Don’t Let Finals Get You Down: Tips for Success

Stay Healthy
Staying healthy is vital to finals week success. Make sure that even when you are cramming for finals, you are remembering to eat throughout the day and getting enough sleep each night. Also, avoid getting
sick by washing your hands frequently. Finals week is stressful enough without adding a cold on top of it.

Plan time to relax
Many students feel that every free moment of finals week should be spent cramming for exams. Instead of filling up all of your time making flash cards, you should set aside some time to relax. Set aside at least an hour a day to read for leisure, take a walk, or even watch your favorite film. Planning relaxation time during finals week will ensure that you aren’t overwhelmed with stress throughout the week.

Utilize the Library
The library is a great place to study without distraction, and during finals week, the main level of the library is open 24 hours a day. If you need a quiet place to concentrate, take your textbooks to the library and sit for a few hours.

Unplug
One distraction to studying is technology. Students can find themselves spending hours that could be used to study scrolling through Instagram or binge-watching Netflix. While you are studying, turn off your phone or put it on airplane mode to avoid distraction. If you need your laptop to study and know that it will lead to distraction, computer applications such as SelfControl allow you to block certain websites over a period of time that you specify.

Study in Advance
Cramming for finals is often a cause of stress for students. Instead of procrastinating and studying only the night before a test, start studying a few days in advance. For a bigger test or assignment, start your preparation five days in advance, so that you have enough time to finish the assignment stress free.

Create a schedule
In order to balance library time, relaxation time, meals, and sleep, create a daily schedule and stick to it. A good tip for scheduling is to plan out your week on Sunday night before finals begin, so that you don’t have to spend additional needed time during the week planning your days.