CHANGING GEARS FOR FINALS

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For most of you, sometime this week will be this term’s last lecture, last lab, last seminar, and last presentation. Term projects and group projects are already handed in, or soon will be. I often compare this time of year to the last lap before the finish line. Today, I’m going to focus on shifting gears for these final weeks.

Shifting Focus

Unlike a race, pacing yourself and your effort for these weeks does not mean doubling down immediately. You need to change gears. Your day, your time available, and your tasks are suddenly different from the previous weeks. With classes and lectures no longer on your schedule and most, if not all, of your term’s work complete, you have time opening up that hasn’t been there for months.

And, of course, finals ahead. Your focus shifts in terms of attention and structure. How do you structure for maximum effect with the extra time available now?

First, take time to reward and endorse yourself for making it this far, for what you have done in your courses up to now. A quiet walk, a special time–not a whole weekend, maybe not a whole day, but take an hour or two and savour that you have made it to the end of classes.

Now clear your study area for action. Have your R&R area separate from your study area. Have your term reward reminder visible from your study area.

Scheduling a New Structure

Then, take further time to frame your new structure for these next weeks before and during exams. A monthly planner, either on paper or an app, helps you keep an overview of all that needs to happen, and when it needs to happen.

Important: For the next weeks, keep a daily eye on your email and online course sites for changes in exam dates and places and for notifications from the instructor re assignments.

As always, when scheduling, build in time for sleep, breaks, nutrition, mental strengthening, and exercise–you can be creative in achieving balance here.

Optimize Your Study Strategy

Then get strategic about how you are going to prepare for your exams. Some tips:

  • Review the syllabus and your notes to make sure you know whether the finals are cumulative or current. 
  • Know the format of the exams, whether multiple choice, essay, problem-solving, or a mix. The form can change from the midterms.
  • Know how exams are going to be graded. Are there penalties for wrong answers on multiple-choice, or is your best plan to go with a good guess if you aren’t certain of the answer?
  • Identify areas that instructors have emphasized, either directly, or with subtle hints, such as, “You might want to know this.”
  • Identify your strong areas, where you are confident of your understanding and knowledge of complexity and detail.
  • Identify your challenge areas, where you have gaps in your grasp, or are challenged by certain types of problems or questions.
  • Prioritize what requires attention. Estimate how much time each area will require, and add in a safety factor.
  • Pencil these study areas into your schedule and be prepared to adjust your schedule as you find some areas take less time and some need more.
  • Review past exams and assignments and look for patterns of strength and errors so that you repeat strong approaches but not errors. For example, some instructors mark down short answer questions that aren’t complete sentences. Some mark down diagrams with incomplete labelling.
  • Bring together your study tools, such as:
    • Acronyms
    • Making up questions, matching the format the exam will use, whether short answer, multiple choice, or essay. For STEM exams, you can make up problems, and swap questions with your study buddy. 
    • Drafting sample essay outlines
    • Ensuring that you line up course-related support for opinion in your essay outlines
    • ..
    • ..
  • Beware of open book and take-home exams: Prepare for them as though they are closed book. You will not have time to look up the paragraph that has the date and quotation you need. Labelled sticky tabs are useful, but you really need to know your notes and text well enough to be able to quickly find what you need during the exam.

Review each night before your final sleep routine. Readjust your strategy where necessary. And endorse for the action you took that day.

Reinforce for Effort

That’s it. No magic. Sound strategy, especially if for each effort, you take a few seconds and commend yourself. This helps build confidence and reinforces both continuing your effort and the learning itself.

Connect with me to brush up on study tools or to lay out your endgame. And to share techniques and tips that have worked for you: [email protected]

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.