Hi po, I just wanted to ask how po to survive the college life since it’s been years since I attended school…and my 1st year college pa was pandemic time po. And it’s 2 weeks na sa uni, and I had a mental breakdown. HAHA… Thank you po
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Hi Ledif! Sorry to hear that you had a mental breakdown in your first 2 weeks, that’s tough 
Sending virtual hugs with consent! 
Pwede mo bang i-share kung anong part ng college life ka nahihirapan so far? Would like to know more about your situation to help you better 
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Hi po ! Good evening!
Sa pagbalance po ng self care at acads ;((
so far pomodoro palang na implement ko sa habits ko ;(( pangarap ko din talaga maging scholar para dehins na hirap sa tuition si mamang; kaya din siguro ako naiistress Kasi pine pressure ko sarili ko ;((
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Hi, Ledif! Thanks for sharing your situation, and being vulnerable by doing this!
Good to know na may ginagawa ka na na habit (pomodoro) to help you out with acads, that’s already good progress!
Sa tingin ko kung may isang habit or routine na dapat gawin para matulungan ang sarili mo for college, I think it’s having good enough sleep. Sobrang hirap talaga mag-aral at prone ka sa stress kapag kulang sa tulog so make sure to work on that one soonest!
For me, okay na 'yung 6 hours of sleep para makapagfunction at makapag-isip pero maganda na i-explore mo rin 'yung minimum viable sleep para sa’yo kasi for sure hindi mo makukumpleto 'yung golden standard 8 hours of sleep everyday especially sa college. Try mo muna mag-experiment each day hanggang mahanap mo ang sleeping schedule that works for you!
Sobrang halaga sa akin ng tulog kasi kahit anong acads strategy, healthy diet or exercise mo, kapag kulang na kulang ka sa tulog, masasayang lang effort mo. Source: ako na tinry maging “healthy” tapos 3 hours lang tulog kaya hindi rin naging healthy 
As for acads, learn to manage your energy first. Bukod sa time, ang pinakamahalagang resource mo sa college ay energy, at hindi lahat ng task magagawa mo kasi limited lang ang energy mo kaya kailangan mong i-manage 'yung energy mo as much as you can.
How to do energy management:
- You manage your energy by asking first, “Kailan/anong time ba ako pinaka-active at nakakapag-isip ako?” Block it using your planner or better, a calendar app (I prefer Google Calendar!)
- Next, ask yourself this question, “Ano ang pinakamahirap at pinaka-urgent na task today?”
- Once you have all that information, schedule all your difficult tasks at the time when you are most active.
- Do ONE task at a time and do the next after you’re done.
- Rinse and repeat.
- Celebrate your day of work by having time for yourself!
Example:
Attached is a snapshot of my calendar during one of the busiest weeks of college. My most active and energetic time was 8am-4pm, so I worked on different difficult and urgent tasks like thesis writing and my other courses. Notice that I purposefully put my meetings and other activities at the end of my day because those were urgent but not difficult so kaya ko siya kahit hindi gaanong high energy ako. Also, notice that I still have unblocked time (blank schedules) in between. I did this so I have a buffer just in case things don’t go well IRL.
I hope these strategies are helpful for you and if naguguluhan ka, let me know so I can clarify. Be gentle and kind to yourself din when you implement any change and always remember that the goal here is to do and be better than yesterday, not perfection! 
Goodluck on your college journey and I’m rooting for you! 
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Hi Ledif! A big part na nakatulong sa akin (which I implemented more on nung panahong f2f classes ako since I graduated during the pandemic) is journaling. Writing down things help you visualize kung ano ang nasa plate mo. I’m a sucker sa physical reminders (whether it was on Gcal, on my bullet journal, or post its) cuz I literally cannot have internal systems sa utak ko.
What I usually do sa journal ko is (context: started nung SHS ako and I’m getting into this again cuz I have full time work, volunteering at Kada, and getting into postgrad):
- Every night, I review what I did for the day. Hindi naman super detailed ang pagreflect ko, more of how I feel about the day. What made me happy? What made me frustrated? How do I feel at the end of the day? Why do I feel that way? Usually, I don’t write this out cuz I’m lazy but it does help writing things out (especially if there are things you can’t tell other people)
- Plan out my BIG to-do’s for the next day. Time blocking does not work for me kaya the most time blocking I do is yung mga synchronous na ganap ko (anything na may outside accountability ako which includes mga gala with friends, meetings with blockmates, etc.)
- Set mini-deadlines. Have a big project? Break them down into small steps. Ang ginawa ko when I have big papers (kasi I graduated na AB), I divide my paper into outlining, research, categorizing what I researched into the outline and adjust the outline to keep note of what I researched, write the paper per section (I divide them per section on my to-do list), and do a final check and add the reference page.
- Add as a to-do ang self-care. Usually I forget to do my self-care if it isn’t a to-do (bad i know). Self care is also productive! This recharges my energy and mind. Usually, after a self-care session, I have lots of new ideas na I may not have thought about before it.
Also, it’s okay if you’re still experimenting on productivity systems. Sometimes, stuff don’t work. I used this system to help with that.
I do hope you treat your college experience to explore your own identity. When I was in college, I tried out things na I might not have the opportunity to try once I graduate lol (ex. Engineering student joining a graphic arts org) kasi you’d know yourself more minsan sa org, hindi sa klase.
Wishing you luck makuha ang scholarship!! You can also try reaching out sa mga scholars na for tips and tricks to get into it kasi hindi lang naman grades ang way to get a scholarship if marunong kang maghanap (this I hope I knew about when I was in college). There are tons of private scholarships out there. Need lang talaga ng research
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Hi, Sir Sean!
Thank you po for the recommendations. Okay po sakin yung Pomodoro since madalas na lolose track of time ako kapag nagawa ng tasks. And tama ka po sa no.2, I use Eisenhower matrix na po, very helpful siya to stay present din and labanan si anxiety ko. HAHA! Sa sleeping schedule, yes, sleep, working on it po. Thank you po! Tama po kayo, di na rin kasi ako nakakasleep ng ayos. Yung me time na lang sa gabi ang kulang, wala na pala ako nun… ;c Need ko maging consistent and disciplined sa bagong habits/routines po. Thank you po, Sir Sean! And sorry po sa late reply. Stay safe po!
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Hi, Ma’am Apple! Thank you po so much sa recommendations po! I forget doing the journaling po talaga ;c When I was in SHS, naggaganun ako, pero now magbabalikloob nako sa kanya, and true po, sa journaling lang malalabas ang mga bagay na hindi ko masabi sa iba kahit sa family ko po… I’m really struggling sa ganung part…Also, nakakalimutan ko din po ang self-care like na neneglect ko sarili ko kaya ata naaano din ang self-esteem ko ;c Yung mini-deadlines po ginagawa ko na sya, kasi andami naming tasks kahit wala pasok dahil sa suspensions tapos exam week pa. Also considering joining sa clubs/orgs po sa school, pero as of now wala pang inaannouce sa STI e mga pwede salihan, inuna nila yung sportsfest. And yung sa pagresearch ng scholarships po, naghahanap na po me. Thank you din po sa venn diagram. Thank you po, Ma’am Apple! Stay safe po always!
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