The Art of Studying

It’s ‘dead week’ again. To explain, dead week is the time of the semester when no new material is covered in class, so that students can take time to prepare for finals the following week. There’s just one problem…the week so far has been alive and kicking!


Some of the tasks for the week are the following: finish my Dynamics, Vibrations, and Control project, finish the homework that is due the day of my final, and, oh yeah that’s right, study for finals. It’s really not all that bad though. This is because I have found a few activities that really come in handy when looking to relieve stress that is related to finals:

1) Throwing Frisbee with my Cohorts – Never study for more than two hours at a time. One way I accomplish this is to study with a group of friends. After hitting the books for a solid amount of time, we all head out to the field right outside the Discovery Park building. It’s huge, and makes for an ideal spot to hurl the Frisbee around.

2) Implementing Energy drinks when appropriate – the simple answer to ‘when is it appropriate?’ is always. Usually a monster does the trick, but any other brand that causes you to stop worrying about finals and actually start studying is also acceptable. This leads to another good practice; don’t waste time worrying about the outcome of your finals. This is valuable time that you could be using to study!

3) Staying on top of coursework during semester – This is the best way avoid end of the semester stress. I know it sounds lame, but trust me, it works. Not only does it work to prepare you for your final, but it also makes you a better engineer. If you can truly understand your coursework, as opposed to just memorizing strategies which will get you through the test, you will be able to implement your college training in a professional environment.

Above all, any strategy that works for you is a good one, as long as it doesn’t involve large amounts of alcohol or any other mind-altering substance. I’ve got to go now though, lots of work to do!