RAMON ALVARADO

Leonardo Barajas, a chemistry major in his junior year at Long Beach State keeps a planner with him to balance his work and school schedule.

“The planner’s a very big thing [for me],” Barajas said. “It’s just essential, and I learned it the hard way. It’s very foolish of you to approach something without having a planner. It’ll actually mentally prepare you.”

Barajas is on the CSULB campus Monday through Thursday until 4 p.m. It hasn’t been difficult for him to ease into the school year, though.

“It’s been pretty simple. You just plan ahead,” Barajas said. “If your instructor provides a syllabus, simply just write them down in your planner. Just make sure you don’t get any surprises.”

Barajas also mentions the resources the school provides can be helpful in staying engaged with both school and work. All-in-all, though, Barajas’ planner is what keeps him on track.

“Rather than you being like ‘Oh, damn, I have that exam tomorrow. I have to study,’ when you plan ahead of [time], you can break down your study sessions in intervals,” Barajas said.