While the end of the year brings beautiful weather, don’t let it fool you – finals is just around the corner. The spring/second semester slump is real, and if the thought of long library hours and actually focusing in your classes seems all too daunting, here are some ways to ease into the finals flow.
1. Use Your Planner
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Even if you haven’t cracked open your planner since first semester finals, it is the key to ultimate organization. The act of writing everything down will force you to identify exactly what you have to do and when. There’s also something cathartic and concrete about having assignments written down and not floating around in your head.
2. Start Studying
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Whether you like study guides, notecards or Quizlet, if you lay down the foundation now, you’ll thank yourself in two weeks. By simply starting something, you’ll gain some control and feel slightly more prepared when the real studying kicks in. Starting now also gives you time to make your study materials visually appealing – color coding is more fun to look at than poorly scribbled bullet points made in crunch time.
3. Don’t Start That New Netflix Show
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Even if you don’t think you have a lot of work now, you don’t have time to binge watch 8 seasons worth of Shondaland before finals starts, and you’re not going to quit cold turkey for finals season. Do yourself a favor and wean off of Netflix slowly. When you’re stressed and need a break during finals, you’ll end up exercising or reading rather than falling into the binge watching rabbit hole.
4. Find a Productive Break Activity
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Finals studying isn’t so scary when you see it as concentrated work in chunks. Breaks are inevitable and healthy. Whether you picked up meditation or yoga last finals season or you want to try it this time around, start now. Find what works for you and make it a healthy habit, so you’re less stressed out and more productive when it actually comes time to buckle down.
There’s very little time left in the semester. Just power through these next few weeks in a productive manner and reap the benefits of a stress-free summer!