Finals are upon us, and this semester for me is like every other. I started the semester telling myself I would not wait until the last minute to start studying for finals. Yet here I am, at the last minute, starting to prepare for my finals. 

I think many university students struggle with procrastination. It is difficult to sit down and focus, especially if there is no immediate deadline ahead. I find myself every time finding it especially difficult to sit down and actively study for finals when they seem so far away. But on the flip side, by the time they become an immediate problem, there is not much time to learn all the content needed for the exams. 

Luckily, because I find myself in this position a lot, I have come up with a few strategies to navigate last-minute preparation, and they are as follows. 

Do not waste any time wishing you had done things differently. It is easy to fall into a pattern of regret and waste time wishing things were different. Instead, focus on what you can do moving forward. With however little time you have left, there are things you can accomplish.

I like to make a list of everything I need to do before my final, and approximately how long each task will take me. Once I have a list for each one of my courses, I rank the tasks in order of priority. The first, of course, being the bigger or more important topic that I will most likely see in my final exam. 

The lower the number, the less important the topic or task is. This is crucial because there is only a limited amount of time to go through things, so if you have to pick between studying for a topic that will be worth 10 marks versus a topic that will be worth three on your final, you pick the one with the most value. Additionally, the list method can give you a sense of control. The amount of work for a course may seem super overwhelming, but I find that when I write things down, they feel less heavy and more doable. 

At times, when I need to jumpstart my motivation, I use self-intimidation. I know this may be a bit controversial, but it does work for me. I imagine myself getting a failing grade in a course. I think of what it will do to my GPA and how it will make me feel, this usually kickstarts my studying. I know some people also do this, but in a more positive way. They imagine themselves getting a great grade in a course as opposed to the self-intimidation tactic I use. I think both can be effective, depending on whether you, as a person, respond more to positive or negative reinforcement. 

It is also important to take regular breaks. I know when I have a lot of work to do it can be difficult to take a break because it feels like a waste of valuable time, but trust me, breaks are vital to last-minute studies. 

Before, I used to study for maybe two to three hours without any breaks and by the second hour, my brain began shutting down, and by the third, I was completely burnt out. Recently, I started using the Pomodoro method — a time management technique that breaks work into short, regular intervals to reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and prevent burnout — and now I can study for more than five hours at a time. Cornell Health states that purposeful breaks from studies refresh the brain and help increase efficiency and the ability to focus. 

Studying for finals is stressful, and I do not think anyone ever feels 100 per cent prepared for the exams. But as long as you do your best with the time you have, you should definitely be proud of yourself in the end.