The end of the semester is hard on anyone. After Spring Break, there’s very little motivation to get things done. Whether that stems from the warm weather, exhaustion, or—in my case—senioritis, it’s the time of the year that fails to inspire a strong work ethic. Like at other times in the year, I have tricks to help my brain cope and push through until the end.
- Short Term Studying and Working
One thing I’ve learned to do is to start studying more frequently but for a shorter amount of time. I am not the person who invented this idea, nor am I the first person to use it, but I’d always been a last minute kind of worker. I found this to be even truer at the end of a long semester. Studying for shorter periods of time, but more often, allows my brain to feel less stressed about needing to complete the task. Sitting down to study for 15 minutes a day was way easier than studying for 3 hours once.
- Brain Breaks (and lots of them)
Now, despite it being the easiest break for a brain, this doesn’t mean getting right onto my phone. Usually, that ends with hours passing before I get back to my assignment. I usually do a little dance break to the song that makes me happiest. Or I choose to read a chapter of the book I’m in the middle of. It’s something that keeps my brain active, but doesn’t make it work in an academic way.
- Journaling
I haven’t always been so good at this habit, but I’ve started to look at journaling differently. Instead of needing to write long entries everyday, I try to write a couple of good things that happened. Even if it’s just, “I ate here and went here. I hung out with this person”, it helps me collect memories for the future, and get any frustrations out that I have. It’s a good stress reliever and a good way to turn off my brain.
- Screaming Into The Abyss
So, I know this is dramatic, but sometimes all you need is a good scream. When the semester is seemingly endless and the work is piling up, finding a tall hill and screaming into an empty field is all you need. I would definitely recommend making sure the area is empty, otherwise it could make for a very awkward conversation.