Now that the good times have rolled, Spring Break is over and St. Patty’s Day has come and gone, it’s time to get serious. Finals are right around the corner and before you know it classes will be over and it’s time to start that summer internship. Now’s your chance to get it together so you can ace those last few tests. Here are a few tips for staying productive over the next few weeks:
#1. Make a “finals” binder
This one is actually kind of fun! If you like organizing things, you’ll like this activity. Getting ahead is key here, so that when it’s time to cram you don’t end up spending the whole time organizing what to study. Figure out what classes you have exams for and gather all of your notes, tests, quizzes, and handouts that are relevant to the final. Organize your binder by course using colorful tabs to mark each section, and if you want to get super detailed you can even mark between categories like “tests” and “class notes.”
Check out the time management tools on the A-LEC webpage and print yourself a Time Awareness 24/7 Weekly Calendar to write down your exam times and schedule the best opportunities to study. The best thing about this is that now the notes for all of your exams will be in one place. You won’t have to carry four different notebooks plus textbooks and your laptop to the library; instead you can just take one binder! And since you got organized so early, whenever you get the chance you can study a few pages of notes from each section. If you do this every few days, you’ll be surprised at how prepared you are come finals week!
http://www.smu.edu/Provost/ALEC/TimeManagementTools
#2. Make a Quizlet
Quizlet is such a great study tool. My 11th grade English teacher introduced me to this, and I’ve never looked back. Quizlet is a website where you can create sets of online flashcards to review vocabulary, dates and even multiple-choice questions (no more carrying around a thousand notecards!) If you’re studying for a language test, Quizlet even has an audio function that will say the words out loud for you to listen and learn. Make a set for each exam you have and take some time each week to input new vocabulary and test questions that you can flip through when you study.
#3. Wake up early
This one is probably the hardest, but it’s also the most rewarding. If you don’t have class until later in the day, don’t sleep in until an hour before. Get up early and head to the library, run an errand or send some emails and you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something important even before your first class. I find that when I wake up early and get a few things done for the week I feel so much more rewarded that day.
#4. Dress for success
Instead of waking up and throwing on your favorite Lululemons and a sorority t-shirt, take some time either in the morning or at the beginning of the week to plan some “real clothes” to wear. Putting a little more effort into your outfit will make you feel more in control of your life, and you’ll be less tempted to crawl back into bed after class. Easy ways to add extra polish to your look can be as simple as wearing a watch or a statement necklace or pinning your hair back in a cute style.
#5. Don’t neglect the little things
If you’re one of those people who get overwhelmed when they have a mile-long to-do list and then they remember they forgot to walk to the post office or send a quick email, avoid feeling stressed by completing the small tasks as they come. If you have to respond to an email, do it right away. If something comes up that you have to answer or attend to, try not to put it off until the deadline. Your whole life doesn’t have to suffer when you’re focusing on school. Doing little tasks quickly allows you to clear your mind and focus on the really important stuff.
Adopt these ideas in your daily life, not just finals week, and you’ll see just how productive you become.