Tips to striding through the rest of the semester successfully

It's almost the end of the semester. I don't know about you, but I'm struggling. The weather is finally starting to warm up, the days are getting longer, and my drive to do school work is declining. Summer is rapidly approaching, and I am ecstatic. But the semester is not over. There are still papers due, weekly assignments and, of course, finals.

Fortunately, from experience, I am able to focus my attention back on my priorities and persevere through the end. It's not easy. I've learned the best way to do this is to stay organized, take necessary breaks and (sometimes) just say no.

Staying organized is pretty simple. I keep an agenda so I can write down my homework assignments. I try to keep my assignments, quizzes, etc. for different classes in a binder so I can access them later, especially as we approach finals.

It's important to know where everything is and know when everything is due. If you're struggling in a class, keep everything together. That way you can have easy access to your materials when you need to ask questions later. Also, when you go to study you don't have to waste time searching through all your papers.

When I'm studying for a class, I know I get burnt out after a while. Sometimes you just have to take a break. Maybe you can run a couple of errands, watch an episode of something you like on TV or go make some food.

If you're at that point where you have read the same sentence in your notes or in your book four times and you still don't know what it says, it's time to do something else for a little while. You're not getting anything accomplished staring at the paper. If you try to force yourself to keep reading that sentence, you're just wasting time anyway. You will stress yourself out more than necessary. Just take a break and make sure you come back to it.

While it is important to take a break, it's also important to put limits on your breaks. If you have a test in a class that you know you're going to have to do a lot of studying for, don't waste too much time.

If the test is Monday, don't spend your whole weekend out partying.

It's just a matter of knowing your limits. Some people have to study more than others, but everyone needs to have a clear head and everyone has to put aside the time to do it. Just make good choices.

The most important thing to remember is that you can do it. You know what to do and how to get through your tests. Don't give up.