Students pushing towards finals week can be as busy as Santa’s elves rushing to meet their Christmas deadlines. Most of us are no strangers to cramming, stress and a busy schedule especially when our final exams are fast-approaching, but those are all part of life’s training. And with more festive spirits around you due to the holiday season, finding the motivation to lock yourself inside your room and gear up for some information overload can really be a challenge.
To understand how we can help students survive finals week, we first reviewed the numbers. According to a recent study by www.owlguru.com 27% of students are willing to study for exams to the point of exhaustion; 64% get worried that they will get low grades due to stress and anxiety, and 75% procrastinate too much that they waste at least three hours a day to study for exams. While all these wrong practices are a bit alarming, students can easily avoid unnecessary stress if they only know how to prepare for finals week correctly.
So in the wise words of Lord Ned Stark and for metaphor’s sake — brace yourselves… winter is coming. To help you get into the right study marathon rhythm for your final exams, here are four useful tips you can try out.
Find a suitable study space.
Consider finding a quiet and spacious space that’s devoted to studying like the library, an empty classroom, or even the park. Another myth about studying is how music can motivate your brain to take in more knowledge while brushing up on some lessons. Actually, white noise is more helpful than well-arranged notes and good singing (unless you’re studying music of course), so put away your earphones and exit Spotify for a moment.
However, for some students who absolutely need to listen to music in order to relax and help maintain focus, try opting for some soothing classical music instead of upbeat, catchy tunes.
Make a schedule.
If your finals week is spread out in a span of two weeks, you can do more studying by managing your time properly while prioritizing tasks. Think about what subjects you need to focus on to achieve higher grades and allot more time for lessons where you lag behind.
Are there any conflicting schedules you have to straighten out? Are you getting enough time outside studying for eating, sleeping, and taking care of yourself? Aside from being able to organize the things you have to do with the use of a calendar, you can also reserve more energy and lessen stress by strictly following your set schedules during the dreaded finals week.
Find a balance between study and rest.
One important myth we want to shatter here is that caffeine, energy drinks and most especially Adderall (thank goodness it’s not available in the country), are helpful to students who are studying. These energy inducing alternatives can do more harm than good in how it crashes your mind and body after their effects wear off. They can also cause arrhythmia or the abnormal beating of the heart, and have even recorded a number of hospitalizations and fatalities in recent years.
Find a good balance between studying and taking a break and you’ll be fine. Take 15-minute power naps, five-minute breaks or longer if you need it, and find some time to stand up and breathe in some fresh air outside. Cheating your body into thinking that it has more energy than it actually does is equally worse than cheating on your final exams.
Stay healthy.
It’s easy to give in to the pressure of time and stress when finals week is on the horizon but reserving at least two lines on your calendar for health-related activities and reminders will do a lot for you more than you can imagine so jot it down in there.
Now if time is really scarce, try stacking up on healthy snacks and brain foods like nuts, blueberries, broccoli, and dark chocolate. Take non-narcotic supplements that can help you study such as ginkgo Biloba to increase blood flow to the brain, fish oils rich with omega-3 acids, and ginseng which improves memory. Vitamins like B-complex and Vitamin C also can also help reduce your anxiety. There are plenty of ways you can stay healthy despite the shadow of finals week hovering behind you at all times. Just always remember that the sicker you feel as finals week approaches, the bigger the possibility that you’ll underperform during your exams.
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