Procrastinate Right

Written by Aiman Khan

@Mlle.romanichelle

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

It’s the start of a new semester and the last thing you want to think about is sitting down and studying in your spare time. After all, it seems like just yesterday we finished last semester’s finals and we have till mid-February to take things easy, right?

Well, not quite. 

The first month of the semester, much like the last, tend to speed by without us noticing. What with meeting advisors, adding and dropping classes, buying new textbooks and trying to sell the old ones, we seldom find the time to set up our study habits. Add to this the steady stream of friends returning from their holiday getaways and wanting to catch up on the weekends, and we say to ourselves, “Well, it’s enough to just finish the assignments for now,” and for some of us, it stays that way right up until the midterms come knocking at our doors.

To keep from panicking this exam season, here are some steps you can follow to minimize your study time throughout the semester and still feel prepared on the big day. 

START EARLY

Give yourself the first week off. Maybe the second week too if you’re feeling indulgent, but be sure to start studying as soon as your schedule is fixed and the dust has settled. 

The earlier you start, the easier it becomes to digest all the new information you will be learning on a weekly basis. Just reviewing your class notes for an hour each day can do wonders for you.

Wake up early but do not take early morning classes unless you absolutely must or you have a track record of doing well regardless of class time. A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience in 2017 found that college students are unlikely to be productive in the early a.m. 

If you consider yourself a night owl, it’s best to take afternoon and evening classes, and review class material on your own in the mornings. 

ENVIRONMENT MATTERS

If you find yourself studying in bed with your phone at your side and YouTube opened on your browser, it’s time to make a few changes. 

Let’s be honest, studying in bed is the first step to procrastinating. You may have the best intentions when you sit down with your notes and your laptop, but within half an hour you will most likely be flat on your back, scrolling through memes. This is especially true if you are trying to study well in advance of your exams and there is no anxiety prodding you on to finish the assigned readings. 

If you like to study in your own room, study only on your desk. Invest in a good lamp or lighting source and keep the space organized. You want to associate your desk with productivity and work, so minimize any time you spend on it doing other things. As you sit down to study, your mind will look for distractions for the first hour. It’s best to keep your room clean – at least on a surface level – so you don’t start procrastinating by tidying things up. Stash unnecessary items into your closet and drawers, and leave the deep cleaning for when you’re done studying for the day.

If you don’t like studying in your room, you can always go to the Patrick Power Library and find a quiet corner with access to a computer. I personally don’t recommend studying on the first floor if you want to get some work done since you’ll be seeing most of your friends and classmates walking about. The second and third floors are designed for quiet studying and are excellent places to study in between classes. 

EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES

While study techniques are only as effective as your motivation will allow, there are two that I fall back on during every exam season.  

The Pomodoro technique developed by Francisco Cirillo is based on time-management. You study for intervals of 25 to 30 minutes, and take a five-minute break. During the break, it’s advised you get off your seat and do some light chores or walk around. Once the break is over, you make a mark on a piece of paper and study for another 25 to 30 minute interval. After making four marks, you can take a longer break or end your study session. This technique has helped me cover material for exams that I normally would never be able to finish at the last minute. 

The other technique might be quite familiar to a lot of us.  The Leitner System developed by Sebastian Leitner uses flashcards for spaced repetition. There are many different orders in which to review the cards but I generally use the simplest one: keep reviewing and recalling information on the cards in one specific order until I get stuck on one, at which point I can either start reviewing from the previous flashcard or the very first one. This might sound tedious but once the flashcards have been memorized, it takes very little time to review them every other day. 

CAMPUS RESOURCES

If you’re stuck on any topic, be proactive and reach out to your instructors or TAs as soon as possible instead of procrastinating. As a TA myself, I have noticed I have much more time to help out each individual student at the start of the semester because there are fewer students seeking help around this time. Not only will you have greater, uncontested access to your instructors or TAs, but you will also stand out and make a good impression.

The Math Help Centre located in the Sobey building is an amazing resource for students looking for help with business math while the SNAP Centre located in Atrium 304 offers first-year Bachelor of Science students help with Math, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. The Writing Centre in Burke 115 assists students with their written assignments and helps in developing better writing skills. 

Hopefully with these tips in mind, you will be less likely to pull all-nighters before your exams and enjoy a more relaxed semester this winter!