We are coming along the home stretch. Whether you are on the semester schedule and you have a few more days of finals, or whether you are on the quarter schedule and enduring these last four weeks of classes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And it is visible! It has been very difficult for my peers and I to stay motivated in classes while the weather has been so wonderful. I am looking forward to a day of May showers, so that I will be forced to stay inside and get things done. But wherever you are in the context of finishing up this year of college, it is important to take a step back and gain perspective, so that the term isn’t wasted on late night fourth meals and full days of playing Frisbee in the quad. Though both of those things are quite nice. I’ve thought of a few things we could all do to withstand this last stretch of classes, projects and exams. I hope it is of great use to you.
Let the competitive spirit within you come out. Being competitive can be of great use, and you can trigger those feelings of ambition and zeal towards doing well in your school work.Make a list of fun activities that you are excited to do this summer. Writing out that list should get you so pumped for hiking and star gazing and beach laying that you will want to hurry through these last projects and exams.
Photo by xb3Limit your consumption until completing x amount of pages. When my roommate is reading or writing for a class, she won’t let herself make any tea (and this girl loves tea) until she has finished a certain number of pages. Hey, it works for some people who have the self-control.
Limit fun time with friends until you have all worked hard for a period of time. When doing homework together as a group, tell yourselves that if you are satisfied with your productivity, then you will be able to go do fun things. This might help you crank through some work you’ve been putting off for a while.Make a to-do list everyday. Number each task in order of its priority compared to the other tasks, in order from the most important to the least important.Designate a rest-time during the week. By taking out this one period of time during your entire week, you won’t have the excuse to relax more than you should. Because we all should relax, we just tweak that to mean resting whenever we want. What we should do and what we want to do aren’t always the same.Have homework parties. Host it in your dorm room and tell people to bring simply two things: Food and their homework. Voila, you are socializing while being productive.Take off Friday nights. This is my personal general rule, but I recommend it to everyone else. It’s a great time to go out with friends, stay up late and not have to worry about waking up too early for class.Remember how much you are paying for tuition. If that isn’t motivating enough, I don’t know what is.Take a walk during study breaks. Regain your mental strength for a while and then come back to work feeling refreshed.Remember where your passions lie. If they are in chemical engineering and you feel like you’re in a dry season, go talk to your professors. If there is anyone who is passionate about their work, it them. And hopefully they can rub off some of that passion onto you.
Photo by jurvetsonRemember how close you are to the end. And how far you’ve come this year; all that you have experienced. The end is touchable.
Set some goals outside of your work. For example, asking an old friend out to coffee, running a couple miles a day, or practicing good eating habits.Think about home cooked meals. This is self-explanatory.And your bed at home. Yes.Get 8 hours of sleep. Anything less will put you in misery in these last weeks. But then again, we’ve been doing it the whole year… So why not get 4 hours?
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