Finals are beyond stressful and are sometimes too much to wrap your head around. It may seem like there is really no hope, but remember, people always get through them somehow!
1. Make a To-Do List
When dealing with a bunch of things at once, it is really important to write everything out. Making a To-Do List is super helpful for organizing your mind and making sure everything gets done. In all honestly, crossing off something that is on your To-Do List is beyond satisfying and super motivating.
2. Put all necessary materials together
After you write out what you have to do, assemble everything you need and more everything else to the side. This will help you focus in on what is actually important. If you have everything together in one place, you will not have to stop studying to find what you need because it will all be there.
3. Find a good place to study
Finding a place where you can actually focus and study is super important. Some people like going to the library where they can really get some peace and quiet without any noise at all. Others enjoy going to the cafeteria because the library is just too quiet. In other cases, people find their own special study places where they feel the most comfortable. Regardless, finding the right place for you is crucial when it comes to finals.
4. Take breaks
Taking breaks every hour or so is beneficial for studying. If your brain does not have time to rest, it will have a hard time grasping all of the information coming at it at once. Although it might seem unproductive, your brain, and ultimately, your grades, will thank you if you give it some time to rest.
5. Bring snacks
Do not forget to eat. People get so wrapped up in their studying that they forget to eat food all day. Food is fuel for your body, and you will be super tired and drained if you don’t eat anything. Speaking from experience, focusing is so much easier if you have a full stomach and aren’t fixated on how hungry you are. (Coffee does not count as your only snack!)
6. Find friends
If you need help, ask. Find friends or even just acquaintances to help you study. They will keep you focused, any answer questions you might have, or help work through a problem that neither one of you understand. Even if someone seeks you out and asks for help, explaining information to someone else might actually help you study too.
7. YouTube everything
People forget how lucky we are to have YouTube at our fingertips. Some professors never actually teach anything, but people on YouTube explain things very clearly and take the time to make informative lessons. If you are stuck on a problem or even a broad topic idea, looking it up on YouTube and watching a bunch of videos will help you to understand it clearly.
8. Take notes:
Writing information over and over is very effective for retaining information. If you are a more visual learner like me, writing things out and seeing them on paper is very helpful. I even use different colored pens to organize my notes and make them easier to navigate and understand.
9. Do not wait until last minute
Way easier said than done, but procrastinating is so destructive. If you wait until last minute, you will feel so stressed and, if you are anything like me, completely shut down. It is way easier to deal with things in small doses rather than panic and try and cram an entire semester into six hours of studying. Even if it 10 minutes a day of looking over your notes, it will be really helpful in the long run.
10. Sleep
Again, going back to the eating thing, people are so focused on studying that they forget to sleep; or maybe they don’t forget, but cannot seem to find the time for it. Sleeping is so important because focusing on the actual test and remember the information you crammed from the night before is so much more difficult when you didn’t sleep. You will be so focused on how tired you are, that you might forget everything you thought you knew.
With all of that being said, good luck!!! You are going to do great! #4.0SZN
