As busy college students, each week is filled with assignments, papers, and even exams that cause much stress on the daily. With midterm season behind us, stress levels increased rapidly, especially for those who have never had midterms before, or have not experienced these academic stress levels for a while, due to summer break. Here are a few simple remedies to help students get through finals season after reflection from midterms season.Â
Step 1
Start studying or preparing early! In order to do well on whatever you may be working on, it is crucial to studying, which may be done later to create some sort of study guide or outline to make later’s work a little more manageable. By taking the time to make an outline or study guide, say a week before the final, you will not only have all the materials in one place. In addition, the creation of the study guide or outline is also a form of studying! Though time consuming, in the long run, it will help so much with future studying by having organized notes prepared so studying can be done more productively.Â
STEP 2
Give grace to your mind! Having finals in nearly every class within the same few weeks, on top of other assignments, can be a lot on the mind. In order to alleviate some of this subconscious tension, taking study breaks is essential for maintaining information properly, and reducing burnout. Doing things like taking a ten minute walk to get a coffee then returning to work or taking an hour break to get out of that space and get some fresh air is beneficial to both your mind and your studying.
Step 3
Change up the location! Sitting in one place for several hours is not only not productive, but it can just get boring! Finding spots on campus where you can study or prepare for finals, such as the library for a few hours while writing a paper, or another building on campus while editing papers can be beneficial to reducing stress and burnout. Scheduling into a planner the assignments for each day along with different study spots for these days holds you accountable for following this routine.Â
Step 4
Find videos on sites like YouTube about the material to break up studying! Studying materials from lectures and homework can be difficult, especially when it is just memorization of these materials on paper or on the computer screen. By going to YouTube and just simply looking up the topic, there are likely several videos produced to help students recall information better and deepen their understanding about the topic. Watching videos is also a great way to study because you are still preparing, just in a different way which your brain may need in order to recall better!
With midterm season behind us, the best way to learn from these grades and studying habits is to reflect upon them and see how you can improve for next time. As the next big set of exams is finals, there is no time like the present to receive this advice, and store it for later!