CJ sent me an email today and said “Hey Stone, why don’t we write  a study tips post.” I was like “Cool, let’s do it!”, so here it is. CJ and I both listed our Top 5 study tips for finals (I suppose that makes it 10 tips, to be correct). There’s some pretty solid stuff here so take  a much needed break and give it a read.

5. CJ: Still trying to find that last source for your paper? https://www.mhsl.uab.edu/ click on their online databases then click JSTOR and use it like Google to research your final topics and get input from scholarly article writers.

5. Andrew: Take advantage of study rooms in the Library.

4. CJ: Take a good 30 min exercise break during long periods of studying. I like to go run a couple laps for like 30min. after studying for like 2 hours.  It gets my heart pumping, wakes my body up and gets that cabin fever feeling to leave.  Don’t overrun yourself though! Don’t go running for like an hour and come back and expect to do well.

4. Andrew: Make sure to eat a good well balanced meal. We all love Ramen Noodles, Hot Pockets, and McDonalds -but these types of foods are just a bad choice for finals. Stick to the Meat and Three.

3. CJ: Stay away from friends. Now before you harass me with messages about how friends help you study and such hear me out. If you’re ADD like I am any distraction will do when it comes to getting me to quite staring at pages; an xbox turning on, a roommate laughing, a show on in the next room, someone sneezing all will result in me leaving my desk and seeing what’s up. Put some headphones on listen to whatever won’t distract you and go with it. I usually listen to metal and hardcore to concentrate but I’m pretty sure I’m the only person so pick your music carefully. The last thing you need to do is the Soulja Boy for an hour straight.

3. Andrew: Stay away from friends, but try and meet with classmates for study groups. I can’t tell you how many times I have met up with a classmate, and because of the meeting, made an A on a test. Sometimes you will get lucky and someone from class will have some amazing notes they want to share, or they will remind you about an extra credit option you forgot about. This kind of information is priceless.

2. CJ: All night studying is not for everyone! Just because everyone else is staying up til 6am to study doesn’t mean you have to. If you’re like me and need at LEAST 5-6 hours of sleep study early and get sleep. Sleep is way more beneficial than surfing facebook and checking your email at 4:30am to see if your class got canceled.

2. Andrew: Review your Syllabus before you start studying.  By doing so you can make sure you have the correct time for the test. You can also gauge how much you need to study by figuring out how much your final is worth. If you have already aced all the tests in the class, and the Final is only worth 10 or 20%, perhaps you time would be better spent preparing for another test.

1. CJ: If you do stay up all night don’t make your body suffer and stay up on its own. Drink Red Bull. Use their energy shots there’s no crash so, unlike monster, you won’t feel like a 400 lb weight smashed you in the face an hour after you drank it. In fact, Red Bull is always a good idea. If you’ve got an early morning final guzzle one before the test to be fully awake and not drowsy during your test.

1. Andrew: I totally agree with the don’t stay up all night tip. If you’re staying up all night studying and expecting to pull off a great grade, you’re crazy! It’s never worth it to pull an all nighter. A LOT of people pop a bunch of Adderall and study cracked out all night long. I could go on all day about the negative consequences of this idea, but I’ll save that for a later post. Do as CJ says, stick with the Red Bull.

Just for fun, here is a video that I saw today and thought was hilarious:

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