Welcome to the first episode of the Mountain Moments podcast. Today we are going in depth to cover time tested and innovative study methods to get you ready for Finals. To kick it off, we will cover the basics of finals. 

This year, finals are worth 10% of your grade. This means that they will have much less of an effect on your grade. For those of you holding on to an A, this is a relief, to those of you hoping to bring your grade to an A, it’s time to rethink. To help you with this process, we have some tips.

Log onto campus portal and turn on notifications. This will alert you immediately when a grade is entered. Once we get closer to finals week, your teachers will be tired. Do everyone a favor and deal with gradebook mistakes or missing assignments NOW. Keep in mind that you are not the only one coming to your teacher for help at the last minute, and they will have more time, energy and motivation to help you if you approach them sooner rather than later.

Step two: study smart. Have you ever spent an hour on your already written and edited English paper to realize that you have a math test next period? We’ve all been there. This is often a product of procrastination, but can also happen due to lack of planning. Find a grade calculator, and use it to determine what test you need to spend the most time studying for. Don’t use the same bad method to study over and over. Not all study strategies work for everyone. If something is not working for you, don’t do it. There is a study method for everyone, and using the wrong one is not going to help. Have you ever been told that you can’t listen to music while studying? Instead of being bored, put music to use. 

Our memories are best triggered by a reoccurring sound or thought. If you dedicate a song or playlist to a certain topic, and only listen to it while studying that topic, your brain will associate that song with the subject, and all of your memories about that subject will be pulled out. Before you take your final, listen to that song to give yourself a quick refresh and an easy way to review what you’ve studied.

Step three, set realistic goals. Let’s face it. You are not going to spend four hours every weekend studying for your math final. There is a high chance you will not even spend one hour studying. And you are definitely not going to get it done at one AM while laying on your bed in the dark. Sit at a desk, table, counter, or similar, and cover all basic needs before studying; eat, sleep, and set aside time to study. 

Instead of setting time limits, which are abstract, and can be filled with useless tasks like organizing your binder, or highlighting your notes, make flashcards and vow to go through all of them once a day, or read one section of your textbook a day. These are physical methods of studying that allow you to see your progress in a clear and tangible way. This is backed up by fact too, according to Ted X people prefer a progress bar instead of the spinning wheel of doom. It’s easier to see if you are making progress by looking at the page number instead of staring wistfully at the oven timer.

Finally, don’t overwork yourself. So many people forget this when finals come to the table. You can’t study for more than two hours without a break. At some point, your brain will lose interest and stop taking in the material, focusing on other things such as how hungry you are, or even the dirty laundry you have been ignoring for a long time. Our brains are really good at coming up with excuses, don’t let them get away with it. 

This is the Mountain Moments Podcast of Cheyenne Mountain High School. Make sure to check out our website at the mountain news.org, and follow us on instagram at @cmhsnewspaper, on Facebook at cheyenne.newspaper, and on Twitter at @themountainnews1.