It's that time again! This time comes twice a year and it leaves college students in shambles. We all fall apart during this week long torture. We lose sleep, forget to eat, even forget to shower. It's very common to find someone crying or sleeping in a corner of any room on campus. It's a mutual feeling so there's no need to feel judged for this, we all do it. I have a few tips that will help really make your hell week worth all your trouble.
Step One: PANIC
This is totally normal. Everyone does it. Just give yourself someone time to have a little freak out and move on with your life.
Step Two: Calculate your grade
For a lot of people, this will determine how much effort you actually put into your final. Heck, if I only have a certain amount of time I'm not going to waste it on a class I already have an A in. I'm going to spend that time trying to get my C to a B+.
Step Three: SLEEP
I know it's going to seem like staying up all night studying for your 8 am final is the best way to go, but I promise you it is not. Try your hardest to get a solid eight hours before your test. Otherwise, you might just sleep through the whole thing.
Step Four: Shower
I know you may feel crunched for time but you need to make time for this, please.
Step Five: Find somewhere comfy, but not too comfy
You want to be comfortable because odds are you'll be in that place for a few hours. But you don't need any more temptation to sleep. I know that if I really don't want to do something and I'm bored enough, I can fall asleep anywhere at anytime.
Step Six: Pack a bag
I like to bring half of my belongings with me when I go to study. I make sure I have a hair tie, snacks, phone and laptop chargers, tissues (for when chem is kicking my butt), a blanket for study break naps, and headphones to block out the guy across the room who keeps coughing.
Step Seven: Make sure to use your flashcards
So this just may be something that I seem to fail at, but I have faith that I am not the only one. I always seem to wait until the last minute to make my cards and then I never actually study them. Making them kind of refreshes your memory but that isn't studying them the way you should be.
Step Eight: Appreciate your doodles
Face it, you've probably spent as much time on the little drawings on your notes that you did your actual notes!
Step Nine: Take a fifteen-minute break
Your brain is going to start to go crazy after a while. Check twitter, look at cute videos of puppies, or if your brain is really fried you can just stare at the wall for fifteen minutes. I've been there before...
Step Ten: Use the snack system
It may seem silly but this actually works! If you have a lot of material to ready through put an m&m, a fruit snack, or anything really at the end of a page and reward yourself after you get through it!
Step Eleven: Go to all school functions to help relieve stress!
At my school, we have free food, pet therapy, free massages, and options to make things like stress balls out of balloons. These things are free to us and I would really suggest taking full advantage of these opportunities and trying to make the most out of finals week!
Good luck to everyone!
