Are you ready for hell week? With only two more weeks of classes left, students are starting to feel the stress and are overwhelmed due to end of the semester projects, essays, and/or exams. Since summer is just around the corner, college students tend to get excited for their summer plans and lose focus on their school work, which can be more tempting with the warm weather approaching. Unfortunately, getting work done has to be priority when grades affect GPA and determine a student’s level of success.
Here are a few steps on how to organize your school work:
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Organize YOUR life – How can you organize your school work without organizing your life? The most helpful tool is to use a calendar. Cell phones and iPods come equipped with them for a reason. Writing down or typing dates for every activity in the next three
weeks is the first thing you want to include in your calendar. After you know when you have work, organization meetings, or a sport practice, it is easier to schedule time for homework. - Mark your dates – This isn’t referring to dinner dates as you might have guessed. It refers to the due dates for your assignments. After you make a calendar, write down all the dates for your assignments as stated in your classes’ syllabus, so that it’s easier to see when everything is due. Some teachers change due dates last minute, so make sure you pay attention to announcements and are in class for updates.
- A little a day keeps procrastination away – While you might have seen that you have multiple projects due in one day, there is no need to worry or “freak out.” The best way to avoid doing the assignments last minute is to work on either an essay or project or study for an exam a little each day. For example, if you have a six-page paper to write, try to write two pages a day. You will thank yourself the day before it is due that you actually spent time in advance working on the assignment.
- Think about the PRESENT, not the FUTURE – As summer is approaching, you are faced with many temptations to let your mind wander. Don’t be distracted by the sound of the ice-cream truck. Meaning, don’t let anything that makes you lose focus get to you. Hard work will pay off! You only have three more weeks left until summer starts and then a whole three and a half months to relax, which is more than enough time to gym, tan, and have fun.
- Say NO to Fun – Not only is the weather a distraction, but so are other activities on campus. You have to learn to say “No” to fun, which may include hanging out with friends, going to parties, shopping in Center City, and even laying down on Beury Beach. Doing activities that take up time, in the end, waste time and distract you from the schoolwork you should’ve been working on.
It may seem like you can’t do anything besides school work for the next couple of weeks, but that’s not actually true. If you finish your work that you planned on accomplishing for each day, then you do have some spare time. Taking a yoga class or do something you enjoy such as reading a book are the best forms of relaxation, which is what you will definitely need. The next two weeks might feel like hell for you, but if you follow these steps, not only will you be more organized, but you will also surprise yourself on how little stress you have.
Good Luck!