Finals week can creep up on people—I know my first semester of college it definitely crept up on me. But as a junior, I’ve learned a few ways to cope with the stress that comes with the hell week at the end of every semester.
Plan your time
This is the time of year that my planner/agenda is the most full. Although it can seem overwhelming to go through all your syllabi and write down all your papers and exams, it will definitely benefit you in the long run. Especially if your planner has a monthly layout, you will be able to see how all your assignments fit together throughout the week. This way, you can plan out when you will study for each test or work on each paper based on the time that each assignment is due.
Review your notes
Go back and review some part of your notes each day leading up to finals week. That way, instead of trying to re-read all your topics in one night before the test, you are actually re-learning your material. If you cram while studying, you’re less likely to be able to recall the material in a new way or be able to critically think about the topic.
Re-read the text
In the same way that you should re-read your notes from class, re-reading your textbooks can definitely help when it comes to answering those questions that might be the difference between an A or a B on the test. If you took notes when you read the text the first time, you might be able to get away with just reading those instead of the whole book, which is always a plus.
Create an outline
If you have a final paper for a class instead of a test, do yourself a favor by not writing it all in one night. Create an outline as soon as you receive the prompt. This will allow you plenty of time to think about the paper as a whole, as well as gather information if it is a research paper. With the outline, you can also assign time that you will work on each part of the paper based on your schedule with studying for other exams.
Put off that Netflix binge
This is probably one of the most important things…if you have the time to watch an entire show on Netflix, you should probably be preparing for your exams. Put in a little time each day to quiz yourself on material and study so that watching Netflix later is more of a reward as opposed to a procrastination technique.