How To: End the Semester Strong
- Emeka Balakumar
- Mar 12, 2020
- 3 min read
It's been a whole month since I updated and I was just blank on what my next blog should be about. I have a lot to balance around with finals coming around, exec applications for clubs, and so much more. I also wanted to come out with content just as strong as my recent posts, so I kept delaying the post. When I'm writing this, I figured that a lot of people are also going through this and I thought about some things that have helped me to get stronger.
The last 3 weeks of the semester is probably the hardest part of the semester. Finals are coming up, the semester is ending and you want to keep your grade up to make sure you have room for error during the final exam, and you are starting to realize that you are closer to finishing the year.
I have a couple of things that have helped me get through the stress and I feel like some of these might help others.
Getting Things Done
As the semester is ending, we start to slack off. We don't realize it, but our motivation is gone and we are tired of all the long nights we have pulled off. This is one of the courses that I have reviewed before but I'm going to put it in a different context.
As we start to lose motivation, we tend to procrastinate on assignments and then stress about it before. It's hard to get away from that habit, but small things can help make things better. The best way to do this, and the method I find most effective, is to create a to-do list.
DO write down the list of assignments based on priority
DO NOT cram all your assignments to one day
DO things as much as you can within the day
DO NOT complete other assignments when having overdue things
What I found best about my to-do list (I use MS One Note) is that I write down all the things I have due in my week, and I assign portions of it each day so I don't focus on one thing. For me, I tend to become unmotivated when I am focused on one task for the whole day. Breaking it into sections helps me keep motivated and feel accomplished at the end of the day.
With the course, I learned more about how to stick with my to-do list. I found that the course instructor went into depth with the process of getting things done and some obstacles that may occur. Definitely one of my favourite courses cause I constantly refer back to it.
Time Management: Scheduling
Scheduling has become a BIG thing in my life. As someone who is forgetful, it gives me a point of reference to my day and how I can go about it. It lets me plan my commute time, study time and putting time to other things that come up in my day.
My tips for a good schedule is to put in as much information as you can. I put in my gym schedule, school schedule, networking events, hanging out with friends. It helps me realize how busy my day might be and what I can do to prepare for the week. Another tip is to be realistic. Don't fill your schedule so that you have something every moment. Keep some time to relax and commute. You don't want to stress yourself out in your day. Make sure to keep your schedule to 3 big events per day at max. Especially during these next couple weeks, I try not to attend too many events and focus more on finishing up assignments and studying for exams. At most, I do 1-2 events per week to make sure I have time to study.
This course really dives down to the specifics on how to schedule properly. This includes planning free time, keeping up with appointments, setting achievable expectations for yourself, etc. What I like about this course is that even though scheduling seems like an easy task, it really goes down to each specific detail to make sure your schedule is at its prime.
Mental Health
Though I could not find an exact course that explained what I want to talk about in this section, there are many courses that talk about how to keep your energy high throughout the day. What I wanted to focus on is how to maintain a school-life balance. Sometimes it feels
like school is always following you. My advice in these last couple of weeks is to always put some time for yourself every day to relax and do something you love. Whether that means watching a movie or having a spa day, just putting some time to think about things that don't stress you out can help you be more productive when working.
Link To Courses:
Getting Things Done: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/search?keywords=getting%20things%20done&u=2174970
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