A Student Success Story
October 15, 2024
by Anabelle Gomez
Communications and Journalism student at Baruch College
Planning from the Student Perspective: How to reach your full potential & become “Academically Successful”
As a college student, maintaining focus and organization was extremely hard for me. I didn’t know how to maintain and keep my school assignments and activities under control. I looked up, and the leaves began to turn as a signal of the fall season starting. It was my first semester of college as a freshman, and I thought my classes were far too difficult; and later I even thought that I was taking too many at a time.
I realized, though– as more time passed that my classes were not the problem. The coursework was not the problem. My organization, work ethic and lack of focus was the biggest problem of them all! I didn’t have set times for homework assignments, got distracted easily, and had no actual interest in doing my work. That same semester and the struggling student I was, searching for a guardian angel, I was introduced to Professor Virgina Horan who introduced me to her latest project, the Centered Student Planner. As soon as I opened it I saw how organized it was, it made me realize where I was going wrong and how I could be better. Maybe all it would take was a cute planner with even cuter designs.
I began to see and make the necessary changes. They weren’t huge, but it would later have an even bigger effect on my coursework, how I managed my time, and especially on my school assignments and grades. I remember the first experience I had interacting with Professor Virgina Horan, and what she told me. “It’s all about your mindset”, she explained, and stressed how important it was that I believed I was able to be academically successful.
Prior to our conversation, I had no support and my motivation was going down the drain. Until I was presented her newest project, the Centered Student Planner. Just like it helped me, it can help you and other college students who struggle with time management, motivation, completing assignments on time, and truly connecting you to your school work, making your college experience go more smoothly.
The Planner & how it helped me to become Motivated and Maintain Organization
The Centered Student planner has different sections and tips for each week so that whoever is using it can fully benefit from how it can make your academic life easy. It is created and organized in a different way than a standard planner– as I mentioned, that is specifically made for students in college. For example, each week has a different goal that you can use, such as chunking assignments, paying attention to your syllabus, and even how to create good study habits for midterms and final exams. Virginia Horan’s research shows that writing tasks down by hand can help students to remember and pay more attention to their assignments.
Planning was hard from the beginning. I really had to put time aside to be able to focus on my academics. The videos that came along with the planner helped me to really be able to get my weekly goals done so I could reach my academic goals. I wanted to be committed and the planner helped me to see how I could accomplish that. A strong sense of commitment was something I wanted, but overcommitment… Would that be a problem?
In week 12 of the planner’s video tips, I realized that being too into getting everything done would stress me out, and before I reached week 12 I felt it. I felt that I became a bit too concentrated on the idea of hanging out with friends in order to feel the college experience, and forgot about everything else. What about my work schedule? What about extracurricular activities and studying?
Of course, I needed social interaction. We all do! I didn’t want to be home stuck in my room, glued to my desk writing notes and reading lectures. At the end of the day I had to prioritize what was important. So I decided to clean up my act as soon as I could and focus. I used the stickers for certain assignments that came along with the planner and visited my local stationary store to buy some supplies to divide subjects by color to stay organized. I was able to set time aside for studying and homework so that when it was time to be able to hang out with friends, the time was available.
I used (and love) the stress tracker that comes with the planner which helped me extremely. It helps to chunk down activities and school assignments so that you don't stress yourself out. I wanted to be successful, but I couldn’t fully commit knowing that mentally I was drained. Tired. Exhausted. Who wants to feel like that? The first and most important part of reaching your full potential is being in the right mindset.. Everything is in your head. Whatever you want to achieve, succeed in, put effort into begins in your mind rather than anywhere else. When you want to do something, do you think about it first? Because I know I do!
In order to maintain your own organization in college, it doesn’t have to look like mine. It can be different. It can be your own way. As long as you are prioritizing yourself, your needs, and meeting your academic goals, you will see the progress on its own.. As a current college student hoping to achieve my Bachelors, the Centered Student planner has helped me out in ways I could never imagine. Just like it helped me, it can help you too.
It also has inspired me to better myself as a student and work towards my career goals. The budget planners, the individual weekly spreads and grade trackers, and even the whimsical and creative designs made all of the difference. I believe that as a college student your goal is success, but it all starts with yourself. Find your niche. Find where you belong. It isn’t as easy as it seems but you will get there. It just so happens to be that something as small as a collection of papers with a hardcover front and back helped me to see how I could improve on what I knew, and maintain my organization academically. Make it fun and comforting for you, and I can guarantee that you will be able to achieve whatever goals you have in your mind. Just make sure to write them down first.