As the dreaded finals season inevitably approaches and teachers dish out the last unit tests, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with how much there is to study. But it doesn’t have to be stressful. If done properly, this horrific season of living in the library can be manageable. While this infographic goes over all the important tips to help you study effectively, there is one simple piece of advice that I want to focus on. There is no worse feeling than opening your textbook the night before an exam and realizing you actually don’t understand any of the content you’re going to be tested on and that you only have 10 hours to cram four, thirty-paged chapters into your tired brain. (Not speaking from personal experience). This brings me to one of the first and most important rules of studying: do not wait for the last minute to prepare.
We’ve all heard it, and we’ve all decided to ignore it. Sometimes we are successful and manage to ace the test after cramming and only getting two hours of sleep. Other times we get completely destroyed and vow “Next time for sure! I’ll start preparing earlier”. No matter what, it’s scientifically proven that we do better after getting lots of sleep and studying over a period of time instead of cramming.