Now that we’re back at school after Thanksgiving break, we’re all in crunch time. There is only a little over a week for most of us before we go home again, but there is no shortage of work to do before we are back in the warmth of our beds at home. Here are four tips to help you make it through this time of seemingly never ending papers, projects and reading:
1. Get your papers out of the way early.
Even if your papers are due after your exams, they will be looming over your head as you study. We all know that it is important to spend a lot of time studying for finals, but if you aren’t completely focusing on studying for your exam because you’re dreading writing that paper that’s due the day after your final, then it would be a better idea to just get it out of the way. You’ll feel more productive, motivating you to study and get through your exams. You’ll also be more than happy to be finished with work after you crank out your exams, because you already wrote your papers.
2. Don’t waste time.
Although it may be appealing to chat with your friends in the hall and online, you have to remember that not everyone has the same amount of work. Your friends talking in the hall may not have the same finals schedule as you and can afford to be wasting that time. Either that or they should not be examples to follow because they’re procrastinating. However, this does not mean that your friends should be avoided, which leads me to my next tip:
3. Take study breaks.
It is important to see the light of day, even during exam week! It’s unhealthy to be inside studying all day, so take some time off (in reasonable amounts) and go out to dinner with friends or de-stress on the elliptical. If you’re not at least a little bit active, you’ll end up spending all of your time sitting at a desk.
4. Don’t stress.
This is my most important tip. If you’re stressed about an exam, it will tend to go badly, and you’ll have wasted time and energy worrying about it. Just relax and go into the exam with confidence—you’ve studied and prepared for it. Don’t worry!
Follow these tips and you’re sure to have a more relaxing and productive exam week. Good luck and happy studying!
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