Today is Thanksgiving Day in the States and that means that a good percentage of the population has the day off of work. Specifically, most students and teachers are left to their own devices for today and probably (at least) the day before and after for travel. While family, food, and giving thanks are all extremely important students should not simply spend the time being lazy. I’ve got one simple tip that can help students spend their free time a little bit more intelligently than they might spend it otherwise.
One of the simple facts about the temporal location of Thanksgiving is that it encroaches on the end of semesters/quarters. This means that it typically falls right before classes end. That means there will be final papers, final tests, and final evaluations of all kinds that are generally worth a good percentage of the points for entire courses. Many points can be won or lost in the final weeks of classes. This break then, while welcome, should at least acknowledge that serious stress is brewing for the coming weeks. By spending just a little time each day you can save yourself some major stress prior to the coming (and longer) winter break.
So, to the tip: Set aside some time each day. This sounds like an easy enough thing to do but the love of familiy & friends, the drowsing effect of turkey, and the endless parade of sporting events on television make setting aside some time particularly difficult. The key is to just set aside a small portion of time each day that you will completely devote to study. You could prepare an outline for that final paper, make notes over the final chapter, or simply review notes from the first week. All of this could be done with as little as 15 to 60 minutes each day. This can be set in the morning (losing you a little sleep), right after lunch, or anytime that works for you. The key is to stick to it.