Getting Your Ducks in Line Before Reading Days - Steve Vogel Learning Strategist

November is the month to get ready for finals. Most of you have finished at least one mid-term, several assignments, and may be working on a group project–and most of you are behind on at least one set of readings or assignments. That is human and very average (in a good sense) for people targeting to get a lot done, whether at school or at work.

It’s easy to get behind–there is just so much to do. Fortunately, it is also possible to prioritize what needs attention, set achievable standards, and head into December finals with your game under control.

You can do this by taking an hour or two at the beginning of November to strategize your action plan for the rest of the semester. Call this your monthly self-management meeting. It’s like housework, not the most interesting to do, not the most difficult, but yielding a high return on time investment in gaining grades and reducing anxiety.

Step by step, your management meeting might look like this:

Environmental Scan

List outstanding projects, quizzes and exams for each subject. Double-check your notes, rubrics, and the syllabus to make sure you know what needs to be done for each assignment and which assignments count the most.
List what is already done and what remains to be done for each assignment. You may find a spreadsheet useful, a project planner, or just a plain notebook with a page for each subject. You may find coloured markers for green-starring work that weighs heavily on the grade, and orange-starring assignments that have a fair amount of work still needed–use what works for you. (Tip: Avoid spending a lot of time designing the perfect colour-coded, aesthetically pleasing planner or macro-enabled spreadsheet.)
Confirm deadlines on your monthly calendar.
Include keeping up with classes and readings.
Schedule “flex time” to allow for the unexpected.
Take ten. Stretch, commend yourself for getting going on the coming month.

Strategize Getting it Done: Chunk!

Chunk the work. Break each assignment/project down into manageable chunks.

Expect these next two items to take more time than you would think:

Draw up the chunks into task lists for each assignment/project. Assign time estimates for each task.
Schedule the chunks–Use a pencil, as life will happen.

You may have mixed feelings here–anxiety if you hadn’t been aware of just how much was on your academic plate, and relief that you can see how the important things can get done.

Take ten again. Stretch, commend yourself for getting a grip on the complexities of managing several projects.

Getting It Done: Motivation

It’s one thing to have a plan, it’s another thing to keep to it. November is a tricky month for motivation. The initial excitement and novelty of a new term are over. We have somewhat of a routine. We’re just a little bit behind here and there, no worry, no flurry. Or we fear we’re so far behind we put off thinking about it. Days are growing shorter. Blah, blah, blah.

Besides, we convince ourselves that miracles of energy and accomplishment will happen during reading week.

Here is where you can improve your chances of doing what you want to get done by managing your own motivation. In the final phase of your November management meeting, incorporate the activities that reinforce, reward, and motivate you.

Schedule daily exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
Schedule social contact.
Post reminders to genuinely endorse yourself for every effort made.
Plan motivation breaks that work for you: listening to a concert, going for a walk, reading, working out at the gym . . . journaling . . . trying a new recipe . . .
Quickly review and modify your tasks lists and schedule each night–and endorse yourself for doing this.
Expect slip-ups. Every setback makes a chance for a comeback.
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Take Control of Reading Week

Sometimes I think students would be better off if there were no such thing as Reading Week. What can happen: A student puts off a lot of reading, writing and studying into Reading Week, more than can reasonably get done. Reading Week happens. It’s such a relief not to have to go to class–the student feels they deserve a break, which they do. And parties–social FOMO pushes the student out to party hearty. And then Reading Week is over.

This is why planning ahead for Reading Week now can save that student from the pitfalls of procrastination that Reading Week poses.

Schedule your Reading Week R&R before scheduling your academic work. You can always pare it down if you have to, but make it a priority. You are going to goof off during reading week, so arrange to goof off with enjoyment rather than guilt.
Schedule your chunked academic work in such a way that you get enough done before and during Reading Week that you can really enjoy the time off, and not suffer a severe academic hit for doing so.

Managing November

Getting ready for exams in December really comes down to the three steps I’ve outlined here. Effective action takes place when you

Strategize,
Schedule, and
Motivate.

A lot of my work with students is in teasing out the complexities of prioritizing and scheduling conflicting demands–juggling time and effort, and staying on track. I’d like to hear your story. Contact me at [email protected]