GETTING THE GRADE

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Reading days are over, and with one-third of the term left, the end is in sight. Most likely you are not as far ahead on every assignment in every course as you had originally planned. You may be tempted to put on an extra super-push.

Stop. You need to make sure you have enough gas (or charge) to last the term, and through exams after classes end. Your effort will  gain better results if it is guided by strategy than solely by raw energy. Take an hour or two at the beginning of this week and attend to the keys of your overall academic strategy: goal review, time management, project management, and self-care

Goal Review:

Review your standing in each course. Check your grades against the syllabus. Are you doing better than you thought? Go for the B+. Are you on the cusp for a C or B? Is there one course at more risk than the others?

Revise your goals to what you believe is achievable, given your grades thus far and the amount of work left in each course. Prioritize and reduce, eliminate or defer according to your life and career goals.

Project Management:

Review the syllabus and list the projects, assignments, presentations, and quizzes left for each course, with the dates due. With a separate sheet or column for each project, list what has to be done for completion. Estimate how long each task will take.

  • Make sure you list study time for quizzes, meeting time for group projects, and practice time for presentations.
  • Do you need to set up meetings with instructors?
  • Communicate with group members on group projects and group presentations to reduce surprises as deadlines approach.
  • These lists can seem overwhelming. Take a breath. Endorse yourself for doing this instead of just closing your eyes and hoping everything will work out.

The next step is how you will come closest to completing the tasks ahead as the weeks seem to fly by more quickly.

Time Management:

…..Scheduling:

Use whatever scheduler works for you, whether it is a multicolumn spreadsheet, a scheduler on your phone, or a monthly wall calendar (with lots of space for each day). Here is where you plot out what will get done when. If you’re using paper, I recommend erasable colour pencils.

  • Pencil in time you will need for meals, sleep, and appointments. Pencil in class and travel time–this is not the time to blow off classes to catch up on projects. Your absence may be noted, and you may miss key pointers and hints about exams and grading.
  • Pencil in class prep and review time.
  • Pencil in the deadline for each project. Go back to your project time estimates now, and shade in the time you will need to complete each task. Allow for contingencies, as life will happen.
  • Pencil in self-maintenance–exercise, R&R, breaks, and social or family time.

…..Prioritizing:

Often there simply isn’t enough time to get everything done to the extent that you would like to get it done. You prioritize by readjusting your goals: If getting an A+ in physics means getting a D in English, goal adjustment and time reallocation is likely in order.

,,,,,Optimizing your schedule:

There may be ways of getting more done in the same amount of time, or in effect cutting yourself more time.

  • If group meetings can be done on ZOOM, you may be able to save travel time.
  • Is this the time to alert roommates, family, or partners about the critical times in your schedule? Could you exchange chores, or call for help?
  • Examine your tasks to see if you have been overly exceptional–do you need to review all journals in five languages for your review paper? 
  • Do you have wait times for buses or appointments you could use for quick review?

Self-maintenance:

This is not an area to eliminate in order to attempt short-term gain in grades. You can optimize your self-care through preplanning–listening to audio texts during a meal, for example, using the condo exercycle instead of travelling to the gym.

Being kind to yourself without indulging yourself is key to keeping motivation up–endorse yourself for every effort. Plan small rewards. Work in short spurts, and take stretch breaks (see my other blogs on rewards and reinforcers).

Exercise. Eat well. Hydrate. Sleep. Reinforce.

Execution:

It all looks good on paper, or pretty on your laptop. How do you make it happen?

Take the long view. You will get through this, and closer to your goals for being strategic in your approach.

And take short action:

  • Every evening, you review your projects and schedule for the next day. This should take no more than 15 or 20 minutes.
  • Pencil a list for the next day.
  • The next day, endorse for every effort (usually briefly and silently).
  • Be flexible–you will not get everything done every day. Expect some things will take longer, some shorter, and traffic and group members may not co-operate.
  • Once a week, spend an hour going back to the first step in this blog. 

Those people in the C-suites of organizations–they’re called “Executives” because they’re responsible for executing the plan (not because they execute their top employees–note that, Elon).

And this blog is how they execute the plan. You have probably figured out by now that you are in the C-suite of your academic program, and this is how you get it done.

See Steve:

This time of year getting the most out of the last four weeks of class and prepping for exams are the most frequent topics on my clients’ agendas. If you’re stuck or off track and could use expertise in executing your academic plan, reach out. It’s what I do: [email protected].

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.