Right?

Wrong. Sorry.

Most of your assignments are due almost at the end of term, which only gives you one week to study before exams. It’s certainly possible to study only for that week, and pass – if you’re very (very) good at studying, and at sitting exams. But -

(a) If you don’t think you’re very, very good at studying and sitting exams, you might need to do a bit more, and

(b) If you want to do more than just pass, you might need to do a bit more.

Here’s how:

1. Single-task, don’t multi-task.
2. Plan out your study time.
3. Study smart, not hard.

1. Multi-tasking vs Single-tasking

We can’t do more than one thing at once – not well, anyway. It’s easier if we do one thing, concentrate on that thing, then put it down and do the next thing. So, when you study, pick one thing to work on for that session, and do that. This lets you get all the information you need together, keep it in your RAM (short term memory), and put it together efficiently. When you’ve got lots of different assignments and exams to work on, that means planning smart study sessions so that you can get through them all.

2. Plan out your study time

You need to:

a. Make a list of all the tasks you have to do: assignments, exams, housework, commitments etc. All of the tasks.

b. Prioritise based on importance, not urgency. Some things are more important than others. Check which papers are compulsory – they’re more important than optional ones. You’re going to have to make some hard choices here: do you go to the pub with your mates every night, or study some of those nights? This post will help you prioritise.

c. Then plan out when you can study, and break it into hour-long sessions. Schedule the tasks from step 1 into these sessions, most important first. This post will help you plan a good amount of study and still have a life too.

3. Study smarter, not harder.

Check out the Study Skills series from April for ideas on how to study smarter, not harder.

Then do the things you know you should: Follow your plan. Don’t let interruptions or temptations get in the way of your study: if a mate turns up, tell them you need to study. Keep what is important in mind. Don’t get raging drunk so that your next morning is a write-off. Eat healthy and exercise.

You know what you should be doing – it’s doing it that’s the hard thing. Hey – it’s only for a few weeks.

And if you’re procrastinating, check out this post

Let’s say you have four goals this year: to exercise more, to eat better, to get organised, and to write every day. You know from The Habit Guy that you need to choose one thing to work on at a time, but you can’t decide what to do first.

Here’s what to do:

1. Put these four goals into a table like this:

2. Compare goal 1 with goal 2: Should I exercise more first or eat better first? Hmmm … hard choice. If I exercise first I’ll be fitter and have more energy, but if I eat better first I’ll have more energy too. Exercising will take a lot of effort – but I could easily eat better. OK – I’ll eat better first.

Great – one decision down. Write number “2″ in the square where the row for goal 1 and the column for goal 2 meet:

3. Compare goal 1 with goal 3: Should I exercise more first or write every day first? This is easier – getting in shape is more important for me right now. Write number “1″ in that square:

4. Keep going til you’ve filled in all the white squares (compare goals 1 and 4, 2 and 4 etc). When you’re finished your completed table might look like this:

5. Count up the number of times you chose each goal. The goal you chose most wins.

Here I chose goal 2 three times, goal 1 twice, and goal 4 once. So the order in which I should tackle these goals is to eat better first, then exercise more, then get organised, and finally start writing every day.

I never chose goal 3, so should it should drop off the list altogether? In this case I might decide I want to do it, but after the other three, or I might decide that it’s not a big priority for me after all.

Happy prioritising!