A Realist's Guide to Surviving Finals
With finals approaching, college students all over the nation are saying tearful goodbyes to their social lives, their beds and reasonably nutritious foods.
Here are some tips to consider when preparing for finals and the inevitable inability to adult that comes with fighting the week.
1. Make a Game Plan
You will without a doubt abandon this game plan at some point during the week; but make a game plan now so you have a starting point. Start with the basics …
- Is there a book you need to buy in order to write one of your papers? Buy and read that now.
- Are all of your final papers due on the same day? Estimate how long each paper will take, then plan accordingly when to start working on each paper.
- Are your papers not due on the same day? Start working on the one that is due earliest right now and get it out of the way.
- Are you overwhelmed with a feeling of inadequacy and the sense that your college major is all wrong for you? Do not open that door, there is no time. Play loud studying music right now.
2. Do Laundry
Fashion is one of my lowest priorities during finals week (and life to be honest), but there are limits. If you are going into finals week with only one clean sock, two pairs of underwear and a flannel shirt that even after febreezing still smells like Ramen, you are not setting yourself up for success.
I find that any lounge wear with the ability to hide coffee and drool stains works best for finals week. Do laundry before the stress hits so you can feel like a comfortable functioning human who wears clean, somewhat matching clothes while claiming residency at the school library.
3. Keep Going to Class
- Rack up participation/attendance points while you can.
- The last few readings usually conclude the class really nicely. You won’t want to miss these class discussions and you should show some respect to your teacher who crafted the syllabus by showing up … and these ‘final thoughts’ can be really helpful for your final paper/final exam; so go to class.
- See the sunlight while you still can.
4. Talk to Other Humans
Clear your mind with social interaction, ward off insanity and ensure your friends you are fun so that when you decide to skip step #2 and they see you wearing a single sock, a flannel shirt and no pants they’ll forgive you and still hang out with you.
Need some added incentive to hang out with your friends? Take a look at this terrifying list of some of the things that stress can cause.
5. Buy Groceries
Food is fuel. Forgetting to eat will only do terrible things to your performance and ability to cope with stress. Alternatively, ordering Grubhub for every meal will only do terrible things to your bank account.
Stock up on healthy foods, protein-packed meals to eat on the sly in the library and snack foods for 3 a.m. crunch time.
Steer clear of energy drinks though – if you end up needing one you can make a 7/11 run but relying on them can be dangerous.
Don’t plan to fail, plan to eat red peppers and then fail and eat pizza.