It's Finals Season. Time to Study Up!
Hello future King's students!
January is finals month for all you high school students. That means you are all (hopefully) studying for your finals. This can be a stressful time for a lot of students, but it does not have to be! Here are a few tips to not only help you study better and feel prepared for when you write your finals, but also to help you when you're in university!
1. Manage your time wisely
Whether you're planning on going to university or not after you graduate high school, managing your time is a great life skill to have. While studying for all your finals this month, you definitely want to make sure that you are managing and prioritizing your time so that you can ace your finals. Tied in with being organized, managing your time will help you figure out what you need to study and help you to stay focused and on track. A good tip to help manage your time better is to make a schedule. Write in a calendar or make a to do list of all the things that need to get done first, so you know what to prioritize. Another tip is to block off a certain amount of time to study for each subject. For me, I would study in 3 or 4 hour blocks for each subject so that I wasn't getting bored of studying any one thing.
2. Organize!
When it comes to being organized, everyone has different ways to stay on top of their studies. Whether that means having a planner or making to do lists, being organized is important. Because most students are studying for more than just one final, you want to make sure that you balance how much you study for each final. Making a game plan will help ease the stress of studying for finals. For each subject, why not try making different binders in order to keep your notes separate. Colour coding your notes can also help you easily connect what you learned in class in preparation for your finals. It can also help you find information easier when studying.
3. Ask your teachers questions
There are many people that do not like asking their teachers questions, including myself when I was in high school, but this is very valuable! Your teachers are a great resource to have. They can clarify any confusion you may have and can even direct you to what you specifically need to study for your finals. If you can, either email or talk to your teachers directly.
4. Make sure you sleep!
Plenty of students, including myself, forget that sleeping is quite important in order to live a healthy life. You may be really tempted to pull an all-nighter in order to cram as much information into your brain as possible, but you are more likely hurting your chances of getting a higher grade. Getting the right amount of sleep will help you be your best and be ready and prepared to go when you write your finals.
5. Narrow it down
Because many of you are studying for more than one final, trying to remember every piece of information that you have learned in all of your classes will seriously stress you out. Instead, focus on the important topics. If you get a study guide, use that to your advantage. If not, make sure you talk to your teacher or fellow classmates. Once you know what the important topics are and have studied them, move onto the finer details.
6. Put yourself to the test
Once you feel that you have gotten a good grasp of the information you need to study, you want to make sure that you test your knowledge. There are plenty of times where I have felt that I knew the information, but when I tested myself, I found that I needed to study a lot more in certain areas. It will help you figure out what you need to focus more on while you study and what you don't need to focus as much on. Flash cards are a great way to test yourself, or try teaching the info to a friend from memory.
7. Take breaks!
One of the most important tips to remember is to take study breaks! Your brain can only take so much work all at once. But you do not want to over do it on the study breaks either. Use your study breaks as a reward for all of the studying that you are doing this month.
I wish you all the best on your finals and hopefully some of these tips are good reminders as you study!
Good luck!