Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year again: crunch time before finals.
The word "finals" can make any college student cringe at the drop of a hat. No one that I have ever met has told me they finals. Yet, this is the time of the semester when college students begin to pop Adderall like it tic-tacs.
We may even agree on the fact that most college students test the limits of how fast they can complete an assignment before the 12 am deadline. For me, I do have a procrastination problem when it comes to busy work assignments. I absolutely despise them because they require you to spend more time completing those assignments before you can focus more on the main assignment (a.k.a. the final). I am convinced that these assignments are just to help average out the test you bombed earlier in the semester.
That aside, my goal in this post is to give a few tips on how to get through these next few weeks.
1. Do not jeopardize your health for some B.S. class that you may not get an 'A' in.
Our society has this overarching stigma that one has to have an exceptional GPA to succeed. This idea of your GPA being the most important factor that determines your success is honestly causing more harm to college students than it is good. Yes GPA is important if you are on scholarships or trying to get into grad school; however, you should not have to suffer from health issues in order to achieve success. So, take care of yourself first!
2. Take breaks!
Seriously tough, if you do not take breaks then you are setting yourself up for an information overload. You can get through this! But, you must understand that by continuously looking at a particular assignment will only cause you to overthink, which leads to stress. Between the study breaks, make sure you switch between subjects. Every subject stimulates a different part of the brain. So, by you switching up the tasks, your brain is not overworking, thus it is not contributing to more stress.
3. Remember that your professors were once students
Although they are professionals at being a student, that doesn't mean they expect every one of their pupils to know their subject specialization. Professors are here to help you succeed. Go talk to them! Now, it may be harder to see your professor if you are at a big school, but that's what a TA is for. A professor is more likely to extend deadlines if you email them about your situation AND follow up with them in person. That shows them that you are taking initiative. Again, they are human, so they will understand your situation as long as you are actively trying.
So, there are three major tips for you to keep your sanity intact. As long as you don't completely destroy your health, take multiple breaks through this crunch time, and make time to talk to your professors.
Well if you can excuse me, I now have to go write a 10 paged research paper. Hopefully, these tips help you in your quest to pass all of your exams. Remember, YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS one assignment/exam at a time. Cheers to a productive "Hell Week" and a successful Exam week!
