With finals week coming up quickly for some, me being one of them, stress from all the studying and exams can get overwhelming. But no fear, help is here. There are many ways to overcome stress when it comes to school, jobs, or just life in general, so here's some things that help me overcome the stress of finals week.
1. Start reviewing NOW
If anyone is like me, I only have about 3 more weeks of classes left before finals week hits and a lot of classes have exams that cover everything from the whole semester. And if anyone else is also like me, I can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning. So my first tip is to start reviewing now, make flashcards (or review ones you've already made for other exams), go over vocabulary or other ideas that would be easy to review that way. Start looking over your notes and going to office hours or tutoring services and get your questions answered on new and old topics now so it's not dead week before you decide to do that when everyone else is.
2. Know it's ok to take a night to yourself
No homework but all you have to do is study? Getting a headache hurting a little bit from so much reviewing or classes? Know it's ok to just make yourself a cup of tea and just relax and watch some Netflix for the night. Overdoing the studying is only going to hurt you rather than help you. It's fine to not do anything for a night and go to bed early and not have to worry about anything. Still can't sit still? Just relax but spend about an hour before you go to bed to go over your notes or flashcards and then head to bed. Sleep helps retain memory, especially when reviewing right before bed.
3. Make a study plan
Whether you make this for what you want to study that night or if you're going to make it weeks in advance so you know how much time you actually need to stay on track with your final, make a study plan! Not only does it keep you on track and gives you time to go to a tutor or your professor for questions on a subject, it lays out everything you need to be studying. I know I have skipped this step and have completely forgotten to study something from one of the first exams and got to the final and have thought "well, I just gotta guess now! C's get degrees". Don't be that student! Go to the library, tutoring, office hours, or a study with a plan of what you want to cover and possible questions you already have on a subject so you don't miss a thing!
4. Long day at the library? Take breaks!
I'm one of those people who can't sit and focus on things for hours and hours on end. What helps me when I'm spending all Saturday or Sunday at the library studying is to set a timer for an hour and study one topic for that hour and then spend 15 or 20 minutes on my phone texting my friends or watching unrelated YouTube videos or even getting up and walking around for that time and then getting back to study something else for another hour. This really helps me stay focused on one thing for a certain amount of time without being antsy and then gives me time to get my mind off school and off whatever I'm studying or working on to have a little me time and get up and move around.
5. You can't live off McDonald's and Pizza
We all know that fast food is cheap and easy, especially when you're heading home after a long day of classes or studying or both, but you need better brain food than that! When you eat badly, you feel bad, and when you feel bad you can lose motivation or focus on school work. Eating healthy isn't just good during finals week, it'll help you have more energy during the day and can even help for memory and focus! Cutting down on the coffee close to when you have to go to bed and eating more protein and healthy fats during the day a few weeks before finals week hit can make it easier to stay up to stay and easier to get out of bed without four cups of coffee during the day. Do your body some good and put down the french fries and get some salmon and avocado.
6. Now is the time to take advantage of your free gym membership
I grew up as an athlete, and especially in high school, going to practice after school was a great way to get rid of some stress and feel good for a couple of hours before going home to do homework for hours on end. Many schools have recs and gyms students can get into with only their student IDs, so now is the time to take advantage of that! Working out releases endorphins which can help reduce pain and make you feel good! So go hit the gym and do what you love to do! If you're not one of those people who like getting sweaty or if you don't really know what you're doing whenever you go to the gym, ask a friend who does like to do those things and go with them! It's a nice bonding time and you get to have a little fun as well! I personally like to weight lift when I'm feeling really stressed because it's a nice way to put all that stress into something physical and healthy. But if you're more of a cardio person, go to a Zumba class or go on a run with friends!
7. Get your zen on!
I love doing yoga, it's a great way to actively stretch your body out after a workout or a nice way to find some inner balance after a long crazy day. A lot of school rec centers offer yoga classes for little to no money (Colorado State's Rec Center offers a lot of yoga classes for $4 a class which I'm pretty sure you can charge to your student account). If your school doesn't offer that, there are many YouTube accounts that do anywhere from 10 mins to hour long yoga walkthroughs that any beginner could do and there are many wonderful apps that are free and offer amazing yoga walkthroughs (Down Dog is my favorite yoga app). Doing around 15-20 mins of yoga or meditation can help you feel less stress, stretched out, and more focused which can help you study, especially if you do that during your study breaks if you're studying at home.
8. Do something you enjoy
If all else fails, just do something you enjoy. Anything that you like doing and makes you happy will help you feel less stressed. If you enjoy being crafty, get some yarn or some paper and draw or knit something. If you like coloring books, pick one up and color in between classes or during study breaks. Anything that'll make you feel it is going to help you (unless it is unhealthy then don't do it).
