Congratulations! You finally made it to the last week of classes. Getting through fourteen weeks of attending lectures and tutorials, writing back-to-back papers, and reading your lines over and over for a presentation that will only take just under five minutes to present has indeed, been a worthwhile journey. Whether you started your very first semester at SFU three months ago (has it really been three months since September already?) or you completed your last semester and are ready to graduate and walk up the stage at Convocation Mall in the Spring, you might want to keep going for just a couple more days if you have finals to write. After all, it isn’t really the end of the semester without studying and pulling all-nighters at the WAC Bennett Library, now that they are open 24/7 for much of December.
I know that feeling of trying to grasp on to that last bit of motivation you have because you are almost finished! If you are overwhelmed with writing up those colour-coordinated notes you spent hours on, take a break for just 5 or 10 minutes, because that is how long you should spend reading this article, and find out the ways on how to stay focused during finals season!
1. Forget about being a student for just one moment
Ever since I transferred to SFU from a smaller post-secondary institution this Fall semester, I personally found that my worries of being a full-time student have significantly reduced by quite a lot. To be honest, I’m still not sure as to why I feel this way. Remember that you have all of the resources available to you and use them to your advantage. Whenever I want to spend some down-time and be myself, I like to chat and keep up with a close friend and see how they are doing, explore the discoveries of Vancouver, or snack on some potato chips or fries.
Is it because I’m getting old (I know, I’m only turning 21 later in December) and I know that I am halfway towards finishing my degree? Is it because of my social and support group that I feel grateful for having? Take some personal and/or professional considerations you have, such as achievements you feel proud of accomplishing in your life so far, and use that as willpower to get through your finals.
2. Discipline > motivation
If there was one thing I learned that truly made me want to get anything done, it is to seek discipline, not motivation.
I feel like discipline taught me so much more than motivation, because I believe motivation is just a figment that is only good to lean and rely on. If you want to envision yourself getting something done, whether that is reading an entire chapter of a novel all in one sitting, or finishing up that group project that is due tomorrow in tutorial, actually get and force yourself to do it. Discipline trains yourself to do something, motivation only tells you what you want to do.
3. Think about your short and long-term goals
Take a moment and remember your short and long-term goals. Perhaps some of them are related to the content you are studying in your finals. For example, I took a Communications course this Fall semester called CMNS 253W – Introduction to Information Technology: The New Media, and some of the content I learned from that class includes the technology we use (eg. smartphones, desktop and/or laptop devices) and social media. For me, I know after school and graduation that some of my future career plans have to do with utilizing social media, so I think about the career goals I have and link them towards my studies, as they can definitely have some sort of purpose later on.
Of course, all of this advice does not have to apply to only finals. As I am also a design student, I get projects assigned to me that have deadlines too, and I use the same advice to get those projects completed. Whatever task that is on your to-do list, just know that it will be done with the amount of effort you put into your studies or work.