Finals Week Tips and Resources

Photo Credit James Miller

Finals week can be an extremely stressful time of year for students, and with everything that’s happened this past year students need to be made aware of all the resources available to them during this anxiety inducing time. If you live on campus, prepare for 24/7 courtesy hours during Quiet week and Finals week.

If dorm studying isn’t cutting it for you, SOU’s Hannon Library is one of the best resources available to students during these last 2 weeks of the Fall term, and it has extended its hours to help alleviate some of the stress. If you need a quiet place to study, head to the Hannon Library and engage in extreme focus, but don’t forget to grab your caffeine fix from your favorite coffee place. We recommend an Iced Americano from Starbucks, or a 9-1-1 from Dutch Bros. Starting Sunday, Nov. 28th through Saturday, Dec. 11th the library will be open from:

  • Sunday: 1pm – 11pm
  • Monday: 8am – 11pm
  • Tuesday: 8am – 11pm
  • Wednesday: 8am – 11pm
  • Thursday: 8am – 11pm
  • Friday: 8am – 5pm 
  • Saturday: CLOSED

The Writing Center is another great resource for students that want another set of eyes to look at paper assignments to ensure the best grade possible. Students can drop-in if needed, but scheduling an appointment is always preferred. You can view the Writing Center’s general information and book either 30 minute or 60 minute appointments following the link above. If you have questions, please contact tutoring@sou.edu

DeskTime, a desktop and mobile app for time tracking, attendance tracking, and effective workflow management, conducted a study to determine its employees most productive work time which can totally be applied to students and study time! The research found that when we work in study to break intervals of 52:17 minutes, we are far more productive than the 2 hour long, binge-study sessions most of us have all fallen victim to the night before a pivotal exam. The key is to be 100% dedicated to studying during those 52 minutes. This means: going to a quiet place (like the library), putting your phone on “do not disturb”, making sure your laptop is charged, pens are fresh with ink, and you have water by your side. During the 17 minute breaks we recommend going outside for some fresh air, getting a snack to refuel, or surfing social media. Really anything that lets your brain and body know that this is a time to relax before getting back into the groove of studying.

Finals can be daunting. But we are not our test scores. Remember to take breaks, drink water, and do what you need to do to take care of yourself!

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