Like many college students worldwide you’re probably preparing for finals week. This can be a breeze for some and a struggle for others. It all depends on how you prepare for finals, and everyone’s study style is different. There are some people who are blessed with a photographic memory and others that have to spend hours in the books. Whether you’re one of those, two or somewhere in between, here are some helpful tips to keep you afloat during finals week!

• Prioritize your study materials: Go through all of your classes and create a list of importance. Determine the importance of the classes so you can save the easy studying for last or just do it first and get it out of the way. You can also do it by how much the classes affect your GPA or graduation plan. For example, if there’s a class that you have to pass in order to get your degree, you may need to focus on that one first. Or if there’s a class that you need to do really well on the final to pass, you should probably study harder for that class.

• Study with someone from the same course: Two heads are better than one! Sometimes it's easier to study when you have someone to keep you honest about it. Having someone in the same class to study with is great, but you could ask your friend to help you. You could even make a study group with many people from your class. This can give you a lot of different people to bounce your ideas off of or to catch your mistakes. 

• Put your phone on silent: Now-a-days many people have crippling phone addictions, so it can be hard to put it away. If you can’t do that, then you can also just put your phone on “do not disturb”. If need be send your friends or family a text that you will be studying and won’t be answering for a little while. Even if you just flip your phone upside down so you can’t see the screen can make that distraction a little less intense. 

• Take a break!: A big part of effective studying is taking care of yourself. If you start to notice that you’re having a very hard time focusing or are getting headaches, take a break. Go for a walk, get something to eat, or even take a nap. If you’re constantly putting yourself under immense amounts of stress then you won’t accomplish much of anything. 

Finals week is a very stressful time for every college student. Taking the time to prepare yourself beforehand should lessen the load of stress though. There’s tons of different study methods that work for many people. These are just a few suggestions to help you get a start on prepping for finals.