Hello… it’s me. I’m sorry I had to. It’s been quite a while since I’ve sat down at my laptop to do anything other than Chemistry lab reports and MasteringPhysics assignments.

Back to business, it’s time for finals. Has the semester already come to this point? For all my freshies that are about to experience this for the first-ish time, good luck. To my veterans, here we go again. Don’t fret though, it seems my advice posts are pretty good for you and me, so I’ve created a list of must-have and must do things for your benefit. Hopefully, I can follow my own rules to getting through this trying time of the academic year.

1. Music Makes Studying Better.

Imagine studying in the library for 8+ hours a day for 12 days. Oh, that’ll be you in a couple of weeks or right now. That could be a bleak and underwhelming experience and you probably won’t get much done. You don’t have that option, so I have a quick fix for ya. You’re welcome. Download Spotify and checkout their thousands of playlists and follow me while you’re at it! My favorite playlists are Pop Chillout and Pop Study, but for those intense all-nighters(that I don’t recommend nor participate in) check out Acoustic Concentration. No lyrics, no added distractions.

2. Reward yourself after every exam.

Netflix and chill. Ben And Jerry’s Tonight Dough. Moe’s queso. Yeah, this one might be self explanatory, but still was worth saying. I love a good reward for knocking the socks off a final. It also works if the final kicked your butt, but you’re smart so we all know you’ll rock it. I’m a bit of a sucker for a PTL from Starbucks after most of my exams to reward myself for not passing out during the exam. Test stress is real folks.

3. Group Study works wonders, but make sure YOU know what’s going on first.

I’m a big fan of group study especially for my science and mathematics courses that involve specific steps and formulas. I’ve already set up study groups for finals week which typically fall about a day or two before finals to work out last minute confusion or questions. It also gives me plenty of time to review all the course material and work problems. Make sure your group is a good mix of skill sets and match your intellectual ability if you know what I’m saying. It’ll help you if you’re teaching some of the material, but you’ll also want to get some help with the material you don’t understand as well.

4. Stock the fridge with healthy -mostly- snacks.

Stress eating is real. The College 15 is real. Stock your dorm fridge with good brain food to keep you energized and focused during your long study times. I recommend Honey-crisp apples, Greek yogurt, and bagels. Nutella and popcorn are some of my favorite cheat snacks. Indiana popcorn makes some of the tastiest bagged popcorn and Nutella is just delicious! Keep the snacking to a minimum.. because Finals 15 should never be a thing. LOL.

5. Pack up a little everyday!

There is nothing worse than coming home from your last exam to a messy, unorganized, hot-mess-of-a-room. So, I would recommend going through the stash of trash bags and Clorox wipes your mom bought you in August and packing it all up. You can even use this as a study break so that you don’t lose your sanity from being cooped up in the library all week. I definitely recommend not saving it all for the night before move out day because let’s be real… You’ll want to spend the last nights on campus with your friends!

Hopefully, this list was helpful and got you motivated for finishing off the week strong! I’m honestly writing this for me as much as I am writing it to help all of you! Enjoy the last weeks of the semester and get ready to power through Finals. You’re gonna rock them, and always remember: Dress Well, Test Well–even during finals week!