Last week we talked about making a schedule to give structure to your time. If you make such a schedule and stick to it, you will be much less stressed. You will find that you have time for your studies, your sport or clubs, your friends and family, and time to relax and to sleep.
BUT: if you have never lived according to a firm schedule, you may find it very difficult to stick to it. It will be a big change in how you live your life, and change is difficult.
People who study change talk about “contemplation”, the time before the change when we’re thinking about it; “action”, making the change; and then “maintenance”, sticking to it.
This last phase is often the most difficult. Whether you want to leave a bad relationship, start exercising, or start living according to a schedule, it is only too easy to relapse, in other words, just to fall back into your old habits.
Dr Frank Magwegwe, a change scientist at the Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg, says, “Change is a team sport.” Involve other people.
Tell your friends that you are no longer available to hang out in the evenings, because you have decided to study from 7pm onward. Even better: make an agreement with a few of them to do it together. Every evening at 7 one of you can send the others a whatsapp: “Study time! I’m doing Physics first tonight.” People who agree to do that are known as “accountability partners” – you will hold each other to account if you do not stick to your decision to change. (That’s how Alcoholics Anonymous works. Everyone in the addict’s group wants them to stick to their new way of life. They hold them to account.)
This also means that you may have to think about friendships. If your friends laugh at you for being serious about your studies, they will make it much more difficult for you to stick to your decision. Are those the friends you want? Do their values and their goals align with yours? Which is more important: being seen as cool, or getting your degree in the minimum time?
Make it easy to stick to your schedule.Be in your room ten minutes before your “study time” starts.If you have an 8 o’clock class and you hate getting up early, shower the previous night and decide what you’re going to wear, so that when the alarm goes off, you can be out the door in ten minutes.TIPS TO HELP YOU STICK TO YOUR SCHEDULE:
1. Involve other people 2. Make it easy 3. Do not reconsider
Do not reconsider your decisions every time. Once you have marked out a period in the day and the week for a certain activity (especially studying, but exercise and sleep are as important), follow the Nike ad and just do it.
Remember, though … if you did not manage today, do not beat yourself up. We’re all human. Alcoholics Anonymous have a saying: one day at a time. Start again tomorrow.
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GRAD – your guide to university success is a partnership project of Ruda Landman, StudyTrust, Van Schaik Publishers and Capitec Bank
