It's finals season! And as much as you want to curl into a ball and cry in your bed, you need to be studying. You are motivated, you got yourself settled, you are on your desk, pulled every book and paper you might need, "let's get things done", you whisper to yourself.
5 min in, and you are already on your phone, staring at the wall, or thinking about that cat video your saw yesterday.
You are out of focus, and knowing it is making you stress even more!
This is my routine during finals days, and I guess most of students during this period, so here's my humble tips-that I personally use- to overcome procrastination, lack of focus and laziness!
1-Take a moment to breath!
Your mind is surrounded by negative thoughts that you need to get rid of immediately before anything else. Take a 5 min break, go somewhere preferably sunny and airy, sit on the floor, cross your legs, and try to focus on one thing: your breath. It sounds so easy and simple, but trust me, learning the ability to think of one particular thing and bloc any other thought that comes to your mind, will help you regain your focus in such a short amount of time!
Here is how I like to do it: take a deep breath during 8 seconds, hold it in for 4 seconds, and let it out for 8 seconds, with eyes closed and muscles released.
2- Make a plan, a realistic one!
It is always nice to know what you need to work on every single day, so make a daily based plan, and be realistic! I don't recommend making detailed plans (like what you would be doing every second of your day), and I don't recommend writing it down either, because it would be a waste of time, and time is what we need, right? So take a quick look to your topics, lessons, lectures... estimate how much time you need for every course, and try to stick to it.
3-Forgive yourself!
So you made a wonderful plan, you just need to stuck to it right? But sometimes, we all know it, it is not that simple, some days you are just not feeling it, laziness gets over you, and you let yourself go. This happens to me A LOT, and it is always challenging to get back to work after this phase, because not only you have to work more in a shorter amount of time, but you are feeling extremely guilty about the time you have wasted. Forgive yourself, nothing is perfect, and get back to work asap!
4-Have at least two work spaces!
I know it sounds odd and crazy, but I feel like every place holds its energy, and sitting on the same desk, in the same room for a couple of hours, uses up that energy. Have at least two places to study, (your bedroom and living room for example). Side bonus, it is amazing for memorization.
5-Find a source of straight!
I know how hard it can get during finals period, and it get really thought when I start doubting myself. Whenever this happen, I try to remind myself of what motivated me to do this, keep your motivation high by reminding yourself of your goals, I know you would probably read this sentence in a bunch of other websites, but the reasons why you chose this career should be sufficient to get yourself to work every single time.
6-Find your reset mode!
I know working for hours is tiring, one way I found to reload my focus and energy is talking to someone, having a conversation, see what's going on in this world and get out of my study bubble. If conversations are definitely not your thing, try something else, maybe going out for a meal? cooking? drawing? Find your own refuge when you get overwhelmed!
Those are my tips for getting the most out of your concentration, and don't forget to sleep, eat as healthy as you can and drink water! (Maybe I need to stick to that last advice myself!)
Keep the work up, folks!
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