How to Motivate Yourself This Finals Week

With a computer full of social media sites and Netflix, friends just across the hall, and holiday presents to shop for, it is all too easy to find an alternative to studying. But the studying has got to come sooner or later. I know I’m not the only one fighting the bubble between two letter grades, so Kenyon, it is time to crack down. Here are five simple tips to get you started.
 

• Get sleep. I realize this seems obvious, but I hear conversations daily between friends comparing the low number of hours of sleep they got. Without this wonderful thing that you should be doing seven to nine hours a day, our brains don’t work. We start the talking crazy like. My advice is to get in bed early, watch a TV show or read a non-school book to unwind for half an hour, and sleep! The best follow up is waking up early for a nutritious breakfast and staking out a study carrel before the rest of Kenyon takes over the library.

• Self Control App. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Wanelo, Modcloth, and about ten other websites should go on your Self Control app. Choose the sites that distract you, choose a time, and you will be unable to access those sites for that long. Without the ability to instinctually click on the Pinterest bookmark, your essay will take half the time it otherwise would.

• Make lists! From to-do lists to daily schedules, lists give you a sense of organization and structure. The intensity of the list depends on your own personal needs. If you simply need to organize what to do when in the upcoming weeks, make 5 daily to do lists in one sitting. It will be a helpful map of your week. If you have a pile of things to do in one day, make one long to-do list, written in order of importance. Lastly, if you are truly in need, schedule your day. Yes, schedule it. By the hour. Realize that you won’t be able to follow it perfectly, but having “9:00 Wake up, 10:00-10:30 outline essay, 10:30-11:30 study econ, etc.” written out will give you a sense of structure.

• Written? Kitten! In order to crank out that ten-page essay, you’ll need some inspiration. This website has got you covered. For every 100, 200, 500, or 1,000 words you write (your choice) you are rewarded with a picture of a kitten. Is anything more inspiring than that?

• Reward yourself with productive breaks. Yes, crazy study lady believes in study breaks! Though your brain won’t do much if you don’t study, it will hate you and just shut down if you constantly study. Be smart and take productive breaks. Between working on your sociology and studying psych, get a head start on packing for winter break, blasting Christmas music and dancing around your dorm room while you do. After a painful bio study session with a group of too-smart-for-their-own-good science kids, go to the KAC or find some online yoga videos to do. Clearing your mind between cramming info in it is key to surviving finals week!