I have no idea how to plan for this...

[JoeBlogs]

Hi all, I'd really appreciate any advice anyone might have about my situation...

I've been too lazy during my degree, I've not done enough work and I'm behind, with my final exams at the end of May. I really want to do well, or as well as I can under the circumstances but i don't know how.

I have 8 exams to revise for (that works out to 10 or so days each, if that).
I feel like I don't have a clue what is going on in these subjects, I have notes but they're not amazingly well organised or neat so may not be totally complete, though I have books and the library too.

If I go to the lectures (which are still ongoing) to get the current notes I don't know what the lecturer is talking about and feel that I am wasting time, but then again I feel that I should go as otherwise I might miss something important for my notes. But is my time better spent revising what has been covered already?

To make things worse, I also have a 60 page report to write, due a few weeks before the exams. And a presentation to prepare based on this report, due at the same time.

With such a massive task facing me, and given that I am so far behind that I'd probably have to do revision of previous years work to even begin understanding the work for these exams, I don't know where to begin.

I guess I know what the only real solution is...

...Hard work.

And now I will put the work in.

But it may be too late.

So any advice?

If you were faced with this task how would you approach it? How would you manage your time and attempt to learn and accomplish all of these things?

Thanks in advance for any replies, any suggestions are appreciated.

[RT Wolf]

Go into exam mode. That means waking at the same time every day. Throw in some excersizes during the day. Just a few pushups or crunches or hell some situps will help clear your mind. Eat right. No junk food and no caffeine. Study for a certain amount of time and then rest for five minutes. You might want to figure out what time works best, for some people its studying for 30 minutes and 3-5 minutes of rest and stretching. OThers can go longer. REcognize that at the beginning of the day, you'll be able to concentrate for longer, so cut yourself some slack as you get near the end of the day. Affirm your purpose every day and every single study block. Something like, "I am studying and understanding this material in order to gain good marks on my exams." If music helps you concentrate, use it.

Remember, your rests are as important as your studying. When you rest, really rest, don nothing, meditate or somin like that. It is during your rests that your subconscious mind puts all this stuff together and you really retain stuff. Kinda like resting after working out.

Don't give up. It'll be tough, but keep yourself motivated. Consider listening to high energy music during your breaks.

I'm sure others will have good tips and suggestions.

[Yynatago]

Ahhh, the good old uni days. There's nothing quite like cramming it all in at the last minute.

First you gotta figure out what you need to do for each subject, like what topic to study and what needs to be done to finish the assignments and so on.

If you're short on time, then once you've recognised all the things you need to do, I'd recommend Time-boxing so that you only spend a fixed amount of time for each item on your list of things to do. The idea being that you do the best you can do in the time you set aside for it and then move onto the next thing. That way, certain tasks are less likely to hold up other tasks.

Don't forget to include a good amount of rest and revision in your schedule.

Regards,
Yynatago

[JoeBlogs]

Thanks a lot for the advice, especially the suggestion to regularly affirm the purpose of all the work, and the timeboxing suggestion.

I have a tendency to think that things can wait and procrastinate, so I think that these ideas will help me to stay motivated and organise my time better.

I've started working now and am feeling more confident after reading your posts and getting myself more organised.

If anyone else has any more study tips or suggestions about coping with a lot of work and lots of deadlines then I'd love to hear them.

[Refrozen]

Take some advice from the GTD crowd and make yourself a list of "next actions."

Have a list of every single topic you need to learn, with it broke down in to sub-lists of topics you can learn in less than half an hour. Then allocate half an hour to each topic, if you're not getting it after 30 minutes, reschedule it.

[moondream]

I just replied in another topic about my laziness since switching schools, I think a lot of it has to do with feeling overwhelmed to the point you just don't want to deal with that feeling for as long as possible.

I really like the idea about the list of each subject and then breaking it down to specifics. I am going to use that idea.

[alexyeo]

Hi there,

I am also an undergrad now. I used to be a lazy bum and not motivated to study for my exams. After I find my WHY, I began to have more enthusiasm in my studies. My grades used to be sucky and often looked down by my peers and teachers.

I wanted to prove to them I can "make it", hence its one of my main motivation. To me, getting a good grade is a personal achievement and prove to people that I am as smart as them, if not even better than them.

I guess you need to understand your "WHY".
Why are you getting your degree?
To get a better prospect job in the future?
As a personal achievement?
Don't want to lose out to your peers?
Only you have the answers.

If you can get that answer, I can assure you that you will be very motivated and focused in your studies

[John P]

The first thing that I'd suggest is to sit down when you have a couple hours of free time and write down every single lesson that has been taught in each class up to this point. If you have a syllabus this will help tremendously. Then go back through and make some notes on each lesson as to what you do understand about it and what you need some help on. This sheet will help serve as kind of a road map to keep you focused as you go along and it'll feel great to start checking lessons off as you get them done.

The next thing that I think I would do is to enlist the help of your classmates. If there are any people that you know well in any of the classes ask them to join you for a study session one afternoon. You could probably work out some sort of a barter system here... if, for instance, you need help on lesson 10 and your buddy needs help on lesson 14, then you study the heck out of lesson 14 before you meet and then teach it to him and vice versa. (This is also a great way to meet girls! )

Another option here is to get the whole class involved and start a Get-Ready-For-Exams-They're-Only-Two-Months-Away study group. Find a spot the whole class could meet and then start organizing a time that is good for everyone. Pick a couple of topics for discussion and then sit down and take notes as everyone else does the talking. Attendance might be a bit spotty this far away from exams but it should pick up a lot as they get closer.

Depending on the size of your school, you can also try going to the professor for some help. (I went to a fairly small college - the biggest class I ever had was about 35 people - and knew the professors pretty well. If you're going to a state university then this might not work as well, but maybe you could try a TA?) Anyway, go to the professor and tell him/her that you are kinda lost and need some help on some earlier lessons. Since there is still plenty of time before the end of the semester they will probably be happy to help you (much happier than they will be the last week of the semester ). Also don't discount the effect of professor-goodwill. If they see you working hard to catch up then they will be much more willing to help out more as exams get closer.

And lastly, as far as your paper and the current lectures go... Definitely keep going to the lectures. Even if you aren't totally up to speed on what is being discussed you'll at least be able to take notes that you can review later. If you stop going, then you'll end up having to teach yourself everything from the second half of the semester as well as the first. Also, the professors will (hopefully) see you there and see that you are indeed working hard.
Go ahead and start on the paper as soon as you can as well. Getting that done will be a tremendous weight off your shoulders and will probably serve as a study aid in that class. If you can get that done in a relaxed manner then you won't be sleep deprived going into the exams and will be in a much better mindset come crunch time.

Hope that helps! Stay focused but don't forget to relax as well.