Don’t procrastinate
As obvious as that sounds, it is so very true. One of the worst things a student freelancer can do during the closing days of the semester/year is to procrastinate. Whenever I get a moment to breathe, I typically take without second-guessing my decision to take some time off. However, if I would have planned out things more thoroughly, I could avoid procrastination and still enjoy the evenings to myself.
If you find yourself with a chunk of spare time, use it wisely. Whenever I find myself with several hours where I can relax, I typically spend about half of it trying to get ahead and working on things that I know I will have to work on in the coming days. This way, I can go ahead and enjoy some time to myself (which is very important to me) and get started on the next thing on my list.
Get organized
It is always worth the time to get organized to tackle tasks than it is just to go at the tasks blindly. When you take the time to make a list and plan out what you want to achieve and when, then you are more likely to get them done in the proper order and in the least amount of time.
Make a to do list of all the work you will need to do in the next few weeks. Include studying for exams, client work, and any outstanding school work. Then take the time to organize them and figure out what is the most important and what is due soon, and make an ordered list from there. Doing this has helped me relieve some of the pressure and stress to make sure everything is done, because the list acts as a reminder and a motivator.
Be sure to remember your freelance work
It is easy to get caught up in finishing out the semester and forget about your freelancing, but you should give it the same importance as your school work as well. You have clients and businesses that are waiting for your work, thus you can’t delay that work just so you can finish the semester. More than likely your clients don’t (and won’t) know that it is finals week for you, so you need to plan accordingly.
Schedule client work after finals
Whenever it is possible, schedule any new client work for when the semester ends. This in and of itself will reduce the amount of stress and pressure you have during finals. When I schedule projects, I block out the last two weeks of the semester so that I don’t take on any work during that period, unless the project requires me to. It helps me to limit my stress during finals and allows for me to concentrate more on fewer things to do.
Don’t run yourself down
This is something I see commonly among students. When finals are near, students start to stress and fret over all that needs to be done. They also tend to wear themselves out trying to take care of everything.
Take the time to have proper meals, take time for yourself, get plenty of rest, don’t cram for tests, and work to reduce your stress. Stress only makes rough situations worse. When you are stressed, you tend to be more forgetful, you are not as productive, and you are wreaking havoc on your health. Take a walk through the park or campus, have a nice leisurely lunch with friends, plan ahead to go see a movie as a reward for getting things done.
Most importantly, relax
Finals are supposed to be a time of conclusion and reflection, not stress and worry. You spent the entire semester learning the material in your classes and you are confident in your knowledge and skills. Be confident and remind yourself that you know the material for your classes. Doing so will help eliminate a lot of pressure and stress. Take the time to prove to yourself that you know what you learned over the last four months. Blow your professors away with all of the skills you learned during the semester.
Most students feel as though they need to relearn all of the material just to throw it on a test, when the truth is that those students already know the material. Keeping this in mind will help you prepare better for tests and allow for some stress to melt away.
How do you prepare for finals?