How to get on that grindset mindset while also having a life outside of academics.

1. Use office hours: Even if you don’t have any questions, meet your professors at the beginning of the semester. Building a rapport with them can help when you have questions later in the semester or need a recommendation letter in the future. Especially for STEM classes like Chemistry, office hours can give you an opportunity to practice what you learned that week and listen to questions that other students have (which you may not have even realized you also had).
2. Do the pre-class work: You can skim readings or Sparknotes them if you really want to, but if you show up to class clueless, you will have to play catch-up, which is time-consuming and ineffective. It’s better to bite the bullet and do the work so that the class discussions can help you with your next assignments or, at the very least, even just make sense to you.
3. Work steadily: Don’t leave assignments or studying until the last minute because they won’t be as good, and you will regret pulling those all-nighters when you have to get up for your 8 am class the next day.
4. Use calendars and to-do lists: These help you stay organized. You don’t have to have a color-coordinated calendar that syncs across all your devices (although I do, and I love it), but even just having tests, exams, and large assignments visually recorded can help you: 
   1. Not forget about their existence.
   2. Work steadily towards them instead of doing them last minute (especially if there are a lot in the same week).
5. Have a break day: If you have a long weekend or a day with fewer classes, set some time aside to be a no-homework slot. Watch TV! Girlrot! Explore the city! FaceTime your sister! Just don’t pick up any textbooks or do anything class-related.
6. Switch it up: Always working at the same place can get monotonous (especially if you tend to use the same table in the same library whenever possible), and sometimes changing locations can help break a writer’s-block or help you feel less burnt out. Ideas include getting a picnic blanket and, weather permitting, working on Futter Field, in Riverside Park, or even in Central Park. If it’s too hot/cold/rainy/sunny/windy, you can also set up shop in many of the cafes around campus (just make sure to double-check that they allow laptops). A personal favorite: support the Public Library! Signing up for a card is free, and it gives you the option to use the small library at 113th and Broadway (if you need to stay close to home), the massive and gorgeous flagship near Bryant Park, or any of the 90 other libraries across three boroughs.
7. Parallel play: Also called body doubling, it can be really useful to do work with someone else to keep you in check. Find a friend or a classmate to work beside, even if you’re not working on the same assignment. It makes you all the more productive! (As long as you establish so—otherwise, you’ll likely just end up chatting. But what’s the harm in that! Learn to learn as much from your peers as you do from your classes! This is college, guys.) 

Avery Library via Bwarchives