Work Backwards to Finish Ahead: 4 Tips to Knock-out the Rest of the Semester

By: Cheryl Croall, M.S.

Communications Instructor

 

Returning to class after spring break may leave you wondering how you’re going to recover from your sunburn and from mid-semester burnout. Apply some aloe to your sunburn and follow the 4 tips below to knock-out the rest of your semester by working backwards to finish ahead of the class!

 

On Your Mark, Get Set, CALENDAR

• Whether you use your smart phone, a free online site like cozi.com, a freebie pocket calendar or a print-out, get-out your calendar and use it!  Start by collecting all of your syllabi and reviewing your remaining assignments.  Choose a different color to designate each class and enter/write every remaining assignment for the year on your calendar.

 

Work it Backwards

• Next, take each assignment one-by-one and create a step-by-step plan to for assignment success!  For example, an essay may take 1 hour of research and prep 4 days before assignment is due, 1 hour of writing 3 days before, 30 minutes of editing 2 days before, and final editing/revisions the day before.  An exam may take 20 minutes of prep a week for 3 weeks prior to the text, and then 20 minutes per day the week prior, and finally – 3 out of 5 days for 45 minutes the week of the test.
• Calendar each step for assignment success.

 

Get Real 

• Get real with yourself in creating your calendar.  If you’ve consistently procrastinated until the very last minute for every exam, quiz, paper, and speech until now, it’s unlikely you’ll begin a month ahead of an assignment now.  Take small steps to improve your preparation time and set realistic goals that you’ll be able to make stick. Commit to your preparation time just like you would an appointment with a person.   

 

It’s Dynamic

• Your calendar is just that; yours.  It should be a dynamic document, not a rulebook.  Make adjustments as needed.  If you miss a planned preparation day, don’t sweat it and pick-it-up the next day!  Inventor Thomas Edison said, “I’ve not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.

 

Cheryl Croall is an instructor at North Central Texas College and the University of Phoenix, and is the founder of The Giving Party, a non-profit organization that provides parents-in-need with birthday parties for children and child healthcare training.  Croall may be contacted at ccroall@nctc.edu.