“Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah started to build his ark.” 

~Richard Cushing

You’ve seen a Rubik’s Cube. You twist the layers of the puzzle to align the colors. Some people figure it out and make it look easy. 

And then there’s the rest of us who have no idea how to get all the colors aligned no matter how determined or hard we try.

College is a lot like completing a Rubik’s Cube. A precious few have it all figured out and make it look easy. The rest muddle through and do the best they can.

But like the Rubik’s Cube, there’s a system to do well in classes, and still have time for an active social life, a job, regular exercise, volunteer work, and downtime.

For those who have figured it out, it’s a no-brainer. For those struggling, it’s a brain-twister.

How do you move from the brain-twister to the no-brainer mentality? 

Many different elements are involved in a successful college experience. Stephen Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, gives this piece of advice:

Start with the end in mind. 

Think about what you want to get out of college.  It’s not only about academics. It’s about learning how to balance multiple priorities at the same time. It’s about experiencing living with people outside of your family. It’s about developing your social life. It’s about figuring out who you are and who you want to be. 

It’s a lot to thrust upon an 18-year-old. 

I’ve developed the College Success Playbook to help you figure out how to succeed at college. This section details how to plan your schedule so you can accomplish what is most important details for you. The playbook describes a weekly system you can implement that will lead to daily success. These daily successes lead to a successful term. 

While the system is simple, let me warn you upfront. Simple and easy are two different things. 

The College Success Playbook requires consistent dedication to execution day after day, week after week. If you commit to this routine, you’ll see the success you desire. You’ll be able to balance your life as best possible in an environment where you are thrown a massive amount of work and set free to figure out how to accomplish the goal of good grades while enjoying a social life. If you make this a habit, you’ll thrive as a person. Others will look at you and wonder how you do all you do! 

Building Your College Success Playbook

Your College Success Playbook begins by harnessing the power of planning. If you follow this weekly process you’ll see a huge shift in what you can achieve. 

Plan each week in advance.

This is the secret sauce to success. It cannot be underestimated. Taking the time to plan is life-changing. Sunday mornings are a great time to plan the upcoming week. Don’t try to plan the whole 12-18 weeks of your term all at once. Plan one week at a time. Block off Sunday mornings on your calendar to ensure your planning gets done. You can make the planning process fun by going to a coffee shop or some pleasant environment to enjoy the process.

At the beginning of each term, gather these tools to help you plan:

• Syllabi from each of your classes
• Monthly planning calendar (You can download the calendar pages right from the calendar app on your computer by printing the weekly and monthly versions.)
• Weekly planning calendar with hours and half hours marked
• Colored pens (optional and fun)

Step One: Term Overview (TO)

At the start of each term, when you have all of your syllabi, it’s time to develop your term overview (TO). This is a bird’s eye view of all the work you have to complete for all your classes this term. 

Use your monthly calendar and write down when each class has exams, papers due, quizzes, and other long-range planning items. 

You can select a specific color for each course if you want. This is a quick visual representation of your term. You can see when multiple projects or papers are due during the same weeks and when exams run up against each other. It will alert you to when bottlenecks could arise in your studies. 

Step Two: Weekly Fixed Frame

This is where you acknowledge what you have to do each day of the week. Start by blocking out the times for all your classes. (You can continue the color-coding process if you choose to do that.) Next, fill in your other obligations. Block off the times when you work out in a separate color, work, and any other mandatory scheduled events. These are your fixed hours.

Step Three: The Daily Hash

Now comes the masterful part. 

This is where you put in exactly when you’re going to do everything you have to do. 

One error people tend to make here is they forget about transition times. This is the time it takes to get from class to class or to get to work or the time to shower after you work out. Also, be sure to include when you’re going to grocery shop and when you will prepare food.

Read through the whole process before you start working on your plan to have a good overview of the process.

1. Highlight all your open times in yellow. (I refer to this as “Reverse Scheduling” because you are marking your open blocks.) 
2. Look at what assignments are due this week and consider what you have to do to complete them.
3. Break the tasks down into small, easily achievable steps.
4. Find the times on your weekly calendar that flows logically. (For example, you have to do your assigned reading BEFORE you do your problem set.)
5. Select the times when you will do the work and mark it in your calendar.
6. Repeat that process for each class, and mark when you will do that assignment on your weekly planner.

For example, if you’re assigned to read 100 pages of economics each week and have a problem set due by Friday at midnight, what do you have to do each day this week to deliver your problem set on time? 

If it takes you 15 hours to read the 100 pages of the textbook, and 5 hours to do the problem set, then you need to read 25 pages of Econ on Sunday-Wednesday and start your problem set Wednesday afternoon to give you enough time to complete it by Friday. 

Find the yellow blocks on your schedule where you can read those pages and do your problem set and mark those times. 

Step Four: Break Down Work into Small, Easy to Accomplish Tasks

Research shows it’s more effective to use smaller blocks of time to keep you from getting overwhelmed and maintaining your focus. To do this, break your tasks down.  Looking at the Econ example, reading 25 pages straight is overwhelming and a bit of a mind muddle. If instead, you read 30 minutes before breakfast, 45 minutes between classes, 45 minutes before going to the gym, then two hours after dinner is doable. 

Break each assignment into bite-sized steps. What can you accomplish in 30 minutes? In 45 minutes? In an hour? Knowing these insights will help you plan at a higher level. It takes working with this system to figure out those details. 

Once you’ve got these weekly assignments mapped out it’s time to add on the final layer: the long-term projects.

Step Four: Add in Long Term Projects

The key to success with term-long projects is to get started right away. Don’t put it off because you can. Jump right in. This will give you the space and time you need to do a top-notch project. A good goal is to have the paper complete by week 10 so it’s not hanging over you during finals. 

For long-term projects, like a term paper, start with the due and work back from that date to map out each phase. Here is a breakdown:

• decide on your topic (three days)
• research (two weeks)
• write your thesis (3 days)
• outline the paper (one week)
• meet with the professor to discuss the topic and outline (3 days)
• write the first draft (one week)
• edit and fill in any gaps (one week)
• assemble bibliography (one week)
• final edit (one week).

To complete the paper will take roughly eight weeks.

On your weekly planning calendar, write down when you will do which aspect of the assignment. Find the yellow open spaces and write in when you will choose your topic and what research you need to do before you decide on the exact topic. 

Step Five: Add Your Social Schedule

It’s important to schedule your social time so you know when you’re working and when you have free time. By doing this, you can better relax and enjoy your free time.  Having a plan creates more freedom and flexibility for you. You know what you can do and what you can’t.

Once you have your classes and schoolwork mapped out for the week, you can see where you have available time. If you like to go out with your friends on Wednesday or Thursday evening, make sure to get all your work done before dinner or at least by nine pm. 

Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan

Each Sunday morning, create your plan for the next week. Then work on your plan all week. If you do this simple process each week, your college years will be successful. 

These are life-changing habits that will pave the way for you to achieve all your goals. 

But like I said earlier, simple is not easy. You have to remember to look at your plan and DO THE WORK. It will make your life easier because it will save you from last-minute crunches. 

Remember, the key to success is to plan your work and work your plan. If you follow these steps, soon you will find all the colors of your life aligned like a solved Rubik’s cube. Go to it!

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