In the days and weeks counting down to finals, study rooms in the library are impossible to get. Conversations center around a countdown of remaining pages and tests until the semester ends. Students frantically read books, articles and chapters they flippantly neglected during past few months.

With this hectic and apparently studious environment creeping upon campus, it would seem that most students would spend finals week confident and well-slept. But this is a luxury available only to those mysterious and elect super-students. For the rest of us, tips on effective study habits are in order.

Juli Dunn from the Academic Resource Center recommended the following:

To deal with a heavy work load, time management is essential. For the next week before finals, study 30-60 minutes per assignment per class per day.

Make small, achievable goals for your work load and reward yourself for achieving those goals. After reading or studying for a while, take a break and be social or active.

Feed your brain: Suduko, crosswords, word searches, mazes. Choose one and do it for 15-20 minutes before an exam. “Games are like power fuel for the brain,” said Dunn.  

Sleep. It’s redundant and time-consuming, but it works. According to Dunn, without sleep, “it will take twice as long for your brain to capture the information in any usable form and as for memory, it is one of the first functions to deteriorate.” Not sleeping may seem convenient in the moment, but it actually makes us less smart.

Some other study tips:

Friends or a loud environment are often more distracting than we would like to believe. Sequester yourself if you find your eyes wandering off the page every minute or two.

Do the work that’s the hardest earlier in the day or earlier in the study session when cognitive abilities are still fresh and functioning.

Ask professors if there is a problem or difficulty. They understand the material well.