With the end of the school year coming soon, along come finals.  Whether it be the EOC, SAT, ACT, or whatever else, you have finals coming up.  Let’s face it, finals are not anyone’s idea of fun.  I’m sure most people would just skip out on them if given the opportunity to.  But, regardless of whatever feeling we have towards final exams, we still have to take them, unfortunately...  During the week that you’re taking final exams, just about everyone has the same two goals;  Do well on the tests/finals you have to take and keep your stress to a minimum.  I have composed ten ways to manage stress and study better.  If you follow these tips/steps you will (hopefully) do well on your final exams. 

1.  Exercise:  Taking a break from studying to exercise can help relieve your stress.  Riding a bike to and from school is a great exercise that can help reduce stress levels.  Also, brisk walks, runs, and sports can be a good way to let off extra energy as well as help you regain your concentration.  But make sure your exercise breaks aren’t too long.  Keep them to 15 minutes at most.

2.  Sleep:  Sleep is a vital component in how well you perform tasks in your day-to-day life.  If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t be able to focus enough of your attention to the task(s) at hand.  As a result, you will perform poorly.  Even during finals week, do not try to pull all-nighters!  You should try to go to bed at a reasonable time (sometime before midnight), and get at least eight to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep.  Plan plenty of sleep time in your schedule.  Getting a good night’s rest will help you study better (even if you will have less time to study) the time you do have will be more worth-while.

3.  Eat Healthily:  Many people (unfortunately) eat even more unhealthily during the week that they’re taking finals than they do durning other seasons.  This is a huge mistake.  Although junk food may give you instant energy, it will damage your concentration as well as your memory.  Eating healthy food like fruits and vegetables will increase your concentration and retention, and not to mention, you’ll feel a lot better when you start eating healthier. 

4.  Take Short Study Breaks:  Actually, studying nonstop is not helpful.  After a long period of time spent studying, your concentration will be broken.  As a result, the material that you are trying to learn will not be retained well.  Taking study breaks is a useful tip that will help you learn and retain information better, so that you remember what you studied for when the time comes to take the test.  Not all study time is equal.  -One hour of solid study time is not as useful as 20 minutes with five minute breaks in between.  In either option, you would study for an hour, but in the second case, your concentration and retention levels would be raised by the short breaks.  During these breaks in studying, you should do some activity that takes your mind off of the material you’re studying like; exercise, rest, eat, etc. 

5.  Mind The Time:  Beware of activities that steal your time unnecessarily.  During the week of finals, you must become a studying machine of sorts.  You don’t have time to go out to breakfast/lunch/dinner.  Long talks with others must be postponed until after the finals.  However, you can have short (5 minute) talks during your study breaks, if needed.  Basically, during finals week, you should endeavor to forget about your social life.  Everything that is not absolutely necessary must be put on hold until after you are finished with all of your finals.

6. Choose The Right Environment:  Don’t just start studding anywhere.  Make sure you find a quiet, orderly place.  Unfortunately, your bedroom is probably not a good place to study... With all the familiar objects around, it would be easy (too easy) to get distracted.  Instead, try to find “your own” corner of the library.  Every day, get there early and start studying.  A peaceful environment will help your concentration immensely.

7.  Prioritize:  “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”  -We have all heard and agreed with that phrase, but how come we still forget to plan sometimes?  If you just start studying with no plan, you’re likely overlooking important things, and over-studying unimportant subjects.  Plan your week, plan your day, and plan what you need to study.  If you plan out, and make a list of what you’re going to study, you will have a great layout of the things you have to study for and won’t overlook the important things.

8.  Get Help:  Many students are afraid to ask for help.  This is a big mistake.  How will you learn the material if you don’t understand it, or ask for help?  If you don’t understand  what to do or study, ask someone.  Ask your classmates, teachers, and your parent(s)/guardian(s).  As long as you don’t take too much of their time, any of those people will most likely be glad and willing to help you.  After all, you are all working together.  Doesn’t your teacher want to see you do well on your final exams?  Well, think about it, the teacher’s teaching ability is reflected by the students’ grades... Ask for help if you need it.  If you don’t, you won’t learn the material, and that’s not going to help you out on the final exams.

9.  Double Check Your Exam Times:  You might think that doing so is unnecessary, but it is always a good idea to double check things.  You might think, “Oh, I’d never forget when I had an exam!”, but it has happened before.  Take the necessary precautions.  When you’re taking multiple exams in the same week, it can be easy to confuse the times.  Write it on a sticky note, and put it on your refrigerator, computer, planner, anything that you’ll see on a regular basis.

10.  Study Groups:  Study groups are a very controversial subject.  Should you use them or just ignore them?  Much of the final decision depends on the group.  Some study groups aren’t useful for studying, and others are.  The best way to use a study group is for review.  Learn the material by yourself, and review it by explaining the material to the study group.  But, beware of study groups, often times they don’t work.  -If you don’t want to get with a study group, you could always review with a friend or family member.