Unfortunately, the time has come once again when final exams and paper deadlines are quickly approaching. Also approaching? The HUGE amounts of stress and anxiety! Try to relax a little bit with these tips from a fellow stressed out college student.
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Treat Yourself: Being a college student means having little wiggle room financially…splurging every once in awhile isn’t that bad, right? Go ahead and buy yourself that new mascara, you need it.
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Procrastinate, but just a little bit: Procrastination is the worst, but there is no shame in pushing away the books and opening your computer to watch some Netflix. (Just a few episodes though, not an entire season…).
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Get plenty of sleep: Try to set a bedtime for yourself, the key word is “try”. Going to bed at a reasonable hour is terribly difficult with our minds stressing over all the things we need to do. Try to get at least six hours of sleep, a mid-day nap won’t kill you!
4.  Don’t pull all-nighters: Is it really worth getting no sleep at all so you can study for an exam the next day? Instead, set a schedule for the week with time slots for you to study because cramming isn’t as successful as we would want it to be.
5. Eat: Hunger gets the best of us, so try to eat three meals a day and have plenty of snacks to fuel your body. Your mind and body will thank you. Besides, being hungry isn’t fun!
6. Get off of social media: This is the best escape for us procrastinators, but do we really need to scroll through Instagram and Twitter every five minutes? Try turning your phone off to stay focused!
7. Take a deep breath: In through your nose, out through your mouth. This is the time to use those breathing techniques you learned at yoga…
8. Go outside: Fresh air is the best remedy for a cooped up stressed out college student sudying for finals, so why not change your scenery with a quiet place on campus? The art field has a handful of picnic tables, so take advantage of those while you can. How about the Adirondack chairs outside the library? Take advanage of the beautiful weather and clear your head!
9. Color or Doodle:Go ahead and splurge a little on a coloring book and pencils. (Treat Yourself!) This method of therapy is both rewarding and relaxing. You can finally focus on something other than your exams or papers AND you get to have a fabulous picture in the end. De-stress and self-express, am I right?
10. Make a list: Break out that planner or type a checklist to keep track of what you’ve done and what you have to do. This keeps you organized as it is a reminder to stay focused. Try to set deadlines for yourself, checking things off your to-do list is pretty rewarding!
11. Listen to music: Music always gets me into a great mood and I love to have it in the background so I’m not in complete silence. Try to keep the volume low or use your headphones so you don’t bother your classmates!
12. Call a loved one: May I suggest calling mom? She is the best and is most likely to answer, because you’re her child away at college after all. But, no harm in calling someone else to spark up a conversation and ask for some tips to survive finals week (Or to help you procrastinate!).
13. Relax: Because, you’ve got this!