Brace yourself, because finals season is coming! Stock up on coffee, red bull, and highlighters, and mentally prepare to spend the next week locked in the library. As a senior, I’ve been through six final exam seasons, and I have lived to tell the tale. Here are some of the tricks I have learned along the way to make studying a little more bearable, and a lot more productive:
1. Make a study schedule and To-Do list.
Before you start studying, you need to sit down and go through all of your materials for every class, and figure out exactly what you need to spend time doing. Make a plan for each study day of what classes and assignments you will work on. That way you won’t forget anything, and you also get that satisfying feeling that comes from checking things off a list. This is also a great way to beat procrastination. Hold yourself accountable, and don’t allow any procrastination activities (like a Netflix binge) until you have completed your study tasks for the day.
2. Invest in some ear plugs.
Have you ever listened to the background noise in the library? There are shuffling papers, coughs, people chewing obnoxiously crunchy foods, groups of girls whispering and giggling (no matter how many times you give them the evil stare), and occasionally people crying over their plummeting GPAs. If you are lucky enough to be able to use music to drown out the noise, good for you. But I can’t concentrate when my favorite songs come on Pandora, because I’m either fantasizing about what Trey Songz says he will do to me, or trying to dance along with Beyonce. Ear plugs block all of the annoying background noise, giving you complete silence for better concentration. I promise ear plugs are almost as good as Adderall (which I am not endorsing in any way) at getting you to focus. You can pick some up at Walgreens for really cheap, and they even have special pink ones designed to fit women.
3. Don’t study with your friends.
Studying with friends seems like a good idea because they are fun to be around, and provide solidarity during “the struggle.” But more often than not, friend study sessions turn into friend youtube video watching sessions, or friend study break time. Don’t fall into the trap. Going to the library with your friends is fine, but just don’t sit at the same table as them. Choose a desk or cubicle of your own so you will actually study, and not giggle with your bestie over the insanely cute r/Cats page on Reddit.
4. Leave your dorm room/apartment/house.
Do not attempt to “read a few chapters of your Bio book” while in bed or on the couch. You will wake up a few hours later, disoriented and angry at yourself for taking an accidental nap. To have a productive study session, you need to leave the comfort of your home, which has a comfy bed, a TV, and a fridge full of delicious snacks. Libraries are boring and depressing for a reason– it is much easier to study when there are no other attractive options in your habitat. The judgemental stares of fellow students will shame you into being a productive human, instead of the procrastinating sloth you would have been at home on your couch.
5. Don’t pull an all-nighter.
In theory, all-nighters sound like a pretty good option. Instead of wasting daylight hours in the library, why not just sacrifice one night of sleep and do all your studying then? Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to take an exam on one hour of sleep. When you are that sleep-deprived, the questions on the exam start to look like hieroglyphics. Also, when you wait to the last minute to study, you usually don’t give yourself enough time to actually go over all the material you need to study. Twelve hours in the library might seem like a lot, but around 4 am you will hit a road block. No matter how many red bulls you chug, you will end up staring at the wall or putting your head down because you are too tired to concentrate on studying. Marathon studying is also a very ineffective way to learn, so you will probably end up forgetting most of what you studied before you even take your exam. If you follow my advice in #1, you won’t have to resort to an all-nighter.
6. Reward yourself for being productive.
After you spend an entire day studying and have checked off all the items on your to-do list, reward yourself for your hard work. Go to the gym, or if exercise isn’t really your thing, go to Gigi’s and get a cupcake. Giving yourself an incentive to study will make you work even harder to finish your daily goals. If you procrastinate, punish yourself by not giving yourself the reward. After you finish a big accomplishment, like turning in a final paper or taking a final exam, give yourself an even bigger present, like a manicure or a quick shopping trip. Exams are so much easier to survive if you treat yourself along the way.