How do you get through the end of semester lazies?

Feathers · Dec 15, 2008

I just finished my first semester & felt like I was getting anxious for break. When I'd feel lazy, I'd tell myself that I didn't work hard for nothing & get to it, do my best, etc. I felt like I could really enjoy break more having known that I gave it 100%. I also told my hubby to step in & advise me when I appear to have lost focus (in case I chose to be in denial). It all worked.

intensity_too · Dec 16, 2008

I don't know how to beat the semester end lazies. I suffered from it big time this past semester!!

I'll be following this thread for ideas!

missjennmb · Dec 16, 2008

oh boy did I have this issue this weekend! I just finished up yesterday and I didn't even take my AP final (we can drop 1 grade, either a test or the final, and instead of studying for it I just accepted a low B/high C (its right on the line, not sure how he will go).

But I did get in about 12 hours of studying for my Med Surg final. Two things that work for me are 1) planning out the right study environment by putting a set time down that I am going to start, making sure to clear my schedule and let everyone know, and doing it somewhere that minimizes distractions... I have difficulty studying at home because family/tv/internet are always distractions and this is a hundredfold when I'm feeling end of semester lazyness. I generally do well if I study in the library, the classroom outside of class time (as long as other students dont have the same idea), at the cafeteria at work, ect, and 2) doing something energetic beforehand to get rid of some of that desire to do something else. Taking time out to be lazy doesn't work for me. It just makes me lazy-er. Things I do are take a walk around the block, run some errands and take the stairs at work (I study during downtime), basically all of the "head clearing" activities work for me.

dst4ever · Dec 16, 2008

The same thing happened to me but I didn't have a name for it. I settled for a lower grade because I did not prepare for the final properly. It was worth 25%. These tips are great and I will follow them next semsester.

mochabean · Dec 17, 2008

*sigh* How do you break through those last few days where you are just so worn out you feel like you can't read another word??

Well for me I work as a Nursing Assistant, so all I had to do was go to work and that motivated me to keep pushing myself to study. It also helps to have structured study time and breaks.

puffinsrule · Dec 17, 2008

I call it "hitting the wall" because you just can't read or write another sentence. It's burn out. I'm looking for suggestions as well. I also refer to it as wanting the Staples Easy button.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions!

ggabri07, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

i was slammed with this laziness myself. i was not worried because i had high grades throughout the semester so getting a low final grade was not going to hurt me. i ended up up doing bad in 3 of my finals(bs to be exact my usual test grades are a's).

i still passed the classes with a-'s. if i studied i could have passed with an a.....oh well.

almamatters · Dec 19, 2008

tell me about it. just finished my first semester yesterday with last exam - pharm - and crammed in all of a couple of hours of studying before the exam. of course i did not do as well as i would have liked and i have noone to blame but myself but i just couldn't find it in me. i work full time days, go full time at night and am single parent, there's just so much to go around. BUT i must also admit that i am not the most disciplined person. i realize that if i don't get my s**t together for next semester when the workload increases i am going to be steamrolled flatter than a cartoon character. i guess we have to be our own best motivators, and it doesn't take much analysis to see that i did not make the best use of my time consistently all semester. cramming at the last minute always worked before but it's not going to cut it in nursing school. i think a great deal of my burnout is simply because of all the stress i put on myself at the end because i didn't do what i should have done when i should have done it! and i didn't play enough when i had the chance. too much rabbit, not enough turtle. lesson learned.

play hard, work harder, carry on!!!

shoegalRN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

I don't know how to do it. I suffered big time this semester from being overall burned out. I ended up with a C in my peds class and I just couldnt stand the material. I would study for a test 1-2 days prior to the actual test date, and would constantly pull 75's, which I didnt care because it was passing.

I've never been that way. If I got anything less than an 85, I was highly upset. This C is my first C in nursing school and I graduate in May.

I always try to start the semester off strong, then end up relaxing towards the end. With this Peds class, I had to constantly be striving for just passing, which was stressful itself.

It's only so much studying you can do before you hit a brick wall and your brain can't hold another sentence. I get like this at the end of every semester.

Jules A, MSN · Dec 19, 2008

The best advice, as someone who used to barely be able to pick up a book by the time finals came around, is to make sure you have a high B or an A going into it. For most of my finals I only needed a 60-65% to pass the entire class and that took the pressure off as well as making sure I wasn't going to flunk out. I couldn't have gone into the finals needing a specific grade to pass it just would have been too much stress. Good luck everyone!

dbgreen · Dec 20, 2008

Just finished my first semester also and suffered from what I like to refer to as "study sickness." Truly burn out by any other label. Here are a few "avoidance of full burn out techniques" that helped me the most:

A) :yeah: Towards the end and throughout the semester, I maintained regular exercise. For me this semester, I went from going to the gym 5-6 days a week to 1-3 days per week. Personally, I like to exercise at 5:15 a.m. when I know that the deed will be done for the day, and my mind is ready to go to work. Whenever I skipped on exercise (usually to study instead), I felt deprived and depressed. Each day would drag monotonously into the next and the next and the next. Every time I felt caught up, a pile of fresh things to study would appear. Exercise just helps me to prioritize and remain fresh. I gained about 7 pounds last semester. I cannot keep this trend going!

B) :banghead: There are simply not enough hours in the day for me to know the material well enough to get straight A's. You don't understand what this did to my "President's list" psyche. Alas, I had to admit defeat. Horrors! I had to accept a B. Three B's to be exact. Why does that stress me out so much? I had to make a 100 on the final in two of my classes in order to earn an A in the course but I could score as low as a 60 and still get a B. Some things just aren't worth that much effort. Get over it already!

C) :heartbeat Don't neglect everything in favor of study. Schedule time out for fun, just don't overdo it. For instance, schedule time to watch your favorite TV show once a week and keep it. Don't get trapped into watching TV for hours when all you need is one. Schedule study time at your peak hours of freshness. For me, this is morning or afternoon. If I try to study at night, my brain is mush so I deliberately schedule little study time after dinner. I also schedule time that is just for my husband twice per week. That way, he doesn't get so resentful at the amount of time I give to the books. He knows he has special times that are just for him. When I look ahead and schedule time for exercise, children, spouse, study, friends, sleep, and calls to my mom, I know what can wait until after study or as a break from study (like household chores).

Hope these tips help and a happy break to all.