It’s midnight. I have a big assignment for my magazine writing class looming over my head. I have no ideas, no research or sources. Not to mention the forensic chemistry midterm coming up—the human body is way too complicated for my liking. And I could really go for some coffee right now…or sleep. A nice long nap could be just what I need, but I have over 200 images to memorize everything about for my art history midterms. Tack on internship work, another midterm and navigating all of this chaos and it’s a miracle I’m alive. I should call my parents and let them know to be thankful my brain hasn’t exploded—yet anyway.
We all know the feeling of the overwhelming, dreaded, worst time of year: midterms (finals time might end up being worse, but who can even think that far into the future when every professor has a million things due this week alone?!). If you catch a break and have a few classes without an actual midterm, the prof usually assigns some kind of research paper or ridiculous project instead, which would be easy to do if you actually had the time.
Sometimes it feels like all the professors get together and have a good laugh at how tired we are, how our heads start to droop during lecture, and just how many projects they can assign before we all go insane. Well, they can laugh all they want. They can share their fake pity over how much work we have to do and complain about grading while we all fake laugh in return. This semester, we’re going to take the midterms by storm without falling prey to the plague, forcing ourselves to live off of coffee instead of sleep or resorting to failing tests or projects.
There are ways to survive one of the most horrible times of the year (I just typed this in the sing-song voice of that song, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year”–testimony to to how sleep deprived I am). Most obviously and most important is time management. Look at the tests and projects you have coming up and prioritize. I know my art history tests require the most effort in studying and are the most time consuming, so I dedicate study time early on so it can be spread out without the overwhelming factor. Though it might seem nice to do the easy stuff first and check it off the list, it can often be more beneficial to start tackling the harder things ASAP and gradually make progress. Later on, you’ll be grateful when all you have left to do is a short reading response. Take a few minutes, write a list of what you have to do, order it from worst to easiest and plan from there.
Once your work schedule is complete, the next step is to consider your health. Sleeping can become a luxury in midterm week if we aren’t careful. Though you don’t necessarily have to get the blissful 8 hours—and oh, how I envy you if you do—every night, it is important to try to keep your sleeping schedule an iota of normal. Avoid all nighters as much as you can. Not only will you be rendered basically useless the following day, there’s the risk of sleeping through your test or deadline for a project. If you find yourself falling asleep in your textbook, take a power nap instead of struggling to stay awake; honestly, you’re not really learning anything other than how hard it is to read when you can barely keep your eyes open. So, sleep, sleep, sleep as much as you can.
Also, to help your mind and body, take study breaks and eat good meals. Drink up that OJ to help reinforce your immune system. Don’t automatically go for the greasy Sbarro’s pizza because it’s fast and you have more important things to do. It’s important to get a lot of vitamins, protein and fiber in your diet—these things will boost your body and your brain to help you succeed. Try not to go overboard on coffee, since too much caffeine makes a lot of people jumpy and eventually, you’ll crash The more caffeine you’re hyped up on, the harder you will crash. Just remember, you don’t have to study non-stop to get a good grade. Take breaks, give your mind a breather and don’t stress about little pieces of information you can’t wrap your head around.
We’re all in the same boat, but with a level-head, some sleep, and good food in our systems, we can survive until spring break. Picture yourself on a beach or at home or in an exciting city and power through! Good luck, everyone!