Finals Week
We all know final’s week is rapidly dawning upon us and after each day that passes, it seems that its ever-looming shadow only grows bigger. Students usually refer to the week leading up to finals as “the most stressful week” and I guess that is to be expected. I mean, c’mon, nobody wants to rememorize all the minuscule details in Brinkley’s textbook that might appear on the Apush Final, nor do they want to do the same for Ap chem but instead this time, it is with the seemingly infinite amount of exceptions that comes with each law or principle. Now, after reading all that, I’ve probably reignited the feeling of panic that has been lying dormant in you as a result of scrolling on tiktok for the past few hours, but I want to assure you that you are fine. Finals week shouldn’t be that stressful anyways and I hope to teach you that and how to prepare for your finals in the rest of this Article.
How to lower stress
The most ideal way to ease stress would be to do well enough during the semester so that way the weight of the final doesn’t really affect you, but most of the time that isn’t the case. Sometimes you may have chosen a really hard course or two in which you have a grade that is barely getting the grade you want or it is just on the horizon of it and it is in these cases where the weight of the final seems more daunting resulting in you stressing out. But, that stress shouldn’t be there. Most of the time, stress is caused by disorganization, and disorganization usually makes a task seem way more daunting than it actually would be, thus resulting in you panicking. So how do you organize you may ask? Well first off you are going to want to identify and prioritize what final(s) matters most to you. You are going to want to dedicate most of your effort towards those. But studying mindlessly is also just as harmful, so each time you plan to study, identify and set goals for yourself as well. Planning and organizing what you are going to do will help release a lot of stress from your shoulders and all in all, it will make the task seem less draconian.
Effective ways to study
I’m not going to dive into the scientific reasons why these work–we can save those for the stem article– so instead I’m just going to list out methods that have worked for me when I study.
How to lower stress
The most ideal way to ease stress would be to do well enough during the semester so that way the weight of the final doesn’t really affect you, but most of the time that isn’t the case. Sometimes you may have chosen a really hard course or two in which you have a grade that is barely getting the grade you want or it is just on the horizon of it and it is in these cases where the weight of the final seems more daunting resulting in you stressing out. But, that stress shouldn’t be there. Most of the time, stress is caused by disorganization, and disorganization usually makes a task seem way more daunting than it actually would be, thus resulting in you panicking. So how do you organize you may ask? Well first off you are going to want to identify and prioritize what final(s) matters most to you. You are going to want to dedicate most of your effort towards those. But studying mindlessly is also just as harmful, so each time you plan to study, identify and set goals for yourself as well. Planning and organizing what you are going to do will help release a lot of stress from your shoulders and all in all, it will make the task seem less draconian.
Effective ways to study
I’m not going to dive into the scientific reasons why these work–we can save those for the stem article– so instead I’m just going to list out methods that have worked for me when I study.
- Active Recall: Test yourself on the material rather than passively rereading notes.
- Use Study Guides: If available, use teacher-provided study guides to focus on the most critical topics.
- Group Study: Collaborate with classmates at your local library or anywhere to be honest to share insights and clarify doubts.
- Avoid procrastination: easier said dont done but basically you want to break tasks into smaller chunks and start early to avoid cramming.
- Use the pomodoro technique: study for 25-minute intervals followed by a 5-minute break to maintain focus. (I lowkey found this off of instagram reels but it works so ima put it here)
- Get enough sleep: aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, to improve your memory as well as helping your brain out. This again is very basic, but a lot of people (especially highschoolers) don’t get this amount.
- Eat a protein rich breakfast like eggs and avoid sugar(and just eat well in general) the morning of your test–I learnt this from a teacher but it genuinely works
- Avoid drowning yourself in caffeine and energy drinks(cough cough, Olivia) as it will only make you feel more tired.
