Advice for the New Year

There is something apropos about reaching the last semester of college. As the final schedule of undergraduate instruction begins, particular feelings arise.

One begins to ask: Am I on the right path? Did I make the right choices?

It sparks the desire to impart what wisdom one can. So being that I have a soapbox from which to preach, I’ll allow myself the guilty pleasure and impart what knowledge I can.

The following suggestions may sound simplistic, but these little changes have helped to enhance my college experience by making my life more efficient. When I learned to perfect my workflow, I became a better learner.

As a student you probably have a laptop, but chances are you are on a school computer quite often.

It makes managing documents and other files cumbersome and requires either constantly e-mailing yourself attachments or carrying a flash drive.

Downloading programs like Evernote or Dropbox will allow you to manage your files easily. I use both, but they both offer free space to upload documents too.

Dropbox offers two gigabytes of storage which makes it perfect for sharing media with friends as well. Evernote offers an easy to use template that is perfect for note taking and easily syncs all your files without having to click. Both services are free.

Get a Gmail account and have your indiana.edu e-mail forwarded to your new address. Not only is the interface on Gmail more comprehensive and easier to use, it also has additional benefits: according to the school’s official information policy, in cases such as internal audit or lawful demand the university may access the information on your account.

Ensure that the university won’t encounter anything compromising by moving your personal data elsewhere.

If you live off-campus, make your own lunch. The pickings are slim for tasty options on campus, and it is always more expensive to eat out.

I make vats of pasta or rice dishes over the weekend and divide it into containers to grab before I leave my house in the morning.

Keep in mind that there is a limit to the amount of healthy food available on campus. Eating at Burger King and Baja Fresh every day will add inches to your waist, shrink your wallet and force you to spend hours per semester waiting in line. Don’t fall into the trap of bringing a sandwich every day either.

There are plenty of microwaves around campus in convenient locations. Take advantage of them.

Following this advice won’t fix all of life’s problems, but it should make life as a student a little easier.


E-mail: danfleis@indiana.edu