With winter in the air and Thanksgiving just a week away, how can college students finish the semester with so many distractions and so little motivation?
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1. Prioritize
Let’s tally up the homework, shall we? Three presentations, two huge papers and three massive tests.
These are the looming assignments standing between you and Christmas break.
You also have weekly assignments that are due until finals week.
How do you balance everything without becoming overwhelmed?
The answer is simple: prioritize.
Doing everything all at once is impossible.
Sit down, pull out your planner, and make goals for yourself.
Work on the smaller assignments ahead of time and break your larger projects into manageable pieces.
Inch by inch it’s a cinch.
2. Communicate
Juggling so much can make understanding assignments much more difficult.
Ask questions.
Talk to your professors after class.
Ask them to clarify extensive projects and unclear details.
Then move forward with confidence.
Unanswered questions can produce regret.
Professors often move quickly through highly detailed material and are pressed for time during classes.
With any assignment large or small ask your professor questions.
Clarify due dates, assignment length, content and any other specific requirements.
Do not let details overwhelm you.
3. Rest
Ah, sleep, the secret treasure of college.
So loved and yet so neglected.
Staying up late and pulling all-nighters both rob you of valuable rest.
Sleep improves memory, problem solving and abstract thinking.
Adequate rest also builds a strong immune system.
The last few couple weeks of school are prime cold and flu season.
Do your mind and body a favor.
Get some rest. It will help more than you think.
4. Exercise
The weather is getting colder.
Responsibilities are looming more than ever.
It can be so easy to stop exercising.
Start with small goals.
Try briskly walking for short intervals three times a week.
Exercise produces endorphins, gives you energy and works off stress.
Use the Sports and Recreation Complex, try out the $10 Club Fitness plan, walk around your neighborhood.
You will feel better and get more accomplished as well.
5. Celebrate
You have worked so hard.
When you’ve finished, celebrate!
Let loose. Relax.
Grab some coffee with a friend.
Go bowling. Go Christmas shopping. Have fun.
Rewarding yourself can be one of the best ways to push through to that finish line.
Put these practical strategies to use.
You’re so close to the finish line. Finish strong.
Triston Buckley 
Emily Retzer