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Exams and projects, although a pain, aren’t over yet. The end of spring semester is crunch time for many students across campus, and the time has finally come. It’s a sprint to the finish, with finals week being May 5-9. Personal responsibilities that come at the end of the year, like moving out or graduating, can make academic responsibilities even more stressful.
However, finals week is arguably less stressful than the rest of the school year.
Let me explain: during the first part of the semester, many students are piled under mountains of homework and assignments. They spend Sunday nights getting papers in by midnight and preparing to start the following week again with a fresh pile of more challenging tasks. During finals, most students can focus solely on studying. In my experience, during exam season, I’ve spent more time studying and homework has dialed down.
In a way, you have more time because there’s less homework. You can spend the hours you’d be working on assignments going on long walks between study sessions. You can bake some sweet treats instead of completing homework. I did this myself during the previous exam season this semester during midterms as a nice break. I was able to walk from my dorm building to Aldi to get ingredients and made the most delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
Romanticizing the time you have when you study is so important. It can help you find the moments of joy during exam season and decrease the amount of stress that you have overall.
When exam season starts, I tell myself it’s time for self-care. I study for two hours, take a 20-minute break and return to studying. I’ll do this during the weekdays, and for those 20 minutes of break, I’ll walk around my dorm building or relax in my room. Sometimes, I may even wear a face mask while watching parts of a romantic comedy movie or comedic YouTube videos.
While I study, I always make sure to find parts of the material that I enjoy, even when the overall subject can, at times, be uninteresting. For example, in one of my brand management courses, the psychology of brand fascinates me. So, during every study session, I find the psychological aspects in each unit to help with memorization and comprehension. This way I’m not only interested, but I’m connecting and deep learning in an effective full-circle way.
Indiana University supports study breaks, too. The College of Arts and Sciences hosts College Care Week annually, with activities such as crafts, free meals and therapy dogs all at Ernie Pyle Hall during the week leading up to final exams and projects. In fact, The Wellbeing Thesis, a student mental health website, states that taking breaks can improve study habits. Not only will taking breaks increase your well-being but it also increases productivity.
Sakshi Ankleshwariya, an IU graduate student studying data science, said she decreases the number of hours she works at the dining halls during the week leading up to finals. She works 12-16 hours instead of 20 hours those weeks. After her shift, she studies at Wells Library or the Indiana Memorial Union every 3-4 hours, then takes a break. Her breaks include chatting with friends or her boyfriend or watching a TV series on Netflix. Like many students, finals week can be a stressful time for Ankleshwariya.
Aniyah Hogan, a freshman, said she finds finals week to be an exciting time.
“(They) honestly make me excited,” she said. “Maybe that's just me, but I find joy in it because the school year is ending. It also challenges your brain mostly because I have to remember what I’ve learned previously.”
Hogan said she prefers exams over essay writing. She manages her time by being involved in the 21st Century Scholars program, where she spends six hours a week studying at a table in their office. Hogan, like Ankleshwariya, spends time with friends for her breaks, saying it helps take her mind off things.
“When I jump back into it I can try to recall what I was doing before to get my brain thinking again,” Hogan said.
So take the long walk and bake the chocolate chip cookies. Even invite a friend over to join you for your study breaks! Romanticizing your exams can improve your mental health.
Aryana Amin-Tehrani (she/her) is a junior studying marketing, management and digital and social media business applications.
