Study Tips for Finals (Studyblr ed.)
1. Syllabus/Course Outlines: That
paper that the teacher gave on the first day of class is probably one
of the most important item of the course. If you lost it or cannot find
it, the teacher probably posted it online, so go get yourself a copy of
it. If your finals are cumulative, then you will be tested on all the
materials from day one.
I live by the saying. Work First, Play Later.
Get rid of all that you must do first so that afterwards, you will not have to think about your procrasinated tasks when you are having fun.
4. Balance: Finals is not another synonym to go full out berserk. Finals are important, but your well being is much more important. If you get sick, there is no way that you will be able to focus whilst you study. Look after yourself first.
You probably have many different hobbies(since we are on Tumblr, we probably belong to many different fandoms). During your down time, just enjoy your time off by doing something that you love and that relaxes you. If you like reading, just go off and read the book that you were waiting to read.
If you like to game, then carry on your adventure in the 2D world. (My down time/free time will probably be spent on playing Pokemon Alpha Sapphire). Whatever it is just, do an activity that puts your mind at ease. It will help relieve your stress from school and life.
Mental Health is as important as Physical Health.
6. Study Space: Changing the environment where you study is said positive benefits. But, in terms of areas to avoid studying:
Rainy Mood (X) Coffitivity (X) SimplyNoise(X) 8tracks(X)
8. Pomodoro Timer: Study in blocks of 25 minutes. For every 25 minutes of studying take a 5 minute break. After four blocks of 25 minutes, take a 20 minute break(Long Break).
Use the timers that are available on IOS, Android and PC (X), (X)
9. Additional Tips:
-
The syllabus contains all the topics that have or should have been covered throughout the semester. The best way to start to prepare for finals is to at least know what are the topics that you must study.
Ideally, studying a month before finals is good. But, it takes planning. Without planning, the days before the finals will fly by. When planning, remember that you cannot just study for the finals the whole day.3. Procrastination: If you plan on studying something, then just do it. The more time that you spend waiting, the higher the risk of you cramming before finals will become. If you want to get something done, then work at it. Do not drop what you are doing just because you can complete your task later. Because that ‘later’ will probably turn into another ‘later’ and by the time you get around to complete the task, you will have spent much more time than you needed on it.
Classes are still taking place and you will get homework, papers, tests and assignments. So, in terms of review restrict yourself to max. 2 hours a day. If you do not have homework/have less school work on a certain day, you can study more. But, do not neglect or procrasinate your current school work in order to study for finals.
*Although your finals’ grade may improve, your overall grade is based on a good part of the work completed before the final.(e.g. final=30% of overall grade; in class=70% of overall grade).
For Monthly Calendars: (X)Online Planner(X)Other Calendars (X).
I live by the saying. Work First, Play Later.
Get rid of all that you must do first so that afterwards, you will not have to think about your procrasinated tasks when you are having fun.
4. Balance: Finals is not another synonym to go full out berserk. Finals are important, but your well being is much more important. If you get sick, there is no way that you will be able to focus whilst you study. Look after yourself first.
Get enough sleep. Just because of finals, do not study until you get a headache. Do not try to study long hours. Study at the time when you feel much more alert. There is no point in studying until 2 AM if you are entering cycles of microsleep.5. Down Time/Free Time: If you plan on studying every single day, you will experience something known as a crash. The crash is when you not feel like doing anything at all and it can harm your productivity and discourages you. To avoid this crash, you have to schedule a day where you just relax. A day where you do not stress and study as much.
*If you are tired, take a nap. It does help.
*Any more than 90 minutes, you will not call it a nap.
- 10~20 mins: Power Nap
- 26 mins: NASA Nap
- 30 mins: Bad Nap (Avoid)
- 60 mins: The Slow-Wave Sleep Nap
- 90 mins: The Full Sleep Cycle Nap
You probably have many different hobbies(since we are on Tumblr, we probably belong to many different fandoms). During your down time, just enjoy your time off by doing something that you love and that relaxes you. If you like reading, just go off and read the book that you were waiting to read.
If you like to game, then carry on your adventure in the 2D world. (My down time/free time will probably be spent on playing Pokemon Alpha Sapphire). Whatever it is just, do an activity that puts your mind at ease. It will help relieve your stress from school and life.
Mental Health is as important as Physical Health.
6. Study Space: Changing the environment where you study is said positive benefits. But, in terms of areas to avoid studying:
- Bed: Avoid the bed. If you are doing your homework, fine. It is alright. But, studying on your bed can make you sleepy even when you do not feel sleepy at all. And you will doze off.
- Beany Chairs: They are a comfortable place to sit and read, but not study…
- In front of the TV: Some people say that they can study with the TV open. But, I think that it is a distraction. Avoid the TV if you want to study. Focus on one activity. If you want to watch TV, go ahead, but do not study. Vice-versa.
- Loud Areas: Generally, loud areas hinder your ability to focus and concentrate. Unless you have Noise-Canceling Headphones, avoid.
7. Silence: If you cannot stand the silence, play some instrumental music in the background. If not, maybe these sites do you some good:
- Park
- In your Bedroom
- Library(Silent Area if available)
- Any silent/study area at your school
- Café (Again, the noise may or may not bother you)
- Study Chamber (Do people have those anymore?)
- A place that has a desk and a chair (That is not noisy)
Rainy Mood (X) Coffitivity (X) SimplyNoise(X) 8tracks(X)
8. Pomodoro Timer: Study in blocks of 25 minutes. For every 25 minutes of studying take a 5 minute break. After four blocks of 25 minutes, take a 20 minute break(Long Break).
Use the timers that are available on IOS, Android and PC (X), (X)
9. Additional Tips:
- Do not try to perfect your notes. Some studyblr have neat handwriting and the most unique and colourful notes, but it takes time. On your finals, you will be tested on the material, not on now amazing your notes look like. Focus on learning the material first.
- If you sit down and study a long period of time, you will feel tired. If you cannot feel your toes, it is a sign that you should walk around a bit.
- Coffee is good, tea as well. Hot chocolate is not a problem, milk either. But, avoid energy drinks. They are not worth it. If you need energy, take a nap. The energy drink’s crash is something that you do not want to experience.
- Practice Tests/Inclass Examples/Inclass notes: These are the best thing to study first because they cover a good part of the topics for the finals.
- If you are allow a memory aid/cheat sheet, prepare it before hand. Use it when you are redoing the examples from your previous tests.
- 24 hours before the exam, try not to study that subject. Do not think about that subject. You have done all that you can. There is no sense in cramming additional information that you know and that you have studied. If needed, just do a small review of under an hour.
