I know I haven't updated in a while, but as you might expect the terror known as final exams take up a lot of time. And energy. And brainpower. So needless to say my head has been too busy contemplating Long-Run Average Total Cost curves and the IS-LM model than anything fun that I'd rather be thinking of. But it's done, and I'm back to share a piece of my mind with you.
I know we over at Bentley have our exams a bit earlier than the rest of the college-going world, and that you're all likely slaving away over them now. Since I survived my third year (sixth semester) at Bentley, I thought I'd share some of my secrets to success.
- Make a plan, and stick to it. What possibly helped me the most through my finals was good time management, which can make or break an exam period. Put together a schedule for when you are going to study, when you are going to write that paper, and when you are going to tear yourself away from the books long enough to pretend to eat something. Use Outlook, a spreadsheet, a scribbled napkin from the dining hall, anything, but stick to your schedule.
- Break up your time. If you focus on one subject for too long, you can lose your ability to retain information. It's like driving on the highway for hours upon hours: you get hypnotized by the road, stop paying attention, miss your exit and wind up in Rhode Island instead of on the Cape. Take a break and work on something else if you feel yourself starting to lose focus, then come back and test yourself on what you have already studied before you continue on to new things.
- DO THE WORK. If you're having trouble focusing, move to a place with fewer distractions. Your common room where your roommate is celebrating the completion of his finance project with a bottle of Svedka and a rampage on Grand Theft Auto is not a healthy study environment. Try the library, or another quiet location. If you're like me and have to hop yourself up on antihistimines just to open your eyes, do some exercise to clear the fog away so you can focus.
- Reward yourself. Reach an important milestone in that Government paper? Give yourself a treat! Take some time out of the day to do something you enjoy. Grab the controller from your drunken roommate after he gets lit up in a GTA gang war, go toss the frisbee around, anything that's going to destress you.
- Finally, look down the road. Think about it, you are going to be out of there in a few days/weeks/phases of the moon, off on break (hopefully) doing things you want to do. Start with thinking about where you'll be at the end of today once you get everything done on your schedule (you made one, right?), and go from there. If you're dilligent about it, looking back on your accomplishments is a huge confidence booster, and can be enough to get you through another day.
Those five little tips have helped me tremendously. Prioritize and plan, break up your work, DO the work, reward yourself, and keep an eye on the finish line. Hang in there, and you'll be done before you know it.
