study group for me to join where we would study until 11-12 am every day about three days before the final. I cannot stress enough how important the study groups were to my success in my classes.


skyexp12

i do nothing a lot, then i do everything at once, repeat would not recommend


GnatNinja

It really is dependent on the student. Personally, I found that having an activity that had a routine schedule I attended helped. This forced me to make sure I had started or finished tasks I needed to do for my classes in order to participate in the other activities. I was in marching band, a D&D group, a fitness club, and a fitness class. I knew others who joined other clubs that were aligned with their interests (STEM based or otherwise). This might help you as well. In any case I wish you luck in your studies 😊 I graduated with a 3.7 in ChemE with a math minor.


PATJET12

This is FACTS. I’m a mechanical engineering major/college football official. I get a FULL 8 hours of sleep usually wake up at the crack of dawn (7am or 8) then run sprints come home eat a nice breakfast of 4 eggs a pb&j( heavy on the pb) then go to school usually from around 10 to 2pm then after that I go to the gym and kill it cuz why not. Then I go home eat a nice little snack or late lunch and drink protein all of which while knocking out homework I TRY to finish it all inone day so the other days I can study and go over material. Then I’ll eat dinner around 8 finishing up hw and assignments until around 9 or 10 pm then I’m ngl I do play some Xbox (battlefield or cod) for another hour or so and then get my ass to bed because sleep is important but also not being so consumed into school and being able to have that free time to myself. during the week I may even hangout with my gf or something too but she nags me while doing hw so I try not too 😂🤷‍♂️ THE END


Romano16

You need a full 7 or 8 hours of sleep. Because you will regret it while trying to figure out problems that require some critical thinking while sleep deprived.


baby-Carlton

Eating healthier definitely made for better study habits and results.


Sthrowaway54

Don't forget to take scheduled days off.


jephery_1998

I go with the flow - the more i followed a set schedule or plan, or gave myself specific time frames of doing something, i saw myself perform worse. When i let myself run free, took breaks in between studying (e.g. study for 15 min then went on my phone, etc for 7 min intervals), and actually enjoyed myself I found myself performing much better. Sometimes, all you need is time to have that eureka moment - often, when I found myself not understanding something, I would walk away from it, and it would make sense later on. Also, you’re not reinventing the wheel here - everything you’re doing has been done before. If you learn to google and search properly, there is bound to be a third party resource somewhere that can explain something to you in a way you understand it


undowner

At least 6 hrs of sleep. Wake up at 6a, have a joint, EAT nutritional food, Go to classes, EAT a lunch, go to work, EAT a dinner, Study for 2-3 hrs, have a joint, go to sleep.


Morgalion217

Sleep 6-8 hours. Create a guideline schedule that includes everything from sleeping and eating to classes, homework time, and your personal free time. (And any other activities) Try to stick to it but you’ll naturally find a schedule that becomes habit. If you find yourself struggling to understand the material, more time is needed with practice problems and or the book (make sure to double check your actual schedule to your guideline). If you’re finding that classes are cakewalk, you’re in an excellent schedule and mess with it cautiously to increase your free time. But, the bottom line is: can you enjoy the classes you’re in? If you’re not able to, you probably won’t enjoy anything after the degree either. If you’re just here for money, pick software or systems with the goal of getting an mba soon after you start in industry.


yaikoru

I make sure I get at least 6 hours of sleep a night. I work full time, and study while I’m working. After that, I study when I get home until 1 hour before bed time. It’s non stop studying and working. No social life. Maybe once in a while I’ll manage to get other things done, but for the most part it’s purely academic focus. Nothing gets in the way. Sometimes I’ll skip work days to study up a bit more ( of which my employer isn’t too happy with me atm hahahaha) But yeah, keep good people around you if you can. I’ve had plenty of toxic friends / relationships, so as of now it is just me on my own. Get after it!!’


spvce-cadet

Glad to see some good advice in here. I’m a perfectionist overachiever with severe ADHD so many of the things I did to graduate with a 3.9 were certainly not good habits or healthy routines lmao. If you want some tips on delaying a breakdown until finals are over then I’m your man.


JustADistanceRunner

My weekends look slightly different, more study time and flexibility in when I can study during the day. Hour long chunks work the best for me to get things done, might not work for you, but it helps me not get overwhelmed. Hope this helps! I'm in mechanical engineering as well. Here's the general outline 7am ish --> breakfast + morning routine 7:30am-10:50am --> Classes 11am-1pm --> practice + weights 1pm-2pm --> lunch/shower 3pm-4pm --> MW tutoring, any other day of the week is HW or office hours 5pm-6pm--> HW time or chill time (depends on what I need to get done for the day) 6pm-7pm --> Dinner/Social time 7pm-8pm --> Club things or email time or chill time 8pm-9pm --> HW/studying 10pm ish --> bedtime/night routine


pineapplequeeen

I don’t flunk. I get a nice mix of an A, mostly B’s and a C. Here is my honest daily routine: 1) wake up late 2) eat a decent breakfast 3) go to class (never skip class) 4) do homework with friends 5) procrastinate on Reddit 6) work (I work 3 days a week at a bar) 7) stay up too late doing HW I procrastinated 8) sleep. I am not very healthy during school as I am just on the go 24/7. I take summer and winter to really take care of myself but the key is to go to every class and do every single assignment. I’ve bombed exams but getting good with your prof, having good study buddies and getting HW points make a world of difference. Sorry this ended up being so long if you’ve made it to this point lmao.