It’s that time of the year. Days become shorter, its snuggle season and all you want to do is lay in bed and watch Netflix. The semester appears to “slow” down especially with fall break acting as the perfect tease. Next thing you know, you’re returning to classes with essays, proposals/projects due and everyone’s favorite: finals. Now you’re procrastinating when you should be studying while complaining about everything you need to get finished. Want to finish strong? Try this.
- Don’t stress yourself out.
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With deadlines coming, it’s easy to get lost in everything that there is to finish. Constantly thinking of assignments can cause stress, which will only create a lack of concentration. Instead, focus on one assignment at a time to avoid overworking yourself. Remember to stay hydrated, take breaks and get a good night’s rest. As important it is to study and get work done, it’s never worth losing sleep over.
- Stay organized.
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Time management and organizational skills are your best friends when it comes to the end of the semester. Having a planner or an online calendar with all the dates to your finals or assignments can help keep you stay on track. Additionally, it can provide you with a visual to plan ahead and see how early you should start working or studying for your assignment. Creating to-do lists can allow you to track your progress and can even make you feel super productive as you see things getting marked off. Any progress is good progress, even if it’s something as simple as “Check emails.”
- Treat yourself afterwards.
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As you go about studying or finishing off projects, give yourself a break. All that hard work deserves a celebration, especially after submitting everything. Although a new stress may settle in (worrying about the actual grade), there is nothing you can do about it at this point in time, so why worry about it? Binge watch that show you had been putting off or order carryout from your favorite restaurant. Whatever it means to treat yourself and have a self-care day, just do it and celebrate.
Lastly, remember that it’s going to be okay regardless! You are worth more than your GPA, academics and school. Additionally, we are literally living in a pandemic and not everyone has been able to adjust to online school as easily, so it’s completely normal and understandable to feel out of the loop. You are among the millions of others who are feeling the same way but are still hustling for that degree. It’ll all work out as it should. If there is something that you should take from this article, it’s this: Congratulations, you’ve made it this far. Keep going.