During the time between breaks and especially after a break has just ended it can be difficult for students to get back into the pace of things. For some it may only take a couple of hours and others it may take days at the very least. During the time between short breaks it can be hard enough to find the motivation to go to class and avoid stress with a helping of procrastination, now add in finals or exams in general. The quickest way to de-motivate or depress a student would be to bring up finals or any large percentage of their grade at the end of a semester. No one ever said it was easy to be a college student, even so, it is always nice to have some extra tips on how to survive the week of finals and beforehand.
1) Make a To-Do List
It is easier to get things done when it is all there on a checklist for a person to cross off, it can become similar to a game. The list may be a little intimidating at first, but after crossing off the first things the list can get easier. It is also is a better idea to put the list in order of priorities.
2) Reward System
We can't keep going after a certain amount of time, each person needs a reward or sense of motivation. Or a break can also help a person. By getting something done and then rewarding oneself with a break or an actual reward such as food or a beverage.
3) Go Public
Announce your goals on social media and what your plans are to achieve such goals. One of the benefits on social media is being able to publicize goals and record the process of the goals.
4) Buddy System
Find a study buddy if you haven't already in each of your classes, friends who suffer together stay together. Someone to study with and try to get through the next two-three weeks together can make the study time and exams more manageable and bearable.
5) Think About Benefits
We all came to college for the same reasons: to better ourselves, get an education, and to get great jobs. Just when you can't imagine going to another class or taking another exam, think about the future and how it'll all be worth it. Or after the week is over buy yourself a little present for every exam you took.
6) Think About the Money
A way to make a person do anything: money. Each class that is skipped is somewhere around $100 down the drain and that's just for a single class skipped. Skipping an exam or failing a class altogether would mean close to $1,000 would be wasted.
7) Don't Burn Yourself Out
Each person has their own bucket to fill with their dreams, goals, and personal happiness in life. There will be times that the bucket is full and will even spill over, and it extra can spill over into someone else's bucket. Goals and behaviors can be shared when there are plenty of them to go around to others. But it is important to remember that a person cannot fill another person's bucket until their own is filled.
8) Playlists
Having different types of music can help to keep a person awake and alert during long study hours and studies have shown that listening to the same music before an exam can help a student remember the information better.
9) Just Do It
There are going to be some tasks and days that a person just has to tell themselves to do it and get it over with. Not everything is going to be fun or easy, but sometimes certain tasks during exam week or the week before just need to get done.
10) Routine/Schedule
Making a calendar can help a person stay organized and keep them motivated, very similar to the checklist idea. It'll be intimidating for the beginning of the week but by the end of the week it'll be worth it.
