Get It Done

As we head into the final week of the quarter (exams are their own separate issue), a lot of students are struggling to prioritze their work and figure out how they will get it all done.

So, how do you decide what to do and, if absolutely needed, what not to do?

First, can you actually get it all done and just aren't really feeling motivated to do it?  If you CAN do it all, then you need to just harnass the discipline to grind out the work.  I know that you don't always WANT to do it.  I get it.  Look at your parents, talk to them about how much motivation they have at work each day and if they always feel motivated to do everything they have to do.  Chances are they don't.  But they do it anyway and you can too.

Next, look at your grades.  Are you passing all of your classes?  If so, are there any close to failing?  If so, you probably need to prioritize that class.

If you have multiple classes that are failing, are any close enough to passing that you can get them to passing?  If so, you probably need to priorize that class.

For a lot of my students, when we sit and look at their grades, it will be a missing test that is killing their grade.  If you are avoiding making up a test, please don't!  You need those points.  Even if you fail at a 50% rather than failing with a 0% because you didn't take the test can make a huge difference in how you do in the class overall.

As you look at your list of things that need to be done in this next week, you can prioritize by getting accomplished the easy things first to build that momentum to working towards the more difficult tasks.  Or you can flip it and do the more demanding assignments first so that as you get tired you are left with the easier assignments that you can crank out at the end.  That is in part knowing what approach works best for you.

If, when you look at that list of things that need to be completed, there is no way that you can get it all done, then I will acknowledge that in certain circumstances (and maybe this is one) you need to decide what you can sacrifice for the overall greater good.  For example, you might sacrifice completing an assignment in a class where you have a strong A in order to spend more time in a class where you have a D-.  Or you might have to sacrifice working on assignments for a class where you have a 20% if you have recognized that realistically you won't be able to get that grade up to a 60% by the end of the week so that you can focus on getting the other classes where you are in the 50-60% range up above passing.

Again, I say all of that not because I want you to just ignore work that you can do.  If you have the time and ability to get it all done, then that is what I want for sure!  But if you're at that breaking point where you have found yourself in a hole and you can't figure out how to dig out of it, then priorizing what will give you the biggest bang for your work is going to be important.  Ultimately that can be by looking at those overall grades as well as how many points are possible on the assignments you are completing.

Remember, any tests or quizzes that you have left to complete need to be the first priority during your off periods at school.  And then for your other assignments, use your available time wisely so that you are ending the quarter and semester where you want to be academically.

Also, don't forget, you're just a week away from semester exams and those are worth 10% of your grade which means you can still increase your overall semester grade by a full letter grade so truly, hope is not lost for any of you!  Keep working hard and finish out the last 8 days of school before break strong.  You can do this!