Student Life

 

Where does the time all go? How college students manage their time.

Antonio Smith, Online Student Reporter

Nov. 9th, 2025

When we don’t manage our time effectively, we start to feel stressed, and our schedule can become chaotic and poorly organized. That’s why time management is a crucial skill to learn, especially for young college students. It may seem like just another basic skill we might never need, but it is actually one of the most essential ones.

For two college students living in Northeast Kansas—Deja Timley and Samantha Stuart—time management means everything, even if they approach it in very different ways. Timley is a focused nursing student working at her local hospital, and Stuart is a dedicated mother to a young daughter who is also studying Criminal Justice. I interviewed both of them about their perspectives on time management and how they schedule their time to manage life as college students.

 

Interviewer: How do you manage your time as a student with your everyday life?

Timley: Time management has become super important for me since I work overnight shifts and go to school full-time. My schedule is all over the place sometimes, so I’ve had to be really intentional about planning my days. I use a planner to block out time for studying, sleeping, and even little things like laundry or meal prep. On my days off, I try to get ahead on assignments or study, so I don’t fall behind during my work nights. It’s definitely not easy, but having a set routine and sticking to it helps me stay on track and not get completely drained.

Stuart: With school, I try to do it while my kid is also in school, which carves that time out specifically for my school.  

Interviewer: Do you have any challenges you think make time management harder for you?

Timley: Definitely. Working nights can really throw off my sleep schedule, and that’s probably my biggest struggle. Some days I get home from work and tell myself I’m going to study, but my body wants to crash. It is hard to balance rest and productivity when I’m tired and trying to keep up with everything. I also feel like I miss out on normal daytime stuff with friends or family because my schedule is so different. That can make it tough to find a rhythm that works.

Stuart: Being ADHD, it’s hard to focus on school. Sometimes I need it noisy because that’s just what I need, and then sometimes it’s just got to be quiet, so figuring that out and following that is a big thing for me!

Interviewer: What are the positive and negative benefits when it comes to managing your time?

Timley: The positive side is that I’ve learned how to make the most of my time and really prioritize what’s important. Working nights has made me more disciplined and flexible, which I know will help me as a nurse. I’m proud of how much I can juggle and still push through. The negative side is that I don’t get much downtime, and my sleep schedule is a mess. Sometimes it feels like all I do is work, study, and sleep, but I remind myself that this won’t last forever. I’m putting in the work now for the life I want later, and that keeps me going.

Stuart: Time management is so important! College is hard! You have to make time for it, or you won’t succeed! And you have to stick with your schedule! I don’t really believe time management has a negative.

 

While one student is highly detailed and organized in her responses, the other is light and free with her answers, though still answering them to the best of her ability.

Timley’s responses were not only more detailed and focused heavily on her processes of Time Management but also organized. Though she stated that her sleep schedule has been disturbed due to working night shifts at the hospital, and finding time to study for school is sometimes difficult after work, she has had a consistent routine that appears to be working for her and seems to far outweigh any negatives until she graduates from nursing school at the end of the year.  

Stuart’s responses to the questions were quick and straight to the point while answering to the best of her ability. She prioritizes her schoolwork when her daughter is preoccupied at school, which is the smartest way to not only focus on her work but to also be present and not stressed about schoolwork when her daughter gets home. She doesn’t seem to let any negatives to time management affect her, but when it comes to school and how to manage the time of her daily life, she seems focused and knows what to do.

Though these two answer the questions differently, they are both clear on how important Time Management is to them and what is at stake if they or anyone doesn’t manage it correctly.

 

 

How to avoid becoming a prisoner of procrastination

Samantha Ludvicek, Online Student Reporter

Nov. 9th, 2025

An epidemic of procrastination holds college students’ prisoners of their own brains as a feeling of being overwhelmed, stress, fear of failure, and other stressors follow them through their college courses both online and in person. However, procrastination does not have to be a cage for the mind. With some simple practices, such as the use of the 5-Minute Rule, visualization, and mindfulness, students can make changes in their life that will free them from mind cage of procrastination.

Procrastination, according to Acadia University blog post on “Conquering Procrastination: Practical Techniques That Work”, is often rooted deeply in psychological and emotional factors. These factors include things such as fear of failure, fear of disappointment or disapproval, and lack of confidence or trust in oneself.

Most of these factors can be debilitating to a student’s academic goals and reinforce procrastination. One leading factor is feeling overwhelmed. Students can get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work needed to get done.  Another contributing factor to procrastination is a lack in confidence to meet one’s own expectations or the expectations put on them by their peers, families, and professors. This leads back to a fear of failure or disappointment. This can occur in the sense that if one doesn’t meet the expectations set on them, they have failed or disappointed those around them.

According to Christina R Wilson, PhD., three techniques to overcome procrastination are the 5-minute rule, visualization, and mindfulness.

The 5-minute rule this technique involves breaking up the overwhelming task into smaller chunks to deal with. This allows for breaks when feelings become too overwhelming.

Visualization is picturing oneself completing the task successfully and what that success would look like. This practice can help make the product feel more attainable. It can also give the student smaller goals that help to achieve the end goal or final product.

Mindfulness is thinking about the positive feelings or associations that come with successfully completing a task. This can help to create a positive association in the brain instead of a negative one. It can also assist the student in triggering awareness that those unachievable tasks are not that far out of reach.

Procrastination is a growing issue among college students as they learn to navigate a changing college environment that brings along new emotional and psychological stressors. Combating this, while a difficult task, is not impossible.

If students can continue to move one foot in front of the other and make small steps, nothing is impossible. Each step taken is progress, it is movement toward the end goal and recognizing that can help to change the negative mindset that is holding student’s prisoner in their own brains.

 

Dorm room style: How to make your room feel like home

Marquee Williams, Online Student Reporter

October 10, 2025

Moving into a new dorm can be both exciting and overwhelming, especially for high school students living away from home for the first time and having freedom that they might not have had before. If the dorm room is isn’t adequately set up and feeling like a second home, it can affect a student’s school performance.

Some students have never been out of the house while others have had some freedom of living away from home before, so they might not know how to handle it. Yet, with all the responsibilities students have, like going to class, completing homework, and participating in sports, it can sometimes be too for them, and they can feel lost.

It is important for students to have a comfortable and familiar place they can call home. With the right dorm style and room essentials, students can turn a little dorm room from their college into a place that feels nice and cozy and perhaps reminds them of home.

Dorm rooms usually come with just the basics like a bed, a desk, and maybe a dresser, depending on the assigned room. If a student goes to a nice school, they might get a few extra things such as more    dressers or maybe a closet. Yet, depending on the school, the room can feel or look uncomfortable. With these varied options, it means it is often up to students to bring a few things that they need to feel at home.

Decorating and organizing a dorm room is not just about making it look nice and feel at home, but also about making daily life easier and more comfortable so that, on the days that students come home from a day of tough classes or sports, they can come home and just relax.

When interviewed about what few things they need to feel like their room is home, Allen baseball         students seemed to overwhelming agree that bedding was the topic that was brought up the most. Each one mentioned that they received a decent and not too expensive bed cover, some having memory foam, with others having padded sheets. Regardless of the bed type each student brought up how having a nice and comfortable bed is essential after long days of schooling and sports to get a good night’s rest.

Students also mentioned a few other room essentials such as; having a fan for their room and having   extra storage or shelves to keep their things secure.  Additionally, each student had their own personal items that they brought from home to make their rooms more comfortable. Some brought a pet, and    others some just brought family photos. This just goes to show that everyone has different things that make them feel at home.

Why is it important for students to feel some control over their rooms? The following quote from Norman Vincent Peale might hold the answer:

“Change your thoughts and you change your world,” Peale said.

When students think about how they set up their dorm room and how they’re going to take care of it that year, they may be setting themselves up for success or failure. The idea is that if students know they have safe and organized space to return to at the end of the day, they may start off in a good mood and be more ready for the challenges of the day ahead.

 

 

Allen introduces new mental health counselor

Gabriel Nunez, Student Reporter

October 7, 2025

Over the summer, state budget cuts forced on Allen led to workforce reduction efforts, leaving Allen without a mental health counselor. Wanting to maintain mental health services for Allen students, the college worked with Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center to supply our campus with therapists. This led to Allen being introduced to Teagan Kern, LMSW

Kern is a strengths-based therapist with training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) modalities as well as training in trauma informed care. This means Kern wants to focus on solutions and available resources. Kern also has some competency with personality disorders, adjustment disorders, and other potential life changes.

Kern is the main out-patient therapist who has an office on campus. Kern is a masters educated therapist with previous experience in mental health. Kern is also a former Allen student who is familiar with Iola and Allen Community College.

Kern is excited to not only come back to Allen, but also to work with our students,

“My preference has always been working with high school, young adult age because it is such a transformational period of development…” Kern Said. “People that show up in my office between 13 and 25 are the most motivated, and I love working with a motivated client,”

Kern is on campus Mondays and Thursdays but also available in Iola the other days of the week. The best way to schedule an appointment with Kern is by calling her support staff at 620-365-5717, asking a teacher or coach for assistance, or stopping by her office located in the northmost hallway near the student center study rooms, across from the Stadler Conference Room.

Kern is not the only therapist that is available to Allen students. Johnathan Poffenberg is a male intern who is currently completing his master’s in social work at KU and will be joining Allen soon. Students also have access to different providers through Southeast Kansas Mental Center located at 304 North Jefferson Ave. You can also access crisis hotlines by calling 9-1-1, or 9-8-8.       

 

The three jobs of a non-traditional student: Balancing work, studies, and life

Samantha Ludvicek, Online Student Reporter

September 18th, 2025

The time for non-traditional students is here as over half of all college students are working or taking care of family while doing their studies. Non-traditional students are generally defined as students who have followed a path other than going to college right out of high school. These paths leave non-traditional students often juggling schoolwork with family and work obligations and desperately seeking some form of balance.

Often non-traditional students are individuals who took a break from school to either gain life or work experience due to either not having the resources or capacity for college right after high school. Upon returning to school, these students complete their college courses online, on campus, or through hybrid courses, which involve some online and on-campus learning. They do all of this while also working full time or part time or having dependents to care for.

The amount of stress from going to college full time and working and/or dealing with family obligations can be overwhelming. For context, a full-time class schedule is considered 12 credit hours, or four classes per week of college courses. Each class can have a range of assignments due per week and can typically have between three to nine hours of homework. This level of schoolwork can be difficult to manage while also working full-time or part-time or while taking care of dependents.

Additionally, students must often maintain a high GPA for scholarships or work overtime to pay for college. With all these considerations, the last thing that non-traditional students often think about is self-care and making time for themselves on top of all their other responsibilities.

Tips to finding balance between college and home life

Finding a balance between college and home life can be a delicate procedure that is often overwhelming. The following tips may help with making that process a bit easier.

Tip 1 – Implement time management. Time management is an important skill to help non-traditional students balance college and home life. Students should create an in-depth schedule for each class along with work hours. This can help to maintain coursework while also scheduling out actual free time for the student and their family.

Tip 2 – Create boundaries. A way to manage the family aspect of it all is to sit down and set clear boundaries and expectations. This can be a little harder to do with kids because they might not understand, but it will help the adults in the family. Talking about and setting boundaries can help family members understand what is needed from each other to maintain healthy relationships where everyone feels fulfilled and happy while the student completes their schoolwork. It can also help them to feel included in the process, helping the family feel as though they are going on this journey with them.

Tip 3 – Find a network. Non-traditional student life is a thriving universe with growing opportunities and support systems. As things turn into a more online and virtual centered world, it gets a little easier to maintain a balance and reach out to a support network. For students that don’t have a network, it has become easier to form one online through various apps created for connecting people.

Non-traditional students can now more effectively go out there and catch their dreams, be a first-generation student, be a working parent going to school, be a 9-5 employee climbing the corporate ladder, and be the person they want to be without fear.