Staying proactive for finals week
Thanksgiving break is over, and with some much-needed time off come and gone, it is time to hit the ground running. The end of the semester is so close with only two weeks left of classes, but there is still one thing standing between now and Christmas vacation. December 11th marks the beginning of the dreaded finals week. Even though Thanksgiving break teased us for the end of the fall semester, this week is the perfect time to start organizing for finals before the night of December 10th.
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Though it may sound cliché, the first step to preparing for finals week is setting realistic goals. Since late drop passed by earlier this month, the classes we have now are the classes we will have during finals. With this, now is the best time to figure out exactly what we want to get out of our classes. What score is needed to end the class with an A? Is it worth it to ask for any extra credit opportunities? How much time should be spend studying to pass the class with a C? These are all questions that should be circulating over the next few weeks.
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After determining a goal, the next step is to make a plan. Not only a plan, but a detailed plan. Before the start of finals week, it is best to plan a course of action with the assignments that remain by making a list. While planners are great to use during the semester, it is so much easier to organize these remaining assignments when they are all on one sheet of paper. Over break, I created one with a piece of notebook paper by writing down the course name and listing all of the assignments left in the semester in order by which they are due (referring to the courses’ syllabi for reference). I also wrote down the date next to each of them and a box so I can cross them out as I complete these tasks. This way, all these daunting, last-minute assignments are condensed into a one-page list.
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As finals week draws closer, the best way to organize time for studying and productivity is to plan it all the night before. It is easy to skip over tasks when you plan during the day. For example, when we feel tired or would rather be watching Netflix, it is easy to decide that certain things can be put off until tomorrow and can be discarded from today’s to-do list. However, when written out the night before, tasks become more difficult to avoid. It is the same idea as not going to the grocery store when you are hungry.
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Lastly, plan for some time off. Though it is ideal to start preparing for a productive finals week now, it is also important to make room for stress-relieving activities, too. Maybe on weekends, plan to see friends or visit home. Make morning workouts something to look forward to, or take a walk in the gorge while there is no snow. Even while studying, don’t become so immersed in books to the point when your brain can only process black and white; take a fifteen minute break with some music or a short nap. After all, finals week is only seven days long, and while we should make the most of it, we also should not let it be the sole focus of the remainder of the fall semester.
