By Daniela L. Ginsburg
Boston University News Service
It’s that time of the year when students’ dining points have run out, the weather is crisp and finals are approaching. From final papers to group projects to daunting exams, students need to balance both their need to “lock in” as well as their mental health.
How do you lock in when all you want to do is doom scroll?
Get off Instagram Reels and limit your TikTok scrolling
With finals piling up, it’s normal for students to want to sit back and shut their brains off. However, doom scrolling is not the solution.
According to Harvard Health, rather than alleviating the stress of finals, doom scrolling actually heightens anxieties, affects sleeping patterns and even elevates blood pressure. However, there are still ways to “shut” one’s brain off.
The best thing to do is limit notifications from social media, whether it’s completely removing notifications or simply putting your phone on “do not disturb.” These are both great ways to limit being pulled into the social media sphere.
Get some vitamin D
No, I don’t mean walking to CVS and buying Vitamin D supplements. I mean getting out of your dorm or apartment and exposing yourself to nature: quite literally touching grass.
Not only does getting out help alleviate stress, but it also acts as a great way to get around campus. From the BU Beach to the COM lawn, the university offers a wide array of outside getaways to reset and lock in.
Let’s face it, we all get a bit tired of staying in the campus bubble. Take finals week as an opportunity to explore Boston cafes and find new study spots outside of campus!
With the weather getting chillier and the need to wear a scarf everywhere increasing, you probably don’t want to go outside as often as when the weather is warm. However, simply walking around for 15 minutes can improve brain function.
That overwhelming feeling that you can’t balance working on all those final papers and projects while simultaneously studying for your final exams can be reduced with some time spent outdoors!
Get up and get moving!
Now that you’re up and walking, let’s get you to walk somewhere that isn’t just on your side of campus. BU has a wide variety of study spaces: the notorious Computing & Data Sciences Building, the 26th floor of Student Village II and even study spaces inside Warren Towers.
Studying can be tedious at times, but there’s no need to stay in the same area. Switching up study spots can help with absorbing information simply because it can help reduce boredom.
It’s also a great way to adapt to your surroundings: you never know what could arise during an exam, so it’s always good to be prepared.
Once I’m locked in, what are some study tips?
Whether you write down or type your notes, both can be used to aid your studying. Rereading notes can help with retaining information and improve comprehension.
Pull a 180
Rewriting is key to helping you relearn and review your notes. If you typed your notes, rewrite them by hand; if you wrote them, then type them out. This is a great way to not only see what you remember, but see what you should review.
Form a study group
Get together some friends from class and create a study group. Create a master document with everyone’s summarized notes, assigning each person with a section. This is a great way to lay off some of the work studying holds.
With the master document, you can rewrite notes, create flashcards and teach each other the assigned sections. By teaching each other your sections, you’re able to both teach and learn at the same time.
YouTube is office hours 2.0
Office hour times don’t work with your schedule? YouTube is key.
The website holds thousands of videos on various topics, and viewing these videos can aid your understanding of a subject. There’s an informative video for just about any topic out there, so take a look if you’re having trouble understanding something.
Finals season is rough, so be sure to balance your mental health and your school work. Maybe try a new study hall or text that one group chat you swore you’d be active on, but most importantly, take some deep breaths and relax.
You got this, Terriers!
