Aah, finals week. The one week out of the school year that we sacrifice our own sleep, social life, and in some extreme cases, our own hygiene in order to ace our tests.
Dry shampoo and iced vanilla lattes probably become your best friends during this week, along with multiple stress calls to your mother. Be assured, though, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of summer break. In order to feel your absolute best ending the school year, you may need these guidelines in order to make it out of this hellweek alive.
1. SLEEP!
You probably saw this one coming. College students underestimate the importance of a full eight hours every night. I know how hard it is to feel like you have enough time during the day to accomplish everything, but the quality of your studying will improve so much with sleep. Yes, the library may be open 24 hours for good reasons, but that does not mean you are obligated to stay the entire time. Successful test takers get enough sleep at night to focus properly, and not need to pass out after the test. How horrifying would it be to pull an all nighter studying, take a two hour nap before the final, and end up sleeping through it?
2. Exercise
Some of you may be thinking, “I dont even exercise normally, what makes you think I would exericse during one of the busiest weeks of the year?” and if you are, I can totally relate, but hear me out. You know those times when you’ve been studying for hours, and you just can’t focus to save your life? These are the times that you need to lace up your Nikes and hit the treadmill. Not only is this a healthy way to take a study break, but you can also clear your mind. This is probably the best thing you could do to release all of your stress. Can’t go a minute without studying? Bring your study sheet to the gym and look at it while you exercise. You may be surprised at how much information you can retain while breaking a sweat.
3. Devise a finals schedule
The last thing you’d want to do is study diligently for a class and then end up missing the final. Make sure you have all the correct dates and times of your final tests written down, double check them again, and then maybe one more time. Better safe than sorry. From there, create a ‘study schedule’ for each class, dedicating the appropriate amount of time to each test. By creating and sticking to this schedule, you can ensure that you have looked over all the necessary material without feeling overwhelmed.
4. Put the phone away
We are all guilty of checking one text while studying, and allowing it to turn into hours of scrolling through Facebook and Pinterest. While sometimes it may be okay (and even healthy) to take your mind off of studying for a little bit, you absolutely cannot let this happen during finals week. It is crucial to manage your time and focus on your study guides if you want to do well on the test. You will give yourself a pat on the back later when you can get to bed at a decent time because you didn’t waste it away watching cute puppy videos on Facebook for hours, trust me.
When it comes down to it, your GPA does not define who you are as a person. Try your best, but try not to also lose your mind while doing so.
While you’re studying, be sure to take a pick of your study spot and post it on Insta with the #HCStudyBreak for a chance to win some awesome prizes from our survival kit! Happy Finals week everyone!