It’s that time of year again. No, not the holiday season, finals season! It’s time for panic, stress, crippling self-doubt, and more. But wait! It doesn’t have to be. Sure, finals are basically soul-sucking demons designed to torture us, but you can rise above them and come out of the semester victorious in order to enjoying a month of mind numbing lethargy. All you have to do to survive the next week is follow these 5 simple steps with minimal procrastination and hopefully no tears.
1. Find A Study Space
Find your study space and try to keep it. Whether it be the dorm lounge, your desk, the library, or a table at Starbucks, choose a space to study and try to do as much studying there as possible. It will help you focus if you designate a specific place for your studying to happen. After a couple sessions in one place you can sit down and your brain will remember that wherever you are is your “Get Stuff Down” zone and respond accordingly.
Note: Try not to study in your bed. Because your brain relates it with relaxation and sleep it will be harder for you to focus.
2. Put Your Phone Away
Put your phone on airplane mode/do not disturb and then put it away. I know turning your phone off feels like retreating into a cave in the middle of the forest to eat leaves and sleep on the ground forever, but we all know just how tempting your phone looks sitting next to you when you don’t want to read that article or write that essay. If it doesn’t vibrate or chime and is completely out of your sight it will be easier for you not to get distracted by Twitter for 45 minutes. It will also make the 15 minute break you take an hour into studying more justifiable if you didn’t spend 20 minutes of that hour keeping up with the conversation in your group text.
3. Be Prepared
Have your music and snacks prepared before you open your study materials. Make sure you have everything you need before you even start studying so you don’t have to keep getting up or searching Spotify for the perfect song. It’s better to have food ready close by so that you don’t get caught up in studying and end up ignoring your hunger until you can take a break to go find or make something. I would also recommend not picking your favorite party songs or your driving playlist to listen to. Pick something that can provide good background noise but not something you feel compelled to stop and jam to.
4. Know What Works For You
Develop a system that works for you. It may be rewriting all your notes, it may be creating charts and tables, it may be explaining everything out loud to yourself, but whatever it is make sure that it’s something that you can do consistently and makes you feel like you’re properly prepared. If you need it try to do something more than just re-reading your notes over and over again. A lot of times when you do this you feel like you know everything, but it is harder to apply what you know in the actual test.
5. Grades Aren’t Everything
Remember that you are a real person. This might sound a little ridiculous, but it is important for you not to get sucked into the studying vortex and neglect yourself. Remember that finals are not the most important things in the world. Remember that you need to eat, sleep, and relax in order to be a functioning and healthy person. Remember that it’s okay for you to cry over your Econ notes at midnight the night before the test. You’re health and feelings are not more important than your grades.