After my first year in college, I started to feel too lazy to do anything. So, I did some research to figure out how to stop being lazy in college.
So how do you stop being lazy in college? Create a daily schedule that focuses on being productive early on so that you have free time to do things you enjoy. Following this type of schedule teaches you how to value and manage your time.
There’s a lot to think about when creating a daily schedule, but don’t worry. I’ll provide you with all the information you need to get started.
Step 1. Outlining your daily schedule
The first step is outlining your daily routine. This is going to look very similar to a school schedule. Here is a sample outline that I created using Microsoft Excel.
You can recreate this outline using any writing tool. If you’d like, you can even use a piece of paper or whiteboard. To save you some time, here is a link to download the outline I created. You can also create your own outline if you’d like, but I wouldn’t spend too much time on it. The simpler the better.
If you want to get a little more detailed with your schedule, you can use half-hour increments instead of full-hour increments. For example:
I prefer using full-hour increments because it’s short and easy on the eyes.
Did you know? A lot of productive people follow a daily schedule. Mark Wahlberg is a perfect example. Click here to see the daily schedules of other celebrities.
Step 2. Fill in your mandatory schedule
The next step is filling in your mandatory schedule. This is everything you know you have to do on a daily basis. The first thing you should fill in is your school schedule. Be sure to include the time it takes to commute to and from school.
The next thing you should fill in is your sleep schedule. Most experts say that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep. However, because you are a college student, I know you probably get around six. Unfortunately, being sleep deprived can cause you to be lazy. Stop staying up so late every night!
Next, fill in anything else you have to do on a daily basis, including getting ready for school. Do you have to pick up your sibling from school every day? Do you attend church on Sundays?
You can get as specific as you’d like! For example, if you groom yourself every Sunday night, don’t hesitate to fill it in.
Here’s what your schedule might look like so far:
Step 3. Fill in time to be productive
You’re doing great! Keep following along and I promise you’ll stop being lazy in college. The next step is to fill in time to be productive. This is the time you’ll allocate to finish homework, do some studying, chores, run errands, work on your side project, and so on.
Must read: 5 Steps to Start a College Student Side Project (With Example)
The number of hours you want to allocate to your productive time is entirely up to you. Let’s say you have 11 free hours for a specific day on your daily schedule. Try allocating just 4 of those hours to be productive and see how it goes. Remember, you can always make adjustments later on.
You should now have 4 hours filled in on your schedule for productivity time. However, keep in mind that you may not need all 4 hours to take care of your responsibilities. The sooner you finish, the more time you have to do other things. This is a great thing to keep in mind when you’re trying to stop being lazy in college. Finish your work now so that you can have fun later.
If you don’t complete what you needed to do during your productivity time, you may have to cut into your free time, which I’ll explain in the next step. This is why it’s going to be super important to take your productivity time seriously.
Also, make sure you’re being reasonable during your productivity time. Don’t work for 6 hours straight after going to school for 6 hours. Take a short break and grab some food and drinks whenever you need them. Just don’t go to the local carnival when you haven’t studied for a test you have the next day.
Step 4. Allocate your free time
Now’s the fun part, allocating your free time. Always allocate your free after your productivity time. I’m going to say it again. DO NOT allocate free time before your productivity time.
There’s nothing more satisfying than taking care of your responsibilities and then having the remainder of your day to do whatever you’d like.
Using the same example from step three, you should have 4 hours of productivity time and another 7 hours of free time (empty spaces). After using the washroom, talking to friends and family, grabbing food, going on social media and so on, you’re realistically left with 4-5 hours of real free time.
This should still be more than enough time to have fun. Feel free to play games, watch movies, hang out with friends, and go for pizza.
If you have absolutely nothing to do during your free time, get productive. Take care of all your responsibilities in the upcoming week or even month! If you haven’t already, start a fun side project that’ll help you gain valuable experience and skills.
Step 5. Commit to your schedule no matter what
Now that you finished filling in your daily schedule, have it somewhere you can easily access. You could:
- Take a screenshot or picture and save it on your phone
- Save it on your computer or laptop
- Print it out and keep it in your backpack
If you created your schedule by hand, for example on a piece of paper or whiteboard, place it somewhere you’ll see as soon as you wake up.
I can’t stress how important it is to commit to your schedule no matter what. I don’t care if you feel extra lazy or a little sick one day. Stick to your schedule for at least 2 months so that it becomes a habit.
You want to get to the point where straying off your schedule makes you feel uncomfortable. When someone asks you to go out for drinks during your productivity time, you’ll tell them you can’t because you’re busy. If you ever get to this point, it’ll be safe to say that you’re no longer a lazy college student.
The first couple of weeks
You’re going to make changes to your schedule during the first couple of weeks, and that’s fine. Keep making changes until you are comfortable and happy with the results.
Sticking to your schedule is going to be difficult at first because you won’t be used to it. Just do your best to hang in there. After a while, you’re going to love how it feels. Here’s a list of benefits to sticking with this type of schedule. You’ll:
- Know exactly what your days look like
- Learn to be more productive and stop procrastinating
- Manage your time more efficiently
- Feel rewarded whenever you have free time
- No longer lie around when you have lots of work to do
- Most importantly, stop being lazy in college
Overall, you’re learning how to value your time. Remember, time is one thing you’ll never get back in your life.
What if unexpected events arise?
From time to time, you’re going to have unexpected events that arise out of nowhere. I know this can be very inconvenient, but sometimes you just don’t have a choice.
When unexpected events arise, you may have to:
- Add more productivity time which means less free time
- Sleep less during that night and make it up the next day
- Work faster to stay on schedule
Whatever you decide to do, don’t let unexpected events break your daily routine. You can always find a way to make things work.
Conclusion
If you follow the 5 steps in this guide, you are no longer going to be lazy in college. It’s going to be very difficult at first, but if you stick to it, you’ll thank yourself later.
If you have any questions or comments about anything I talked about in this guide, make sure to leave a comment down below.
What did you think about this blog? Comment below! Also, subscribe to my newsletter for updates on new content, including videos on YouTube!