Finals week can feel extremely overwhelming! Every class seemingly has a paper, exam, project, or presentation, all due the same day. It is easy to feel like the only way to get everything done is to sit down for hours and force yourself to work until everything is finished. But that does not have to be the case!
The best finals strategies are the ones that make studying feel way more manageable. Instead of trying to do everything at once, I like to break my work into smaller pieces, give myself actual breaks, and use study methods that help me remember the material like it’s the back of my hand.
One of my favorite strategies is working for 40 minutes and then taking a 10-minute break. 40 minutes is long enough to get into a focused rhythm, but not so long that I feel completely drained. During that time, I put my phone away, focus on one assignment or subject, and blast my homework playlist in my headphones. Then, when the 10-minute break comes, I actually let myself have a break, which usually consists of me having some fun on my phone.Â
For papers, I have learned that waiting until the last minute almost always makes the process more stressful than it needs to be. Instead, I try to outline first. I used to tell myself I didn’t need an outline, and it was one of the worst things I could have told myself. You ABSOLUTELY need an outline, it helps you organize your essay and makes actually writing the essay so much easier. Even if it is extremely simple, like framing what each paragraph will be about. Once I know my main points, evidence, and general structure, the actual writing feels a lot less intimidating. I also try to write papers over the course of a few days instead of forcing myself to finish them all in one sitting. Doing a little bit each day gives me more time to think, revise, and avoid the panic of writing everything at once. I always feel my best papers are the ones I don’t complete the night before.
When it comes to memorizing terms, I prefer using actual paper flashcards. I know a lot of people like quizlet, but I always find myself getting very easily distracted when using it. There is something helpful about physically writing the terms and definitions down. It makes me slow down and process the information instead of just typing it quickly and forgetting it. In fact, even writing down the terms on the flashcards feels like studying as I am reviewing the terms in doing so. For finals that involve a lot of vocabulary, concepts, or important people and cases, flashcards can be a simple but super effective tool.
Another strategy that helps me is studying with people in my class. This does not have to mean a huge study group where everyone gets distracted. Even studying with one or two people can be useful, especially when you talk through the material out loud. For me, political science classes are always very content heavy, and being able to dissect such content out loud makes me get a deeper understanding of the material. Plus, it really instills the information into my brain. Explaining a concept to someone else also forces you to figure out what you actually understand and what you still need to review. Sometimes, just hearing someone else explain a term in a different way can make it actually make sense.
Talking out loud is especially helpful for exams that require more than just memorization. If you can explain a term, compare concepts, or walk through a process without looking at your notes, you probably understand it much better than you think. I always have tons of textbook readings, and right now I’m taking a class on supreme court cases. Whenever I am reading a case, I talk to myself afterward about all the core important information regarding the case. Or, if I can’t talk out loud, I take a whiteboard and write as much on it about the material that I can remember. It also makes studying feel a little less isolating and boring, which can be important during a stressful week.
Finals week is quite the opposite of fun, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. Working in focused chunks, taking breaks, outlining papers early, using paper flashcards, and studying out loud with classmates can make the week feel much more manageable. The goal is to study in a manner that makes you feel less stressed, but more prepared, and gets you to the results you want to see. My dad has always told me that “luck is when preparation meets opportunity”, which shows how you really have to build your skills and readiness in order to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. Right now, that opportunity is acing finals.