The winter holidays are a joyous time full of spirit and happiness but are clouded by the stress of finals week.
While making vacation plans and looking forward to gathering with family, the stress of finals is always looming, not allowing you to enjoy the anticipation until the week is over.
For some people, knowing that the holidays are around the corner motivates them through finals week.
For people like me, it only makes it worse.
My laziness rolls in as the semester comes to an end. I see the finish line and want to go every way but through finals week to get to it.
I let my blankets encompass me in the cold weather rather than studying or writing essays.
Teachers tell us to push through, but I’d rather kick my responsibilities to the curb.
Although that is the dream, as a college student with responsibilities, I have to persevere and find a way to get my stuff done.
I have found the only way to get through finals week, is to get through the 15 weeks before it.
It starts at the beginning of the semester.
When classes first start, I download each class schedule from the syllabus and jot down how the semester is planned out. This allows me to prepare, or at least get mad at myself later on when I pretend I didn’t see assignments, essays and tests coming.
From there, I try to adhere to deadlines and plan accordingly so I am not pushing my research paper that I started in week five and never touched again all the way until finals week.
As the dreaded week approaches, I make sure I don’t go into break mode too soon and adhere to my normal routine.
Here are some ways to prepare for finals week:
- Start early: ask for lesson plans and class schedules ahead of time.
- Plan accordingly: balance your time wisely to create a reasonable deadline for all your assignments.
- Listen: when the teacher says to start an assignment, jump on it so it won’t catch up to you later.
What makes finals week harder than the rest is the weird schedules and the irregularly scheduled meetings.
Many teachers will cancel their online class the last week of the semester as long as their students finish their final by a certain time.
Personally, if given the option to not attend class and take an exam on my own time rather than take it during a regularly scheduled class, I will not pick the latter, but I will also suffer from it.
Instead of taking the time that I have allotted on a specific day and time for 15 weeks to do an hour assignment, I will instead wait until 10 p.m. the Friday it’s due to complete it.
In theory, the steps I take to prepare seem full-proof but there are many things that prevent me from completing them.
As a college student, what I’ve learned is more important than preparation is mental health.
If I’m not doing self check-ins during those 16 weeks and instead I’m pushing myself to my limit, I run out of energy before the semester is over.
Being realistic, sometimes I have to push a little harder even when I am not feeling it, but I must remember afterwards to take time for myself.
During finals week, it is critical to stay calm and care for yourself.
Don’t cram your work. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat a good breakfast. You’ve made it through 15 weeks; one more is nothing.
