As a new school year is underway, many of you may be feeling anxious about what to expect. If you are a new student, you may be dealing with a lot of unknowns. I can certainly identify. My first few days of class on the WSU campus were definitely a challenge. [More]

In an effort to improve my wellbeing I took a look at my finances. As a college student this can be particularly difficult because we don’t really know where to begin. I read Kerri’s blog post about finances and checked out her link to CNN’s Money 101. I found this to be a helpful tool. Once I read a few of the lessons it became clear where to start. Create financial goals, prioritize those goals, and make a budget. To choose financial goals I just thought about my goals in general. I want to study abroad next summer, graduate from WSU in the next two years, and go to grad school. To turn these goals into financial goals and prioritize them I looked at how long I had to accomplish them, how much money I will need to accomplish them, and how many people each goal will affect. [More]

Time Management. Most people cringe when they hear these two words. With the end of the semester approaching there are finals, intern and job hunts, graduations and moves to occupy our minds. This is only heightened if you are a senior as well – senoiritis is real! So, where to start? Time Management is not only the key to getting things accomplished, it is the key to less stress and a brighter disposition. The challenge is that it is not an easy skill to learn, it is a process. To begin, I have posted some of the ways that may help you improve your schedule for the next month or so:         -Make starting your to-do list easy by breaking up projects into smaller and more manageable pieces. This way, you are able to feel accomplished and will be more encouraged to continue.         -Find a place that is just for studying. Find it hard to stay awake in bed? Distracted by the TV in the next room? Set yourself up for success by finding an environment where you can focus the best.         -Prioritize. Be honest and determine which tasks are a must-do and those that are a want-to-do. Bite the bullet and do one must-do before you move on to something more enjoyable.         -Take breaks. On your quest to manage your time better it is good to reward yourself. You cannot work non-stop and plus, taking a break to nap or workout is going to pay productivity dividends later when you have to get back to work. I hope that these tips are able to help you use your time efficiently. Once there is less procrastination and more productivity it frees up more time to enjoy the last weeks of the semester with friends! Feel free to look around online for more information on time management, there are plenty of resources available to you.

Emails are a quick and efficient way to keep in touch with co-workers, friends, family and professors. While we are in college it is important to begin practicing good email practices. Their importance in all sectors of the workplace is growing, and as students we need to be prepared for this reality. Businesses estimate that email overload can be the number 1 way co-workers become inefficient. So how do we establish good habits now? The easiest way to begin reforming and developing your email habits is to ask this question: How many emails are sitting in your inbox right now? Is it 10? 60? More? When you have an inbox that takes minutes to scroll to the bottom of, you most likely are going to be missing important emails. Create folders and sub-folders within your inbox to keep the content you are receiving organized. By using these labels consistently you will not only be able to make sure you are responding to emails in a timely manner (no more than 3 days), but you will also be able to recall information at a later date much faster. Emails also have tabs and flags that can be added to an email. Designating them as “Read” “Needs Addressing” “Replied,” etc.  Use these tools to your advantage. I would challenge you to set aside some time this week to go through your email. Don’t let it be a stress, just commit to doing a chunk of them each day either deleting or labeling and filing them as appropriate. Now when that job offer comes in an email it will not be lost amidst the other clutter and you will be able to answer “Yes” quickly!  

Students at Washington State University are given the opportunity at the start of the year to receive a free planner from The Bookie. While a planner is a great way to improve time management, decrease stress, and contribute to a better overall wellbeing, I find that written planners are very bad for me. The problems with written planners are twofold. The first being, it is extremely difficult for me to keep a planner on me at all times. When I find out about an event, a due date, a meeting time, it seems I rarely actually have my planner on me. My other huge problem is losing the planner. It happens often enough that it doesn’t seem worth it to write my events in a paper form anymore. Instead, I have switched to using an online calendar; currently I use a Google calendar. The benefits of an online calendar are wonderful. The most obvious benefit is that an online calendar can be accessed from anything that can connect to the internet, meaning any computer or smart phone. This means that it is impossible to forget or lose, unlike a physical planner. An online calendar can also be used to email or send text messages as reminders. Another unique benefit of online calendars is you are easily able to share your calendar with others and invite others to events.  This makes coordination much more effective than having to contact each individual about everything written into a personal planner. After moving to an online calendar I find that I have managed my time much better. At the start of the year, I am able to put all of my assignments due from the syllabus straight into a calendar for all of my classes. Being able to see it all arranged on an hour by hour schedule makes it so much easier to block out my day. The best perk about an online calendar: I don’t have to try to decipher my horrible hand writing.