As the semester winds down, some of us may be finding it quite hard to stay focused on finishing final projects and essays. Here are some tips to help keep you motivated for the last two weeks of school.
- Plan your time wisely
It’s not easy looking at your planner and seeing the twenty assignments or more you have to do. Plan your time throughout the day so you know when to study and when to take breaks. If you just try to work on your assignments for hours on end, you won’t be able to get anything done. Taking a break is good for your mental health and will increase your focus when you come back to studying.
- Break down big projects into small sections
If you have a project that consists of a ten or more-paged paper, along with a presentation, break down your project into sections. For example, you could break your paper into sections: an introduction, your argument, the counterargument, the future of your topic and finally the conclusion. The entire project will not seem as daunting, and you will be able to work faster at one section than trying to do everything at once.
- Find a support group
When it gets to be this time of year, we all may feel a little burnt out or overwhelmed. This is a natural feeling for college students, and the best way to combat it is to find people who you can talk to, like a support group. This group can be family members, your friend group or even a few professors. No matter who it is, it’s important for you to feel like you are being supported.
- Set small goals and celebrate those successes
There will be days that you will have to spend a good three or more hours on a project. Not only does this make you not want to do it, but it also makes the day go by very slowly. To help keep you focused, set a small goal of writing two paragraphs, pages, etc. When you reach that goal, reward yourself by giving yourself fifteen minutes to do your favorite hobby, whether it is eating a snack, reading a book or watching your favorite show.
- Evaluate and reevaluate your study habits
After a few days of studying and finishing projects, evaluate your study habits. What’s working for you, and what isn’t? If something isn’t working for you, find a different method to try. Once you have tried it for a while, reevaluate your study habits again to see if it’s working for you. This technique will not only help you study better, it will also help you to be more efficient when you are working on those final projects.
- Remember the big picture
These last two weeks always seem to be the most overwhelming between final exams, projects and essays. Whenever you feel like you just want to give up and be done with it, take a step back and look at the big picture. Not only are you almost done with the semester, but you are one step closer to completing your degree and reaching your goals. You may have to put in the hard work now, but it will all pay off in the end when you walk across the stage with your diploma.
