4 Daily Habits for the Successful College Girl

1. Be one step ahead of yourself

If I let myself slip in my daily routine, I know I'm going to be running 5 minutes behind myself the whole day. Trying to catch up with yourself is one of the most frustrating things in the world. If you're like me and you enjoy taking time to get ready for the day, finishing projects or eating a meal, you have to set time limits for yourself. In the morning I get up at 5 a.m. I know I have to be done getting ready at 5:50 so that I have roughly 20 minutes to pack a lunch and head out the door. This routine continues throughout the morning until I eventually get to class. If I don't complete a task in time, I know the rest of my time will be spent rushing to finish another task. By making small, timed goals for myself I feel more prepared and ready to take on the day. Mondays are usually a haze and I end up rushing everything. When Tuesday rolls around I definitely learn my lesson and know I can't sleep in an extra 20 minutes or take too long picking out an outfit for the day.

2. Listen to self-improvement stories while getting ready or working out.

Many people enjoy listening to music or the tv while getting ready. I listen to a podcast every morning and while I'm at the gym. Listening to someone else talk seems to make everything go by a lot faster in my workouts and helps my brain wake up in the morning. Instead of listening to or watching content that will just fill a short term need, I'd rather listen to something educational that I know will inform me and help better myself for the future. At night I download interesting podcasts and in the morning I'm able to choose which one I'd like to listen to. Here are some of my favorite podcast stations

TED Talks Health

NPR Planet Money

The Tim Ferris Show

History Extra

Ecommerce Radio

Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman

TED Radio Hour

Serial

Entrepeneurial Thought Leaders

3. Plan Your Meals

A girl's gotta eat! Isn't it frustrating when you get home from a long day and realize you have to wait another hour until your dinner is ready? Are you scrambling in the morning to find anything to throw in your bag and eat for lunch? When your meals are planned, you are able to spend more time on important tasks and objectives, rather than moping around trying to feed yourself with junk food.

-Plan your dinners on Sunday morning. I check my calendar to see what my schedule looks like for the week and whether or not I'll need to bring my dinner somewhere or not. Then you can get all your groceries for the week!

The Crockpot is your new BFF. Ah, the endless possibilities of crockpot recipes. Throw the ingredients in before leaving for class and then come home to a ready-to-eat meal.

Buy food that will last you the entire week. This is kind of a no-brainer... I buy a pound of turkey slices, a loaf of bread, a box of salad mix, bags of veggies, etc. If I run out of food during the week, I have absolutely no time to stop at the store and get more. I usually don't buy single items of food (one premade salad, one cup of premade pasta, etc.) because I know they'll only last me one day vs. the entire week. Sure it's nice to treat yourself once in awhile but I know people that do this on a regular basis. They even confess to me that pretty much their entire paycheck is spent on food. Buying large quantities helps cut costs to limit excessive spending.

4. Learn How to Effectively Communicate with Others

Communication is key in college. Professors, peers, you name it, you have to learn the do's and don'ts of effective communication. I might do an entirely different post about effective communication but here are some of my top tips

-Have a system going. Team projects can get extremely chaotic. Google Drive is one of the best things you can ever find yourself using in college. You can make folders and add members from your team by sending them a request to their gmail address. I use the drive on a daily basis. When I'm working in a group we have a worksheet with the week's date and tasks we all need to accomplish before the next meeting. You can upload documents from word, google docs, powerpoints, spreadsheets, etc. Knowing that there is a set platform for everyone to see each other's work makes it 10x easier to bounce ideas and collaborate with each other, thus leading to effective communication.

-Take time to see the other person's perspective. When working with other people, it's extremely important to step back and evaluate your own work before sharing it with others. Is your message clear? Does this appeal to who you're trying to reach? Does the other person have any questions? Be sure to have an open mind, too. Multiple minds make for great success.

-Be genuine. It's hard to be a genuine listener when you're actaully trying to be one, right? No worries, that's how most people build up their communication skills. Really take the time to stop what you're doing, look the person in the eye and listen to what they are saying. This goes for anyone and everyone. People aren't stupid. They know when you're listening and they also know when you're more interested in yourself than what the other person is trying to say. Something as small as this can make all the difference in someone's day.