Readers who want to ask me any question and have it answered can comment on this post. I’ll be answering all questions on October 18!

It’s midterms this week for me, which means it’s a week of endless studying, writing papers, and not getting any sleep¹. I have something due every single day this week for my classes, and I also have a few work commitments that I need to keep up with. How on earth I am going to survive this week in one piece without failing any of my classes is beyond me… but either way, I have to at least attempt to get through my week of hell successfully.

The one thing that is keeping me going is that my roommate and I have planned a shopping adventure as soon as we are both done with all of our midterms this week. Nothing like retail therapy to motivate you to get through a week of exam hell!

1. It’s also why this entry is so short and rather vague – I really shouldn’t be blogging as I have SO much studying to do! [↩]

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

I have a million and one things to do as I wrap up my first year in college and prepare to move back home for the summer. I have no idea how I will have the time or energy to do it all, but somehow, it must be done!

• Finish studying for my remaining exams
  I have two exams left. One is for French, and the other is for Chinese. The only bright aspect about these two exams is that I have already done (and aced!) the oral portion, so I just have the reading comprehension, listening, grammar, and translation component of the exams. Still, it’s nerve-wracking; French is one of the hardest Romantic languages, and Chinese is one of the hardest Asian languages. Remind me why I’m double minoring in French and Chinese again?
• Ship my cousin her birthday package
  My cousin has sent me loads of drawings and photos she’s made during the course of the year to use as dorm room decorations. Have I sent her anything in return? Um, I sent her a Christmas gift, but that is far from enough. I have already picked out something, both of which are National Cherry Blossom Festival-related, and I need to get to the post office and send them ASAP because I feel like a horrible role model with being lax in sending gifts!
• Email my work supervisor with my available working hours
  I took four days off work this week so that I could concentrate on studying for my finals rather than work, and I need to make up my missed hours next week. My supervisor is fantastic and is letting me pick whatever hours work best for me next week, so I need to double check with the working hours of my workplace (it changes every day) and then come up with a schedule that works for me and email it to her for approval.
• Clean out my room and pack up my things
  My room is an absolute mess, and I need to leave it in better condition than it was when I first moved in. Not only do I need to clean and vacuum and dust, but I also need to begin packing up my belongings and sort out what I need to store over the summer, and what items I will need to bring home, and possibly if there is a place nearby where I can donate some of my stuff. I also need to figure out if I need to order any more storage boxes from the storage company - the boxes that they already gave me do not look like it will be enough to store everything!
• Figure out what I’m going to do over the summer
  I have some tentative plans set for the summer, but none are as definite as I’d like to be. I’m still on the lookout for a summer job, I’ve only just begun to sketch out some possible ideas for my Etsy shop, and I need to get my driving permit so I can take the driving lessons that have already been booked in order for me to get my driver’s license (finally!). I’d love to just take summer as it comes, but I’d like to have at least a few definite things in store for me!

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

This week, I will be taking my end of semester final exams. School has been so hectic in the closing weeks of this semester; I have had endless tests and assignments and other odds and ends to finish before the semester wraps up. However, with the exception of one paper¹, I have nothing to do except to study for all of my final exams. I have an exam for each of my classes, two of which are back to back on the first exam day! If I make it through that first day it will be a miracle, especially as one of my exams that day is math and I hate math.

Obviously, I’ve been spending this weekend organizing my notes, going through old tests/quizzes, making study guides, and all that good stuff that is associated with studying and revising. However, I keep getting sidetracked and end up procrastinating from studying far more than I would like to, or in some cases, can afford to! The only thing that has really worked for me in beating procrastination is being pressed for time. I am good with managing my time when it comes to writing papers, but when it comes to studying, I find it far more difficult to sit down and totally focus as I revise. With a paper, you always know when you are finished, but with studying, it’s so hard to tell when you have studied “enough” to do well on the exam!

I don’t really have any tried and true methods for beating procrastination when studying. Sometimes I’ll draft a schedule of all the things I have to do and stick to it, with mixed results. More often than not though, I end up half-studying, half-procrastinating, and hope for the best when exam time rolls around. That is definitely not something I can keep doing; the risks are far too high!

Question of the Week: What methods do you use to beat procrastination? What have you found is the most successful way for you to study?

1. I have a paper for one of my classes that isn’t due until the last day of finals. While that sounds good in theory, it’s actually a huge pain, because this paper was meant to be assigned two or three weeks ago, but because of my professor’s inability to organize and assign papers on time, I now have to write this paper in addition to study for my finals when I could have written this paper two weeks ago. [↩]

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.