After what seemed to be a never-ending winter, the weather has finally broken and so has our motivation to do work. With finals creeping up closer and closer, our desire to embrace the newly sunny weather isn’t exactly beneficial to our productivity levels. As spring fever is tightening its grip, check out these tips to help you keep it together until the end of the semester.
Do your work outside. On such sunny days, it feels like it should be illegal to be stuck in a library cubicle. Although it may seem like a bad idea to try to work outside with all of the springtime distractions, being outside can actually have a positive effect on your productivity levels. Being out in the sunshine has been proven to improve your mood and make you happier. With the fresh air clearing our heads and putting us in a good mood, it is much easier to complete our work. So break out of those stressful finals vibes confined to the library and let the spring weather help you with your homework.
Take a walk or go for a run. As sunshine has the power to reduce stress and improve your mood, pair it with some good old fashioned physical exercise for a finals stress remedy. Exercise, like the sunshine, helps to clear your mind and put your stress in perspective. Just like the library, the gym can sometimes feed into our stress levels as we tend to view it as another obligation on our long to-do list. However, by placing yourself in a different environment and going for a walk or a run, or maybe even doing your normal fitness routine outdoors, you allow your endorphins and the sunshine to give you a major mood boost.
Plan your schedule based on the weather. As we are all well aware at this point, Pennsylvania weather can be quite finicky. One day it will be sunny and 75, and the next it will be 50 and raining. Take a look at your trusty weather app on your phone to see which days you will want to be outdoors and which days you will want to hole up inside. On dreary days, plan to go to the library and complete most of your work so that you can spend more time outside relaxing in the sunshine on warmer days.
Reward yourself. Finals is all about toughing it out and getting through all of your most difficult assignments. Set goals for yourself (even small ones!) to complete certain tasks looming over your head, and then reward yourself. Go to the Freez, take a stroll around downtown (and maybe buy yourself something), or hang out with your friends outside. Rewarding yourself with springtime perks will motivate you to get your work done and embrace your spring fever.
Remember the year is almost over. Sometimes we are all too eager for finals to be behind us and the semester to come to an end. While summer is something that we can all look forward to, don’t forget to embrace these last few weeks with your friends on this newly sunny campus. Instead of piling on unnecessary stress about your finals, try to embrace the whirlwind of these closing weeks and enjoy the last few weeks with your friends while they are still right outside your door.