Last Minute Cramming Tips

If a major project must be completed in a matter of days, I've always found it much easier to complete by getting a full eight hours of sleep each night. Trying to bull through it on energy drinks will start to slow down your progress because your fatigue will retard your speed and ability to reason and you'll start to make mistakes. This is particularly true if the project requires a good deal of analysis and/or problem solving, rather than just a regurgitation of ideas. If it's 7:00 at night and your project is due by 5:00 the next day, assuming it can be completed six to seven hours, go to sleep and work on it from 9:00 to 5:00. Your work rate will be much quicker.

Speaking of energy drinks, if you must pull all-nighters (which I don't recommend), buy a couple of Poland Spring 1.5 Liter bottles rather than coke or Red Bull. Try and finish one every couple of hours; the sheer need to relieve yourself every so often will keep you awake and moving, and you won't crash after it's left your system. The dangers of energy drinks have been well documented; personally, I'd rather risk over-hydration than tooth decay.

Take a nap for 20 minutes, midway through. You can prime yourself to go to sleep for just a short period by thinking about waking up repeatedly shortly before you doze off. I regularly repeat to myself, "I have to wake up" for about five to seven minutes straight before I doze off, and when my cell phone alarm goes off, I have a lot less difficulty actually getting up. But I have to actually get up; if I've fallen asleep at the desk at which I was studying/researching/writing, then it's very easy for me to open my eyes, and think because I've done that I am awake enough to work. Get up and stretch, or better yet, take a short power walk somewhere to get the blood flowing again.

In order to awaken my mind after a short nap, I sometimes whip out my cell phone and start playing a difficult mobile game. Chess, on its hardest setting, is my usual choice. By concentrating on the game, I can simultaneously clear my head by doing something else, and prime my critical thinking skills. This often can make it a lot easier to reengage the work. Sometimes though it may lead to procrastination, so I try to play a timed game and then turn my phone off. Knowing I have a preset amount of time before I have to restart work makes the transition easier to manage.