Jennie's Tip of the Week: Staying Motivated at the End of the Semester!

We're in the final stretch of the Fall semester, but we've still got work to do!  Staying motivated at the end of the semester can be hard.  I know, we would much rather be home sipping hot chocolate and watching Netflix, but in order to get there we have to write our papers and take our final exams.  These last few weeks are extremely important in calculating how we do in our classes this semester, so follow these tips to stay motivated and on track.

1. Make a list of everything you have to do in the next two weeks.  This will make sure you are neat and organized.  As you begin to chip away at all of your work,  you will see that there is not too much left and it'll encourage you to power through.  Make sure you know all of your due dates and get your work in on time.  Nobody wants to get 10 points taken off because your assignment is a day late!

2. Make goals for yourself.  Personally I am very competitive, so making a goal for myself motivates me to complete the task at hand.  Of course, make sure the goal is reasonable so you can still put in your best effort.  Also, don't forget to reward yourself for your hard work.  For example, if I make a goal to finish my paper by the end of the week and achieve this goal, I will reward myself by grabbing a slice of Antonio's or watching a movie.  Your reward should be small and not too time-consuming, but the treat will keep you going during this stressful time!

3. Join a study group.  When you are part of a team, it often motivates you to get your work done in an efficient manner.  Grab a couple of friends from your class to study for the final exam together.  You can split up sections and make study guides for each one.  Then get together and discuss all of the material.  Make sure you cover old quizzes, exams, papers, in-class questions, etc.  This will make you feel more prepared and less overwhelmed.  Plus, it often helps students learn better when they have to teach the information to other people/discuss it.

4. DON'T PROCRASTINATE!!  It is imperative that you do NOT procrastinate at the end of the semester.  After all of the hard work you've put in this semester, you don't want to throw it all away in the last two weeks.  I know it is painful but log out of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Netflix, and anything else that will consume your attention.  Tell you friends to put in new passwords and log you out of all devices so that there is no way for you to access all of this social media.  If you choose to go on Facebook for 30 minutes as your reward for achieving your goal have your friend log you on and then have him or her log you back off.  You'll be surprised at how much faster you get your work done when you're not distracted by social media!

Follow these tips and keep going.  
Only two more weeks!  
Good luck everyone!