Finals Tips from a Fellow Student

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Tis’ the season to study AND take care of yourself

It is the most wonderful time of the year with Christmas, other winter holidays, winter break, and the new year just around the corner! And with it comes the heavily dreaded part of the semester: finals.  Whether you are buckling down for a three-hour sit-down exam that somehow never ends but also ends all too quickly or arming yourself with mountains of research for a paper with an unending page count, remember to take care of yourself.  

As sleep is exchanged for extra study time and proper nutrition is substituted for quick-and-easy-grab meals and highly-caffeinated drinks, it can become increasingly easy to become sick or experience total burnout. During the most stressful time of the year here are some tips I use to help combat the wintry cold forces of academia.  

Scheduling & Time Management: 

As one of many full-time students who also works a time-demanding off-campus job and on-campus job, I know that it seems like there are never enough hours in the day.  This is why good time management skills are critical to stave off burnout and even keep from wearing down your immune system—especially during the cold and flu season.  It is equally important to find time to eat a nutritional meal, get a decent amount of sleep, and allow your poor, overworked brain some downtime.  

By creating a schedule, I find the structure of allotted study times and factored in time to take care of my body greatly aids me through finals.  A schedule helps me from getting stuck trying to complete frustrating projects and studying for tests even when my brain gives out while still managing to get what needs to be done, done that day.  A small note: it is important to force yourself to stay on schedule, but not make the schedule so inflexible that the smallest deviation will cause a whole day–or heaven forbid a whole week, of playing catch-up.

Good Meals & Healthy Sleep

As the weather gets colder and we get more stressed and sleep less, the immune system tends to get weaker.  Every student knows that there is nothing worse than having to finish a final project or take a final exam while being sick, and unfortunately, finals season and the couple of weeks leading up to it is when most colds, flus, and viruses seem to spread around campus.  

I know that when I am in the middle of studying I will either want to cook so I am still being productive but not studying, or I will not want to cook at all.  For the former, I let myself make easy meals such as pasta or ramen–something quick and easy.  For the times where I do not want to spend a lot of time or effort cooking, meal-prepping on the weekends can be a great way to ensure I will be eating well throughout the week.  By making a meal and proportioning it out into separate Tupperware containers (I favor glass ones), all I have to do is pop one in the microwave and, voila! Dinner is served. 

Now sleep can become increasingly tricky to fit into a schedule crammed full of studying, classes, and self-care.  However, sleeping is when your body has time to truly relax and repair itself from the wear and tear of the day.  Sometimes it may come down to choosing that extra hour of studying or an hour of sleep you may need.  Finish what you need to get done, but remember that your brain also needs rest to be able to be its best.  Sometimes I find that I actually remember things from a previous night’s study better when I get a good amount of sleep.

Self-Care

Now that you have scheduled time for self-care, it is very important to follow through. In this challenging time, you need some time for yourself to be momentarily free of stress.  It can be as little as simply not studying for a bit and taking a nap to putting on your favorite TV show and having a full night of relaxation.  You can also walk over to Pacific’s all too conveniently located Starbucks in the library to treat yourself to a hot beverage and sugary treat as a pick-me-up and reward, a personal favorite form of self-care for me.  

Holiday Fun! 

As a lover of the fall and winter holidays, the best way to cheer myself up during this time of year is to indulge in holiday traditions.  My favorite tradition to mentally and physically unwind after a tiring week is to spend a night wrapped up in a fluffy blanket with hot chocolate–with many marshmallows, of course, watching my favorite holiday movies (The Little Drummer Boy and A Charlie Brown Christmas) while taking care of my skin with a face mask.  

This is undoubtedly one of the most stressful times of the semester, I know it is for me.  I hope you may have found a helpful tip or been inspired to find out your own ways of keeping up your morale.  Best of luck to everyone!