13 KReasons Why You Can Survive Finals
It’s the time of the semester again, when Kent Ridgeans flood to MRB to study and spend our Wednesday nights on our favourite activity - studying. KR Reporters has a few tips to keep you hustling through these trying times. Now sit back, relax and read on.
By the way, try to guess which Reporter wrote each of these tips! Comment below with tip number & name of the Reporter whom you guess authored it.
Tip #1 Uncle Sree Massage
Uncle Sree is known for his assistance in setting up Wi-Fi routers and exterminating pests for almost every freshman (and senior) in D Blk. Little did we know - in addition to his plethora of skills, he also provides a hot service during this finals period. A self-proclaimed skilled masseuse, Uncle Sree provides a variety of massages. From sobering jolts of energy to your back to relaxing shoulder massages, he has every massage you need. You can find him at D708 for a quick perk-me-up in the mornings or a late-night destress after a long day of studying for finals.
Tip #2 BlanKRet Burrito
You know the ol’ saying, “When life has got you down, just give up and lie down”.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a quick nap in between your long— or brief (hey we don’t judge), study sessions. So why not do it right? Grab your softest plushy (or Kent Ridgean) and roll yourself up into your new favourite position. This will be sure to get you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle those mods again! Well that, or you’ll want to remain in this cosy heaven forever.
Tip #3 SKReam Into The Void
Do you sometimes feel suffocated by deadlines and/or submissions? Well, all that pent up emotion and stress needs to be released somehow. Gone are the days of screaming internally—screaming into the void is all the rage now! Whether it’s your favourite word or a frustrated whale moan, simply throw your windows open and yell whatever you want into open air. This fuss free way to expel crippling anxiety works anywhere, anytime (read: including during showers).
Tip #4 Take A Chill Pill
Do you always feel like a bundle of nerves with all the submissions and presentations due just before finals? Or that you constantly have butterflies & this anxious, jittery feeling in your stomach? Sometimes the key to acing finals is to just take a chill pill once in awhile and focus on what needs to be done instead of the final outcome! Instead of worrying, set daily goals, manage your time, and just concentrate on doing the little things. Before you know it, you would have accomplished a lot more than you initially thought you could.
Tip #5 KRetail Therapy
Scientific and mathematical research has proven that retail therapy - especially when conducted in hall - is one of the most effective methods to relieve stress (TruthfulB, 2017). Thankfully for Kent Ridgeans, there exist many startups within the hall that provide this much needed form of therapy. Head over the the TruthfulB website, or slide into Smooo_d/Breadbox’s dms for some instant gratification ;-)!
Tip #6 KReep from your room window
Why get a TV for your room when what’s happening outside your window is just as exciting? Some might call it a frivolous distraction, but I call it an opportunity for knowledge seekers to learn more about the outside world - witness the occasional squirrels and other wildlife living among us on campus, appreciate the gorgeous starry sky, or maybe discover what’s going on in that room with the blinds up from the block opposite yours (perhaps more wildlife?).
The next time you get sick of squinting at your laptop screen at 5AM while deciding if Arial Narrow font size 5 is optimal for your cheat sheet, take a break and look out of your window. If you’re lucky, you might catch something more than just still buildings or greenery ;)
You might just catch the sunrise.
Tip #7 PLAN, PLAN, PLAN! (and stick to it)
(picture Shia Labeouf shouting just do it!!!!!! at you)
Don’t you wish you could squeeze out 48 hours in a 24-hour day to finish cramming all that BULL-absolutely important and useful knowledge into your brains? Fret not! Simply PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. Fear not! Simply follow the extremely comprehensive and essential list below:
Bedtime
Wake-up time
(buffer for snooze time)
Wake-up time (c’mon la just wake up what time already)
Wash-up time
Breakfast time (or lunch, or dinner - it’s cool mate)
(buffer for social media update time)
Hit the books time
(buffer for watching stupid FB videos)
(buffer for replying your friends on Tele/Whatsapp Web OR JUST DELETE THESE APPS ON YOUR LAPTOP FFS (for focus’ sake)
(buffer for snooze - ya sleep some more just continue sleeping)
(buffer for chatting with your study buddies- yeah just continue talkin’ mate)
Lunch time (or dinner, or supper, or your second supper - it really is fine)
Back to the books
Repeat 9-12
Dinner time - I highly recommend the food at our beloved dining hall
Back at it again with the studyin’
Or you could just go to bed early (who am i even kidding)
(Or hang with your neighbaes cause priorities right)
Stick to it
Just do it
Tip #8 proKRastination
We have 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and about 100 years to live (if you don’t drink, smoke or die). So what if IVLE submission is at 2359 tonight? So what if you have not finished studying? We have so many chances to take, and so many ways to live. Why not wing it? A wise man once said, ‘No guts, no glory’. Why waste a chance to YOLO now when life is meant to be lived to the fullest. We Kent Ridgeans are after all known for our work hard play hard excellence. With our KRexcellent time management, a little bit of proKRastination never hurt. We only bounce back stronger, fulfilled and KReady to last minute chiong for our next big thing. Here’s the one thing we Seek, Strive and Excel in. Anyway, I’ll continue this article later...
Tip #9 Eat Your Stress Away
Stressed spelled backwards is desserts!
Studies have shown that willpower is expendable - that’s right, now that you’re using all your self-discipline to study all day, you have an excuse to binge on ice cream, chips, chocolate and cookies! If you find yourself brushing crumbs off your notes more often than you’re actually writing them, you’re not alone! Stress eating (especially chocolate) releases feel-good endorphins through the same mechanism heroin does. And God knows we need some way to feel good while tearing our hair out trying to secure that CAP (sleep deprivation doesn’t help either). But while going HAM on that pack of Doritos, just remember that the eating might get you through exam season - but will you be in shape to hit the beach during vacation?
Tip #10 A good KRy
Reliable sources on the internet say that KRying is a great way to release pent up stress and anxiety as it releases stress hormones/toxins from the body. If thoughts of multiple submissions in a week, some on the same day, exams on the same week, and the backlog of content you need to catch up on aren’t enough to get the tears going, a movie like Titanic or something equally tragic should do the trick. (If there is a cold, hard clump of metal where your heart should be, try several of such movies in succession Or onions.) You’d get to not only enjoy the catharsis you so desperately need, but also some quality entertainment (or… onions) in the midst of non-stop grinding. It’s a win-win!
Tip #11 LAUGH
Just laugh. Laugh now. I’m sure you have read many scientific and biological reasons why laughing is beneficial but really, laughing gives you life and relaxes your mind and body. Here are 3 ways you can laugh:
Find someone you can laugh with. Who are the clowns you know in KR? Talk to them and even if you don’t find them funny, laugh at them and their stupidity, but don’t tell them.
Go on Youtube. Search something that you find funny. Watch, share, and laugh together. If it’s not really funny, laugh at yourself for trying so hard to laugh.
Fake it till you make it. I am serious. You’ll get there. I am not saying that you have to be a – phony, two-faced, attention seeking – snake. Just laugh when you’re stressed, sad, or angry.
If following these steps gets you another step to the Institute of Mental Health, well at least, you’ll be the crazy, happy, and laughing patient. The boon of laughing outweighs and supersedes any possible bane. Besides sinning when you laugh at others, what can be worse?
Tip #12 Get out of KR I’ll be frank. The reason for all your academic troubles is because you’re in hall. Get out of KR and mingle with the humans outside. Get into that harsh environment outside of Kent Ridge. Refresh your mind, refresh your body, get that fresh air. This advice is proudly brought to you from data gathered from the KRobes top 100 scholars. Trust me, you will excel after you follow this advice!
Tip #13 Treat Yo’self
What better way to deal with the finals stress than treating yourself to a good meal, a relaxing afternoon at a cafe or a night out with friends, only to return to the books realizing you haven’t completed any work, that time is running out and you’re still utterly screwed for finals! Better yet, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy yourself with the thought of finals haunting you the whole time! Oh my sounds like fun to me!
So what are you waiting for! Call out your floormates, head to Michael’s Bar for a chill pint of beer or two or three or four or five, head back to hall for a good night’s sleep to reset your body clock, and wake up the next day at 3pm, hungover, feeling like death, and regretting not staying in the Reading Room instead to complete your webcasts!
Tip #14 Yoga
Yoga is an underrated way to relax and de-stress: from providing muscle relief to allowing one to gain clarity and focus, this might be just what you need after a good twelve hours spent hunched over stacks of paper. Close your eyes (and minds), stretch your body and enter a world of zen. Here are some of our personal favourite poses:
“Please, Bell Curve God”
“Where did the sem go?"
“Do I really need my degree?”
Source: https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Most-Common-Yoga-Poses-Pictures-23102825
Tried and tested.
Tip #15 KRash and Burn
This is something that I do when I need an immediate relief and a medium to vent my frustrations on. Here is how:
Step 1: Go to your bed (don’t worry, it isn’t to sleep)
Step 2: Hold a pillow in your hands
Step 3: Inch your face towards the pillow
Step 4: Place your face on the pillow
Step 5: Scream and groan really loudly (into your pillow, please)
Trust me, groaning for at least 10 seconds in 1 breath really helps. Cheers.
Tip #6 Hit The Gym
In this arduous journey towards finals, many of us may find ourselves hating on life. It is such a dry and boring process, to be repeated day after day. Wake up, study, sleep and repeat. We have all these pent-up frustrations built within us and that’s simply what studying does to us. With all the binge eating due to stress, it is not uncommon to find that finals often results in a weight gain(rather than an A). As all-rounded Kent Ridgeans, we must not only keep our CAP5.0 but keep fit as well. Why not hit the gym? A good workout may just be the solution to sweat out all the frustration. (Alternatively: just take a nice nap on the sofa chairs in the gym, i mean there’s the air conditioner..)