How to get organized to study during exam season without dying in the attempt

Final exams are usually one of the most intense stages of the academic year: assignments, final papers, reviews and a lot of accumulated pressure. However, knowing how to get organized to study can make the difference between feeling overwhelmed or facing this phase with clarity, realism and good results.

In this guide you will find real organization methods, effective study techniques and mistakes you must avoid, especially if you study at university.

Getting organized to study means planning your available hours, prioritizing subjects according to difficulty, dividing the content into manageable parts, and applying techniques that help you understand and retain information. It is the foundation for any student who must prepare final exams at university without becoming overwhelmed.

The first step to knowing how to get organized to study for final exams is to be very clear about how you will be evaluated in each subject. Not all exams have the same format, nor do they require the same type of preparation.

To understand it better, create a list or table with:

• Type of exam
• Date
• Previous assignments or submissions
• Percentage of each part in the final grade
  

Once you have created this list or table, you will be able to plan your study time better and apply different study techniques to each subject. On the other hand, if the exam is practical, it is best to spend time doing practical exercises or giving oral presentations to achieve the tone you want for exam day.

One of the most common mistakes students make is dedicating the same amount of time to each subject without considering which ones are more complex or more difficult. To avoid this, distributing your study time strategically will allow you to:

• Dedicate the necessary hours to each subject depending on difficulty or content volume.
• Create a weekly structure assigning the required time to each subject.
• Reserve additional time for each subject in the days before the exam to review and reinforce what you have memorized and learned.
  

*Remember that one hour of full concentration is worth more than three hours with distractions, so we encourage you to take advantage of your focus time as much as possible and keep it short to maintain a perfect balance.

Good organization to study for final exams is impossible without rest. The mind needs breaks to retain information.

To respect these timings, there are various techniques such as the Pomodoro technique, which consists of studying for 25 minutes and resting for 5, and after four cycles taking a longer break of 15–30 minutes. During these breaks, it is important to walk, stretch, drink water or simply disconnect your mind.

Sleep is also part of studying

Sleeping between 7 and 9 hours improves information retention by up to 40%.

Always avoid studying late the night before the exam, as it worsens memory, concentration and reasoning speed.

Even if you have a good memory, keeping all your planning in your head can create more stress or anxiety. To avoid this, it is highly recommended to use visual organizers that help you see the whole process and make necessary adjustments.

From here, each student should use the method that works best for them, as there are different tools to get organized to study for final exams. Some of the most common tools are:

• Monthly or weekly calendar with the dates of final exams and submissions.
• Checklist or task list for each subject.
• Productivity apps such as Notion, Trello or Google Calendar.
• Color-coding methods (assigning each color to a task/exam).

Having good organization and planning throughout the course is essential, but especially in the final weeks, when everything accumulates and can create more chaos. This will also help you avoid forgetting daily assignments or tasks.

It is inevitable to want to cover a lot in a short time, but this can only lead to frustration and anxiety. In addition to good organisation and planning, you should set specific and realistic goals in order to make progress. At this point in the course, it is better to set small goals that you can achieve than large goals that you cannot reach. On a personal level, marking off small achievements or tasks will give you a sense of accomplishment and motivate you to tackle these more intense weeks of the course.

Knowing how to organize yourself to study for final exams also avoids practices that waste your energy or time such as:

• Leaving everything to the last day, since studying against the clock generates greater stress and reduces information retention. 
• Wanting to review all the content without prioritizing what is most relevant can waste your time.
• Studying without breaks may seem, at first glance, more productive, but it decreases cognitive performance. 
• Applying methods that work for others. This will not always work, since everyone is different and what works for others may not work for you, so it is essential to know which method works best for you and adapt it to your study routine.
• Studying while you have distractions in the background prevents real concentration, so it also wastes your time.

In addition to knowing how to organize yourself to study for final exams, it is important that as a student you know the different study techniques for university students:

• Pomodoro technique: study in blocks of 25 minutes and rest for 5 minutes. After four cycles take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. This technique helps improve concentration and prevents mental fatigue.
• Feynman Technique: explain what you have learned from a concept in your own words so that you can teach it to someone with no previous knowledge. This allows you to understand what you are studying and prevents you from simply studying by memorizing. 
• Mind maps: visualize the connections between the different topics of the subject. It is a very useful technique to apply in more theoretical subjects or with dense content. 
• Flashcards: these are quick question/answer cards to review key concepts. This technique can be used with apps such as Quizlet. 
• Exam simulation: Recreate a real exam to gain confidence and measure the time you will need to take it. This allows you to familiarize yourself with the exam and also helps to reduce the nerves of the real thing. 

Now that you know the different tips and techniques, you know how to organize yourself to study for the final exams. From Unihabit we want to wish good luck to all students in this final stretch of the course!

Divide the syllabus, prioritize difficult subjects and follow a weekly plan with breaks

Between 3 and 6 effective hours depending on the exam load.

Simulate exams, summarize, explain out loud and use spaced repetition.

Block your mobile phone, use Pomodoro sessions and study in a quiet environment.

It depends on your biological rhythm, but the morning usually enhances concentration.

At Unihabit you will find study rooms, rest areas and a perfect environment to help you concentrate.