How to Juggle College Finals and Your Sanity in December
If there’s one thing I love to talk about a lot, on my college page, it’s how to manage your life. Whether it’s money, organization, or time-management—I’m always sharing the hacks that are to thank for my diploma. (No shame in my game).
For this holiday season, it's time to bring up those "anti" time-management hacks that save students from themselves every year.
1. “Wake up early” (Yeah, okay. You tell my pillow I’m breaking up with it)
2. “Only focus on one thing a day” (Uh, hello? Oh hey hell (finals) week, is that you?)
3. “Work in time blocks” (Sorry, sally. My wine hour interferes with my '3rd block')
I’m not going to “front,” all of these tips are genuinely helpful and have been mentioned at least once on this site. Aside from that, these tips are NOT for the holiday/finals season and should be taken with a grain of salt.
A few changes I DO think make a difference are similar, but tweaked to match the intensity of most schedules in December.
"wake up early"
Don’t worry about waking up early, my friend. Just wake up with purpose. (I know, I know. “Here she goes with that ‘purpose’ word”).
For example, when I would wake up at 11 am (after the late nights I had my senior year), I wouldn’t worry about missing out on the first portion of the day.
Instead, I would look at my to-do list and tackle the most daunting task. If that meant I was writing the most difficult portion of my research paper at 11:30 am instead of 11:30 pm, so be it.
If it meant I was getting in the shower to run to financial aid before they went to lunch, you better believe I walked out of my door looking like Shrek.
"Only focus on one thing a day"
Next up, don’t even attempt to focus on a small number of items on a to-do list during this busy season. Steer your mind away from NOT overwhelming yourself and, instead, adapt to your overwhelm.
For me, this meant looking at the 10+ bullet points in my planner and only throwing myself a quick 5-minute pity party before starting the day. One task management tool, that I’ve mentioned a million times before, is utilizing the Pomodoro method when you have a lot on your plate.
By allotting 25-30 minutes for each task, before cycling to the next, you’re maximizing your “focus” without burning yourself out on one item.
Have a lot of homework to complete in one day? Work on each assignment for 30 minutes and cycle through for 2 hours straight (with breaks in-between each assignment) to “make it happen.”
"Work in time blocks"
Lastly, I like to run from the “time block" mentality and, instead, run towards the “just get it done somehow” method.
This method is for all of my lovely college procrastinators, a very distinguished group of people mind you, that can’t afford to adopt a new habit during finals week.
If you know your limits and are sure that time-management isn’t going to magically improve in 36 hours, choose to ditch your schedule altogether to finish strong. This means studying at 10 pm instead of 3 pm after class if that works better for your sanity, and running errands at “club Walmart” (my Denton, Texas people know what’s up) at 11 pm if your day was too full.
Long story short, with this method you’re refusing to let go of tasks just because you missed the “appropriate” time period to do something. Do what you have to do to get where you need to be, am I right?
Good luck on finals! Remember: “Do what you have to do to get where you need to be.” Share on X
That’s all for this post, my friends. I hope you all have a wonderful start to the most magical month of the year (aside from the month a legend was born on your birthday *wink wink*).
If you’re craving more organization, studying, money, and general college tips, head over to my college page for all kinds of info-packed content.
Share this with your friends if you enjoyed it, and comment below any finals tips to spread the love.
As always,
Live (and ace tests) Intentionally,
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