The Midterm Grind

It's that fantastic time of year again. The midterms. The week where it seems only coffee and loud dubstep can keep you from falling flat on your face in your textbook. You have to go to the library, you walk there and you see that it is absolutely jammed. You're stuck, no where to go, no where to study. Allow me to introduce you to my midterm survival guide. Definitely isn't proven, not guaranteeing an A but you will still have the energy to utter a word the next morning/hour.

1. Avoid the Red Bulls/Monsters
You want to guarantee yourself a measly 2 hour study session, then drink these things. These things lift you up and then drop you faster than an AT&T phone call. They give you the energy you need to pack your backpack, walk to the library and title your notes. Then that's a rap. You'll then find yourself shaking and sweating and then the eyelids start to get heavy. Before you know it, it's lights out, it's 10 AM and your exam is in an hour. You go to look at your notes to review and all you have written is "Notes: Chapter..." Yup, that'll get you far.

2. Study Early, All Nighters Are Pointless
Just because you stayed up all night to study for an exam does not guarantee you an A. I feel like a lot of college students thinks that staying up all night automatically makes them learn everything. If I stay up all night with my books in front of me and read one chapter and then tweet and blog and Facebook it up the entire time, that's not an all-nighter. Yeah sure you may study from 10 PM to 1 AM and decide "hey, I'm on a roll I'll keep going all night." Nope, just frying your brain. You then go to Facebook to update your status at 5 am to show you're still awake just prove that you are studious and study all night. But really did you study from 2 in the morning until 5? Nah, you didn't. Hit the sack at 2, you either know it or you don't at that point.

3. Set Times for a "Study Break"
I'm telling you this is the key to a successful cram session. Every hour and fifteen minutes take a break for 10 to 15 minutes and chill out. YouTube it, check out my blog, stretch out the hamstrings. Do what you got to do. But you have to have the discipline to get right back to it once that 15 minutes is up. I give myself about a 23 and a half minute break because I can fit an episode of Seinfeld in. Laugh a little, clear the noggin then go back to the books.

And remember, Thursday is always just around the corner...unless you have a midterm on Friday then that just sucks.

This will keep you awake for a while...put it on repeat.