The art of slacking

I do believe it is an art. At the very least there's a science to it, and I like to believe that I have juuuuuust about perfected it.

College was described to me when I was in high school to be approximately 5 times as much work as high school was. I would like to disagree. The literal amount of work that they assign is comparable to high school, the actual amount of work required is significantly less. At least, on the surface, it is. There is so much more downtime in college than there was in high school, and class now has that sort of "optional" feel, depending on the class. For instance, people skip class just to skip it and sleep, if they don't feel well, or if they feel like that time could be spent doing something else productive (This last one is my reason for today. We'll ignore the fact for now that I've spent the past 45 minutes putzing around the internet).

I have discovered that a minimal amount of work is actually necessary to do well in a course. Do the readings beforehand, if it's a literature course, if it's a lecture on history or something, generally the book readings aren't helpful until studying for the test. Professors cover the material you were required to read, and the majority of them say that if it wasn't covered in class, it won't be on the test. Reading after the class makes it so you only read what is necessary. Granted, there are some interesting things you could learn if you read all of everything, but I'm not talking about going above and beyond. I've had this method since high school and so far it's landed me on Dean's List for the past 3 semesters (the first two years had one semester on Dean's List, the others were doomed by chemistry and failing relationships).

Basic Rules:
1. Make sure you do the reading for lit classes. This will make your professor happy, plus you'll be able to talk about it in class. Generally, part of your grade for these types of classes comes from participation. Kill two birds with one stone by being prepared. If you feel like you can't come up with anything interesting to say besides "I liked it" you can quick google a quick lit analysis, or sparknotes the important themes.

2. The paper can, in fact, be written the night before. This applies mostly to shorter papers that are 2-6 pages long and don't require any research. The most important part for this to be successful is to make sure you read over it and edit it quickly before you hand it in the morning it is due. It's pretty simple. Longer papers, and papers that require research should be started a few days in advance. Research papers can be written all in one go, as long as the research is there to pull from. Longer papers are generally a two or three day process for me, and also should be looked over once before handing in, at least if the paper was finished the night before. Also, make sure you have your citations reference guide open at the same time so you can double check your work is consistent.

3. Test studying can also be done the day before. I'd give it the majority of the day, doing an hour or so here and there. I like to do it by reading the book, then looking over the notes, then any other information sources that may be applicable (music samples for music classes, slides for art classes and the like). Harder tests, or tests that you know you know nothing for because you either a) slept through the class half the time or b) just cannot understand the material should be started much earlier. I'd give it 3 days. 2 classes that applied to this rule were Microeconomics because I slept AND didn't understand it, and chem for the same reasons.

4. Art projects are something that require more time, and you should utilize the class time to the best of your ability. If it requires outside work, then go for it, but plan accordingly. If you are painting a still life, and one of the objects is yours, paint it last because that part can be filled in at home. If you're doing something that is a composite of real life and an image, save the image for last because that can be done at home. These tend to be things that are a little harder to put off, so I tend to be more on top of them than other classes.

And that is my guide to slacking. Joy.