Five Tips to Get You Through the End of the Semester
We’re past Midterms and Thanksgiving Break is already quickly approaching. While
final exams begin in only a few short weeks, now is the time many students are lulled into a complacency that only the end-of-the-semester slump can bring. It’s easy to find yourself unmotivated, even in light of upcoming major research paper or project deadlines and finals exams. While the apathy bug may be affecting everyone around you, you don’t need to suffer from it as well! Here are five tips to get you through the rest of the semester:
1. Reward yourself.
One of the defining characteristics of the end-of-the-semester is feeling overworked, with seemingly no end in sight. In order to alleviate these feelings, try and set up little rewards for every goal you accomplish, proportionate to the importance of the task itself. Finish reading those two chapters in your Macroeconomics textbook? Hop over to Starbucks and indulge in that fancy drink you were eying this morning. Finally complete that twenty page paper on Chinese politics and government? Buy that dress that has been sitting in your online shopping cart for who knows how long. Of course, I certainly don’t advocate doing this for everything or doing it all the time. Setting up a reward system can backfire pretty quickly when it comes to intrinsic motivation. (Plus, whose wallet can really afford it?) However, for those tasks that you need an extra push to accomplish, rewarding yourself with some quality time with friends, a movie at Grafton, or just the latest episode of your favorite show won’t hurt.
2. Practice time management.
Another common affliction that students suffer during this time of year is feeling completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that needs to get done. You have a GCOM speech next Tuesday, a ten page paper due next Thursday, and a test on the Civil Rights movement next Friday — and you haven’t started or began preparing for any of them. Faced with this conundrum, many people will often work themselves up into a ball of stress (really bad idea) or mentally check out and procrastinate (even worse idea).
Instead of taking the fight or flight route, consider a third option: figure out how you can reallocate your time. You’re right in thinking there’s not enough time to do everything that needs to get done, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t get the important things finished. Re-organize your schedule and cut out things that can wait the next day, or even next week. If this means skipping out on movie night with your friends this Saturday night, then by all means, do what needs to be done. Prioritize and do the most important things first. The rest will fall into place.
If time management hasn’t been your forte since coming to college, now is a great time to decide to finish the semester strong.
The Learning Strategies Center at Cornell University has a
simple, effective time management system that is easy to use and set up. They also have a great article
if you’re not a to-do list person and can’t seem to find a time management strategy that works.
The University of Chicago utilizes the
SMART goals technique to provide some awesome
SMART Tips for setting time management goals:
- S = Specific
- Vague: “Read Philosophy for two hours.” (Any goal exceeding 1.5 hours of study time should be broken into smaller goals).
- Specific: “Read 5-10 pages of Philosophy in an hour and prepare notes for class”
- M = Measurable
- Not measurable: “Study Chemistry for 8 hours.”
- Measurable: “Work problems from Chapter 8 for 45 minutes each.” (Short, measurable goals help you stay on track).
- A = Attainable
- Not attainable: “Study 40 hours every week outside of class.”
- Attainable: “Study 20 hours every week outside of class and plug in extra energy for weeks with extra work (i.e. tests, deadlines for papers or projects)
- R = Realistic
- Unrealistic: “Get straight As this semester.” (You cannot control everything that will affect your grade).
- Realistic: “Go to all classes. Go to office hours. Study 3 hours per day.”
- T = Timely
- Not timely: “I’ll start my paper tomorrow when I have a break….”
- Timely: “Today, I can read the essay questions and pick my topic or angle for the paper.”
3. However, don’t sacrifice your health.
When re-organizing your schedule, don’t forget to keep yourself as a priority. Just because you’ve decided to skip that club meeting doesn’t mean you can do the same for your seven to eight hours of sleep. End of the semester woes are only compounded with a lack of sleep, poor eating habits, and a “skip the gym today” workout routine. Sadly, one of the main reasons that most college students are able to juggle all their activities is because it’s at the expense of something that they shouldn’t be sacrificing: their health.
Don’t get me wrong: I remember staying up until 3 am to finish the reading for a 9 am class. But then I woke up five hours later feeling completely drained, making the entire endeavor worthless. Next time you find yourself starting to pull a late-nighter for anything, honestly answer this question: is it really worth it? Ninety-five percent of the time, you’ll find yourself remembering that there are only a small handful of things more important than taking care of yourself.
4. Take time to relax — and don’t feel guilty over it.
So right now, you’re overworked, overwhelmed, and practicing some not-so great health habits. You can’t slow down, there’s too much to do that’s due at the same exact time to let yourself watch some TV show, sleep, or even eat. Yet you’re still burnt out and unmotivated, even though you know there’s an increasing list of things to do.This advice may sound weird, but if you’re really burnt out, don’t do those tasks right now. Take twenty minutes to go outside and catch some sunshine while it’s still out today. Go next door to catch up with a friend or phone a friend from home for an hour. Make your significant other give you a massage. Do whatever you need to do, just relax while doing so. Most importantly, don’t let your guilt get in the way of enjoying your break. Those twenty minutes will rejuvenate you – you’ll come back with renewed motivation, and will be more able to tackle your workload (just don’t make those 20 minute breaks a habit that negates your new-found time management strategies).
5. Take a step back and just breathe.
Personally, I think one of the reasons why college students get so stressed out and unmotivated at the end of the semester is due to a loss of perspective. It’s easy to get bogged down by juggling clubs, a part-time job, a full course load, and trying to keep up a decent social life. However, it’s important to take a moment to remember that while things are incredibly stressful and difficult right now, this too shall pass. You’ve gotten this far; you can get through to the end!
