Finals week: the most stressful time in the semester where students are constantly in tears and basically living in the library. Although the thought of finals week instantly gives you anxiety, there are many ways that you can get through the week and will relieve your test anxiety. Here’s a list of 5 different tips and tricks to help you make it out of finals week alive:
1. Take a deep breath.
Breath. I know you may think this won’t help, but it will. Try to look up some breathing exercises that will aid you in calming down your mind in order to not go into a panic over your current workload. For example, sit in a quiet area, close your eyes, imagine you’re in your favorite place in the world (such as a beach, a forest, or even your bedroom at home), and take deep breaths until your mind is in a peaceful state.
2. Work on assignments in small increments.
Some students preach that they work better under pressure on their assignments and papers, until they’re frantically trying to finish a ten page paper at 3am the night before it’s due and barely have time to edit and review what they have written down. A great strategy for working on large assignments is to work on it a little bit at a time. With a paper, organize the structure of the paper about two weeks before it is due, and then write a few sentences every night until you finally finish, and tada you’re done! Doesn’t that sound better than having to write your paper in a few short hours and being completely stressed out the entire time?
3. Study alone.
College is such a social environment; everywhere you go you see people you know, and it’s so much fun to sit and talk to them, especially in the library where you can easily go into a study room and chat for hours. Unfortunately, socializing gets in the way of studying and working on assignments. Make a goal of working by yourself in the library for at least an hour or two a day during finals week, and then take a break and go hang out with your friends and then get back to work! Always reward yourself with some social time after all of your hard work.
4. Put your phone away.
Most college students have their cell phones in their hands throughout the majority of their day, which can be very distracting when it comes time to sit down and study for a final. When it’s time to focus, try to put your phone on airplane mode, do not disturb, or even turn your phone off completely, and then put your phone away in your bag. Keeping your cell phone out of sight will lower the likelihood of you getting distracted, which would often happen if your phone kept blowing up with notifications. If you can’t go a full hour or two without your phone while studying, try to make a goal of working for twenty minutes and then give yourself a five minute social media break.
5. Remember that you’re not alone.
Look around you-every other student is severely stressed out right now due to the overwhelming pressure to pass their finals, just like yourself. Keep reminding yourself that some stress during finals week is normal, and that you can always reach out to your friends and fellow classmates if you begin to struggle with an assignment or studying.
Good luck to everyone on their finals!
HCXO,
Kat