No matter what college you go to, what state you’re in, how much money you’re spending, how much you’re going to be in debt, one thing will always be clear: you are going to take gen eds. You may have it good. You may have a teacher that actually loves what he/she does and makes learning fun. And on the other hand, you may have unenthused teachers that don’t know what they’re doing, but you know darn well they know how to waste your time.

Your mind is melting with comma rules you learned in the eighth grade.

You’re trying not to fall asleep learning the difference between effect and affect.

Your eyes are vomiting at the lack of engagement, the lack of information you new information, information you didn’t already know from elementary school. 

You finally see why so many people drop out of college. Because classes and teachers WASTE YOUR TIME.

Related: 8 Reasons People Don’t Like College

But, there’s a way to get over it. To persevere and get work done when you feel that life is just slipping you by as you wait for the next comma quiz.

What to Do When Teachers Waste Your Time

1. Bring a laptop

Most of these gen-ed teachers don’t have any policy against electronics…and that’s probably because they want you to do something else. They probably are aware of their time-wasting capabilities. Not saying you should check your Twitter or Buzzfeed because that’s counterproductive. Here’s what you really should be doing.

2. Do your homework from last class

Don’t wait until the day before to finish homework. Why not just do it now that the processes are fresh in your mind? Besides, you’re less likely to forget about it if you do it almost as soon as you get it.

Related: Why Daily Routines are a Must and a Bust

3. Email your teachers/Check your school email.

So you’re doing your homework and you have a question. Your teacher might be one of those “After class, my work is done, so don’t holla at me” and not want to answer your burning questions the night before an exam. Simple fix: shoot them an email ASAP. They might not answer ASAP, but they check their emails periodically, and you may even get your answer the night before the exam when you’re already re-reviewing anyways. While you’re e-mailing, don’t forget to check your school email. That’s where all your “outstanding fees” and holds are sent. My school email is linked to my personal one, so I receive everything twice. Find out if your school’s email has the same capabilities

                3b. Clean out your email

If you have the mail app on your phone, feel free to do it here. Truth is, Americans are so used to clutter, and it contributes to our scatterbrained and unorganized personalities. Take some time out of your day to delete those emails from 2012. It may make your inbox appear faster. And while you’re at it, feel free to delete items from your desktop or folders from middle school from your computer. That’ll ultimately help your computer run faster.

4. Look for jobs/internships

While your teachers waste your time while in class, you could be securing jobs and internships for when school’s out. You can blow your competitors out the water by using “valuable subject-verb agreement learning class time” to your own advantage (Yes, I was actually learning about subject-verb agreement in the 13^th grade).

5. Learn new vocabulary

Fact: Every time you use “plethora” in a paper, your teacher docks off a point and claims the point to be taken from somewhere else. The limited yet pretentious vernacular that worked in high school 9 times out of 10 isn’t going to work here. Stretch your brain for better ways to articulate your thoughts. Read blog posts from credible old(er) people. Go to Dictionary.com for a word a day.

Ps. Synonyms for plethora: myriad, surfeit, innumerable, several. But if you want to really impress them, don’t even use a word meaning “many”. Just get to the point.

And this isn’t just for English. If your school stopped offering that Japanese class you always wanted to take, learn it by yourself using the virtuous gift that is the internet.

 

6. Work on your craft

Is there something you are passionate about? If you put much dedication and time into your passion, you have the ability to turn that passion into a side job or even a career. When I’m in class, I look up more information on website management, create new pins on Blossom’s Pinterest, or brainstorm blog/ Youtube topics. In fact, that’s exactly how this blog post was conceived. Blogging and youtube could be hobbies for one person, but these expressive outlets are a means of substantial income for several others.

Just think about all the money you could be making when teachers waste your time.  You could be selling things on eBay or taking surveys on Swagbucks or applying for jobs or looking up more ways to make money.

Some (MOST) people say college is a waste of time and money. Whether or not you agree with that, you will almost always be placed in a class that offers few benefits but many time-wasting opportunities. But don’t give in when these teachers waste your time! Get proactive. Get productive. Make money.

[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-normal-blue”]Don’t give in when these #teachers waste your time! Here’s what you can do instead. #college #productivity [/Tweet]
What do you do when you are slowly losing brain cells listening to your teacher drone on and on about nothingness?