This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Marist chapter.
With the dreaded Finals Week drawing near, it can become so easy to get caught up in sticky deadlines, difficult group projects, and boring papers that you forget to take a deep breath and take care of yourself. Don’t forget the simple fact that if you’re not feeling your best due to stress or lack of sleep you scientifically cannot perform your best on your exams or presentations! Therefore, it is imperative to take a second to show yourself some love with these five self-care suggestions.
- Pour yourself a cup of tea. There really is nothing like some tea to de-stress after a long library study session; it’s basically like sipping a cup of sanity. Bonus: most teas still do contain some amount of caffeine, so it will provide you with a slight energy boost, but not nearly as overwhelming as the one you’d experience with coffee.
- Take a nap! Your mind cannot function on two hours of sleep. This is a fact. It doesn’t matter if you have two papers due tomorrow and three presentations due within the next week. If you don’t rest now, you will crash later. That’s guaranteed. So take a second, and take a nap! It doesn’t matter if it’s twenty minutes or an hour, your body will thank you.
- Think about your goal. In no time, you’ll be catching up with your hometown best friends, getting to see your pets, and enjoy quality time with your family. No, finals are not fun, but your goal is ultimately to finish the semester strong so you can head home and enjoy a month of leisure.
- Put your planner to good use. If you don’t write your deadlines down, you’ll miss one. Put that planner to good use, and make note of anything you have to do.
- Use your resources. If you are struggling in one particular class and are extremely nervous about the final, reach out to the Professor during office hours and see what you can do to prepare for the final. Effort is important, and professors will notice that you’re making an effort to try your best. Also, use your other resources, such as the writing center if you need another set of eyes on your paper, or the math lab if you want to review some tricky practice problems before your stats final.