Finals are here! Help! Its that time of the year again that the semester comes to an end and the weight of it all can drive you insane. Okay maybe that is a bit over exaggerated but its still very stressful and the fact that everyone around is too, doesn't help. That is not even counting the anxiety triggered by it. Over the last three years I have learn a few hacks for the stress not to overtake and be able to perform well in finals. Each person is different and not all work with everyone but here are some tips that work for me.


Set Goals.
No one knows you better than yourself, you know what your strength and weaknesses are and only you know what you are capable of achieving. What do you want your grades to look like at the end of the semester and what are you capable of doing. Based on these two set the grade goals and strive for them.

Don't Procrastinate.
If there is a person who can take the crown of procrastination it would be me. I understand how difficult it is to get things done on time but believe me ever since I do things with time I can proudly say the crown has been retired. Know ahead of time the dates you will take your finals, if there is conflict of schedule make sure to give both finals equal attention. Planers are great to set in paper the time you will be dedicating to each final. Don't wait until the end, remind yourself of your goal to motivate you to start on time.

Study.
A bit of an obvious one here but the more prepare you are the less you stress about the final exam. Make sure to make time to study for each final that will be taken. You know those questions that everyone gets wrong because "It wasn't part of the lecture", well I have a secret, its in the book! I am going to sound like every professor but read the material, it works. If you didn't quite understand a certain concept ask for help. Don't be embarrassed it is almost humanly impossible to understand everything to perfection it might take you a second time to fully get it and that's okay.  Study your notes! Studying with a group of people can sometimes be helpful as you can learn a different perspective of things that adds to the knowledge you have of that something.  Don't substitute it for individual study time because they can also be unpredictable. Be calm and take your time.

Reward Yourself.
 There are people who can study non-stop, I am not one of those people. After being focused and dedicating your time to something for long periods of time can become extremely draining. I like to take what I call "mental breaks" off of something and refresh my mental focus on whatever I was doing. You can think of them as little rewards, something small to motivate you to keep going. There are different things you can do; a snack, walk around, play your favorite song, watch a small YouTube video, etc... It does take self discipline and honesty to not get carried away and let it become a distraction but keeping in mind that as soon as you finish studying or with an assignment you can do whatever you want. Another reason doing things with time means that you don't have to sacrifice personal time, if you have focused on something for long, a night is fine or a day out with friends to enjoy life a little.

Positive Thoughts.
There is a famous quote I love that says "Positive thoughts, will bring positive outcomes", and I am a firm believer that this is true. Don't listen to the voices in your head that tell you so much negativity, don't give them power and kill them by creating positive ones. Keeping a positive mind will help the way you deal with things and make them easier. Not only that but you will feel more at peace and the stress will die out.  Positive thinking builds the confidence to do well in everything you do, keeping this spirit can result the preparation needed for finals.

That is all I have people, they might not be much but its a little something that can  maybe help someone out there. In the next two weeks I am taking mine, somehow I feel calm and confident about them seeing as I've been applying these tips myself. If you are taking any exam or finals, eat well, get plenty of sleep and I wish you all the best. 

Are you taking any finals? Did you already take some? How do you deal with finals stress?