Let’s face it: for most of us here at William and Mary, it’s crunch time. Your term papers, final presentations, and of course exams are zooming closer and closer as December keeps strolling along. As most of my friends would put it, we’ve all got one-way tickets on the speeding strugglebus. It’s easy to lose faith and sanity at this time of year, so here are a few tips to help you hijack the strugglebus and drive it to a successful end of the semester.
1. Plan ahead
Let’s say you have a fifteen page term paper due in a week. It’s easy to deny that it’s sitting there on your calendar for the first few days, but soon it’ll become Thursday and all you’ll have is an outline. That overly caffeinated all-nighter is never fun and never healthy. Instead of spending seven straight hours on your paper during one night, set aside an hour every day to write a bit of it. You’ll still have free time to enjoy yourself, you won’t get carpal tunnel and a fried brain from writing it all at once, and you’ll have more time to spot mistakes and make an overall better paper.
2. Study with friends (if you are strong-willed)
If you have a few friends in your classes, find a nice room and just study together. Make a pact that you will study more than goof off, though talking now and then won’t hurt you at all. Having friends with you, even if you’re not studying for the same thing, boosts your morale far more because it’s visual evidence that you’re not the only one stressing. It also gives you a chance to bond before the semester ends and you’ll have to go your separate ways for the summer!
3. Treat yo self!
As the amazing Retta would say, sometimes you just need to “treat yo self.” If you’ve been hardcore studying for that bio exam all day, it’s ok to take a little break and throw a Frisbee with friends, read, or catch up on TV. Set an end for yourself – after you walk out of the testing room having sealed a blue book and left all you’ve studied in the hands of your professor, get online and buy that dress that you’ve been looking at all month. You deserve it!