Dig deep and find the motivation to study for finals
It’s that time of the year again: end of the semester. We have one day left of classes, then one week of finals. I’m super excited about the end of the school year, but have to remain focused and motivated. This is the hardest part about the last two-three weeks of school.
The weather begins to change and the sun comes out. Your motivation to stay inside and do homework becomes increasingly thin. The sleep deprivation from the semester has finally caught up. The amount of homework and last-minute projects begin to pile up. This is when you know it is the end of the year.
Even though it isn’t finals week yet, I just wanted to give everyone a few tips about how finals week looks to me. I always say it is the best worst week of the semester. Finals. They are generally a large portion of your final grade. The final is longer than your general exams. So, more studying needs to be done in order to secure that final grade.
Since there are no regular classes, you have more free time to study right? Wrong! You would think that since you are not in class you would spend all this time studying, but that isn’t true. For me, I basically want to sleep, watch movies and sleep. The last thing on my mind is studying, but I know I have to. It’s a tough situation where your brain is telling you to do different things: study for finals, quit and relax.
Oftentimes, I don’t study as much as I should during finals week because my brain is in shutdown mode. It knows that summer is quickly approaching and that I will pass the class even if I get a zero on my final (not with a good grade though!).
My advice to you is this:
- Tell your brain that the semester isn’t over until your last final
- Try to motivate yourself with extrinsic things like you study for two hours, you get to watch 30 minutes of TV,
- Turn off all electronic devices during finals week
- Put your cell phones on silent when you study; change Facebook passwords for the week
- Study a for a few days instead of cramming (if you cram during finals, it normally ends bad on your final)
- Focus on one thing at a time and try not to get overwhelmed by your to-do list
- Enjoy your last week with your BGSU friends
- For a break in your day, go eat with friends
Good luck to everyone as they finish up the last few weeks of school!
Until Next Time BG,
Mike