As a third year university student you would think that I have mastered the art of finishing an essay early, or studying for a longer period of time. Like thousands of other students, I suffer from procrastination. When it comes to absolutely everything else in my life I am always 100% on top of everything making sure I never get behind.
As we all know putting yourself through post-secondary education is tough; with tuition being so high we all have to work full-time in order to pay our way through school. By the time you have spent all day at school and then the evening at your part-time job you are absolutely exhausted -- the last thing you want to do is write an essay or study for an exam.
Below are some tips to help you stay focused, and make sure that you finish your essay well before the deadline, or that you are prepared for your test/exam.
1. Have A Plan
- Before you start to write your essay, have a plan as to how you want the essay to look like, or how you want to discuss your topic. By making an outline of your essay, you are giving it a structure that will support your essay. It is just like when building a bridge, there is a blueprint before the actual construction of the bridge. The same goes for your essay, your outline acts a blueprint -- mapping out exactly how your essay will look like and what important elements must be there. Once you are done with your outline, you can then proceed to actually writing the essay.
- Although you don't need an outline for studying, it is still important that you plan out exactly how you want to study for that particular test or exam. Is it beneficial to just re-read lecture notes? Is it more beneficial to write out all of the lecture notes. Are there certain issues or questions that were addressed multiple times throughout the course that would most likely show up on the exam? By having a plan on how to tackle your studying you are setting yourself up for success.
2. Get Rid of Distractions
- Turn OFF your smartphone. Smartphones are the absolute worst distractions possible, not only are your friends constantly trying to engage in a conversation with you, but you also have all your social media at your fingertips. What was supposed to be a 5 minute smartphone break, turns into an hour, this has happened to me so many times.
- If you have a loud family like I do, try staying on campus and working in the Quiet Study lounge of your school's library. I find that when I stay home, I have many distractions from my tv, my family, and my dog.
3. Physically write your essay.
- Instead of using your laptop when writing your essay, I find that when you physically write using a pen and paper, you get a lot more work done. There are far less distractions.
- Being able to write an essay using a pen and paper is a skill that is important, especially during exam time. During exams you do not have the luxury of having your laptop handy, you must write the essay using a pen and paper.
4. Breaks
- It is so important that you give yourself time to relax when studying or writing an essay. When the mind is too stressed you tend to not retain knowledge as well, or writing starts to take a turn for the worse. Breaks are great because your mind has a chance to relax, during this time its best to do something like go for a walk. This allows us to clear our minds, and gets our blood pumping as we were sitting for a couple of hours.
- If your goal is to study for 6 hours straight, give yourself four, 15-minute breaks. Of course, you can adjust this if you'd like. If you are studying or writing for longer periods of time, always make sure that instead of doing one very large break like a 3 hour break, you do smaller more frequent breaks. By allowing yourself to have one large break, you are more likely to stop studying or writing.
5. Stay healthy!
- Drink tons of water while studying or writing an essay. The more hydrated we are, the more alert and mentally prepared we are.
- Make sure that you do not forget to eat, if you are studying or writing on an empty stomach your mind is not 100% alert. Have some healthy snacks ready for when you take your breaks, like fruits and veggies, pita and hummus. The healthier you eat, the better you will feel and the better your studying or writing will go.
- If you need extra help staying alert, try natural remedies such as the Quick Study Natural Remedy from Saje Natural Wellness It is an essential oil remedy that helps keep your mental focus in check, this has been a great help for me especially this month as I have so much going on.
If you have any tips that you would like to add, please comment below or contact me directly!
