Five Finals Tips to Improve Your Study Habits
Struggling to study for finals? Feeling distracted or burnt out from the semester? Or feeling stressed about getting that one grade in that class? Have no fear, I have five tips for you to get through the final stretch!
Tip #1: I mean it when I say it, do NOT procrastinate any studying, papers, or projects. This is your worst enemy. For those that like to say, “I work better under pressure,” that may work for you during the semester, but not amid finals with four or five other classes to also worry about.
Believe it or not, if you wait until the last minute to study, you may just be wasting your time. If you don’t know the material until the night before or the hour before, you are not going to know it at the time of the test either. The further out you study will give you more time to look at material and to go over it multiple times before the test. You will do better by doing this.
Tip #2: Get rid of all distracting devices. (I fall victim to this tip as well, you are not alone.) This can be an absolute game changer for students trying to focus on grinding out that paper or going through the material that needs to be studied. For some, putting the phone away is very difficult.
If you still want to listen to music from your phone or laptop if that helps you focus, there is one very simple solution: Do Not Disturb! Turn this setting on and this will mute all incoming notifications and will prevent you from feeling the need to answer them. You will get so much more done promptly by doing so.
Tip #3: Create a study group with those in your class. This final might make or break your grade or be the difference from getting an A or B in the class, and your peers can help you! You all want to succeed, why not help each other? You can compare notes from over the semester and compare the differences; they may have taken down more information than you did. Use that to help you out!
You can also quiz each other on the content to keep your mind fresh. If you are trying to solve a problem, usually two brains are better than one, and you can help each other figure it out. If one doesn’t understand the problem, you or they can help explain how to do it. More is better than one!
Tip #4: As important as studying is, you must find time to sleep. There have been many studies to prove that sleep enhances the mind’s ability to concentrate. This tip also goes hand in hand with tip #1, don’t procrastinate. The earlier you study, the more sleep you can get. You will not feel the need to pull all nighters because you will feel more prepared.
Less sleep is a connection to causing trouble with remembering material, leading to anxiety, and more trouble sleeping, it turns into a cycle. Don’t let that happen, get your much needed sleep!
Tip #5: Make sure to prioritize your study times but also remember to take breaks. Taking in the material all at once is not always the most effective method. It can be overwhelming and end up causing more added stress. Taking a break could be helpful and not harmful if you stop studying for just a few minutes.
Go take a walk or grab some food; eating and drinking is very important too. Let the information you just took in settle into your brain before taking in more information.
Finals time is one of the most stressful times of the school year, but if you follow these tips and tricks, it will make the week a little bit easier.
Olivea Swanson is a member of the class of 2024. She is majoring in Communication and Media.