We’ve all returned from Fall Break and that means two things. There are only five more weeks until Thanksgiving Break and we’re halfway done with the semester.
That means the amount of time it took you to get to this point in the semester is all of the time you have to get everything together before the end of it.
The only difference is that this time, you’ll have a lot more work on your plate.
The second half of the semester is when projects need to be completed, papers need to be written, more cumulative exams are given and everyone is hoping that the attendance points they get will boost their grade.
It can all be a little overwhelming and the worst thing you can do is let all the work you have stress you out too much.
A little bit of stress is motivating; too much stress can be harmful.
I know I have times when I just get so stressed out by work I have to do that I get scared and don’t want to do any of it. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but that’s what happens. It would make more sense for me to see all of the stuff I have to do and try to do a little bit of it at a time, with small snack breaks in between so that I can relax for a bit.
However, that sounds too much like the SATs, so I just decide to avoid the work and do big chunks later, right before it’s due.
Just so we make this clear, I do not condone this kind of behavior at all. This is a horrible way to get all of your work done and leads to caffeine addiction and many sleepless nights.
That being said, I have gotten a little better at controlling this habit, but every once in a while I’ll slip and end up coming back from fall break wondering why I’m still tired.
The point of this is to try to convince myself not to do this for the rest of the semester and to try to tell anyone else who does this not do it – at least for the rest of the semester.
The second half of the semester is going to go by so quickly and we’re all going to have so much work to do, it’s going to be scary. So start trying to manage your time now.
You remember the syllabus you were given at the beginning of the year? It’s that thing with all of the assignments for the rest of the year that most people shove in the back of their folder and only look at it a few hours before class to see if they have any homework.
Get that out and look to see what you have coming up before finals week. If there’s anything you have time to crack out now; do it. You’ll have much more time to relax later and you’ll be so much more grateful you did it.
I’m not saying that you won’t hate trying to get a head start on work you don’t have to do yet. You will probably despise it, but it will pay off in the end.
KHADIJA DJELLOULI
