MONDAY, JULY 7, 2008   12:39 PM

 IDEAS ON RELIEVING STRESS DURING FINALS

Final exams. Ugh. Nobody likes them…well, except for that girl who sits in the front row and always raises her hand. She likes. You know she does. She probably waits all semester just to take final exams. But enough about her. What we’re interested in is what to do to cut down on stress and help make finals less painful.

The best way to keep the stress off during finals is to not let it build up in the first place. This may seem unrealistic now, but if you work hard all semester and try to make sure you understand all the material and have a good grasp on key concepts, then the final exam should be a breeze. Of course, that doesn’t always happen, and that’s how finals got their reputation for being stressful in the first place.

So, let’s assume that you need some serious study time to help you remember whatever it was the professor was teaching you six weeks or fifteen weeks ago…you know, ancient history. The key to relieving stress is to make sure that studying doesn’t become your whole world during finals week.

Now, I’m not saying that you need to space out on Facebook and completely forget about hitting the books, but you need to try to achieve balance to keep from overloading. For every hour you spend studying, take 10-15 minutes for a stress relieving activity, like throwing the Frisbee, updating your online profile, or goofing off with a friend. However, be sure that you have the willpower to go back to the books when your 15 minutes are up. Get an old fashioned egg timer and set it for 15 minutes so you’ll stay on schedule.

Balancing work and play will help keep you sharp, focused, and relaxed enough to go into finals with confidence.

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