All college students have been there. It’s most likely close to midterms and you feel like you’re drowning in homework, assignments, projects, and papers. Whether it’s your freshman or senior year, this happens to everyone. Catching up on your schoolwork can feel impossible, but we assure you it’s not! The first step is to recognize that you’re falling behind and that you must take serious action. College Raptor is here to offer you ideas on ways how to catch up on school work when you’re behind, no matter where you are in the school year.

1. Organize Your Thoughts

You may feel like your mind is racing and going 100 miles per hour. It’s hard to concentrate when you feel like this, so it’s time to write it all down. Seeing what you need to do on paper can help you clear your jumbled thoughts. What classes are you taking? How many assignments do you need to complete? Are you behind in any classes? Do you have any missing assignments or late work? Start answering questions like this on paper so you can begin to create a system. 

2. Create a System and To-Do List

Once you have your thoughts organized then it’s time to create a system to get things done. Take a look at the assignments and projects with the nearest due dates and tackle those. Once those are complete, it’s time to create an organized system for the rest of the semester and any other upcoming assignments. You can even do this for the following semester. By printing your syllabi out, you can look at all your assignments and due dates at the same time.

3. Use a Master Calendar AND a Planner

Once you have all your assignment due dates on hand, use a monthly calendar to write down when each one is due, and even give yourself some wiggle room by planning to complete them early. Seeing your tasks over the course of a month will help you break them down and plan accordingly. Using a daily planner will help you delegate each actual task you have for school and allow you to create time blocks in your schedule. Work on one assignment for an hour, or an hour and a half, and take a 30-minute break, then repeat. You can do this a few times in a row, then take a few hours of break time so you don’t feel burnt out. You will feel so accomplished when you finally cross out those assignments on both calendars. 

Try on these awesome planners.

4. Ask for Help

There is no shame in asking for help when you’re behind on schoolwork in college. We’re not saying to ask your friends to do your assignments though! If you work while you’re in college, ask your manager to cut back on your hours for a few weeks so you can catch up on schoolwork. Ask your professors for an extension on the bigger assignments – the worst they can say is no. You can even go to their office hours to have them help you with the school work that you may not be understanding. Colleges also have tutoring for certain courses to help you out!

5. Eliminate Distractions

Chances are, you fell behind on schoolwork because you weren’t focused on it. Whether it was because you’re going out too much, on social media when you should be studying, or just having a lot of mental health days, these things will contribute to falling behind in college. It’s important to eliminate these distractions so you can focus on your studies. Delete your social media apps and limit your days going out with your friends. Delegate some mental health hours throughout your day to help you reset, too!

6. Get Ahead

To prevent falling behind in your college schoolwork next semester, it’s imperative that you get ahead. Use all the organization tips that you’ve learned from this article to create the perfect system for next semester to catch up and stay on top of your school work. 

Conclusion

College holds some of the best years of your life, but learning how to catch up on school work can be so hard and frustrating. As an adult student, you’ll start learning better time management skills to decrease significant stress throughout the semester. College Raptor wants you to know that you’re not alone in this and that it happens to college students all the time when working towards their degrees. Whether you’re at a small college or a huge university, students can easily fall behind in coursework. Follow our tips and tricks to get out of this rut so you can end the semester stronger and with improved grades!