Be honest with yourself.

I always feel guilty saying 'no' to friends and family when they invite me out, but it's important to just be honest with them and yourself. It's better to let your loved ones know how your work load is at the moment so that you could plan dinners, nights out or lunches in times that work well with all of you. If you're too tired after a long day, get your rest. If you know that you won't have your assignment done in time, then don't go out. Honesty is the best policy and it's important to never burn these bridges!

Keep yourself flexible.

A bit like the shitty rail train line system, you can't always guarantee everything you planned will run smoothly. Make a to do list, it's a perfect way to see what your priorities are for the day (week or month) but make sure you leave some time for adjustment. I've learnt this countless times working in an office environment, when you book yourself hour by hour, there's no time to adjust your schedule when things run over time. Leave a few minutes for you to go out for a walk or grab a snack. This is perfect if you have writers block with assignments too, and will minimise stress levels whenever you feel 'behind'.

Say no to your smartphone.

The amount of times that a tweet notification that appeared on my homescreen has lead to me looking up cute puppy videos* on YouTube is ridiculous. Or, perhaps a really delicious #foodporn photo on Instagram that has me looking up reviews to various restaurants. It's weird. That's why, it's needless to say, figure out your priorities and put your phone away. Not only would it look really good for your employers (knowing you're not on your phone the whole time), but the quicker you get your stuff done, the sooner you can tweet that you're finished (and freak out your classmates who haven't started).

*videos are subject to change to Facebook videos that I may be tagged in.