04 Aug 2020

So you’ve found yourself in that situation again, have ya?

All those grand plans of getting yourself together at the beginning of the year got pushed back to the beginning of next term, to the beginning of next month, to the beginning of next week, to the very last minute. Surprise, surprise.

Well, what’s happened has happened, and what you need to do now is smash out this major work like it’s nobody’s business - so let’s get stuck in.

1. Sleep is always #1

No matter how much work you've gotta do in how short a time, sleep is still number one. The moment you’re underslept, you’re going backwards. Well, maybe not backwards, but right now a slow trickle forwards is not what you need!

Don’t kid yourself and don’t sell yourself short. Get a full 8 hours in and wake up fresh. The difference in productivity will astound you.

2. Plan out your study

They say that failing to plan is planning to fail and they’re not wrong. The workload in front of you may look impossibly large, but that does not mean that the best way forward is to charge head-first into it and start hacking away at random.

Take your time to break down all of your remaining work into manageable sections. Then focus on them one at a time. Don’t start a new section until the previous one has been completed - otherwise, you’ll find yourself with fifteen half-completed jobs and a completely scattered brain.

P.S. plan your breaks too! Allocate time where you can f*ck around and then when it’s study time, chuck your phone on aeroplane mode, get back inside and get going!

3. You’re not alone… but you should be

If you’re feeling like you’re got an impossible task ahead of you, don’t worry. You’re not alone. There are probably a thousand other students in the exact same situation as you right now and there have been countless more in years prior. 

But right now, you should be alone. Unless you’re really not dealing with the stress right now (in which case, you should talk to your parents/mates or contact someone here), then being alone is exactly what you need right now. Locked in isolation. No company. No iPhone. No distractions. You can only read so many advice articles - just get cracking!

4. Life will go on

Yep, that’s right. No matter what happens, it will all be okay. Hakuna Matata and all that sh*t. But seriously.

If you don’t finish it, or if you do finish it but then you accidentally delete/burn/lose it on your way to handing it in, or if you never even start it. Whatever happens, happens. It’s all part of the learning curve and you’re gonna come out of it with some sort of lesson you can apply to your next challenge in life.

Panic gets you nowhere. I’m not telling you to stop caring. But starting right now, just give it ya best shot and if it doesn't work out, life goes on.

5. The following things will get you nowhere

  • Panicking
  • Yelling at your mum/mate/dog
  • Checking your phone
  • Scrolling
  • Having a “who is the most screwed” competition with your mates where you all just complain about how much further behind each other you are
  • Re-organising your room to create the perfect study environment
  • Re-checking your phone in case something new has happened
  • Putting up a poll on your Instagram story asking “How screwed am I?”

Do I even need to wrap this up? Just get some sleep, get rid of the distractions, and get going!