Surviving finals period: a Dartbeat guide
- Realize everyone is different. Some people need to micromanage their week into half-hour chunks. If you're one of those people, that's cool. If you're not, try to stay organized, but don't let the hyper-planners stress you out. The same goes for sleeping, exercising, whatever. Do what works for you.
- Let your natural sleep patterns take over. For some, this may mean studying until 5 a.m. One really nice thing about being a total night owl is that you get free reign of the library. At five in the morning, no one is texting you back, no one is tweeting and you can pace around the periodicals room reciting things to memorize them because it’s totally empty. If you like to go to bed at 7 p.m. and wake up at 3 a.m. to study, go for it.
- That being said; don't pull an all-nighter the night before an exam, especially if it's an 8 a.m. exam. You won't make it, so don't even think about it. Your brain won't work. Make sure you get enough sleep, even if you are keeping really odd hours.
- If you do end up finishing your paper at 4 a.m. that's due six hours later, classroom buildings are usually locked in the middle of the night. Don't bother making the trek over to Wilder Hall, you'll be out of luck. Just set your alarm to wake up in a few hours to turn it in, and then go back to sleep.
- Spend the day in FoCo. The upstairs level has big tables, and is usually not too noisy. Your negative DBA account will thank you when you manage to get all of your meals out of one meal swipe.
- Packing can be a nice study break. For upperclassmen that are moving outof their dorms, make sure you leave time in your schedule to pack. A box here and a box there will make your last night so much less stressful. In theory packing after your last exam may seem like the most practical idea, but when you and your roommate have a 7 a.m. coach ride the morning after your last final, you will be left stressed-out, sleep-deprived and completely dysfunctional. Besides you want to spend that last night hanging out, not running around at 2 a.m. trying to procure more cardboard boxes.
- Remember to sell back your books. Whatever your preferred method is: Wheelock, Belltower, those stands on the corner of Wheelock and Main Street — don't wait until the last minute. They are also a nice way to get cash when, in the midst of your packing, you have misplaced your credit card and need to pay the delivery guy.
- Be careful what you eat. The right late night snacks can get you through the night. Odwalla at 4 a.m.? Go for it. A cup of coffee at 11 p.m. to revitalize a study session? It works for some people. Warmed-up leftovers from The Orient full of MSG? You'll feel like crap.
- Don't be a jerk and leave your things in the library to save a table for too long. The rule of thumb varies here. Leaving your stuff for half an hour to go get food? Totally fine. Leaving your stuff from 2 to 9 p.m.? Totally not fine. However at 2 to 9 a.m.? Fine. Although be warned, I've seen the custodians cleaning up loose-leaf papers, so make sure your work doesn't look too much like trash.
- Lastly, back up your work. Whether it’s emailing your paper to yourself every couple hours, using Dropbox or a USB flash drive, you should do this. There is nothing that will make your heart stop beating when you try to turn on your computer and your screen looks like the ants that appear when you try to watch MTV at your grandma's house where there is no cable.
Remember, all is fair in love and war, and finals. So to speak. Good luck!