January Deadlines

Hello again!

Since my last blog post, I have had a busy week of meeting assessment deadlines and doing revision for my exams which are definitely too close to comfort at the minute! I know there are a lot of people like me becoming very stressed at this time of year, but it is all part of the fun of being a third year student and there is no better feeling than seeing your hard work pay off in good grades!

The thing that I am finding most difficult about the work load this month is not the amount of work which I have to do, but balancing it between my exams and written assessments. Thinking about the work I have to do and how I can divide my time is often very daunting. It is very easy to catch up with Celebrity Big Brother rather than catch up with my work because pretending it is not there makes it seem easier to handle. But it's not.

I think most of us are guilty of sticking our head in the sand every once in a while when we worry about the amount of work we have to do, but we all know that really we're just making the situation worse. Here are some of the things that I have been doing (and am going to start doing more) to help manage with the dreaded 'January Deadlines'

Come up with a study schedule (and stick to it).

Coming up with how you plan to study is easy, sticking to it is the hard part. My plan is to treat it like a full time job and stick to a 9 till 5 schedule with a couple of short breaks during the day and an hour break for lunch. I will have to study more outside of this, but I will be more flexible with my studying out of these times.

• Switch off your internet.

Unless you're using internet sites for studying, the internet is usually the first place to turn to when you are trying to avoid doing work. I'm going to switch off my internet when writing assignments unless I need to be on university sites for it. If I do need the internet, I am going to use only the sites that I need, and definitely not Facebook!

• Set yourself treats.

For one of my recent assignments, I lined up chocolate buttons and allowed myself to eat one every time I had written another 100 words, and it really worked! I also didn't allow myself to watch television shows until I had written 1,000 words in a day which made me more motivated to reach my goal.

• Study in silence.

I often go to the silent area of the University library to study. I feel much more motivated and it is much easier to get work done without holding conversations at the same time. I get at least twice the amount of work done in the silent area of the University than I do when I'm sat in my room surrounded by possible distractions.

• Remind yourself why.

When I am feeling unmotivated, I remind myself why I am doing this degree and how it will shape my future completely! I think about how I plan my life to be once I finish university and that working hard will get me there. Looking up pictures of my dream career or looking at job descriptions is all the motivation I need to get me back to putting all the effort I have into my studies.

If anybody has January exams or assignment deadlines coming up, good luck and I hope this helps. If you're currently doing exams and deadlines at the minute to get you into university and are struggling with the stress and motivation, take a minute to look up a picture of university and tell yourself with a little hard work, you WILL get there.

Thank you for reading, see you next week!
Robyn