How to Deal with Stress During Finals Week

The final week of the semester is already upon us.

Students across the world tremble as they begin to prepare for final tests,

presentations, or exams. In some cases, this final assignment makes or breaks

someone’s grade in the class, resulting in a hectic pass-or-fail situation. But how is your

well-being? How can you manage your time wisely and keep yourself in as calm a

situation as possible? It’s hard, but it’s not impossible.

First, make a checklist of all your assignments, including the due date, and break the list

down by which assignment you want to prepare first. Obviously, the due date could

heavily dictate when you begin an assignment, and how long you want to spend on it

during a day or week period. When you make your list of assignments due, for each

assignment, make a checklist of what needs to be done. For example, if you are writing

a paper, write down bullet point notes of what sources you are looking for, and write

notes on them. Another common skill is to look for all your resources before starting

your paper, and re-read the assignment directions until you are confident enough in the

material you found.

When spending hours on these assignments, you will feel the urge to be distracted.

Your roommates and friends will text you, you wish you were watching that football

game your friends have been talking about, and that Netflix show that ended on a

cliffhanger that you can’t stop thinking about. It is important to maintain a healthy work life

balance, even in college. My suggestion would be to break down assignments and

set a daily checklist so you don't fall behind. Maybe you can watch Monday Night

Football with your roommates if you complete two pages of that pesky 6-page paper

due on Friday. It’s all about setting goals to complete assignments before their

deadlines and making sure you don't burn out.

Commonly, when you are invested in your assignments, you forget to eat. PLEASE EAT

LUNCH AND DINNER. Food and water help you concentrate. Bring snacks to the

library, take a break, and fill up your water bottle. It’s ok to take short breaks to eat a

snack, use the restroom, and catch up on text messages, but set a timer on your phone

for how long you want to be on break, and do not exceed that limit, so you don’t fall out

of that working mindset.

Lastly, breathe and find resources if you’re struggling. There will always be

individuals you can reach out to on campus to get clarification on an assignment. Email

your professor and stop by office hours. Their goal is to help you with any assignments

a student is struggling with. If you stop by office hours before or during finals week, it

shows the professor that you care about the course, and you want to persevere even

when the material is challenging.

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