Welcome to finals week, a time during which every college student in America has a synchronous panic attack because of their final exams. An infographic on the site Mentalhelp from 2016 shows that 31% of the average student’s stress can be attributed to final exams and midterms.

In this unique time, when we have a pandemic ravaging through the country, there is added stress during finals week due to the fact that since we’re online, potential glitches and other internet issues pose greater threat to one’s success, because let’s face it, technology is a fickle thing.

Well, we here at The Skyline View want to say that you’re going to do great on your finals, and that you shouldn’t be wasting time stressing over it. There are a lot of great tips that can help you out at this time, and there are a lot of resources that can help you reduce your stress.

One tip that can be utilized is something that gets said so many times that it starts to sound like a broken record, and that is to avoid procrastinating. The American Psychological Association cited a study carried out by a University of Calgary psychologist that concluded that 80-95% of college students procrastinate. That is a concerningly high number of students.

In their article about taking final exams during the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins University recommends that in order to avoid procrastinating, you get organized, and that you do it immediately.

“Don’t wait until the week before finals to figure out what you need to do,” the page read. “Just 30 minutes of planning can save hours of wasted time.”

30 minutes. That is the length of one episode of your favorite TV show, and that’s all it takes to plan out what finals week is going to involve for you.

Another tip that Johns Hopkins recommends you do, going back to the point about this being during a pandemic, is to focus on the finals rather than focusing on COVID-19 during this time.

“Try not to worry about what comes after this semester, or what’s going on in the world at large,” the page read. “Take a break from the news or at least limit your exposure. You can stay up to date without letting yourself get thoroughly distracted.”

With all the bad going on in the universe, it’s easy to take your attention off of your work and onto the world around you.

There are also a lot of resources to help keep stress off of you during this week. One example that gets talked about a lot at Skyline is the Personal Counseling Center. Some students may feel like they need someone to talk to during this time when so many things are happening, and it all feels like raindrops flying at their faces in heavy wind. Luckily, the center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday. The center can be reached at (650) 738-4270.

Otherwise, the website Active Minds has an article on six healthy ways to de-stress during finals, such as avoiding social media, sleeping, exercise, among other ideas for things that can help a college student who is struggling to relieve themselves of anxiety during finals.

These tips should help you out with de-stressing during a finals week unlike any other. They are just a few of the multitude of ways you can make this stressful time easier for yourself. We hope you can use this advice and resources to crush your finals.