We’ve made it through most of fall term and we can see the finish line. We’ve still got the dreaded Dead Week and finals to get through before we can finally enjoy a month away from the classroom. If you’re like me, you know all too well the struggles of the last few weeks of the term:
The coffee lines are ridiculous. Most college students need caffeine to get through the day, and whether you’re brave enough to go to Starbucks or you stop by one of the on-campus venues, the lines seem endless and you just don’t have enough time to wait. A tip to avoid this: Get coffee at a time when most students are in class, or at odd times during the day. If you’re a Starbucks member, you can easily use the App to order and pay ahead of time and pick up your caffeinated essentials without having to wait in line.
You find any excuse not to finish that essay. You call your mom; you work out at the Rec for the first time in months; you even help friends with their assignments. But you refuse to look at that blank Word document that would mean writing an essay you don’t want to write. Your brain already feels like it’s in vacation mode, but you still need to finish that essay that’s worth 30% of your grade. Some advice to overcome that blank piece of paper on your laptop screen: Close the laptop and step away from the assignment. Jot down some ideas about the essay you want to write before you start typing away. This might not work for everyone, but at least it helps get you started.
Got notes? You’ve been taking rigorous notes for your classes all term. Your hand is now permanently cramped from trying desperately to scribble as many notes as possible. You’ve probably gotten to that point where you’re too burnt out to even take notes anymore, so instead you just sit in class and pretend that you’ll remember everything the professor said during your final. To hopefully avoid missing the key points in your professor’s last few lectures of the term: Ask a trusted friend to take notes for the first half of class, while you take notes for the second half. Later, you can create an improvised study session while discussing the notes you both took.
You take dozens of naps but still feel dead inside. This is probably the reason why it’s called Dead Week. You feel like your professors are out to get you, like they’ve all plotted together to give you assignments that are all due at the same time. You feel so overwhelmed that you decide to take a quick nap, and that quick nap becomes two, and then three, and before you know it napping becomes part of your daily routine (if it wasn’t already). After every nap, though, you feel the same amount of dread about all the assignments you still need to finish. To counteract this dead feeling: Get to sleep earlier, even if you need to finish assignments. Your health is of utmost importance; take care of yourself first before you tackle that overwhelming pile of assignments.
If you’re struggling to make it to the end of the term like we all are, try not to overwhelm yourself. Remember to take care of yourself and de-stress using the many on-campus resources. Don’t blow off the last few assignments of the term, and join study sessions so that you don’t feel like you’re the only one drowning underneath a pile of papers and finals. Trust me, we all know the struggle!