Finals week can be an overwhelming cloud of stress, anxiety and fear for the future. No matter your year or major, this season is tough for students. Luckily, you are not alone. This guide is here to help mitigate stress and raise your confidence.
Step One: Organization is key
From a range of classes and a myriad of projects, it can be easy to feel lost — take a step back and organize. Breaking down your busy schedule makes things less overwhelming.
A comprehensive plan is integral to a low-stress experience. Writing in planners, marking critical dates on a calendar and prepping study strategies is the first step to tackling any important task. After organizing your life, everything else falls right into place.
Step Two: Ensure balance
While planning out your weeks and study strategies can declutter your mind and prepare you to work hard — burnout is real. Fortunately, it can be avoided.
Keep time for yourself by hanging with friends and staying in touch with your hobbies. Long study sessions with no reprieve will drastically increase stress in the long run and increase your chances of burnout.
Imagine it’s your third day in a row of eight-hour study sessions, late nights with no source of happiness in sight. Yeah, screw that!
Step Three: Self care is key — enjoy the weather
If you have a comprehensive plan that doesn’t overload you and lets you live, you're already halfway to unwinding. It is also important to stay in touch with the little things, even if they seem trivial compared to difficult classes. Enjoy the moment and get vitamin D in your system, it’s a win-win.
You have been persevering through the brutal Buffalo cold for months. Take a walk, sunbathe, throw a ball around with some friends — take full advantage of the heat.
Step Four: Time to study
Your plan is locked-in, you are taking time for yourself and staying healthy. Now it's time for the heavy lifting.
Everyone studies differently. It is crucial to find the study strategy that works best for you like flash cards, explaining to a friend or practice tests. It’s important to find the one that makes you understand the material the best — experiment a bit and find out which one works for you. The most dangerous trap is procrastination. When a week feels like a year, the test can creep up on you and exponentially increase stress.. Stay consistent and get some good hours of work.
Step Five: Relax and be proud
Have confidence in yourself. You are putting in the work. You deserve to recognize that and be proud of yourself. Summer is just around the corner.
Remember, no matter what happens — grades do not define you!
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