With dreams of summer almost upon us, finals are the last and most challenging things standing in the way of our glorious three month break from school. Every semester, the rigorous tests, projects and papers can seem overwhelming. Balancing all the assignments with the rest of the end of the year activities, finals season can be a lot to handle. The Torch understands this and has a few tips for you to help you survive the storm…

Take it one step at a time

Conquering any task, whether it is for school or not, can be overwhelming if you try to do everything all at once. We suggest taking everything in small doses. That 12 page paper you have to write? Try writing two or three pages a day. The huge presentation worth 50% of your grade? Do one slide a day for a week. By taking small steps, big projects can be much more manageable. Leaving everything until the last minute, although tempting, will overwhelm you and stress you out.

Give yourself a break

This one is crucial. Doing work 100% of the time will guarantee that you burn out and lose focus. If you can manage your time to give yourself at least an hour each day to just relax and watch some mindless TV (or whatever you do to chill out) you’ll be in good shape. Everyone needs a break every now and then, and a healthy pause from your work will do wonders for your mind.

Get your Z’s

We all love sleep, everyone loves to sleep. In finals season more than any other time of year, sleep is super important. It is much harder to study when you’re cracked out on cans of Red Bull, cups of coffee and bags of candy. Just take the natural route, stay healthy and get some good ol’ fashioned rest. You’ll feel refreshed and ready to get stuff done in the morning, making for a much more productive day.

Clean your study space

Whether it is your room or a small desk in your parent’s’ home office, making the space you work in clutter free and clean will actually help you concentrate more. Not only will it help eliminate distractions, but having a neat work space will also help your mind feel cleaner, too, and ready to study. A clean mind is a happy mind, and the same logic goes for work spaces.

Good luck on finals!