Winter Break: So Close Yet So Far
Now that Thanksgiving weekend is over and we are approaching the final week of fall classes, it is easy to focus on the proximity of Winter Break, forgetting all the responsibilities of the present. Only ten days remain, yet something seems to be blocking my path towards victory: FINALS. As aggravating as they are, final exams represent a significant, typically high, percentage of final grades, which means now is not the time to give up, at least not yet. Here are some tactical strategies that I am going to use in a concerted attempt to optimize my efforts to study for finals next week.
1) Study intensely, but take a short breaks during review sessions
If I sit in the same place and stay in the same position for a long period of time, I begin to grow tired and lose focus. That’s why, every hour or so, I am either going to stand up and stretch, have a small snack as a reward, or enjoy a mini one-song dance break, probably to a Taylor Swift song, to rejuvenate my weary brain and help me maintain concentration.
2) Make a study schedule and study with a friend
Although I try to, I don’t always follow my schedule, usually because I just need to watch another episode of some TV show. Studying with a friend, who may or may not be studying for the same class, will ensure that I don’t get lost somewhere on the internet, because we will be able to help each other to stay on task. A ‘friend in need’ is….a study-buddy who thoughtfully ‘reminds’ you to close all those tabs of different BuzzFeed quizzes and concentrate on class notes!
3) Five Minutes Before the Exam
Before going to take a final, take two minutes to position yourself in a high-power pose, because, according to TED speaker Amy Cuddy, such poses activate hormones that configure your brain to be more assertive, confident and comfortable. She says that “our bodies change our minds, our minds change our behavior, and, our behavior changes our outcome.” So if leaning back, putting my feet up on my desk and pretending I’m the Commander in Chief will yield even the slightest chance of a more positive result on my Discreet Structures exam, I’m doing it.
Images from: http://beeinmilwaukee.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/charlie-brown-dance-o.gif ; http://beeinmilwaukee.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/charlie-brown-dance-o.gif ; https://tinyobsessions.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/tumblr_inline_mymjv6lvnp1ruj0pc.gif