Skim over all the textbooks ahead of time before reading them chapter-by-chapter: read the inside cover, biographical information on the authors, review the chapter titles and some of the glossary terms at the end. This review will help orient you to the required reading as it is assigned by the instructor, while familiarizing you with terms, vocabulary and overall text organization.
Purchase a day planner to keep track of all assignments in either electronic or hard-copy form. Create a section for "To-Do" lists for each course and divide the planner into each course, with one section per course.
Insert a calendar into your day planner. Download a calendar application on your phone or use the calendar already included. Preload all major due dates into your calendar and set them with reminders one day ahead of when they are due. For instance, if you have an assignment due on Wednesday the 21st, set the reminder for Monday the 19th.
Make a list of personal, professional and academic priorities. Rank them in order of importance, and include them in that order when adding them your to-do list. For example, if professionally you must attend a meeting or complete a report for your supervisor, rank that in importance with school deadlines. Whatever has the next closest deadline should be placed and executed immediately after it.
Join a study group with others similar in age, such as a group of second-career people or second-career nurses. Make friends with others in your classes or student cohort so that you'll study the same material in the same or similar courses. Study buddies can create powerful support networks, particularly when you come together with commonalities, such as age and professional interests.
Develop a plan for working around conflicts. The social aspect to school can be particularly challenging for people who haven't had to answer to others, especially if those others are younger and of less experience. Remember that all school experiences are temporary ones, even clinical experiences. Take what you need professionally and academically to do your best and detach from unhealthy social situations that might detract from your goals.
Build regular time in your schedule to spend with family and pursue the routines to which you're accustomed. Maintaining this time and these experiences will go a long way in staying connected, refreshed and ready to embrace upcoming challenges as they arise.
Stay connected to other nurses. Join a nurse's blog and participate regularly in nursing and student nursing forums online. If you're taking online coursework, check into chat forums regularly to correspond socially and network. You just might meet the perfect study buddy and, at the very least, you'll share some familiar sentiments and frustrations in the challenges of nursing school.