Yesterday I finished my last exam for the semester, and I’m so relieved to be free. This year I am very happy about how I managed my exams, so I thought I’d share a few ways I kept myself from feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and generally sad.
1. Be Prepared
This is probably the hardest one because it requires thinking ahead. One thing I really tried to work on this semester was keeping up with readings and studying during the semester. I think this is an underutilized way to beat stress. Most people I know tend to think they can make up for slacking off during the semester during revision time. I honestly didn’t have to study that hard for my exams, because I had been studying all semester. I went over a few things before my exams, but I found I already knew most of what I needed to know.
This doesn’t just apply to school and university. I think in anything, you can be less stressed if you stay organized and prepare little by little, because trying to do everything in a very short amount of time is what causes you to stress out.
2. Treat Yourself
I take this philosophy straight from Parks and Rec. I think you need to reward yourself for hard work and make sure you take a break every once and a while. This keeps you from burning out and also keeps you motivated.
You can reward yourself with something as simple as a nice coffee instead of the coffee you make yourself. It can also be buying yourself a present like a small piece of jewelry or a book you’ve had your eye on for a while. If you don’t want to spend any money, you can just give yourself some time off. Take some time to go for a walk, sleep in, watch a movie, or whatever you like to do to refresh.
Your rewards can also be a lot bigger. This month I treated myself to a short trip to Barcelona (read about it here!), because I had studied hard, but also worked three jobs that semester. The reward is up to you, but it’s essential to keeping yourself sane.
Rewards give you something to look forward to. This is one way to motivate yourself with positive things rather than having to scare yourself into doing them. If you motivate yourself with fear and negative consequences, you’re more likely to feel stressed.
3. Be Social
I think this really depends on your personality, but I really need to be around people. If I were to lock myself in my room or in the library for a week working or studying, I would get really sad. I made sure to be relatively social during exam season this year, because it is much needed for my mental health. If you can’t spare an entire evening to hang out with your friends, have lunch with someone, meet someone for coffee, plan a study date, plan a meeting with someone to talk about your goals or plans. Even if it’s not a purely social thing, have some human contact. It will be good for you!
4. Be Organized
I alluded to this earlier, but staying organized is essential. I think there are two extremes that need to be avoided when you’re trying not to be overwhelmed. One extreme is that you are scatterbrained and aren’t productive or efficient enough to get everything done. The other extreme is that you work too hard too fast and then burn out. Both will keep you from getting everything done.
To combat the first extreme, plan your time wisely. Look at what needs to get done. Prioritize your tasks. Allot an appropriate amount of time for each task and make a schedule. Then stick to your schedule. After that you can reward yourself.
Some really good tools for this are calendar apps like Google calendar, which will send you notifications on your device to remind you when you need to move on to your next task. Also, nothing really beats an old-fashioned to-do list. You can write it down with pen and paper or type it up. Just so long as you write it out and then get it done.
I hope that’s helpful to someone out there. I’ve dealt with a lot of stress in my academic career. I don’t think I will ever stop signing myself up for more things than I can actually managed, so I am very aware of ways to deal with this. Comment if you have any other ways you like to beat stress!
