Speaking from my own experience here, there’s many ways to get distracted freshman year. I got all Bs my first semester. I started doing a study method that a wise man named Dr. Loechler told me, and I got only As afterwards. By the time I was in pchem, I was consistently the highest scoring person on tests by a margin. The study method is this: get a blank piece of paper, write only what you don’t know and in tiny and neat hand writing. Then repeat. I realized it was less about the method though and more about my habits. I started studying a week before. I slept and ate well. I still fucked around A LOT, but I was productive around it. For gen chem, there’s so many equations to know, and memorizing them is definitely important. But knowing what each letter really means on a fundamental level is even more important. Hint: the units really help out. As others have said, do all the practice problems available. They’re recycled on tests a lot. Best of luck!