Spring quarter has just begun and some of us are already asking ourselves, “How are we going to survive this quarter?”

Starting the quarter off right can make or break your grades and overall education. Having a successful quarter goes beyond showing up to class a few times a week and having a few all-night cram sessions right before finals.

A few EvCC teachers and students have shared how to be successful this spring quarter and a few things you should avoid doing. Check out this list of do’s and don’ts to starting off the quarter right.

DO:

Take extensive notes.

Karen Gabrielsen, a nutrition teacher on campus, suggests taking extensive notes during class and then reviewing, rewriting and creating flash cards daily to improve comprehension.

Eat a healthy breakfast.

Read the syllabus and look at the objectives your teacher lists.

This is one of EvCC teacher Lobna Mazzawi’s most important do’s. This will help you have a better understanding of what you should expect to learn in the course.

Use a planner.

Mariah Husseman, EvCC student, suggests breaking up your work into little sections to make sure you can turn all of your assignments in. She uses a planner to do this. You can also use online calendars like Google Calendar to help keep track of your events. Canvas also has calendar for your assignment deadlines.

Use the group studying areas on campus.

Brian Eggers, EvCC student, wishes this is something he did more often. Studying in groups can be very beneficial for many people.

DON’T:

Procrastinate.

You have all heard this one a million times, but seriously. Schedule yourself some time each week specifically for homework and reading assignments.

Skip the reading assignments.

Your teachers assign them for a reason. More specifically, read them before your class lectures so you have an idea of what is going to be taught.

Spend the entire night studying.

Get some sleep. Gabrielsen recommends getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night.

Don’t overwork yourself.

Eggers said this is a major problem he sees at the beginning of the quarter and that you don’t need to study all night, every night doing homework and studying.