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10 Essentials For The First Day of School
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We are literally seconds away from the first day of school and the anxiety is palpable. Every September is a chance at a fresh start, to make this year your best one yet!
My mantra this year is: “Aim high, and shoot for the stars”. How will I get there? By giving myself the best head start on the first day.
After much trial and error, I have produced this list of the 10 essentials for the first day of school.
10. Get a great planner
The first step to staying organized is to plan, plan, plan! Write everything down, so that nothing sneaks up on you. Syllabus week spells out all of the homework, projects, and exams you can expect throughout the semester. By adding these all to your planner right away, you can save yourself the unfortunate surprise of these deadlines sneaking up on you.
Bonus points if you go home and further map out your actual plan of attack. Break down each assignment into smaller tasks and set self-imposed deadlines for each of these. This will make your workload more manageable, and you won’t be scrambling at the last minute and pushing through the stare of a cold, hard, all-nighter. Completing tasks early will also allow you to review and revise your exercises more thoroughly, often the difference between an A and an A+.
9. Print out your schedule ahead of time.
It's great to have the info on your phone, but we all know that technology does not always cooperate. There is nothing worse than getting stuck in a busy hallway, not knowing where to go next, with your phone laggy or dying. University hallways move fast, and they are packed with people heading in every direction! Printing out your schedule or even writing yourself a note on a post-it can save you many headaches. Just don’t forget the room number and building. Better yet, write it in your planner. That’s what it’s there for!
8. Print out your syllabi
Most universities and colleges have online portals for each class, allowing for discussion, resources, and assignments to be both provided and submitted. These resources usually become available on the first day of class. This means that the morning before you leave, the professor will have posted the syllabus and any other pertinent information you will need to know for the class. While most professors will also print this out and make it available during your lecture slot, sometimes it can be chaotic when 300 students are rushing to the front of the class to pick one up. If they are passed around, it can take a while to get to you, depending on where you find your seat. Having a copy with you when you arrive puts you ahead, and you can confidently sit and relax while everyone else anxiously scrambles to get their copy and follow along.
7. Notepad, notebook, or clipboard
Most professors view syllabus week as we do, a sacred time of preparation. Students and professors meet to come to a mutual understanding of the expectations for the semester, what will be taught, how understanding will be assessed, and how said assessments would be marked. Now and then, you will come into a class where there will be extra information given not found on the handouts provided or, worse, an expectation to receive a lesson. Actual academic information might be provided, and you do not want to be unprepared. Bringing a notepad will help you just if you are expected to learn something, or there is an elaboration that is not covered in the syllabus like dates, or expectations of certain assignments. The first day will be a foggy memory when you get home and don’t change it.
6. Healthy snacks
Foggy memories are just one side effect of improper eating. Bring along a piece of fruit or a healthy granola bar to keep from getting the tummy rumbles in the lecture. Getting back on a schedule will sometimes take some time, and all the brainpower requires a lot of energy. If you have to snack between meals, don’t put junk into your system, have something on hand that you will feel good about eating.
Photo by Trang Doan from Pexels
5. Pack a lunch
Try to get in the habit of eating brain-healthy meals. This can be daunting, but the easiest way to go about it is to pack your lunch. This will save you from scrambling once you are already hungry and getting another burger and fries. The right kinds of foods will help you concentrate and keep your energy up. There are many delicious options to choose from, and eating good does not mean giving up tasty options. That does not mean you can never cheat. That is not reasonable. Pretty soon, you will notice you don’t even miss all those greasy meals anymore or the time wasted waiting in line for them.
4. Find an amazing pen
Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the perfect prince. The same goes for the perfect pen. If you think the pen you write with is no big deal, you are writing with the wrong pen. Go out, splurge a little, and buy a bunch of different pens. I am not talking about the $500 personalized fountain pens. I mean regular writing pens of different sizes and widths. I prefer thicker pens that glide easily on the paper or a pencil with similar specs for hastily writing lecture notes. They don’t give me as much writer's cramp as some of the others. Every year I do a deep dive into my pencil case and reveal my specific favourites, so make sure to check out this years post.
3. Carry a water bottle
Staying hydrated is vital. Keeping a water bottle on you is the best way to get your 8 glasses while staying away from sugary drinks that can cause crashes. I have a tough time drinking my water, so usually, the night before, I will prepare infused water with lemon or cucumbers and leave it in the fridge overnight. Adding a hint of flavour makes it easier for me to drink my required 8 glasses, and keeping it on hand at all times stops me from making excuses.
2. Favorite coffee or tea
My morning coffee is my guilty pleasure. I allow myself one cup in the morning, and some days, I think I would wither away to nothing without it. In saying that, if there were ever a time to go out of your way for your favourite drink, today is the day. Go to Starbies and get that macchiato, or whatever your vice is. Spoil yourself and start the day off with the warm and fuzzies.
1. Wear comfy shoes
If there were ever a day to plan your outfit around your shoes, today is that day. Wear your comfiest shoes and the cutest outfit they go with. The campus is huge, and classes are often far apart. There will be a lot of frantic searching and wandering, even if you are prepared. I have had some lecture halls full on the first day that there is standing room only! If there is any suggestion that you take, take this one. Wear comfy shoes. Your toes will thank you for it.
And there you have it. The best way to survive your first day with ease is self-care. Spoil yourself a little and come prepared, and you will have an amazing first day that will set you up to crush the semester.
I would like to be transparent so that there are no misunderstandings. As an affiliate, I may earn a small commission from any products linked in this post. This is not a sponsored post, and I was not asked to recommend these products. These are products that I genuinely love and wanted to share with my audience.