With all the clubs, teams, committees and social activities you're involved in—oh yeah, and studying—your schedule is packed to the max. In fact, we're impressed you have the time to read this magazine! But your new college life will require you to manage your time in different ways. So before you stash the mag and zoom off, take this quiz to find out if your current habits will work for you in college—or if you'll need to make some changes to beat burnout. 1. When you snuggle between the covers you:
a. Fall into a deep sleep and wake up feeling rested and ready for the day.
b. Lie awake a few minutes while your brain processes the events of the day and formulates tomorrow's to-do list.
c. Feel exhausted because it's after midnight and you know that in a few short hours you'll have to drag your tired body out of bed. 2. You're up late (again!) studying for a major chemistry test tomorrow when your brother sticks his head in to tell you he's making a late-night Taco Bell run. You:
a. Give him a couple dollars to buy you a gordita, then return to your notes.
b. Fling aside your notebook and grab your jacket. One more look at that periodic table and your brain will explode!
c. Snap at your brother to leave you alone when you're concentrating. 3. Your last paper wowed your English teacher, and he pulls you aside after class to suggest you write for the school newspaper. You:
a. Tell him you'll consider it next semester when your schedule isn't so packed.
b. Decide you could use your lunch break to write articles.
c. Suddenly remember that you'd promised the paper's editor a guest column—and that the deadline was yesterday. 4. Your devotional time with God is like:
a. Breathing—you don't know how you'd survive without it!
b. Flossing—you do it, but not quite as often as you'd like.
c. Sleeping—you haven't done much of that for a while. 5. Over the summer, you went jogging three mornings a week. Since school started:
a. You've recruited a running buddy and kept up the habit.
b. The routine has tapered off, but you still try to go at least once a week.
c. The only jogging you do is from the parking lot to your first class every morning when you've overslept again. 6. Do you often forget things or feel distracted?
a. Not usually, because you write everything down in your planner.
b. Yeah, but isn't that normal?
c. Umm . . . what was the question? 7. Your best friend from youth group has moved to another state, but he e-mails you at least once a week to stay in touch. You reply:
a. Every time, even if it's just a short note to say hello.
b. When your friend's subject lines start saying things like, "Remember me?" and "Are you still alive?"
c. Reply? you don't even have time to read your e-mail, let alone answer it! 8. Weekends for you are:
a. A good mix of relaxing and having fun with friends.
b. Action-packed and never quite long enough for everything you want to do.
c. Even more exhausting than weekdays. You never get enough rest. 9. You're reviewing Spanish vocab for a quiz when your mom asks you to fold laundry. You:
a. Answer, "Hola, Madre! Como estas?" Nothing like a little real-life practice!
b. Ask her if you can do it in an hour. You've got a study break scheduled then.
c. Explain, in Spanish, why you are way too busy to help with household chores today. Maybe mañana. 10. Which word best describes you at the moment?
a. Energized.
b. Overwhelmed.
c. Exhausted. 11. You're on the bus with friends from youth group, headed off to your winter retreat. Your cell phone rings. It's:
a. Your mom, just calling to say hi.
b. Your little brother. You didn't have time to do your chores before you left, but he's willing to pick up the slack—for a fee.
c. The captain of your basketball team. Um, did you forget you had a tournament this weekend? 12. It's all you can do to drag your body to your evening small group, but no one can meet right after school, when you have more energy. You:
a. Take a brisk wake-up walk to the nearby Starbucks before small group.
b. Finish out the year with this group, but decide to form a new one with friends who can meet earlier.
c. Hope no one notices when you nod off after a while. 13. You're looking forward to Spring Break because:
a. You can take a trip with the family knowing you're all caught up with homework and scholarship applications.
b. It will give you time to work on that pile of scholarship applications you've been putting off.
c. You get a temporary escape from teachers who keep threatening you with incompletes for several late homework assignments and projects. 14. After school you typically:
a. Mingle with friends and hang out before going home. You'll get to homework later.
b. Snack on a granola bar and relax for a few minutes before starting your regularly scheduled study time.
c. Hurry off to play practice, after which you have band rehearsal. 15. Your boss asks if you can stay an extra hour after work to help with inventory. You tell him:
a. Sure. You've been staying on top of your homework, so staying around for a few minutes won't cause you to fall behind.
b. You can only stay for 30 minutes. You need to polish an essay you've been working on before you go to bed.
c. No way. You're already so far behind on your work, you've been keeping your algebra homework at your register and whipping it out between customers. Results:
If you answered…
mostly A's: You're Blazing
You'll probably thrive in your new world—it's like you were born to be a college student! You're learning to juggle a lot of responsibilities at once, while still finding time to rest and relax—a skill that will come in handy the rest of your life. Knowing yourself and what ignites your excitement can be very helpful as you prioritize activities and decide what new responsibilities to take on. mostly B's: You're Glowing
With so much going on and so little time to rest, your energy level is flickering. Busyness is OK, and a little stress can be a great motivator. But beware if you find you're too busy for normal things like eating healthy, exercising and hanging out with friends. Don't be afraid to say "no" to some things—even cool opportunities—so you can fully enjoy the activities you say "yes" to. mostly C's: You're Fizzling
Time for a timeout. You're obviously talented and have lots of interests, but you're totally wearing yourself out! Take some time off this week to recuperate and reassess your schedule. What can you replace with rest? How can you take better care of yourself? Trimming your to-do list might be tough since everything on the list is important to you. But you'll find you actually accomplish more when you're not feeling overwhelmed and frazzled all the time. |
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