As final exams approach hit us like a truck, we can forget basic necessities for ourselves, like brushing our teeth… or breathing. The fear and busyness that is final exams tell us that we need to be in fight or flight. At all times. It tells us we need to keep everything perfect; we need to finish all of our responsibilities; we need to… stop. What we need is some sanity.
Step 1: Breathe and Look towards the Finish
Simple, right? During finals week? Not so much. When you’re on the third hour of staring at your computer screen, pause for a second and look ahead towards the future and how close you are to finishing this semester. Then take a deep breath and imagine that finish line and how you’ll feel when it’s over. Keep going because you can and you will do this. No matter what happens, finals week does really end, even though it doesn’t feel like it.
Step 2: Look up inspirational quotes/pictures or funny videos
A simple Google search or websites such as this one can provide a great stress relief and motivation for you when you feel as though it’s impossible to focus on anything.
Step 3: Talk to a friend or loved one
Sometimes a good venting session with a loved one is the best medicine. There is a certain comfort that comes to you when you have someone who understands your situation at the times when you feel as though you just can’t handle anything anymore. Lean on the people who love you because they do care and I’m sure that your sanity is important to them as well.
Step 4: Study Smart
- Find a place where you feel the most comfortable to study
- Give yourself rewards for reaching “study goals”
- Always have a hot beverage on hand
- Listen to either a classical melody or purchase earplugs that will drown out any outside noise
- Try out websites that will keep you from distracting yourself online
- Make lists to keep yourself on track
Step 5: Take care of yourself
This is the part where I tell you to get enough sleep and exercise, because it’s incredibly important, especially since finals week can be incredibly stressful. I won’t go into the benefits, because you can read about that in the thousands of other articles out there. Here are a few tips to help yourself that you may not have known about:
- Eat foods that will give you energy, not a sugar rush. These include lean meats, vegetables and the occasional bout of dark chocolate. Stress eating is real, so as long as you have large amount of foods that will give you energy and are good for you, you’ll be less likely to binge
- Emergen-C is available at your local pharmacy and gives you over 1,000 mg of Vitamin C for the day to help curb off any sicknesses going around
- Drink water like it’s your job
- Meditation. Whether it’s prayer or just sitting quietly, giving your brain some time to rest and reflect will give you a better sense of yourself and what you can accomplish
- Take hot showers and wear clothes that make you feel comfortable. Keeping yourself relaxed will help with your stress levels and keep you healthy!
Step 6: Finish Strong
Remember that all you can do is your best. Even if this semester is an important one for you to do well on, putting more pressure on yourself will only hurt you. Whether this semester has been easy, fun, or more difficult than you could have imagined, know that in just days it will be over, no matter what happens.