Next week is the time of the year that we have all been dreading since the first week of Spring Semester. Our stress levels are sky rocketing, our schedules look like we have 40-hour days, and we have all seemed to start believing in a finals God that we can pray to in hopes that he will save our GPAs.
Rest assured! There is a way to make it through finals week with a few less mental breakdowns and some extra hours of sleep.
Make a checklist.
Most people have five finals, and it’s hard to keep track of everything you have to do in one week. When you make a checklist of everything you need to do, you get a better perspective. Saying everything you need to do out loud is scary. Writing it down is a bit easier to handle.
Schedule breaks.
It’s unrealistic to sit down and study for four, five, or six hours at a time. Try studying for an hour and then taking a ten minute break to call your mom and tell her how much you hate school and you want to drop out. Give yourself something to look forward to. Personally I like to study for a little more than an hour and then watch an episode of a pointless show that doesn’t make me think. Just don’t let the next episode play!
Turn off your phone.
This can be pretty difficult, but I promise it’s worth it. You’ll get a text from Susie about how Mrs. Patterson is a terrible professor and doesn’t understand that you are taking 18 credit hours and don’t have time to write a 15 page paper. Suddenly, you become completely absorbed in the conversation. You may think that you can multi-task, but you will get so much more done if you don’t try.
Set a bedtime.
When you have a good night of rest, you feel rejuvenated in the morning and ready for a day of tests, studying and second-guessing everything. If you go to bed at 4 a.m., you won’t want to wake up at 9 a.m. to finish writing your paper before it’s due at noon. Go to bed at midnight, and wake up at 8 a.m. It’s enough sleep to get you through the next day without needing six cups of coffee.
Just breathe.
Finals week isn’t meant to be easy. Everyone is feeling the same way you are. It’s almost unfair that the last week at our beautiful campus is made to be so stressful, but try to enjoy every minute of it that you can. If you have time this week, get some studying done early. Skip that night out this week for a less stressful finals week. You’re going to make it! Just think about that feeling you will have after everything is done and over with.
Have other tips for how to prepare for finals week? Let us know @HerCampusOhioU!