It's that time of the semester again. Those nights of getting almost no sleep and downing cup after cup of caffeine just to get through a day buried in the books. It's the vicious cycle that lasts for almost a week, otherwise known as finals week. The idea that this one week could potentially change everything that you have done for the whole semester, for better or for worse, is very daunting. Never let finals week get to you. We always hear of what to do for finals: Drink more water, exercise and manage your time well. However, here are five things you should never do during or around finals time:
1. Start a new gaming/TV show franchise
Finals is practically one of the worst times to start watching an exciting new show or play a new game or even just downloading a game app on your phone. When you're studying, every little thing other than actually studying seems extra fun. You could probably replay a video on "How to Crochet" a couple of times before it gets boring because ending that video means having to get back to studying.
Getting into a new franchise, be it movies, games, or TV shows, is already exciting as it is, even without adding the part of finding everything exhilarating during finals. One episode or one hour turns into just one mores, and before you know it, you'll spend an entire day binge-watching the whole series.
2. Procrastinate
OK, I know this is easier said than done. Procrastination is the easiest thing that a lazy person can do, just leave it for later (forever). Of course, sometimes, if something comes up, we just can't help but change plans. However, a constant changing of plans for a "tomorrow" that never comes is not OK. You've been putting off studying for "tomorrow" for the entire semester and before you know it, Finals are here. However, it's never too late. It's time to stop procrastination, it's now or never. So put away your phones, cut your social life for a few hours, and catch up to what you have to.
3. Stress out
When it's almost finals time, you realize how much procrastination you have actually done. Having to pull off studying an entire semester's work in a few days, especially when you haven't even opened the books once, makes you want to kill yourself for not having started studying earlier. You might regret the nights out with friends and the hours of binge-watching episodes on Netflix when you could have studied instead. This leads to stressing out.
Stress is one of the worst part of college life and it can be damaging to your physical and mental health. I know that most people can't help themselves but stressing about anything especially studying can do more harm than good.
4. Pull all-nighters
Between all the stressing out and realizing how much work you have to do in so little time, you would want to put in everything you've got. Sleep seems like a luxury at times so why not just cut it off completely? That is the worst decision a student can make especially if you're planning on doing it the night before the exam.
Sleep deprivation can lead to bad decisions, long term effects and ironically, it does more academic harm than good. Sure, all-nighters seem like a smart way to cram everything in right before the exam but trust me, not getting enough sleep can never lead to anything good.
5. Give up
The No. 1 thing, not only for finals but even just for life in general, is to never give up on yourself. Sure, you had started the semester telling yourself that this would be your semester, a 4.0, as the semester goes on, you've probably settled for a few B's and by the time of finals, you're going around trying the find the grading policy so you can figure out at least how much you have to score on the final to pass the class. Your determination diminishes as the semester goes on and the last thing you need for finals is to give up.
Of course, having procrastinated, you probably cannot achieve the same goals you had in the beginning of the semester. However, it's never too late. Even just studying for a few hours and doing fairly well on the Final could potentially raise your grade up by a letter.
College is not easy -- it never will be. Finals are hard, if not harder, every semester. Like they say, getting tired is for now, GPA is forever. Every exam at college could be of extreme importance for our entire lives. To get through finals week successfully, I hope that you realize the importance of not doing the aforementioned things. However, even if you are reading this in the middle of your Finals, don't worry, it's still not too late. Take a deep breath, calm down, pause your social media for a few days, and just study.
