To whoever came up with the term “midterm weak”, you’re wrong. I’ve been having a “midterm month”, and I’m about to have only a five-day long break before exams start piling up again. Now add in all the unorganized group projects and papers for required classes that actually don’t pertain to what I’m studying- I. Am. Stressed. My brain is constantly overwhelmed and I can’t properly focus. With my nightly question now being “do I go to the gym and not sleep much, or do I skip the gym so my brain is ‘slightly’ more effective”, getting the distressing benefits of a workout have not been in my cards. That being said, I’ve had to find other ways to clear my mind until my schedule is back under control. Here’s a few things to try when your head is also out of focus and you’re crunched on time:
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Breathing Exercises
Back in high school, I remember being told to do breathing exercises to help with stress and always thinking “this doesn’t work”. Three+ years later here I am, completely wrong about the benefits. Simply focusing on my breathing and being sure to take long deep breaths for as little as a minute can help clear your mind. When you’re brain is super fuzzy and you can’t focus I’d recommend doing breathing exercises for up to five minutes.
2. Meditation
I typically meditate when I have about a 15-minute time slot. Even if you don’t have 15 minutes, meditation is a great way to gain clarity as you can do it in less or more then 15 minutes. I personally use an app called Sattva on my phone when I meditate. It has a lot of great guided meditations that are free. Also if you simply search “guided meditations” on YouTube you will find some many free videos that can help with mediating.
3. Quick Spurts of Cardio
Cardio is still a great way to clear your head even if you don’t have time to go to the gym for a full-blown workout. Literally just stop whatever you’re working on and time yourself doing some type of cardio exercise for a minute. Run in place, do high knees, jump-squats; whatever it is just make sure to push yourself as hard as you can for that one minute. Repeat this as needed.