Staying Organized During Finals

I am the type of person that needs to have a plan for all things, all the time–eases my anxiety. While most of the time it feels like a crippling curse, it does have its perks! One of these perks is that I am very skilled and organized when making a plan for chaos. Like the chaos of finals.

My method has taken a few years to perfect, so wanting to save you guys some time, I thought I would share my tips!

Consult the Syllabus

After the first few weeks of classes, most of us think that the syllabus is no longer useful, but during finals, it can actually be pretty handy! Most syllabi have a list of objectives or chapters that are covered during the course. This makes it super easy to create a study schedule for finals because now you can just pick different chapters to study on different days.

Create the Master Plan

Every finals/midterm season I create something I call the Master Plan. I print out an empty calendar for the month/week (depends on your study time table). Then I choose a different color for each subject, and create a little key. I write basic tasks for each day, and then when each day is complete, I cross it off with a pretty highlighter. I often decorate the calendar with affirmations and stickers.

Make a Daily To-Do List

Even though your Master Plan will give you an outline for your day, there are more day-to-day things or additional, non-exam related tasks that you may want to put on your daily list. My daily to-do lists are written in sparkly pen, and help keep me on track for the day. This is also where you can write out more details about what materials you want to study that day

Make an Overall Study Guide

After taking notes, and studying all the content, I would take just half and hour to create an overall study guide listing out the important formulas, dates, anything you had trouble with. I always make mine super easy to read, and pretty. I think they're fun to make, and it also makes it easier to study.

Leave a Few Days Before the Exam to Casually Review

I always plan to be finished reviewing material and studying at least two days before the exam. This way if I feel there's something that still needs my attention, I have time to do it. It also leaves time to stew over the material, and just relax a little before the exam.

Hope these help you next exam season, and thanks for reading!!