Spring is now officially here, but rather than enjoying beautiful days gathering on the Quad, students will need to be writing essays and preparing for finals in the less-than-exciting library.

Time management will become a pressing issue for students this spring, as finals are speeding up behind us in the left lane and won’t stop for anything. Students, including myself, have trouble dealing with all of the piles of work that need to be completed by penalty-bearing deadlines.

A daily planner of some sort is essential for managing your time wisely. Not having a planner for all of high school showed me just how important it would be to have one for college. I didn’t do terribly in high school, but I know that I could have handed in numerous assignments with far better quality if I had planned ahead.

College students have to keep track of many other activities – besides homework of course. To name a few: one-on-one meetings with professors, organized dorm activities, intramural and intercollegiate sporting events, and laundry (if you didn’t start doing it yourself until college). Relying solely on memory for everything doesn’t light a candle to having everything written down.

Sadly, I am still slowly conforming to this new and improved way of life. I admit that I have turned in assignments in college that could definitely have been better if I had started them earlier. However, recently I have been planning ahead and it has helped me have less down time.

I know it is a hassle to carry around a planner everywhere (the reason why I never used one). But recently, I have been using my phone’s “notes” application. It is actually very convenient and easy to follow. I literally have planned out every activity of my day before in my notes.

Whenever I plan days out on my phone, I always seem to end up with a lot of extra free time. Since I have every single thing I need to get done during the day written down, I waste less time thinking about what I have to do because I have a list to refer to. So by the end of the day, I’ll have a lot more free time to hang out with my buddies.

I’m not saying for everyone to start using their phones as planning devices, but I’m just pointing out that some sort of planner will definitely benefit you as we come down this final stretch.

I wish all students good luck on this final month of school, and I hope this column helps you succeed in your future endeavors!