Unhinged Study Hacks That Work to Help You Through Finals

Do final exams have you feeling unhinged? You are far from alone.

Drexel University students Morgan Unruh, psychology ’26 from the College of Arts and Sciences, and Jamilie Atiyeh, a second-year optometry student at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, shared their most unhinged hacks for studying. Archie Fernsby, academic coach and learning specialist, Nicole Taylor, learning specialist, and Allie Humphries, assistant director, all from the Center for Learning and Academic Success Services (CLASS), chimed in on why those hacks work, and how to tweak them to keep yourself from going too crazy this finals season.

Listening-based hacks

Atiyeh: “When I'm pressed for time, I play a lecture for one class in the background while actively studying a completely different class that somewhat overlaps — like pharmacology playing while I’m studying ocular disease. Interleaving at its absolute finest. My brain is forced to connect dots within medicine, creating a pretty bow of related concepts.”

CLASS Notes: Interleaving is a study technique that switches between different topics or subjects within one study session, instead of focusing on one topic at a time. Humphries said this hack is close to interleaving, but sounds more like multitasking because you’re focusing on different topics at once. Both can be great hacks, however.

“Combining concepts from different courses with one focused and active study strategy is great for building complex mental models,” Fernsby said. “Shout out to concept mapping.”

Unruh: “I play this video [of a dual-ear split of the Bible being read in Chinese and double-speed Mozart] when writing anything for my psychology classes. I play this video [of a dual-ear split of an instrumental version of “Beat It” by Michael Jackson and the vocals of “Lagtrain” by INABAKUMORI] on repeat for writing essays for any elective classes. [For studying] I always listen to this video [of 10 hours of “Slide” from Super Mario 64].

CLASS Notes: The experts have spoken: This one is pretty unhinged! There are some reasons this works — listening to the same type of music every time you study cues your brain to get into the studying headspace, said Taylor, and Humphries connected this hack to how listening to lofi music or white noise without words to listen to or understand can help with focus. However, there are other ways to signal to your brain that it’s time to study.

“It sounds like this student has a high baseline stimulation need, meaning they need a lot of sensory input to focus,” Fernsby said. “There are a few options to regulate this. Short term, you should do academic tasks earlier in the day than high stimulus activities like scrolling or watching short-form videos. Long term, you should work on deliberate low-stimulus tolerance building, like mindfulness.”

Think about other cues you can develop to signal that it’s time to study — one of Taylor’s favorites is putting on a specific pair of blue light glasses to get into the zone.

Snack hacks

Unruh: “For sustenance I rely on the Rehab Monster energy drinks, specifically the “tea + lemonade” flavor, and peanut butter sandwiches.”

CLASS Notes: The peanut butter sandwich is a great snack to fuel your study sessions, Taylor said. The caffeine and sugar in the energy drink can be helpful to an extent, said Fernsby, who cited ADHD expert Russell Barkley, PhD, and his recommendation to sip such a drink when performing tasks that require higher levels of executive function.

“If you down the whole thing in 15 minutes, you’ll wind up with an unhelpful crash for sure,” Fernsby said.

Taylor echoed caution with energy drinks. It’s important to give yourself a cut-off time for them, so it doesn’t impact your sleep. And speaking of sleep, are you getting as much as you should? Try looking at your sleep schedule and sleep hygiene to make sure you’re not relying on energy drinks.

Setting hacks

Unruh: “I study on Penn’s campus in their library so I feel more motivated.”

CLASS Notes: Changing up your study environment is a great hack, said Taylor, who also encourages students to get out of their living space during the school day. This can help the brain associate your living space with rest and relaxation, and campus buildings or libraries with studying and learning.

Unruh: “Every hour I take a break to stand at the window like I’m Batman looking out over Gotham City.”

CLASS Notes: Structured study breaks like this, plus getting some natural light at the window, helps with focus and overall well-being, Humphries said.

“This strategy makes me laugh, but it’s actually a good one,” Taylor said. “We all need moments of joy and silly goose-ness to keep the stress levels at bay. How can you insert some fun into your study routine?”

If you get some people- or pigeon-watching in while surveying your kingdom, all the better. Fernsby said this can engage your involuntary attention, giving your brain something to focus on while still getting a break, and he also recommends live feeds of otters or jellyfish to help with this, too.

Notes hacks

Atiyeh: “Right before an exam, I take a stack of blank printer paper and write down everything I can remember from scratch — no notes, no prompts. What I can recall easily means I know it well. What I can’t, that’s what I focus on reviewing. It’s a quick way to figure out exactly what I know and avoid wasting time over-studying things I already have down. Though, I do show up to exams with stacks of paper in hand and likely look insane.”

CLASS Notes: If it feels unhinged but helps you retain information, carry those papers with pride. Brain dumping for the win! This hack helps with the strategy of active recall, Taylor said, and gets your brain working hard during study sessions so information comes more easily during exams.

“Think about active recall like a path in the woods,” Taylor said. “The more times you walk it — study the material, retrieve information without prompts, test yourself — the clearer and more defined the path will be in the future, and info will be easier to recall during exams.”

Try creating a weekly reference sheet with key info. Thinking about the main idea versus the details is a great way to get the brain working, Taylor said — plus, you’ll end up with weekly study sheets that make reviewing for exams much easier.

Unruh: “Sometimes I use the diction option on Microsoft Word and just talk to my computer instead of typing.”

CLASS Notes: This hack is also similar in effectiveness to brain dumping, and might be a bit more efficient than typing it all out, Humphries said, but you might need more clean-up and editing. It could also help people who feel overwhelmed by sitting down to type everything out, said Fernsby.