#finals studying

DAY 1 // Finals

Today was the last day of classes and I thought I would spend the extra time studying  (I don’t have a desk at my house yet so I am using a portable table and a chair! Make do with what you can!)

Feat. My bio cards and notes

So you have a final in two days (maybe three, since the final is at night) & it’s in one of your worst subjects, what do you do? (And just to up the ante a little, let’s say you also have anxiety. (#actuallymern))

Day One:

The hardest part of studying is often starting, so today is all about getting that foundation set, so that tomorrow & test day you aren’t extremely anxious.

find a place to study with the following requirements:

around people (will make you more accountable)

generally quiet

spread out space

near to a working water fountain/ water source

doesn’t make you anxious

makes you comfortable, but still alert

bonus: pack some food, water, and maybe coffee/ tea

make a list of what will be on the test

star the things you don’t know shit about

take > 90 hrs to study/ understand fully 

circle the things you’re confused about

take 45- 90 minutes to study/ understand fully

box the things you generally know 

take < 45 minutes to study/ understand fully

make a separate list of the starred items

determine which of the starred items you know the least/ is making you the most anxious

start there. (this technique is what I like to call “the big frog technique” basically imagine you were given a bucket of frogs of various sizes and you had to eat all of them. In the bucket there’s just this really huge fucking frog with warts and slime, and you 100% don’t want to eat it. BUT if you eat this really gross frog first, eating all the other frogs will seem easier, perhaps even pleasant. With studying it’s the same- eat the big frog first & then everything else will feel better/ more manageable.)

Tackle the “Big Frog” item on your list (see about italics) & follow UPT

Understand- the material by reviewing/ writing out notes. Use your textbook, notes, powerpoints, youtube, and other resources.

Practice- do practice problems, multiple choice, short answer questions, essay outlines, etc. 

Teach- make notes or a presentation or /something/ that you could theoretically give to someone else to help them learn the material. 

tip: if you’re feeling a time crunch focus on U & P, tomorrow’s studying will focus more on the T aspect!

Rinse & Repeat with the rest of the star items

If you have the energy/ time, also do all/some of the circle items

Bonus:

drink water

snack/ eat meals

take stretching breaks

straighten your back

take short walk breaks

turn off your phone

block facebook or whatever distracts you 

shower

take care of yourself once your study session has ended

sleeep

save the last 3-4 hours of the day for you: read, watch a show (try not the binge watch though), watch a movie, write, do art, put on a facemask, do what makes you happy b/c life isn’t just about school.

Day Two:

Alrighty, you’ve done most of the heavy lifting yesterday (go you!), so today is all about that practice. (~ ‘bout that practice~). Also, your anxiety hopefully will be lower today that it was yesterday when you started studying. if it’s not, get yourself to a place where you won’t be as likely to procrastinate/ be anxious & study their. Enlist a friend if you need too. And (I know this tip might not be helpful if you’re currently really anxious, but I promise that it works for me when I’m starting to get anxious) just start. Start with a single sentence or a video. Build up from easy studying things to harder ones. As you get more comfortable/ focused, you’ll likely get less anxious. 

Finish any of the circles left over from yesterday following the same UPT model. 

that’s pretty standard at this point, and you’re already a pro at studying with this method. 

Quickly review the star/ circle items from yesterday

we’re talking 5-10 minutes per item. Test yourself on the concepts, look over the practice problems/ questions/ outlines, maybe redo them if you’re feeling it

on a post-it note, write down what you still don’t understand. 

Do the boxed items on your list, following the UPT method.

ideally these shouldn’t take you too long to do, since you already understand this material fairly well. 

Memorize whatever you need to memorize 

if you haven’t been doing it along the way

Check your list & make sure you’ve covered everything.

you should have at this point, unless you forgot to star, circle, or box an item on your list. 

this would be the time to really look over your notes/ labs/ prelabs/ whatever. if there’s any term/ concept you don’t understand, study that before moving forward.

Do some more practice problems from your textbook/ old worksheets/ a worksheet your professor or TA made

try to do problems where you’ll actually be able to check the answer against an answer sheet or a friend’s answer.

Message a friend/lab partner/TA/Professor with any questions that you have.

you don’t really want to be confused after today, so, even though it’s scary to ask questions, do ask them. 

protip: you can also try asking questions in the comments section of the khan academy videos (or other educational videos), but don’t necessarily expect that it will be answered immediately. 

Make a review packet for a ‘friend’! 

Alright this is where the teaching part comes in. (yay!) You’re going to want to pretend that you’re making a review packet for a friend containing everything you’ve studied. 

I say for a friend, but you could also make notes with the intent to share them with other people in the studyblr community.

So the big tasks for teaching are:

break down the subject & define terms in your own words

try to break out of the notes standard notes system, use drawings, poems, children’s picture book, audio, video, power point lecture whatever medium excites you/ makes you feel like you’re really teaching. 

walk through practice problems/questions/ outlines & explain why you’re doing what you’re doing to get these answers. (make sure your ‘friend’ knows where the numbers or concepts are coming from & things parts of an equation/ quotes from a book relate to each other). 

be creative & try to allow the most time in your studying day for this.

Go to a review session/ study with a friend. 

this is a good opportunity to ask questions if you have any

generally, this session should make you feel like you’re polishing up, if it doesn’t, take down notes on what you don’t understand & either figure them during the session or UPT them after the session.

Review your review packet/ presentation/ poetry/ whatever teaching material you made

GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP! & follow the same bonuses as yesterday.

Day of the Exam:

Today is easy peasy all you have to do is:

review your packet throughout the day

pretend your professor is allowing you to bring an index card into the exam & make that index card

make sure to eat good meals & stay hydrated

make sure you’re rested/ awake for the exam

make sure you’ve got your pencils/ calculator/ whatever you need for the exam

-Please remember to eat!  And not “I’m too busy studying to eat!” or “Oh I’ll grab some potato chips and a twix.”  Actually eat something substantial.  Make yourself scrambled eggs and toast.  Put some fruit on top of yogurt.  Go grab Chipotle.  Whatever floats your boat.  Food helps keep your energy up!

-Drinking is also important!  Keep some water by your side.  Tea and coffee can be good too, just not too much of it!  (And don’t go for any energy drinks like 5hour energy!)  Hydrate your brain!

-Get up and move once in a while.  You may find that hard to do, maybe you’re in a library with lots of people or you just lack motivation.  In the great words of Shia LaBeouf, “Just do it!”  Put on your favorite song and jump around.  Go to the furthest reaches of the library and run up and down a deserted aisle.  This will keep you awake and focused.  Seriously.

-Be confident.  Even if you need a 200% to pass your class, study hard and walk into the exam like you own the room.

-Don’t just read your notes.  Make flash cards.  Quiz your friend.  Have your friend quiz you.  Explain a concept to someone who doesn’t know what you’re studying.

-Khan Academy is a great resource.  Crash Course by John and Hank Green is also very good, and funny so it keeps your interest.

-Have set break times.  15-20 minute breaks in between 30-40 minutes of studying can be very beneficial.