December Checklist
Congratulations! You have made it halfway through the school year. For students in high school, this month brings finals. For all other grades, big projects, papers and group activities are due before the holidays. It is very tempting for one to celebrate the Holiday’s early, which can result in hurting one’s grades.
Since 2005, we’ve been making monthly checklist to ensure that our students are on track to meet their goals. December, for students, is a focus on organizational skills, where checklists are extremely effective. These checklists help one manage big projects, study for finals, and complete all other assignments. Checklists also help break projects into smaller more manageable pieces. Milestones can be added, and micromanaging smaller tasks to completion is possible. Here are a few suggestions of how to get through the month of December unscathed.
- Checklist
To make a checklist one needs to know all the information about one’s assignments, including due dates. It is easy to overlook assignments, so this process is extremely important to keep them in the forefront. Take these assignments and record them onto a December calendar. Now, one can create a checklist that separates the assignments into manageable pieces that can be completed.
- Go Over Assignments
Just because one finishes a task, does not mean the assignment is complete. Now is the time for one to go back and proof read the assignment, making sure that all points needed in an assignment were covered. Also, this is a great time to have someone else read over the assignment, giving feedback and allowing one to make changes.
- Hold Oneself Accountable
A single setback does not mean failure. Constant setbacks though, do mean doom. One needs to make sure one is achieving each established milestone, so tasks get completed within time restraints. If one is not making these strides it means one needs to reevaluate one’s timeline and create a new checklist that reflects these adjustments. This is an ongoing process and involves a key element: being honest with oneself about one’s true progress. If adjustments are needed, this may mean not going out with friends, skipping events or making changes in one’s work schedule until one is caught up.
- Celebrate One’s Success.
When making timelines and checklist, place rewards for accomplishing certain milestone within a timeline. Rewards make achieving one’s goals fun, while keeping on track. This also avoids the dreaded burnout that comes with the end of a semester or quarter. These rewards can be as simple as a piece of candy or as elaborate as going with friends to a concert.
