The Tortoise and the Hare and the College Application
If you started your applications over the summer, you were probably feeling pretty good about yourself. As school got going, you might have taken a page from the hare and decided you could afford a quick “nap” because you had such a head start. About this time, as your school work picks up speed like a ball rolling downhill, it’s time for me to remind you that September is half over. Before you know it, it’s going to be mid-October—and you’re going to panic.
This is not inevitable! Don’t wait another minute.
Look at where you left off. You were probably at a stuck point—otherwise you wouldn’t have stopped. So look at exactly what you were in the middle of when you set your applications aside. What pieces were the necessary next steps that overwhelmed you? Was it letters of recommendation? Making an appointment with your school’s college counselor? Brainstorming your essay? Rewriting a draft you didn’t like? Making a final school list? Collecting all of the supplements you’ll have to do? Make yourself a list. (And may I suggest, if you haven’t already, checking out my post on organizing your applications?)
Of course, the other unfortunate possibility is that you’re keeping track of your application process, but your daily to-dos are falling through the cracks. Whether it’s math homework or household chores, you probably regret forgetting.
Enter my favorite free online visual organizer, Trello. If you’ve already signed up with Trello to keep track of your college to-dos, you might also want a more general, all-encompassing To Do board. If Trello is working for you, I have a new High-School To Do board that you’re going to love. (And if a visual, bulletin-board style of organizer doesn’t work for you, make sure to identify a system that is working. You will never make it through college without a reminder system that works for you. Is it a bullet journal? A day planner? Paper or digital? The choice is yours. I have met MANY students who didn’t believe they needed a system. I have never met one who was right.)
I love this To Do board because it’s designed around the different contexts of your life. It can be difficult to mentally hold space for all of the different responsibilities in your life. If you finish a major assignment in history, the sense of accomplishment could give you a general feeling of completeness that clouds your memory of other equally important tasks. This board, by creating a daily empty task for each of your classes, reminds you to ask yourself, Did I have math homework today? It keeps work like college applications always in front of you, so you’re always asking yourself, What do I need to be doing to move forward?
So take that list of overdue college tasks. If you’re using Trello, make yourself a card for each task and set a deadline for each card. Be realistic about how many tasks you can accomplish each week, but space the work with your eventual deadlines in mind. If you’re focused only on what’s urgent today, eventually applications will be what’s urgent, and it might be too late to submit your best possible application.
(Photos by Nick Fewings and Jose Ruales on Unsplash)
