Fraternity formals have come and gone. The hours you spent stressing over perfecting your cooler, getting bikini-ready, and finishing schoolwork ahead of time have finally been justified with a much-needed beach weekend. Unfortunately, this means one thing: finals are all too near. Prepping for formal seems pretty straightforward, but what about the recovery? How can we switch gears from beach mentality to the finals mindset?
Detox:
This past weekend, you probably ate and drank a lot of things that are high in calories. Now, especially with finals approaching, it’s easy to get in the habit of endlessly snacking on Doritos and consuming mass quantities of soda, with little to no exercise. However, it’s really tough to feel productive when your body doesn’t even feel great. So how can victims of formal eating/drinking get back on track?
Don’t worry – I’m not suggesting a crazy juice cleanse. For the disciplined few among us, new research suggests that eliminating all processed food and refined sugar can curb food cravings and keep you full longer.
If you’re not looking to make such drastic changes, you can also detox by drinking a lot of water, hitting the gym regularly, and skipping the greasy food. You worked so hard on your bikini body before formal – don’t give up on it now! Your body will thank you when you don’t go into a carb-induced coma in the stacks while you’re studying for finals.
Get Actual Sleep:
Before formal, you stayed up late stalking the Cooler Connection Facebook group. During formal, you stayed up late taking advantage of your time off-campus. Now formal is over, and you’re staying up late…why? Take this limbo period between formal and finals as an opportunity to finally get your sleep schedule back on track. Trust me – you’ll be glad you did when you’re able to survive your impending 8 am exam. Besides, your summer employer won’t appreciate your nap schedule as much as you do.
Go Outside:
No, it’s not as fabulous as the beach you were laying on so recently, but Atlanta is known for its warm weather. Take this opportunity to study in the sun on McDonough or tan by the Clairmont pool. Getting some Vitamin D will improve your mood, and you can still manage to be productive.
Create the Perfect Playlist:
Nothing can pump up your mood quite like music can, and everyone knows that studying is easier when it’s set to good music! Make a new study playlist that includes all your favorite summery upbeat songs. Let Lana Del Rey remind you of your weekend at the beach, and time will fly by while you’re studying.
These are just some of the many ways to get out of your post-formal funk and into finals study mode. Just remember that stalking formal photos can wait; the more studying you put off, the more stressed you’ll be later!