It is the time of year where the students are infected with baggy eyes, caffeine overdose, and over exhaustion. Yup, you guessed it. It is the week before finals. It is scarier than Halloween itself. Our grades are finally being submitted to BOLT, assignments are still due and not to mention a huge exam is next week that counts for a large portion of our grade.

During this time, There usually a few stages we go through when studying for finals. The first one is when we “buckle down” and tell ourselves that we are ready to study.  This is when you are very optimistic about the work you’re about to do. You are pushing those responsibilities into a nice rainbow box in our head that says “I can do this”. 

Stage two and three of finals week is procrastination and distraction phase. At this point, you may have been studying for about 25 minutes and see that notification light on your phone. 

This means “you must check it,’’ says the devil of the left shoulder. This is when you get lost in your emails that you never check, funny videos people send you on Instagram and looking at the firework photos you took in July for no reason. 

When finally you decide that that little reward on social media was enough to get back to studying, your stomach rumbles because you’ve only been feeding it Starbucks Caramel Brulee all day. This then takes you another hour for you to find food and eat it. 

The last stage is the breakdown and all nighter. These two go hand in hand as the last two did. This is when you realize that you have been not only procrastinating during the day but for weeks. Telling yourself that if you only started a few days ago this wouldn’t be so much of a load. 

After this breakdown is when the real studying happens. The inevitable all-nighter happens trying to cram everything before the exam. 

These stages of studying happens to almost everyone but this is not the only way finals week should be. All of these stages can be prevented with some organization. It is important to firstly schedule out your day and week. Figure when you will study each final you have and pencil in your free time.

 Rewards are a good thing when done right.There are many destressors on campus you can go to to get away from the same spot you were studying at.   Once you’re in your space to study, make sure it’s right for you. Some people are able to study in a cafe while others need complete silence. 

When studying, you should stick to what you know works best for you. Don’t try out new study habits if you know they won’t work for you. If you are a visual learner than stick to that. If writing flashcards helps you remember the information than continue to do so. 

Lastly, prioritize your assignments and work. Try studying for each class once. Then prioritize your time by using it on the classes you need the most time on. 

Each of us has a specific way that we handle finals week. Do what is best for you. Those dreadful stages of studying can easily happen. Try your best to focus and get the job done.

 If you think about the end goal, it’ll be over before you know it.The end of the semester is almost here that we can taste it and success tastes so much better than defeat.  Good luck huskies!