It’s midterm time! Please raise your tray tables to their upright and locked position, and prepare for way too much coffee. From midterms to finals week, stress and caffeine levels are high, Warrior Dollars and patience are low, and you’re one paper away from total insanity. So grab your paper bag to hyperventilate into and enjoy these tips to cure your stressed-out hysteria!
- Know your limits.
Everyone has a maximum allowance of stress. Know how to read your stress levels! If you can identify when you’re getting overly stressed, you can flee the scene and find a way to chill out (see next bullet point). Taking breaks during heavy work is important! Personally, I take fifteen minutes out of every hour to relax and unwind, or else I go absolutely insane and drown in a pool of tears.
- CHILL.
Like, forrealz. Plan to have chill time. Do something mindless. Read a good book. Dance like no one is watching. Spend time lying on the floor. Drink tea. Watch an episode of a childhood cartoon (an episode segment of Spongebob is conveniently only 11 minutes long). Clean something. Unwind. I don’t know—I’m not your brain. Do something that helps you relax.
- Plan when you are going to tackle those huge assignments.
“Oh no! I have a huge paper due tomorrow and I work until late tonight! Help!”
Have an hour in-between classes? Work on it then! Use your time wisely.
“But that’s when I hang out with [potential significant other]!”
Reprioritize, bro. Shorty can wait. School before fools. Grades before braids. GPA before crème brûlée. I’m totes exaggerating, but you get the point.
- TREAT YO SELF.
Rewarding yourself is a great way to stay motivated. There’s the ingenious gummy bear system for reading: you put a gummy bear (or other candy of choice) at the end of paragraphs in your reading, and when you read up to it, you eat it. (Yay candy!) Buy a good cup of coffee. Maybe go to Shari’s with some friends (and enjoy the new Warrior shake – you’re welcome, by the way). Pick a movie before you do your work and watch it afterward. Do something outdoorsy; basically, whatever your thing is, do it to reward yourself.
- Stay hydrated!
Confucius says, “The wise find pleasure in water.”
Staying hydrated keeps your body working properly and rewards you with additional bathroom breaks. Score!
Midterms can be a pretty crazy time for a lot of people, but with some time and forethought, we can survive!
At least until finals week.
*High School Musical voice* We’re all in this together!