As midterm season continues, stress is about all we can think about. While we fight to balance our workload and take care of our mental health, stress often times gets the best of us. Here is our go-to cheat sheet on organization tips and how to be a more balanced person.
Drink Tea
During midterms season, we’re really, really unhealthy. We start to get sick, and we eat really poorly (hello. 3a.m. Insomnia deliveries). Here are some teas for all the midterm symptoms you may be feeling:
Yogi Breathe Deep tea (these tea bags are adorable and have inspiring quotes on the tags)
Black tea (to wake up)
Green Tea (to slow metabolism)
Peppermint (for bloating)
Exercise
I know, it sucks, but exercise is good for your head and will help you reset your mind (and help you sleep). Exercise improves your memory and provides your body with more energy, making those late-night study sessions a little less painful.
SLEEP!
I mean really, you might think this is super obvious, but when your schedule starts piling up and all-nighter season kicks off you have to keep in mind that your body needs sleep to function.
Go outside
Soak up some Vitamin D and get some fresh air, the dust in those library books isn’t doing your lungs any favors.
Try yoga or meditation
Temple offers free classes you could look into. Yoga increases blood flow and calms the body. Meditation is also incredibly beneficial. If you are not clear on how to practice meditation, there are many apps made to help guide you through your process, like Headspace and The Mindfulness App.
Journaling
Writing down thoughts and keeping a journal can help your mind analyze the activities of the day. This will keep your mind open. If you’re not into traditional journaling, try bullet journaling. If you have never heard of this, it is an excellent tool for staying organized. I personally have gotten on the bandwagon of bullet journaling. People bullet journal for a number of reasons, like keeping track of mental health, daily tasks, hydration, and exercise.
Organize, organize, organize
First things first: if you haven’t bought a planner yet, do so right now. Color code it to simplify your events, assignments, exams, etc. This is how I color code my reading assignments:
- Red: Important facts and dates
- Orange: Theories concepts and ideas
- Yellow: Vocab
- Green: Formulas
- Blue: People
This is how I color code my planner:
- (I use warm colors for when things are due)
- Red: Quizzes and Tests
- Orange: Project or essay due
- Blue: Homework
- Purple: Reading Assignments
- Green: Tasks and Etc
- Pink: Events and appointments
Then, break down your daily tasks. For a healthy mind you want to complete your tasks with breaks in between to reward your mind rather than strain it.
Lastly, organize your computer. We spend so much time on our laptops everyday, so we might as well make them tools for productivity. If you have a Mac, try using Stickie’s, a built in application on a MacBook. You can add sticky notes on the desktop to type in important notes. I use these to write down my tasks for each class if I don’t feel like grabbing my planner. You can try the Countdown App, which opens as small countdown buttons on the desktop to keep track of when assignments are due and when important events are coming up. Finally, try Limitless, a Google Chrome add-on. It keeps track of where your time is going. It sorts your web history into what is productive and what is not.
So, do you think you can tackle midterms now? We think you’re set. Go get ‘em.