HOW TO MAKE FINALS LESS INTIMIDATING
Graphic by Billy Ferguson
By Christine Viray, Staff Writer
As finals are just around the corner, most students find themselves stressed out—regardless of their year or major. Sometimes, the stress is just so much that many students feel a sense of hopelessness or dread to the point that they seem to forget that summer is just ahead.
Luckily, there are many ways to destress for finals, and this list has some tips that may help you finish the semester off strong. But even with all the tips, guides and tricks that you search for, just remember that the only person who can really help you find success during finals is yourself.
1.Check getconnected.gmu.edu
If you are wondering if there are any de-stress events on campus, then look no further. This website keeps Mason students updated on various events and clubs on campus, and if you are looking for events that can help combat stress, then getconnected will help you. Whenever finals are approaching, getconnected will have various events posted that are tailored to help students destress and become more motivated to finish off the year in success.
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Rank your workload
The amount of work that needs to be completed during finals can be a headache. Luckily for students, there is a simple solution for this. Before you actually try to finish off your work, you should rank your work first and sort the workload out by deciding which of it would be more difficult or easy. After ranking your work, you should complete your work based on how you work best.
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Sleep early
As much as it seems like studying all night would make you more prepared for an exam, this initiative is not exactly helpful for most students. Staying up all night just means that you will lose sleep, and you will not be able to focus on the exam due to lack of sleep.
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Keep the summer in mind
When I say “Keep the summer in mind”, I don’t mean that you should take your focus away from studying, I mean that you should think about the summer in a way that makes you feel more motivated to finish your work. Why procrastinate when you are better off finishing your work on time rather than facing the consequences of poor grades later? If you would rather spend the summer relaxing instead of taking the same class again or regretting your low grade, then you should consider your end goal – the summer.
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Take Breaks
While breaks seem like something that is unproductive, it is actually something that will help your productivity when you get back to studying again. Studying the same thing over and over again can get tedious, so why not do something else for a change? You will notice that when you do something different, you will feel motivated to work on the same task once more because you took a break for once. Breaks can be long or short, but make sure that you can accommodate time for studying or working later.
