Hello, lovely readers. The time is upon us. Brace yourselves… because finals are coming at full speed. Freaking out? Feeling calm, cool, and collected? You will be by the end of this article! I’m here to give you some tips on stress management and mental health, along with some tools that will make studying much easier. These exams will be a piece of cake. Feel free to celebrate with some baked goods after exams, girl. You deserve it!
1. Drink Some Tea.
The biggest mistake everyone makes during finals week is drinking a TON of coffee and energy drinks. What your body and brain really need is hydration. If you’re not up to drinking just water, opt for a cup of hot tea. The warmth and herbs will relax you, and it’s also a better source of hydration. Sorry, Starbucks. Not this week.
2. Use a Face Mask.
As we speak, I’m nourishing my skin with an anti-pollution face mask. These babies do wonders for your skin, especially when you’re under so much stress. Finals week is a time when we all need to take extra good care of our skin. The lack of sleep we get takes away a lot of our essential moisture, and when we start to feel even more stressed, our sweat glands do the opposite and they get overwhelmed. Treat yourself to a mini spa night!
3. Highlight Your Notes.
Do your notes look too boring to study? Pep up your paper with some pretty highlighters! The brightness will keep you focused and on the task. Highlight important terms as you’re initially reading over your notes. When you re-read them, you’ll have all of the important things jumping out in front of you!
4. Make Flashcards on Quizlet.
Quizlet was always a life-saver for me in high school. Instead of using paper notecards, I went on Quizlet.com and created notecards in just 5 minutes. It takes no time at all to pull them up and refresh your memory about some key terms, take a break and scroll through Twitter, then get back on again and go through another 20 or so terms. It’s much easier than having to handwrite all of your notecards (unless you love that and that’s your thing, then by all means handwrite your notecards).
5. Create Your Own Study Guide.
In college, professors don’t really hand out study guides anymore. It’s your job to assess your notes and try to literally tune into the mind of your professor to read it, analyze it, and try to comprehend exactly what will be on the final exam. That’s some major work, friends. I have a suggestion to make this easier! Go through your notes and write out the big topics on a separate sheet of paper. Give examples and make subheadings so you can easily follow just those notes. It makes studying less overwhelming, and you can highlight areas of weakness so you know what to really touch up on.
6. Grab a Study Buddy.
Who says finals week has to be lonely? Study buddies are a great way to de-stress. Your study buddy can also be an amazing learning tool. If you don’t understand a certain concept, they can help explain it in terms you understand. Just be sure to do the same for them. Be a good friend and share your knowledge with each other!
7. Eat Healthy Food.
We’re all so tempted to grab a chocolate bar and binge watch Netflix with a tub of ice cream during finals week. It can be hard not to want that comfort. I know, I know. Gilmore Girls is calling. But eating unhealthy foods doesn’t give you any energy. In fact, it depletes you of it. So instead of picking up the ice cream, choose a granola bar and some fresh fruit instead. Take a visit to St. Liam’s and get some trail mix and berries. You will be one happy, healthy, energetic lady!
8. Get As Much Sleep As You Can.
I can’t stress this one enough. Rest is so important you guys. I know that it may seem unrealistic, but it’s also awful to stay up late cramming and forcing yourself to wake up early the next day to cram again. In fact, you can benefit from taking a nap after studying. If you go through a whole sleep cycle (90 minutes), you can retain the information you studied more easily than you would if you stayed up later cramming at night. Hit the snooze button.
Are you feeling incredibly empowered now? You’ve got the brains. You’ve got the confidence. Now take these study tips and run with them. I believe in you. Happy Holidays!! Cheers!
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