Whether it’s coursework or exams, the pressure of demonstrating that yes, actually, you HAVE learned something in the last semester can get to the even the best of us. All the nervous energy that ought to be concentrated on your studying can spontaneously overflow in confusing, bizarre, downright odd ways.
1. “Ab exercises” – Alysia, English with Creativity WritingPeople always say that exercise is great for stress – it releases endorphins and provides an outlet for your concern that every one of the 2000 words of your essay is absolute trash. Doing exercises in the comfort, warmth and embarrassment-free safety of your own room is probably one of the best weird things you can do when you’re got a deadline approaching.
2. Trying to reorganise your entire lifeApplying for jobs in a field you’ve literally just decided you’re interesting in? Changing your duvet cover despite knowing you’ll end up a teary wreck within two minutes? Watching TED talks about the million things successful people do before 9am EVERY DAY, even though the only thing you do before 9am is turn your alarm off? Once you’ve finished your revision you’ll realise the only thing you really needed to sort out was your ability to go into the exam hall without feeling like it was the arena in The Hunger Games, but for some reason in the run-up to an academic showdown it can feel like your whole existence needs a solid tidy.
3. Snapchatting about how stressed out you areLast year I sent all my friends a picture of Edvard Munch’s ‘Scream’ in an attempt to portray how freaked out I was getting about coursework. Surprisingly, it did not help, not even a little bit. Talking to friends is one of the things that can ease your nerves a bit, but turns out that sending them all a photograph of a painting that strikes fear into your heart does not count as outreach.
4. “Playing Scrabble with my housemate as a revision break” – Melissa, English with Creative WritingSometimes you’ve just got to get away from your laptop. And you’ll use literally anything as an excuse. Personally, I have once stared blankly at a wall because I thought it would be “more fun” that carrying on with my essay. (It was.)
5. EatingJust…eating everything in your house. Popping to the shop and in your stress-induced state purchasing a million bags of crisps and all the sweets you used to love in your childhood. Who doesn’t like comfort food? You’re eating for two – you, and your crushing fear about your university career. My personal favourite tactic; I think essays are noticeably better when you devour a whole thing of Jaffa Cakes while writing each page.
Edited by Naomi Upton
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