Midterms are upon us and it is inevitable to feel stressed out about all the information you need to cram–err, review–in a very limited amount of time. Here are some tips to help keep you from getting overwhelmed.
1) Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea, grab a snack, and make a plan!
Plan out your days leading up to your midterm, when your professor’s office hours are, when your breaks will be, and a to-do list of slides/problems you have to review.
2) Exercise.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a couch potato or a gym bunny: getting your blood pumping and your sweat running will make you feel more alert, satisfied, and release stress-inducing chemicals from your body.
3) Eat Healthy.
As tempting as that bag of chips sounds, try to eat something nutritious. It’ll make you feel better the next morning when you’re already groggy from the lack of sleep.
4) Get enough sleep.
It’s a given that you won’t be sleeping a comfortable 8 hours but do try to sleep at a reasonable time. Many times, we tend to go with the “all nighter” mindset and spend a good collective 3 hours surfing Facebook without realizing that you probably could have slept instead.
5) Don’t multitask.
You may think that having 10 tabs open will help you shuffle through your professor’s PowerPoints and lectures more easily and efficiently, but they actually provide more distractions and slow you down from connecting concepts.
6) Stay hygienic.
It’s easy to get a little grungy after several late nights of forgetting to shower, not brushing your teeth and hair, and slumming around in comfortable clothes. However, you will definitely feel more refreshed and ready to take on your midterms if you put a little bit of effort into how you look. It will affect how you feel, and how you feel will affect how focused you are. It will allow you to have the best perspective you can possibly have on your midterm because your mind isn’t clouded by how gross you felt when you were holed up and studying.
7) Have a confident attitude.
Go into the test thinking that you will ace it. Always go with your gut and if that anxiety creeps in at the last minute and your mind draws a blank, just think, “This test may affect my grade, but will this grade affect who I am as a person?” In the long run, you are not defined by how well you interpret questions, or how quicky you can retrieve information from your memory. You are defined by your attitude and who YOU think you are.
Best of luck with midterms, and as they always say, “May the curve be ever in your favor.”