Thanksgiving is over and we are all still slowly awakening from our food comas. Now that the turkey has been eaten, the pants have been loosened, the naps have been taken, and the TV has been watched, we really have no intention of getting up and doing anything productive until Christmas morning... Or until the semester is over. But to get to that joyous, fun filled season we have to get through something not so great: finals. Nothing makes you want to sink deeper into the couch than the thought that you have to go back to school and take a bunch of 2 hour tests starting at 8 am. But, alas, this is something that we have to do no matter how much we groan. Here's a few things to think of while you're lying on the couch pretending that everything is fine and tests aren't real.
1. Acceptance
Honestly, the faster you accept the fact that this is what you have to do, the better. The more you try to fight it the worse it's going to be for you. Trying to tell yourself that it really isn't that important and that studying can wait will only make cramming at 3 am the morning before that much worse.
2. Planning
Figure your stuff out, fam. If you don't know your exam schedule by now, get on top of that. Look up the days and times you have to take your tests then divide and conquer. Think about which tests are cumulative, which are open note, what ones allow you to have a note card, what material you know the best, what material you are completely lost on and make a plan. For me, I figure out what tests I have first and study that, then intermittently study the stuff that I have no idea what I'm doing. That way, review the info I need when I need it and get extra study time with the content I'm totally clueless about.
3. Commitments
Listen, once you make your plan, stick to it. It is so easy to be like "Okay, I'll start studying at 3:00" then pretend you didn't see it and continue watching Grey's for the third time. Delaying things just really makes it worse for you in the end. Once you push back one thing the rest is already thrown off. Make your plan, allow yourself slight room for error you know you're going to make, and follow through.
4. Breaks
So once we've made the plan and have studied for your allotted time, it's time for our well deserved break. Breaks are one of the most important parts of the study process, and sometimes my motivating factor to get through my work in the first place. If you spend hour after hour after hour studying and you don't give your brain a breather, you are not going to retain anything. I don't have any scientific evidence behind that, but my mom always tells this to me, so there must be some truth to it. It doesn't have to be anything big. Walk around, take a nap, stare at the wall for 20 minutes, whatever you need to do to recharge for a while and get back at it, tiger.
5. Dominate
We've made plans, we've studied, we taken breaks, we've studied again, and now it's time for the grand finale: straight dominating that test. You know the content, you've done all the preparation, go show this test what you are made of! Show up to class, bang out the test, drop the mic, do a happy dance, lay down for a little bit, then start the process all over again. Nobody said this stuff is easy, but you're gonna make it out okay. Just remember, next stop the holidays!
