Here are ten things that you should avoid during finals week to ensure that you're successful in all of your final exams!
1. Sleep Deprivation
No matter how under-prepared for your exams you may feel, it's important to always prioritize your sleep over studying. You've already been exposed to all the content that's going to be on these exams, so getting enough sleep will ensure that you're able to recall the correct answers.
2. Overusing Social Media
During a time crunch like finals week, social media can be your worst enemy. How many times have you turned on your phone to check something and ended up wasting an hour scrolling through Instagram explore? To ensure that you spend as much time preparing for your exams as possible, try to use social media less or erase the apps altogether.
3. Unproductive Study Groups
If you study with a person or people who will distract you from your work, then you will waste precious time you could have spent productively. To avoid this, either study alone, or only study with those who you know will fuel your learning.
4. Study Hubs
This connects with the third on the list. Places like Panera and Starbucks tend to be packed with people and very loud, therefore creating a plethora of distractions for you and decreasing your productivity.
5. Distracting Music
While the right type of music can help you focus, catchy sing-along songs can distract you from your work because you might get more involved in jamming out than in learning!
6. Alcohol and Drugs
Although it may be extreme, it's important to avoid the drugs and liquor, especially this week, because hangovers and strong highs will not help you focus.
7. Oversleeping
While sleep deprivation is bad for your mental and physical health, oversleeping can have similar detrimental effects. If you oversleep, you will not only lose time to study, but also be groggy and unalert the next morning.
8. Drama and Gossip
It's crucial to detach yourself from any social conflicts during finals week because the drama and gossip will linger in the back of your mind while you study. You will constantly be thinking about and analyzing the information that you've been exposed to instead of concentrating on your work.
9. Unhealthy Food
In order to stabilize your nutrient and energy levels, it's crucial that you watch what you eat. Poor nutrition can drain you and reduce your performance during your studies and tests.
10. Other Forms of Procrastination
This is probably the most important thing to avoid on this entire list. Any form of procrastination that was not previously listed must be avoided because it will reduce the amount of time that you have to study.
