It’s never too early to start thinking about how you’re going to successfully cope with finals week. I’m sorry to break it to you, but finals are as certain as death and taxes.
As the first half of the semester draws to a close, you will probably start feeling the tingling in the back of your mind. People will start talking about how you are advised to stick to a healthy study routine, and why you should not procrastinate and when is the right time to start counting the number of points you have so far in a class so you can plan for your potential failure… and a slew of other famous “golden rules” you have certainly heard before.
Via: favim.com
I’ll let professors, parents, responsible friends and/or informational posters do the job of outlining all that boring stuff when the right time comes. For now, you can keep my personal list of chill, self-indulgent tips on how to think ahead to finals week.
1. There is nothing in life quite as grounding as your favorite fall TV Show.
TV shows are awesome distractions, and there’s a lot of money involved in making sure that each episode only lasts a set amount of time – in short, they can be very easily and predictably built into any self-respecting study schedule as a break. Don’t treat the TV show break as a reward, but as a weekly personal right. Each episode is completely external to your own life events, and they will happen whether you finish the amount of work you set out to do for the day or not. You might as well keep up with that, at least. Plus, the most popular shows happen during week nights, so it’s not like you should be going out anyways, right?
Via: catster.com
2. It’s still too early in the semester to reward yourself only for the legit study goals.
Suppose you’re a student taking one of those very time-consuming writing courses. Soon enough, your professor will hint that you should start thinking about what your final research thesis will be. Bonus points for lining up your arguments. And honestly, if you have the mental discipline and drive to do that in advance, then go you. But let’s be real: Chances are you’re only taking this stupid course to fulfill, ugh, the Gordon Rule Requirement, so you’re either in denial or you straight-up don’t care about the damned paper when you have the exam for your [Insert intense science course here] class in a couple of weeks. We all have those classes. The bad thing is, I promise you that the final week workload for those classes will hit you like a brick later on, if you’re not careful.
My proposed solution: trashy study goals. Forget everything your parents ever told you and reward yourself for the annoying things you were always supposed to do anyway. It’s raining and you really don’t feel like going to class? Reward yourself afterwards if you go. It’s hard to pay attention? Reward yourself for paying attention. Idiotic assignment is only worth five points and definitely not worth the stress? Seriously, at this point in the semester, you have every right to drop homework to go to that one concert if you do complete the assignment.
Via: lantern.com
Remember, as trashy as your study goals may be, the rewards system only works if you have enough self-restraint not to reward yourself if you don’t fulfill them.
3. Partying and sleeping are not mutually-exclusive.
And they can co-exist along with studying. You just have to stay organized. And yeah, I know, this sounds awfully like the Stick-To-A-Study-Schedule rule. Well, maybe it is just like that, but I invite you to look at it from a different perspective. How about sticking to a party schedule? Pick a reasonable amount of parties or other events that appeal to you, and go to them no matter what. Build your schedule accordingly. Submit your online assignment the night before, or make sure you’ll have enough time for it next morning before it’s due. Also: Stick to a fixed, healthy sleep schedule. My God, put those books away after midnight. I promise you did nothing to deserve this.
Via: dailybruin.com
4. Don’t procrastinate.
I only add this one to my personal list so I can feel good about myself. Yeah, very simple: Don’t procrastinate.
This item comes with a Potential Damage-Control Protocol, though.
Potential Damage-Control Protocol: When you procrastinate, plan for it.
Sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. Just think about what generally happens when you procrastinate: regret and aggravation and the typical student brand of self-loathing, all on top of all the shit you still need to do before your final deadlines. None of that will help you. In fact, fucking God, I’m such an idiot, why the fuck did I do this to myself and similar lines of thought will only distract you and slow you down.
Via: updates.lifehacker.com
So, before any of that hits, make sure you address the core question: why the fuck are you doing this to yourself? Answering the question is not strictly meant to keep you from pushing back your homework for whatever reason. It’s meant to make you think about the reason why you might be willing to do it, and what makes it worth it. That way, when it’s 3:15 a.m. and the coffee ran out and the research paper is due in five hours and you can’t even phrase the stupid thesis, you can think your way out of your hole with something like, Yeah, but actually, that party was really awesome.
5. If all else fails…
In the end we’re all going to die anyway, not just you, and not because you didn’t do well in an exam.
Featured photo courtesy of: dropouttodeanslist.com
