It's reading week on campus and you are freaking out about all of the last-minute work you need to complete for finals, along with the pile-up of accumulative information you need to somehow memorize for all of your classes. Of course you're stressed, but who isn't? While you're rounding the same floor on the library for your 4th time looking for a table and stressing beyond belief, don't forget that majority of the other students there are doing the exact same thing and feeling the exact same way.
Finals always seems to be the perfect time for all of your professors to assign those due dates for papers, group projects, and all that extra credit you're desperate for. The worst thing you could do during this time is panic. Do not panic. Find ways to cope with your stress, that fit your lifestyle and your personality.
Prioritize.
Do not overwhelm yourself with the never-ending list of things to do inside your head. Instead, make a to-do list of all the tasks you need to complete in order of most important, to the least important. Checking off each one of those tasks is one of the greatest feelings.
Schedule out your time.
Schedule time to finish homework and projects, time to study and most importantly, time to give yourself a break. The longer you work without giving yourself time to just breathe, will just stress you out even more.
Take breaks.
Take the time to take a walk, go to the gym or go on a snack break with friends. You need to let your body rest when you're trying to retain so much at once. It will help you focus and retain more, instead of getting bored and letting everything go in one ear and out the other.
Breathe.
Allow yourself to simply breathe for a little bit. Whether a five minute study break to take a walk or a longer break to go try out that new meditation and yoga class at the gym, give yourself time to relax. Finals are overwhelming and you need time to relax and not worry about anything for a few minutes. The best way to cram is to take continuous short breaks of just five minutes, every 25 minutes, to just focus for a second and breathe.
Stay Healthy.
Although you may be freaking out about all of the information you need to retain quickly, your body and mind counts on you to still take care of it. If you're sitting in the library for a crazy amount of hours eating food from the vending machine, your body isn't going to react in a healthy and positive way. You're going to feel more tired and more forgetful, rather than remembering all of that information you stayed up all night trying to study. Make sure you're still getting a good amount of sleep and that you're trying to eat (somewhat) healthy.
Reward Yourself.
When you finish that last online quiz or long term paper, reward yourself with something you enjoy. Maybe it's leaving the library an hour early to watch your favorite TV show or getting that ice cream bar you wanted, just do it. It will help you finish your other tasks as well knowing that something good comes out of all of the studying and cramming.
Although finals are stressful and make that urge to drop out of school and move to Hawaii sound more and more reasonable, don't forget that 20,000 other students around you are feeling the exact same way.
So don't forget to relax, breathe and take care of yourself, because you've worked hard all year and you earned it! Now rock those finals and count down the days until summer!
