Hopefully you are surviving finals week! I know this week can be grueling just depending upon the schedule you are facing, the pictures above are to give you something to laugh at. :) You will make it through. Scripture of encouragement -Psalm 1:1-3
1. Let the kids play! (SAFELY)
-I have a small son so it is very tiring trying to stop him from pouring out his fruit loops or snacks on the floor or throwing his toys around the living room. So I let him do what he wants for a few hours while I do some light studying or reviewing. I tend to study in short time increments for about 15-30 minutes at a time (because my attention span can get short when I study, especially while i'm reading) and then I check to make sure my son hasn't tried to put his eye out with a toy or isn't being quiet for too long because he's wandered off into a different room than the one I'm in. Finals week is already stressful enough without trying to micro-manage every step he takes, so I don't freak out about the snacks on the floor or the fact that he is wearing both of the oven mitts on his hands. lol After I'm done studying I clean up the mess and make sure that he at least picks up his toys or helps clean up some of the mess he's made.
2. Give the kids markers and their activity books
-If you give them something to work on they may feel like they are doing homework along with you. Let them color outside of the lines or use a highlighter and a pen to scribble as well. During your study breaks ask them what they are coloring and to show you what they are working on. During this semester my biology teacher incorporated many fascinating pictures of different animals and my son loves to look at the slides and observe the different animals while I study the information I need to know about those same animal behaviors.
3. Leave the house!
-I have to study on campus away from the comforts of my home. I pack up my books, laptop, and I can't forget my earphones! If I stay home I will watch tv, think of new recipes to experiment with and cook, find all kinds of reasons to justify why I should be taking a nap, then I end up actually taking the nap and telling myself it will only be for 30-45 minutes when in reality the nap ends up being 3 hours. I will be the first to admit I do believe in getting proper rest in order to be the most effective however, oversleeping will cause you to be ineffective. So to avoid all of the distractions I just go set up my own studying habitat at a table in the library and I've found that I force myself to sit there and not move until I have made significant progress towards learning and remembering the information I need to know for the exams.
4. Get your proper rest
-This is self-explanatory. You need to rest in order to take care of the family and perform your best in school. Pulling all-nighters may work for some but definitely not for me. I do better when I start a new day and then set out to complete all the things on my to-do list.
5. Finals Week hairstyles!
-I usually find a hairstyle that I'd like to try that will last all week long during finals so that I'm not up in the morning trying to flat iron my hair in an attempt to look decent enough to go out of the house and not look like I just rolled out of bed. Studying Trig and Biology and trying to remember all the formulas and definitions can start to run together on you so maximize your study time by minimizing the time it takes to do other things. You can try these hairstyles that I found on Pinterest the weekend before the week of finals while your studying. It will be fine to wash your hair and deep condition it while your studying because you probably don't intend to leave the house too much anyway because you will be studying.