With finals a mere week away and with summer being just around the corner, it’s natural for students to run into difficulty remaining focussed. However, this short chunk of time is crucial, as it allows students a final opportunity to improve their grades by demonstrating proficient knowledge of what they’ve learned throughout the year. It also helps teachers determine whether or not a student is ready to advance to harder courses the following year. Most teens find this challenging, often neglecting their work to get an early taste of the leisure summertime brings. Unfortunately, this carelessness can have consequences. While putting in effort for these last few days may seem unnecessary, everything has an impact, and it’s up to us to decide whether that impact is going to be positive or negative. For upperclassmen in particular, keeping grades up matters more than ever as they could greatly impact opportunities following graduation. 

So, if you’re feeling the summer buzz starting to seep in and distract you from your destination, this article is for you. We’re covering everything from stopping the slump to reaching those grade goals!

The number one reason for the lack of motivation is the same reason why no one goes home and does homework on Friday nights. The end of the week (or school year in this case) is when the exhaustion really starts to catch up with people. The anticipation for a break, whether that be a two day weekend or a three month vacation, starts crowding people’s thoughts as well. No one likes feeling stressed or burnt out, so they’ll find any way to avoid it, including turning to procrastination without realizing it’ll only make things 10x worse in the long run. 

Here are 3 study tips to keep you on the right track to pass your finals:

1. Establish Consistent Daily Routines

There are many different types of routines that can all be beneficial. A consistent morning routine can help regulate your body clock, aiding in preparation, focus, and motivation. As I’m sure you know, exhaustion and focus do not mix well. Scheduled study times each day with short, planned out “brain breaks” in between can also help with staying on track and avoiding last-minute cramming. Specific times of day and locations for this can also make it easier to prevent procrastination. This all depends on the person, so it’s difficult to be completely sure without some experimentation. Try altering your current schedule and start working at a different time of day when you feel the most clear-headed and see what happens! Location can also be a huge factor in motivation. Make sure to have a separate area where you work that is used solely for that purpose so the body can’t confuse it with anything else. For example, working on one’s bed can make it extremely difficult to get anything done since the body already associates it with sleep, rest, and sometimes scrolling on one’s phone. Don’t lie, we all do it. However, something as simple as setting aside a quiet place to clear your mind can be one of the most effective ways to complete those daunting tasks at hand.

2. Eliminate Distractions

This can be a tough one, as breaking habits are difficult but necessary. Distractions can stem from a wide range of places, but let’s start with the most obvious one. People use their phones for many important things, however, you’ll quickly realize it brings more problems than it solves. Notifications from apps like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok etc. are all made to capture your attention and tempt you to keep watching rather than utilize your time in more productive ways. And while there’s no shame in scrolling from time to time, we can’t allow these apps to impact our priorities. The best way to do this is to ask a parent/guardian to hold onto the phone while you work, and then return it to you as a reward once you’ve finished. It’s both motivating and effective. Another large aspect of this topic is distractions from people. Whether that be people in your own home or friends trying to facetime you at a bad time, it’s important to set boundaries in order to stay focussed on priorities. This also plays into the reward system because the sooner you complete your tasks, the sooner you get to decide how to spend that free time.

3. Set Attainable Goals

When tasks start to build up, it tends to become overwhelming and lead to procrastination. This is why it is important to break down the studying into smaller sessions that you can finish more easily. Each one completed will help encourage you to continue working. A good place to start when trying to set attainable goals is by using the S.M.A.R.T. framework: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

1. Specific:  Be precise about the who, what, when, and where of your goal. This means defining what you want to accomplish. For example, instead of saying “study for APUSH,” which is a really vague goal, aim for something closer to “review chapter __, pages _ – _”.

2. Measurable: Track your progress so it’s clear when you’ve taken another step towards achieving your goal(s). For example, set a specific amount of time that you will dedicate to studying a certain subject. This way, rather than saying you will complete a certain amount of the assignment only to feel disappointed when you don’t, you’ll set aside specific times to work on it instead. This distribution of time will actually allow you to complete it faster and with a lot less effort and stress.

3. Achievable: Make sure your goals are realistic and within your grasp. Don’t aim for something that’s impossible or requires drastic changes you can’t maintain. This will only discourage further and hinder your progress. To avoid this, break down large goals into smaller, more manageable steps.

4. Relevant: This means prioritization. Ensure your goals align with your overall objectives and ask yourself why achieving this goal is necessary. For example, it’s important to prioritize studying for a harder final exam that’s worth a large chunk of your grade, than practicing for a class you have a 99% in and the exam won’t impact your grade at all. If you decide to keep pushing off that larger task, you will end up doing it all the night before. This is not only extremely stressful, but also bad for your physical health.

5. Time-Bound: Set a realistic deadline for each goal. You can’t expect yourself to make all these changes in just a week, but you also have to hold yourself accountable and keep up with your progress. This helps keep you on track and motivated.

Although the excitement of summer is looming in the near future, putting in the effort to try these techniques can mean the difference between passing and failing those tougher finals. Ignore those desires to slack off and push through for one more week! You got this!