Your BFF During Finals: Time Management

Make the most of your time during finals! Follow these tips and you should be in great shape for the home stretch.

• MAKE TO-DO LISTS! These are my lifesavers. It takes me a while to get everything I need to do organized. Even if you use your assignment notebook religiously, sometimes it’s nice to be able to see a whole list of things you need to do and in the order they need to be done in, without having to flip through pages.  You can also add things in like “do laundry” or “make appointment with professor” which you might not always have room for in that tiny little assignment book.  Plus there is always the satisfaction getting to check off or cross out each task!
   
• Devote an hour or two each day to do homework without the internet.  I know there are some assignments with some internet usage, but there’s always a chunk of it that really doesn’t require it.  It’s amazing how much more work you can get done in just one hour without having any distractions. 
   
• Run around!  With sitting down and doing work for so long every day, our bodies can get achey! It’s great to move around a bit, whether it’s just 15 minutes on an eliptical or treadmill, or playing a quick game of pick up basketball or lacrosse!  Luckily the gym and the library are so close so it could even be a quick break from your studying. This way your body won’t feel as tired, and instead feeling active which will give you more energy to do be able to do work!
   
• Put your phone on silent or turn it off! Same concept with the internet; it’s such a distraction and can interrupt a great stride of reading.
   
• Find a friend and switch each other’s Facebook and Twitter passwords for a week.  We all know this is the main source of all our procrastination.  If the temptation gets to you too much, agree on ten minutes at the end of the night when you’re done with your work till the morning anyways.
   
• Buddy up with a friend to put your laundry together.  Doing laundry can get so annoying having to always go switch it and wait for it and what not.  Sometimes you don’t even have enough of a load to do separate ones but also too much to just fit it all in one.  This way you and your friend can agree to some sort of system where your time isn’t interrupted so much.  For example you could try having one person bring it down, the other switch it, and then both bring it up!
   
• Do something fun for an hour!  Sounds like the opposite of time management right? We all need to escape from the hectic schoolwork and stress and smile a little!  Whether it’s a dinner out with friends, just watching TV, or a mall trip (personally my current favorite is playing with puppies at the Puppy Center), you have to let yourself relax!  While you should stick to a time limit, sometimes even a quick trip to Starbucks or Dunkin can cheer up your studying mood.
   

• Eat a good breakfast!  Random? Nope!  Instead of a 5-hour energy when you get that “3 o’clock feeling” having a good breakfast and an appropriate amount of caffeine can really make a difference with your energy throughout the day.  Small (healthy!) snacks every few hours can also help!  Just try not to overload of coffee, or else your body will depend on it, and it can really mess up your time over the course of the week.
   
• SLEEP! Always get a good night’s sleep! All nighters are sometimes necessary, but hopefully you won’t be needing any of those by using some of these tips.  Staying up too late can actually take time away from you.  Exhaustion is never good for your body, and you never know when you’ll accidently take a nap when you needed to do work.  There is truly nothing more important than getting enough sleep during this time of year!
   

Photo sources: http://chocolatemoments.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/to-do-lists/
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/florentine-ham-and-egg-breakfast-biscuits-recipe/3/