Hey guys! I’m back for another blog post, and this time I thought of doing something different. Finals are approaching, and you know what that means? Time to start studying. Actually, if you are one of those students who plans ahead of time, you probably have already started studying. Now, for those of us procrastinators who wait until the very last minute to get our studying done, stress is probably going to kick in within the next couple of days. So, instead of my usual life rants, I thought, "why not do a list of do’s and don’ts for studying for finals?" Here I go.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert. These are just MY suggestions.
DO:
- Look over your notes. Don’t ignore them. I mean, you wrote them down for a reason.
- Take breaks. It’s okay to let yourself take a 5min, 30min, or even a 1hr break. If you don’t take a break, you will die (this is not exactly proven but it’s my way of scaring you into taking a break because you’re human).
- Re-read all of the articles or chapters assigned. This will help refresh your memory on the class’ content. If your class had a lot reading, make a Google Doc and split up the work with classmates, it’s both efficient and less time consuming.
- Eat snacks. Food is always good. Seriously.
- Form study groups. Study groups are a great way to discuss the material with others and to have others answer your questions.
- Sleep well. You know why.
DONT:
- Cry. That won’t help.
- Pull all-nighters. It might seem like a GREAT idea to spend the whole night before your final studying and ignore sleeping, but this will backfire when you’re half asleep while taking the test and retaining less.
- Go on Netflix. That is always dangerous when you have other things to do.
- Ignore studying. Why would you do that?
- Go on Buzzfeed. That will result in the completion of all of the most recent quizzes and another two hours of reading articles. Just don’t.
- Party. You know why.
I really hope these help and make finals a little less stressful! As one last little piece of advice, remember what keeps you motivated. I have many things on my mind right now and especially envisioning my arrival in Rome in a couple months for study abroad is what keeps me working hard. There are only a couple more weeks left in the semester, so end it strong! Good luck!