5 Tips to Help You on Your Finals

Here are some tips to help out with those finals!

1. Don't freak out about tests. Yes, they are long, and comprehensive, and require a lot of preparation, but it is all stuff you've learned over the semester, and you can get through most of the material in 24 hours of studying. When you think your life is nearly over, imagine yourself a week from now; finals done, summer in session. It's less than 7 days away.

2. Block sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Plus. Social networking will drain your time away slowly, even though it doesn't feel like it. Visiting Facebook 5 times in 2 hours at 6 minutes a  visit is 30 minutes of time lost to Facebook, accounting for 25% of your overall productivity in those two hours. It adds up! Try Chrome application "StayFocusd" to block websites.

3. Don't spend so much on pizza and fast food. Save that for when you're done or when you realllly need some motivation. Stick to simple meals that can be easily prepared, so you can have as much time to study as you can get.



4. The library is not your friend during finals week. Every nook and booth you find will have people in it already. You'll waste a bunch of time finding parking too, let alone finding a table with an outlet for your laptop. Try another campus building; classrooms are usually empty, and offer you the secluded study environment you need to focus.

5. Plan out your week accordingly. Final on Friday? Maybe partying on Thursday night with your friends isn't the best idea. I like to allocate one day ahead of each final to specifically focus on that final, and I turn down most social activities unless they are before that one day buffer (you are already going to be distracted by the internet, roommates, your phone, etc. You don't need to have any more with social activities that take up hours of precious study time).

In the end, remember, by 4pm on Friday you'll be feeling awesome and free with a great outlook on the summer ahead. Thats when you can relax. As for now, you got work to put in.