The end of the semester is upon us! Soon, we will be cramming for finals and finishing assignments with sleepless nights and piles of caffeinated drinks cluttering our desks. Millions of thoughts will fly through your head – “Will I pass? What if I don’t? What’s the lowest grade I need to achieve to get a decent GPA? What will I do with the ample amount of time over break?”. Don’t fret, here are some tips on how to combat these feelings, maintain your stress levels, and have a successful end of the semester!
1) Get sufficient amount of sleep! - This is probably one of the most important. Just speaking on experiences that we’ve all had by now, we know how efficiently our brains can think based on our sleeping pattern. For me, and a majority of other students, I couldn’t do logical thought and problem solving with less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep. Therefore, it’s a must in order to have peak learning ability and use that knowledge that’s in our brains.
2) Stay Organized, and Don’t Fall Behind. - In order to keep track of all of your materials and assignments, it’s essential to stay organized and make sure you are aware of all of your deadlines. You don’t want to walk into a class and being shocked when the professor asks for an assignment you didn’t do. List out all of your due dates, as well as dedicated study times. Use your study skills and make summary notes for each chapter.
3) Study While On Break. - This one may seem either like a no brainer, or something you’d want to kill me for saying, but it’s the truth. You can use your free time to study material, even if it’s a small amount. This will keep your brain in school mode, and you won’t have to play catch up when you return back to campus.
4) Take Breaks and Do Something that is fun for you. - I know for me, in order to keep sane and not to be stuck on one problem, I need to walk away from studying after an extended time of studying and do something that doesn’t require me to think much. Maybe read a book, go to the gym, or play a video game. Think of your brain as an engine. When you overwork an engine, it tends to overheat, shutdown, and may even become damaged due to the stress. These results of stress can also happen to our brains. Taking a break allows your mind to clear, allowing you to come back and tackle your material harder and more efficient. Just make sure that break doesn’t turn into a 2-Hour Binge session of Netflix.
5) Talk to Your School’s Health Office. - If the stress of classes and finals is really getting to you, take a trip to your school’s health and wellness office. The office personnel will be able to help you with dealing with stress by giving tips on how to relieve anxiety. They may also be able to tell you about events taking place on campus to help students relieve stress. At my college, we recently had therapy dogs, cats, and puppies hang out in our student center for a few hours. We were able to play with them and take our minds off of school for a little bit and just have fun!
6) Stay Healthy! - When dealing with the end of the semester, remember to always keep your health in check. Instead of chugging Monster or Mountain Dew and eating chips while studying, maybe choose water and sugar snap peas and other vegetables. Instead of pulling all-nighters the day before the exam, plan out your studying sessions into smaller pieces throughout the week. Make key points on one sheet so you can go back and look up key topics.
As the semester winds down, remember that you aren’t done until your last final. Keep up with your work and don’t procrastinate! Good luck!
