Thanksgiving has officially ended and the winter holiday season has begun. With it comes Christmas lights, hot chocolate, eggnog and of course, presents. However, the holiday cheer also comes with the holiday fear: finals week. It’s slowly creeping its head around the corner, which means Strozier will be filled to the brim and so will your coffee cup. But before you prepare for another all-nighter and wear the bags under your eyes like Gucci, here are a few self-care tips to surviving the season of fears and tears and instead, enjoying the holiday cheer.
1. Keep Up Your Normal Self-Care Routines
I know how easy it is to fall into hyper fixation instead of allowing yourself twenty minutes to get up and take a shower. I mean, why would you when those twenty minutes could be used to study for that huge exam tomorrow? But trust me, those saved twenty minutes will only hurt you in the end. You’ll spend far more time feeling bad about yourself because of how greasy your hair is or how badly you’re breaking out than you will for being thankful that you skipped a shower. Just keep up the basics, at least. You’ll thank yourself later (and your roommates probably will too).
2. Get Enough (Or Close to Enough) Sleep
From personal experience, no good ever comes from pulling an all-nighter or staying awake just to study or catch up on homework. Sleep is the ultimate college luxury. It’s easy to fall into the habit of telling yourself that you have better things to do or that you need to finish this assignment so you don’t fail in the morning. It almost turns into a competition of who can stay up the latest. Instead of spending those dead hours of the night cramming your head in a book (or binging that new show on Netflix with a book open in front of you), take that time to snuggle up under the blanket for some well-deserved rest to reset your mind and boost your memory. BONUS: Naps are good too!
3. Take Study Breaks and Make them Intentional
Taking study breaks is difficult during this trying time. But why should you make them intentional? Why shouldn’t you just sit in your chair, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram as you feel your brain cells slowly die from how much information they’ve absorbed? Well, I’ll answer that question with another question: Does that really feel like a break? Do you really feel refreshed and ready to get back to studying after that? Instead of wasting those few minutes arguing with people on social media, take that time to do something you love. Paint, draw, read a good book, hang pictures up on your wall, call up a friend – anything that allows you to take a break and reset.
4. Get Active
From my experience, nothing clears your head better than a good workout. When you’re up to your neck in textbooks and have fog drowning out your thoughts, it’s always nice to step away from the computer even if it’s just for a few minutes. Go for a run at the Leach, spend a good twenty minutes on the machines, or even go for a walk around campus. Anything to get your blood flowing and your body moving, because we all know sitting slouched in the same position for hours on end, going over the same topics until the words don’t make sense, can’t be good for anybody.
5. Get Some Human Interaction
When you’re cooped up in your room swimming in a sea of notes, it’s hard to even entertain the thought of going out or spending time with some friends. However, just because you don’t believe you need human interaction doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Sometimes, even just knowing that other people exist when all you’ve been seeing for the past several hours are textbooks is very comforting. It can be something quick and easy like asking a friend to go out to lunch, calling your mom, finding a buddy to go on a walk with or going on a coffee run with your bestie. Even just go sit on your friend’s bed while you’re both studying and enjoy each other’s company. It’s always nice to know that there are other people around you who support you, no matter what your grades are.
6. Find Time for Yourself
This is probably the hardest thing to do in college. Not the finals, not the essays, not even having to deal with that one roommate who doesn’t shower – but finding some much needed “me time.” At home, you could just slink off to your room, lock the door, and curl up under the blankets. Here, you can’t even take a shower for longer than ten minutes without somebody knocking on the door (communal bathrooms are just the best). But above everything, make it a priority to find some time for yourself. If you can, work out a compromise with your roommates so that you each get the room to yourself for a set amount of time. If that’s not possible, try to find a nice hiding place on campus (hint: check out the Globe’s Meditation Room on the third floor).
If you find something that helps, don’t just put it in a box and forget about it until this time rolls around again. If you find something that works for you, it’s important to incorporate it into your everyday schedule and practice self-care every day. Don’t let it be the thing that gets cut out when you’re too busy or stressed. Self-care allows us to be our most confident, best selves so make a list of things you wish to incorporate into your daily routine. Take a breath, take a walk and remember to take a break!