COLUMN: How to succeed during finals
It was the beginning of finals week, and you woke up late for your first test. You jumped out of bed and frantically searched for your clothes. As you rushed to the front door to leave, you realized you had already missed the bus. You found your roommate in the kitchen and begged him to drive you to your class.
When you arrived on campus, you rushed into the classroom 30 minutes late. You stumbled up to your professor and looked at her with the best puppy-dog eyes you could muster and asked her if she would still allow you to take the final. She laughed as she said, “You have fifteen minutes. Good luck.” You grabbed the test, sat down and frantically attempted to answer each question. As you read the the test, you wondered what language the test was written in and if the professor was pulling a practical joke on the class. You definitely hadn’t read about any of this information in your six-hour cram session that ended at 4 a.m.
After finishing each of your finals, the grades were posted on Canvas and the results were scarier than your mother using your full name. As you attempted to drown the sorrows of your failed goals, you devoured a triple scoop Aggie Ice Cream cone and wondered what went wrong with your studying. You even asked yourself, “Why does this happen every semester?”
The answer to this question is quite simple: a lack of consistent preparation before finals can make any student have difficulties on even the easiest of exams. Being proactive in your studies can negate the necessity to consume ice cream until you are in a sugar coma.
Being more effective in your studying can be accomplished by finding your “Goldilocks Zone.” This zone is the time period that is “not too long” before your final you forget all of the information about and “not too close” to the exam you don’t have time to study as in-depth as the test requires. Finding this zone requires awareness of your study habits and that you study earlier than you have in the past. When you find the zone that works best for you, it will feel “just right” and you’ll be able to get the most out of studying.
After finding the Goldilocks Zone, it is important you create a mental map of your studies to maximize your productivity. Mapping out the dates of each test, assignments, and shifts at work provide you with a survey of your time availability during the week. Prioritizing these tasks can be done by addressing the following questions: What test/assignment is due first? What test am I least prepared for? And finally, what test am I most prepared for? Answering these questions can help you create a priority list that guides your study time.
Studying in your Goldilocks Zone and prioritizing your time well can never fully rid yourself of the stress associated with preparing for finals. While stress can be damaging to both the mind and the body, you can actually use this stress as a motivational force. Viewing stress as a natural preparation of your body to manage a tough task can protect against the negative influences of stress. Stress then becomes your personal superpower that helps you conquer finals week.
Practicing these skills can help you ace any test during finals. Go ahead and taste the porridge to find your Goldilocks zone, map out the landscape of finals week and let your stress propel you to success.
– Ty Aller is a master’s student in marriage and family therapy at USU. If you have topics relating to mental health that you want covered, send him your suggestions via email: Ty.Aller@aggiemail.usu.edu.