For many, this week goes by many names. The suicide seven, Black December, the long night. But to most, this week is known as finals week. It is the week when your future at your chosen educational institute is decided. It is much like that of a jury at a murder trial: who lives and who dies? Who is a success and who is a failure? For the young men and women going through this trying and borderline traumatic time, this is a week of sleepless nights, hungry days and blood curdling migraines. There is much pressure this week to be sure, but often students tend to make finals week even worse for themselves than they need to. Here are four common finals practices that you as a stressed out student should avoid doing to make finals week slightly more bearable.
1. Don’t pull all nighters: This is a tough one because when the time is ticking away and the work is piling up, it can be tempting to bang it out all in one night. Don’t do this. For one thing, you cannot complete your best work when you are sleep deprived. Your brain cannot take in information that you are trying to study when it has not had time to repair itself the way it must. If you need to only get three or four hours of sleep to get something done, that is better than nothing, but make sure you get something in. Your grades will thank you.
2. Don’t forget to eat: It is strange that when one’s schedule gets packed tight, food is one of the first things to go. Strange, because food is one of the things most essential to efficient human functionality. Food gives you energy, personality and helps you to think clearly. All things necessary to excel during finals week. And after all, how difficult is it to toss a banana in your bag on the way out the door?
3. Do not cram: Do not force feed yourself all of your flashcards on the night before an exam. Rather go over them leisurely over the course of a weekend or so. I know, easier said than done, but at least attempt it and then review again on the morning of the test.
4. Do not stress: You are intelligent, talented and so much more than a grade. I know it is hard to see right now in the darkness of Hell Week, but you are probably not going to fuck everything up. And besides, we are all in this together!
