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Hello everybody!
Well looks like it's that time of the semester again, finals week is here! Depending on where you are, it may be for you too. Especially as a freshman, finals can be honestly quite nerve-wracking. I've come up with a little list of simple things you can do to make tackling exams a little bit less stressful!
1. Get comfortable!
This may just be me, but if I need to concentrate on something, little wispy hairs in my face or an itchy sweater are just too much for me to handle. Save yourself some time and throw on those fuzzy pants and that oversized tee shirt! Put your hair up, and throw in a headband to keep those flyaways out of your face. Trust me, it will make studying a lot more bearable. WARNING: as hard as it is, try to avoid curling up with a blanket in a soft sitting-place while you study, you WILL fall asleep. Trust me on this one.
2. Set time limits.
If I sit down with no real plans in nearly any case, it becomes very easy to get distracted by more exciting things like internet and internet and internet. We've all been there. What I have found to help me stay on task is a simple time formula, that actually works much more than one might think. It's quite simple, just work for 40 minutes at a time with 20 minutes in between. It's just enough time to get things done, but not too much to go crazy with too much information. It also helps to set little goals for each of these 40 minute blocks so that you actually feel like you're getting things done :)
3. Prioritize!
Now this tip is a little more tricky, as it can quickly get out of hand! For this to be successful, start by examining your grades, and setting goals for what you would like them to be after finals. To see what grades you must get to achieve a certain outcome, you can use a final grade calculator like this one. Take into account the difficulty of the class, the terms of the final (how much it is worth in your grade, how much material it is covering..) and study in appropriate time lengths. Do not spend all of your time studying for a class that you have a high grade in, when you have another class at a borderline percentage, for example. Make sure you know your goals, and decide the best way you should go about reaching them. Just make sure to not completely ignore one subject! You may be more confident than you think, leave some time for a review just in case.
4. Mix things up.
Let's be real, studying can get pretty boring after a while. Instead of just reading the textbook over and over, or reviewing your notes, try using other methods to study. One of my favorites is Quizlet.com. It originally started out as strictly a flash-card website, but now it is much more versatile. It is ideal for classes heavy on vocabulary. It's very easy to use, I recommend it to everyone! You could try studying with a group of people, as long as you think you'll get things done (I know I can't....). Just find different ways of studying that work for you to keep it interesting :)
5. Don't get frustrated!
When studying for subjects that are more difficult, it can get easy to become frustrated when things don't click right away. Just make sure if this happens, you just sit back for a minute, take a breath, and work through things step-by-step. There are many online resources that can answer your questions (hello, Google) and there are resources that can give you entire lessons as well (try Khan Academy, I use it for calculus and it's extremely helpful!). Whatever you do, don't give up, there are always ways to get the help you need, just keep looking!
I think that's all for now. Good luck with your finals, you'll do great!
Have a lovely day,
-Haley
3. Prioritize!
Now this tip is a little more tricky, as it can quickly get out of hand! For this to be successful, start by examining your grades, and setting goals for what you would like them to be after finals. To see what grades you must get to achieve a certain outcome, you can use a final grade calculator like this one. Take into account the difficulty of the class, the terms of the final (how much it is worth in your grade, how much material it is covering..) and study in appropriate time lengths. Do not spend all of your time studying for a class that you have a high grade in, when you have another class at a borderline percentage, for example. Make sure you know your goals, and decide the best way you should go about reaching them. Just make sure to not completely ignore one subject! You may be more confident than you think, leave some time for a review just in case.
4. Mix things up.
Let's be real, studying can get pretty boring after a while. Instead of just reading the textbook over and over, or reviewing your notes, try using other methods to study. One of my favorites is Quizlet.com. It originally started out as strictly a flash-card website, but now it is much more versatile. It is ideal for classes heavy on vocabulary. It's very easy to use, I recommend it to everyone! You could try studying with a group of people, as long as you think you'll get things done (I know I can't....). Just find different ways of studying that work for you to keep it interesting :)
5. Don't get frustrated!
When studying for subjects that are more difficult, it can get easy to become frustrated when things don't click right away. Just make sure if this happens, you just sit back for a minute, take a breath, and work through things step-by-step. There are many online resources that can answer your questions (hello, Google) and there are resources that can give you entire lessons as well (try Khan Academy, I use it for calculus and it's extremely helpful!). Whatever you do, don't give up, there are always ways to get the help you need, just keep looking!
I think that's all for now. Good luck with your finals, you'll do great!
Have a lovely day,
-Haley
