Distractions

One last thing to keep in mind when you are studying is you want to limit the amount of things that could possibly distract you.  While some distractions may be good from time to time, you do not want something that is going to catch your attention every other minute. 

Make sure you put your cell phone on silent.  I am a person that doesn’t always do this to start and then when I get into actually studying I realize what a big distraction my cell phone is.  I am tempted to look at it to talk to people or check my email.  Even when it is on silent sitting out sometimes I am still tempted.  My phone has a light that blinks when I get something new so I may just look to see if the light starts blinking.  What I have learned helps prevents me from checking my cell phone is putting it away.  Out of sight out of mind.  By putting it away I am not tempted to constantly look at it because my phone is not in front of me as a constant reminder.  I use checkpoints in my studying to decide when I will check to see if there is anything new.

If you are a person that uses their computer while they study Facebook, Twitter, and any other type of social media can be a constant distraction.  If you can, turn off your Internet if you will not need it.  This is an easy way to prevent yourself from going on such sites.  If this is not enough to stop you from going on the sites because you are a person who will turn your Internet back on I learned of a program called SelfControl.  SelfControl makes it so that you can choose the websites that you want to block to keep from distracting yourself.  You are able to select the amount of time that you would like the sites to be blocked.  Once you have set SelfControl there is no way to undo it.  It does not matter if you turn of your computer; the program keeps working and will not allow you to go on the websites listed until the set time runs out.  I have found SelfControl to work the best for myself just because very often I will need to access ANGEL while I am studying.  I have also noticed that once I cannot access these websites I have no desire to.  

Picking the Perfect Place

You have planned your study schedule, organized your lectures, and decided when you would take study breaks and sleep.  Now it is time to actually start studying which is probably the hardest part of the entire process.  When you decide that it is time to start studying like your study schedule tells you you should be doing you must decide where you would like to go to get your studying done. 

Make sure that you think of a place that will have least amount of distractions.  Sometimes this is hard to think of, especially during finals when the last thing you want to be doing is studying because of the nice weather or you are daydreaming of the freedom you will have once you have finally completed your classes. 

You probably do not want to go to a place this is really loud or has a television on in the background.  These are the two biggest distractions that anyone will experience.  If there are people talking around you, you may be tempted to try and eavesdrop because most likely even if they are talking about the most boring thing that you would never be interested in otherwise, when you are studying anything is more interesting than concentrating on what you learned in class.  Televisions are also distracting not just because of the noise that they make, but because of the graphic imagines.  Your eyes will be drawn to whatever is on the screen because it is colorful and moving. 

Your dorm or apartment may also not be the best place to select to study.  This is somewhere that you always are and should be the place during finals week that you look to go back to so that you can relax and sleep.  If you stay there you may be tempted to lie in your bed, make food, clean up, ect.  By staying in your dorm or apartment there will also be people around that are not studying because they may be finished with their finals or just do not care.  They will try to talk to you and make noise that will distract you.  It is best to get yourself away from situations such as these.

The areas that I find most beneficial to study are the library, in classroom buildings, and at the HUB.  The library is a study environment; if people are there they are there to study.  There are many different rooms to go depending on the type of area that you prefer to study in.  Many people also find classroom buildings beneficial to for studying because it is a similar environment to what you will be taking your final exam in and it is the place that you are used to learning.  Having relatable things such as these will help put you in the mindset that this is the time that you should be focusing on your academics.  Finally, while downstairs in the HUB may be distracting on the second and third floor there are a few study cubicles.  If you are one of the lucky people to get one of these you will be set.  You have your own desk area where you will not be able to look around for people to distract you and there are outlets if you need to plug in anything.

Make sure you think ahead of time where you want to study.  Finals week everyone is looking around for the perfect spot.  Plan it out and try and get there early to make sure you have the prime location where you will be able to maximize your time.

Make Sure You Sleep!

During and leading up to finals week it is so important to make sure that you are getting plenty of sleep.  I know that for a lot of people they think about sleeping and get stressed out because it is time that it is taking away from their studying.  Students need to stop thinking about sleep that way and start to understand how much sleeping really does help a person’s body and brain to function better.  It is a way for a person’s body to relax and have time to recuperate. 

It is not healthy for people to try to see how long they can stay awake.  You should not be drinking coffee, energy drinks, or taking any kinds of pills to help you.  Your body is telling you that it is tired for a reason and you need to listen to what your body is telling you.  Take the time to sleep in the long run you will see that it is more beneficial to do so rather than seeing how many hours you can stay up in a row.  As you get more tired you will not be focusing as much and your brain will not retain the information as well.  While you will remember some of the information, it will take you longer to remember it.  You will notice if you get a good nights sleep that you will not have this problem because your brain will be well rested and your body will be ready to study.

Besides being about to retain the information more accurately, by getting a good nights sleep there is less of a chance that you will get sick.  Very often you will see that a lot of students get sick after finals week or when they do not get enough sleep for other reasons.  This is because your body does not have that time to rest and be able to build up to fight against bacteria and viruses.  The last thing you want during finals week is to get sick and still have to take your exam.

If you have been following my other advise you should not be worrying that you do not have enough time to sleep.  You should have already planned when you are going to be studying what so that you do not have to worry about running out of time to study before the exam.  When you were making your study schedule you should have also put in time to make sure that you have a chance to sleep.  Even though sleeping does take up your study time if you take time to sleep you will realize how beneficial it really is.  By sleeping you are just making the next day of studying easier on yourself.

Organizing Your Room and Study Material

Once you have organized yourself by making a calendar and making a study schedule it is important that you organize yourself.  This means making sure your room is clean and organized and that any materials that you could possibly be using in your studying are organized.  You should organize your room and the area that you live because it is a more calming area that way.  When you do not see a mess it makes you less anxious and have less to think about.  If there is a mess around you it may be in the back of your head that you need to clean it up at some point.  When you are making your study schedule make sure in the beginning that you allow time to clean up your living area.  In the end you will see that it will make you feel better when you are studying and allow you to concentrate more.  It will also prevent your mind from wondering while you are trying to get your work done.  

It is important that you organize your study and class material.  If you do this it will allow you to know where everything is that you could possibly have to study.  Make sure that you have all the notes from the lectures that your exam is covering and have them in order.  If you are missing any lecture material make sure to contact someone in your class to get it from them.  You should not just forget about this material because you are just allowing yourself to lose points easily on your exam for being lazy.  

Also make sure you know what could possibly be covered on your exam.  You do not want to walk in and have only studied for the material that was covered since the last exam when your exam is cumulative or the other way around.  If you are unsure about what your exam is covering look at your syllabus or contact your professor.  Do not be scared to ask questions that is why professors and teaching assistants are there.  They want to help you and see you succeed; teachers do not want you to fail their courses.

Remember before you start studying organizing yourself.  While you may feel that it takes up time that you need before you begin to study you will see in the end that you will save time.  You are not going to have other things going through your head while you are studying.  You will also realize that you are saving time because you will not be scrambling to find material when you are studying because you will already know where it is.  

Make A Study Schedule

With the end of the semester and finals approaching it is important that you stay on top of everything that you have and keep your life organized.  I would suggest starting out by making a calendar with everything that you have now until your last final.  By doing this you are making sure that you do not miss any deadlines and you can plan out your time accordingly.  This is always important when it comes to studying as well.  You should be planning out the material that you want to go over each day that way you are not cramming to learn everything at the last minute.  By spacing the information that you need to study out you have a better chance of retaining it.  Also when if comes to taking the actual exam you are more likely to remember the information even if you get nervous when you go to take your exam.  The more time you spend studying the better it will stay in your head and become part of everyday knowledge that you know.  

When planning out your study schedule I would also suggest planning some time in there to have fun and take a break.  This is important for your mindset during finals.  If you are tiring yourself out by studying nonstop you are not going to retain the information.  Just like you do during the rest of the semester make sure that you have some time to hang out with your friends, get food, and maybe watch a movie.  By being relaxed and taking time out of your schedule to take a break you will see in the end it will be more beneficial to your studying habits.  It will also make you be in a better mood when you are studying and not mind doing it as much if you know that you have some sort of break or fun activity to look forward to if you accomplish what you need to for that day.  Keep in mind when planning your schedule that it has been suggested that for every 50 minutes that you study your should take a 10 minute study break.  

Finally, when studying make sure that you are testing yourself on the information that you have already gone over before you begin new information each day.  This will allow you to realize if there is a topic that you need to go back to and look at some more.  By doing this it will also refresh your mind about the information you have already gone over so that you know you are retaining the information and you can see the progress that you have made in your studying.  You will feel more accomplished and see where all your time is going if see you understand what you have learned.