Here at McGill, exams start in a mere three days, the very next day after classes end. Facebook posts are flying about saving seats in the library, which remains jam-packed until the wee hours of every morning. The minutes crawl ever so slowly as you try to squeeze out searing and insightful prose for ENGL or study the cutaneous innervation of the lower limbs for ANAT, and then fly by in a great gust of procrastination as you type your way over to Facebook or celeb gossip blogs or whatever your poison of choice happens to be. And then you’re living off Thai Express and Subway takeout, and showering happens once a week at most, and you don’t see your room-mates, like, ever. Exam lyffe is tough, so here are a few of my favourite tricks to get through it all.
1. Get yo’ move on!
Out for some early morning exercise!
I happen to love to run. I’m pretty terrible at it, especially because I insist on lying like a lump all winter, and so early spring runs are the gnarliest. But it feels super amazing to not stare at your computer/textbook/notes for even twenty minutes and connect with humanity again. So run through the nearest park or pound that pavement from your apartment to campus and back, breathe, and forget about your looming doom. Of course, running is not for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go for a walk/bike ride/swim! Or try a yoga/pilates/zumba/belly dancing class. A lot of studios offer discounts for your first lesson. Whatever you choose, it’s great to get those endorphins flowing, re-oxygenate your brain, and remind yourself that there’s a whole lotta world outside campus that you’ll get join in just a few short weeks!
2. Don’t forget to eat & sleep.
Nap time with my favourite feline.
And no, fifteen-minute blackouts as your face rests against your keyboard do not count, nor does your fifth fast food meal in a row. Omelettes are the easiest to make — check out this xoJane tutorial — and if you add veg & meatballs/meatball-esque tofu/smoked salmon/whatever protein you desire to pasta, you’re good to go. Alternatively, you can engage in some productive procrastination and whip up an enormous pot of stew/lentils/deliciousness or three or four quiches, and not have to worry about dinner for the rest of the week.
Sleeping is a bit trickier to manage. If you have a paper due tomorrow, by all means, stay up and write it. But if you’ve got more time, download SelfControl. Write in longhand and shut your computer in the closet. Head on over to the library or a café or somewhere that doesn’t have a bed and a fridge in such close proximity. Maybe don’t pop Adderall like it’s candy, but focus as best you can all day long, and then get a solid seven hours of unconsciousness before you start all over again. If that’s just not feasible — and, hey, sometimes it really isn’t — see if you can squeeze in a series of power naps throughout the day.
3. Institute a reward system.
Survival snacks.
Finished that monster paper? Take a mini-break, head on over to your favourite café, and treat yourself to a grande soy tazo chai, or whatever floats your boat. Finally understand the metabolic pathway of benzodiazepines? Make a brunch date with your besties who’ve disappeared under their own finals. Or maybe you just wanna take a long, delicious nap in a pool of sunlight, or have a lovely long chin-wag with your mum. You know you deserve it. Me, I’m a food monster, and when I finished my take-home exam for my Homer/Virgil/Ovid class today, I hightailed it over to the fancy grocery store nearby, and stocked up on over-priced pesto, shrimp spring rolls, stuffed olives and all other things I like to nom on but rarely do.
Good luck!!
Players of Prince Arthur 