No one really ever gets excited for finals week, if you do...Well I am sorry about that. The ONLY reason most students somewhat get "excited" for finals week is because it's our last week before our long, cozy, and lazy winter break (SIKE...Never mind about the lazy part, I know most of our parents are making us work during break). With the weather getting colder and our beds seeming like the only happy place we want to be all day even though we should be studying, we need to motivate ourselves to work hard, study, and push through finals week with our full efforts. It is the greatest feeling ever when your hard work in school pays off. It is also the shittiest feeling ever when we get that D or F on our tests and it destroys our final grade in the class. Here is some motivation/tips to help us students make it through finals week.
As I have talked about a lot in previous articles, it's always important not to procrastinate. For most of us, snowy weather means cuddling in our blankets, drinking hot chocolate, and watching a movie. Yes, we can do that during finals and dead week if you know you are confident and well prepared for your tests. Nothing is wrong with some down time after studying for a while. Our brains and bodies need rest but don't pamper yourself too much. Finals week is only ONE week out of the semester, as annoying as it is, we can make a little more effort towards our studies and skip a few cuddle sessions and Netflix and chills just once.
SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP. A lot of us prefer to study at night and do late night group library study sessions, which is perfectly okay but make sure you are sleeping for an appropriate and healthy amount of hours each night. I have had some test days when I stayed up way too late studying and then I get my test and everything goes blank in my head because I am exhausted. Now don't sleep in and miss your classes and especially your finals (That would suck) but make sure you take care of yourself and give yourself the sleep you need to do your very best.
Organize a schedule for studying. I am not the most organized person in this world, but once I make a schedule it is easy for me to follow it. Even if you literally need to schedule exact studying hours and even when you are going to have your meals, do what is going to make you the most successful! Of course, throw some good study breaks in there too. If it's a trip to the gym, taking a nap, or watching an episode of your favorite show, make sure you give yourself a FEW breaks within your busy studying schedule.
Finals week isn't our favorite week of the years, but it is an important one. Push through the stressful tears and the boring note cards. You can do it!