With Thanksgiving and fall coming to an end, people are starting to swap out their pumpkins for Christmas trees in anticipation for the upcoming holiday season and all the joy and festivities that it will bring. Unfortunately for college students, the arrival of the holidays means it is the not-so most wonderful time of the year: finals. Instead of being filled with holiday cheer, students everywhere are finding themselves feeling panicked, overwhelmed, and stressed as they cram for exams and stay up late into the night to finish assignments. If you are finding yourself feeling this way, here are a few tips on how to conquer finals week so you can finish out the semester strong and ready to get festive.
Don’t Put that Paper Off
A simple way to take on those looming finals is to just get started. While it may be tempting to procrastinate and watch Netflix instead of tackling your assignments, putting them off until the last minute will only create more pressure for yourself and may affect the quality of your work. Instead, try and get started as soon as possible on your assignments, working on each one for a little while each day. By studying and writing for shorter chunks of time each day instead of cramming it all in the night before the test or deadline, you will have better retention and concentration during your work sessions. Once you’re finished you will have even more free time for some well-earned brain breaks (like naps and Netflix binging).
Take Good Care of Your Mind and Body
When entering the battlefield that is finals week, you need to make sure that your most valuable weapons, your mind and body, are strong and healthy. Although it may be difficult, try to avoid pulling all-nighters and filling yourself up with junk food. Sleep deprivation will limit your ability to perform complex brain activity and your cognitive retention, which could hurt your test-taking and studying abilities. Your eating habits can also negatively affect the health of your mind; according to a 2011 study done by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating junk food consistently for as few as five days in a row can deteriorate your memory significantly. To make sure your body and brain are in peak performing condition, attempt to get a consistent amount of sleep every night and eat foods that are healthy and good for your brain, such as avocados and blueberries.
Find Good Study Habits
To ensure you are prepared for that dreaded cumulative final, it is crucial to find and develop good studying habits. There are endless study methods that have been proven to be effective for many people, so search around the internet or ask your peers and professors to find ones that will work for you. But remember, everyone is different, and what works for one person might not be helpful for you. Experiment with different methods, and once you find one that sticks, apply it to your own studying so you can enter your finals feeling confident not queasy.
Have Confidence in Yourself
It may seem cheesy, but one of the best ways you can be ready to take on finals is to stay positive and remind yourself that you can do this. Believing in yourself and your capabilities isn’t just fluff you’d find on a Pinterest quote, but is also psychologically shown to be effective in increasing your chances of success. The expectations you have for yourself or a situation can have a huge impact on the outcome of that event, which is a concept known as the self-fulfilling prophecy. If you expect yourself to do well on a test, then chances are you will do well on it simply because your mind has decided that is what’s going to happen. Since that is the case, take a deep breath, write some notecards, and keep telling yourself that you are going to crush finals. Having this positive mental attitude will help you to succeed and end finals week confident and ready to enjoy the holidays.