Final’s Week is almost upon us, and for a lot of us this is equivalent to overwhelming study sessions, caffeine overdose, all-nighters in the library, messy bedrooms, and the added stress of packing all your worldly belongings before your dorm’s check-out time. The good news? It does not have to be this way.
Take a deep breath and let’s get ready for the most successful and stress-free final’s week ever.
Make a Plan
Alright, so this first step is obvious enough. Write down every single thing that’s due in the next week — every assignment, every research paper, every exam, every study session you’ve agreed to do with your classmates, every campus event, every textbook rental expiration. It may look like a lot; it may be far less than you thought. Whatever the case, scrawl it down until you have a satisfyingly messy list.
For our next step, we shall transform the mess into a neat, tidy study plan. My favorite method for this is block-outlining; I like to make a table with the days of the week in a horizontal column and the classes running in a vertical column. This way, you can make a day-by-day breakdown of what to do so you can ace each final. Make sure you have space for meals (yes, you need to eat) and study breaks (no one can keep going forever). The ones that are soonest (i.e. tomorrow morning), get first priority. The others don’t exist — not yet.
Start Fresh
Have you noticed how when your to-do list multiplies, you are suddenly seized with an uncontrollable desire to clean your room from top to bottom? When you’re faced with mental deadlines, your first instinct is to control your physical surroundings. Clean up your dorm and you will feel a hundred times lighter.
Put your hair in a top knot, turn on an upbeat playlist, and go through your room with a trash bag. Don’t go overboard (this is not the time to deep clean everything), just do the basics: make your bed in full, do laundry, wipe off surfaces, clean your desk, put things away in drawers. An organized space makes an organized mind.
Head to the Library
Now that your space is clean and you have a plan, grab your weapons of choice (bright highlighters, headphones, chocolate, a mug of tea or coffee, your notes, etc) and walk down to the library. Turn off your phone’s notifications; it is amazing how much you can get done if you truly focus. I like to find ambiance videos to play in the background — there are some great acoustic playlists on Spotify, or you could pull up some videos on YouTube (my favorites are by Guild of Ambiance).
Find a cozy quiet little corner of the library to claim as your own and get down to business. Imagine that you’re Hermione. The ambiance videos/playlist will help you imagine that you’re hunkering down in the Gryffindor common room, while a storm rages outside. Revise those notes, crank out that essay, do whatever you need to do. Set a timer and study in 45-minute chunks. On your breaks, go on a walk and get blood flowing again so you can come back fresh.
Take Care of Yourself
When you finish at the library, come back to your dorm and put all your school things away. Final exams are important, but don’t let them steal the entire last week of the semester. Have grace and be kind to yourself — give yourself enough sleep, make sure you eat regular meals, get some exercise. Give yourself things to look forward to, even if it is calling a friend in the evening or reading for an hour before bed. This evening, take a hot shower and change into fresh pajamas. You are clean, you are organized, you have a plan. You’ve got this!
Lift Your Mindset
It’s alright to be nervous — being nervous actually increases your performance! But don’t let worry cloud the week in stress. Your worth is not defined by the number on a test — you are a wonderful human being and you have worked so hard to get where you are in life. When you walk into that final exam, you will do your best — and no one can ask more from you than that. Your break is coming soon; earn it and be proud of yourself.
Take a deep breath, put your hair up in a bun, and take a swig of coffee. You got this.
<3 Olivia Grace
