Editor’s note: Eccles Ambassador Ryan Herman gives students advice about how to survive during finals at The University of Utah David Eccles School of Business.
If you’re a student at the U, you probably don’t need to be told what is looming just around the corner: finals. Unfortunately, spring semester in Utah means that finals roll around just as spring makes life outside bearable. How could any student stay motivated when it’s sunny, 75 degrees, and summer is just around the corner? Here are 5 tips to get that motivation to study, ace your finals, and go out with a bang.
- Scheduling: The weeks before finals can be hectic. Projects, papers, and deadlines litter your calendar, and it may seem like too much to tackle and only stress you out. However, there are more hours in the week than we realize. Sit down and plan out your days by the hour. Scheduling your studying and assignments out not only allows you to see how manageable your workload is and find the motivation to tackle the now-conquerable beast, it also lets you find time to sleep, thus eliminating the need to pass out on the table at the library at 3 a.m.
- Exercise: this one might seem unrelated, but studies have shown students that exercise regularly before studying get better grades and are generally healthier mentally. Cramming, constant studying, and allowing the stress to build up actually makes things worse and can take away from motivation and performance. Scheduling regular exercise into your finals week will make hitting the library after that much easier and give you the energy boost you need to tackle that term paper.
- Goals: Goals are essential to staying motivated. Short term goals (picking assignments to finish, for example) help you feel satisfied with your work at the end of the day and drive you to repeat that feeling. Long term goals (like, y’know, SUMMER) help you keep your eyes on the prize and can drive you to want to go into summer feeling good about your grades. Use your summer plans as the finish line, and your motivation will follow.
- Go outside: This one might seem contradictory, but it’s been proven that exposure to sunlight can boost mood and energy. Take your notes outside, flip through your flashcards in the sun, review with your friends on the lawn. There’s no reason to ignore the beautiful spring weather on our amazing campus, and embracing it in your study plans can only help your motivation.
- Rewards: You’ve been putting in the work. You’ve scheduled yourself to the minute, gotten plenty of sleep, eaten well and exercised. Don’t be afraid to reward yourself. It doesn’t even have to be after finals are over. Set rewards for the goals you set each day, and you’ll find that the next day you’ll be all the more driven to complete your study goals.