Hooray! finals are here

If you’re like me when finals are around the corner, you eat a lot, you sleep a lot, you don’t feel like doing anything and you don’t want to do anything. Then you feel guilty about being lazy and you eat a lot and so on and so forth… it seems like a vicious circle…BUT! I work better under stress as well, I just need to pull myself up and get to work.

While our CUNY schools cannot really afford to offer us a stress-less week like the University of Mississippi , we can find ways to deal better with stress.

But first here are tips offered by college fashion that I think are to be noted:

1. Avoid stressful people. Ha! easier said than done right? my friends, don’t avoid me please! BUT Stress actually is contagious. During exam week, resist the urge to have a study session with your super-tense friend, especially if she’s complaining about all the work she has to do and breaking pencils all over the place. Her stress will only add to your stress.

2. Eat healthy and exercise. I have not been on the right track on this but I’ll start now and I hope you do too!

Skip the sugar, which will make you crash, and go for snacks like granola bars, healthy cereal or fruits and veggies to keep your blood sugar stable. If you’re studying for a long period of time, eat some protein too. Also, try to get some form of exercise. Even a 10 minute walk will leave you calmer and more focused.

3. Just say NO: say no to the people who want to take up your time. There will probably be a friend who needs to talk to you for hours about her life, or a keg party the night before your final, and if you say yes, you’ll probably be tempted to blow off studying. Resist the urge. Say no to the distractions and be selfish for a day. I have been selfish this weekend except for mother’s day because well! My mom is my rock!

4. Force yourself to take breaks: hardest part huh? For every hour or so that you work, take a 10 or 15 minute break. Let yourself do whatever you want (check Facebook, check out that guy sitting nearby, stare off into space, call a friend, etc.) for those 10-15 mins, then start working again. This gives your brain a little rest and will help keep you more focused when you are actually doing work. Actually, I slept a lot this weekend and I caught up on my Desperate Housewives and Grey’s anatomy episodes.

5. Visualize it all going right. That’s right stay positive! Imagine yourself taking the test and feeling confident that you know all the information. Picture getting all of the answers right, and focus on how relaxed you feel. Then picture the A on your test paper. When you imagine a happy ending, that’s often what happens, because you make the decisions that lead to it without even realizing.

6. If you’ve studied all you can, get up your confidence! When test-time rolls around, it’s time to get yourself into confidence mode. You’ve prepared as much as you could, and now it’s time to ace the test. The tip here is to do whatever works to convince yourself you are going to do really well.

Okay! Ready? lets get to work people, finals are not our enemies, they make us stronger. And I hope you dance on your favorite song after reading this post.