After Spring Break, getting back into the groove of school when you’re so close to finishing the year can be frustrating. Summer vacation is right around the corner, so here are some tips on how to push through til the school year ends so you can finish well.
Four Tips to Help You Finish Up the School Year
Limit Distractions to Help You Finish Up
Stay focused. Do not have Tik Tok, Insta or Snap Chat up on another tab as you work. Turn your phone to “Do not disturb”. If you need music, choose something that doesn’t lead you to daydreaming or dancing. Try to find a quiet space in your home or go to your local library. Give yourself an hour or two of distraction free work time. You’ll be surprised at how productive you can be if you allow yourself the time and space to simply focus.
Protein High
Protein gives you energy to keep working as well as help you maintain focus. Some protein-packed snacks are:
- Bananas and almonds (22 grams)
- Whole-wheat toast with sliced avocados (8 grams)
- Celery and apples slathered with peanut butter (9 grams)
- Carrots with a side of pistachios (26 grams)
- Wrap up some deli meat and cheese in a tortilla with a slice of tomato (12 grams)
- Greek yogurt, honey, strawberries and granola (16 grams)
- Beans and melted cheese in a spinach tortilla with a dab of salsa (18 grams)
- Trail-mix with an assortment of nuts, fruit, seeds and of coarse a little sweet chocolate (7 grams)!
These snacks give you an energy boost and keep your hunger at bay until your work is done.
Finish Strong with Study Groups
Study groups are a great way to spend time with friends while getting work done. Of course, everyone has to be committed to working or the study group will wind up being counter-productive. However, if you’re all committed to studying together, you can help one another with difficult subjects and give each other encouragement to keep working until the school year ends.
Segments
When you’re feeling overwhelmed and buried with assignments, tasks and due dates, break down everything that needs to be accomplished into segments. Yes, it’s important to have an organized “to do” list, but take it a step further by breaking assignments down into small, manageable tasks, add assignments to your calendar and create a way to visually see the progress you’re making.
Sit down with every class Syllabus, a calendar, a notebook and a stack of note cards: write out every single project deadline, reading assignment and test date from that day until the end of the school year. Then, figure out how much time you needed for every project, reading assignment, paper and calculate study time for tests and quizzes. Break everything up into small increments and list 3-4 increments on a post-it note for every day leading up to the end of the year. This process will probably take about an hour and a half of your time, but it will pay off.
As you accomplish each task of the day, you may find that you have time to relax, clean, fulfill other responsibilities and take care of yourself while getting all your work done. Breaking your work into segments makes your work-load not only seem manageable, but often minimal! Instead of working late into the night on one project, when you separate all your work into 20-30 minute segments your work load will become less daunting. If you’re this organized as the end of the semester comes to a close, then you won’t sweat it when a teacher springs a new assignment or quiz on you. Or you won’t think twice when a deadline is pushed back, you’ll just file this new information in line with all the other tasks and priorities until the school year ends.
Finish Strong – You Can Do It!
This next month looks like a drag. We get it. School is rough, especially when the weather is beautiful and you’re ready for a break. Don’t give up! You’ll receive your break soon. Just wait until the school year ends! All you need is some focus, energy, encouragement and planning. If you need a little boost, reach out to us on your favorite social media platform. Our email is also open if you ever need someone to help you make it through this next month. You can do it!
