Student Strategies: Finishing the Semester Strong
The final weeks of a college semester can feel like a marathon with an ever-increasing load of papers, projects, and final exams. It's important to create an effective system for managing not only your workload, but also your stress: that's where executive function skills come in.
Executive functions are the cognitive processes that help you manage yourself and your resources to achieve a goal. By deliberately engaging these skills, you can manage your time, sustain focus, and navigate the final push with less stress and greater success. For more information on executive function, check out our blog: What is Executive Function and What Are Common Challenges Individuals Face?
Here are 5 strategies centered around executive function to ensure you wrap up the semester strong:
1. Prioritization: The "Brain Dump” and Time Blocking
The sheer volume of final tasks can cause overwhelm, which can be a barrier to your executive function skills. To regain control, think about how you can effectively leverage prioritization. Here are some tips to help you prioritize:
The Brain Dump: Get everything out of your head and onto paper or a digital list. List every remaining assignment, exam, paper, and required reading for all classes. Then, go back to your list and prioritize based on the level of urgency and importance to start to understand what is the highest priority and where you should get started!
Pro Tip: Think about how you can fit this into your daily/weekly routine. For some individuals, planning a daily “morning dump” while they’re having their coffee can help them get their brain clear and stimulated.
Time Blocking: Instead of just listing due dates, block out the work time using time blocking. Start with the due date and work backward. For a paper due on Friday, schedule time on Thursday for proofreading, Wednesday for final edits, and Monday/Tuesday for writing the first draft. This uses the principle of chunking to break large tasks into manageable steps.
2. Task Initiation: Embrace the "Five-Minute Rule"
The toughest part of any big task is often just starting it. Procrastination is the brain's way of avoiding something challenging.
The Strategy: Commit to working on your most dreaded task for just five minutes. Set a timer and do only that task.
Why it works: After five minutes, your brain's resistance is usually lowered, and you often find yourself entering a state of flow or at least being willing to work for 20-30 more minutes.
3. Sustained Attention: The Pomodoro Technique
With so many distractions (social media, roommates, sheer anxiety), Sustained attention can be hard to maintain. To support your attention, try some of these techniques:
The Strategy: Use the Pomodoro Technique (or a similar interval timer). Work in highly focused, uninterrupted bursts (e.g., 25 minutes) followed by a short, scheduled break (e.g., 5 minutes). For more information on this technique, check out our blog: Trending Topics: Our Top 3 Most Popular Strategies.
During the work interval: Silence your phone and use website blockers if necessary.
During the break: Get up, stretch, grab water and let your mind rest.
Pro Tip: An alternative to a break could be a "task check-in". Many individuals feel that a break feels abrupt so a “check-in” could be reflective questions on how you are progressing with the task, if you’re hitting your goals, etc.
4. Flexible Thinking: Build in "Buffer Time"
The end of the semester is notorious for surprises: a study group cancels, a file gets deleted or you just get sick from being so run down! Rigid plans often fail because they don't account for reality or add in buffer time.
The Strategy: Review your weekly schedule and add buffer time. This is unplanned time (30–60 minutes per day, or a half-day on the weekend) that you dedicate to catching up on tasks that took longer than expected, or to handling the unexpected.
Why it works: If everything goes perfectly, use it to get ahead. If a crisis happens, you can absorb the change without your entire schedule collapsing, reducing stress and allowing you to adapt gracefully by building in this buffer time.
5. Self-Monitoring: Daily Check-Ins and Reviews
It’s easy to work hard and yet still feel like you’re falling behind if you don't step back to assess your progress. Self-monitoring is the executive function skill of keeping track of what you've done and what's left. Think about it this way: when we complete something like a task or event, we get a dopamine hit when we can check it off our list! If we never reflect and never check things off our list, we don’t get those “dopamine hits” that keep us going.
The Strategy: Dedicate 10 minutes at the start or end of each day for a progress review or check-in.
Ask yourself: What did I actually complete yesterday? Is this pace going to get me to my goal? Do I need to adjust my priorities for today?
The Benefit: This simple act of reflection allows you to celebrate your wins and realize you are making progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it! It prevents you from sinking into the feeling that you “didn’t accomplish anything.”
Pro Tip: Limit the amount of tasks on your list at any given time. If we have 50 tasks, but only complete 5 per day: we never feel like we are making progress. It’s great to have that large, “brain dump” of tasks, but consider only pulling 3-5 off of the master list per day to ensure that you feel like you are making great progress!
By leveraging these executive function strategies, you stop letting the semester happen to you and start actively managing the semester. You have the tools—now it's time to put them to work and finish strong!
To foster your growth even further, explore tailored approaches and coaching that specialize in overcoming overwhelm. Learn more about how you can enhance your productivity and manage your tasks by signing up for a FREE consultation today!
