We all know that feeling. You’ve been staring at a computer screen, math problem, or textbook for too long. Your sense of sanity is crumbling, and the words are blurring before your eyes. It’s time to take a break, but you know the second you turn on Netflix or close your eyes in bed, it’s game over on studying. So what can you do in five minutes from the comfort of your library cubicle, study room, or coffee shop table? These seven things!
- Laugh: find a funny article online or put in some headphones and watch a Youtube clip that always makes you laugh. Just keep your chuckles quiet if there are fellow studiers around you. Library etiquette is important!
- Eat: Or, rather, watch food being prepared. Tasty videos on Buzzfeed or any other similar things will distract you from your sadness at studying. Just don’t get too hungry.
- Meditate: It is super easy to find five-minute guided audio meditation sessions online or through apps, and taking this time to close your eyes and soothe your mind will ensure that you return to studying more focused than you were before. Plus, it offers the added bonus of resting your eyes.
- Complain: Hit up the group chat and whine to your friends about how hard it is to be stuck studying. They may have work, too, but not as much as you! Bonus points if you come up with something funny enough to say that you laugh at your own joke.
- Stalk: We all do it. Hit up an instagram that gives you life envy, and indulge. Whether it’s a travel account to feed your wanderlust, more food, or even just some cute puppies, it’ll do the trick.
- Stretch: Just stand up and walk around for a few minutes, or do some sitting down. Activating your body will activate your mind, and you probably feel pretty stiff from sitting and doing work for a long time.
- Leave: Okay, this may not be a study break. But I’m a firm believer that the mind hits a breaking point sooner or later. If it’s late at night, or hour six, it may be time to really take an extended amount of time and recharge. Your brain won’t actually absorb information if it has been pushed too far, so make sure to know your own limit when it comes to studying. Then you can return to the task at hand when you feel better with a fresh mental state!
Midterm season won’t last forever (thankfully)! These tips will help you make the most of study time so that your productivity doesn’t waver and you can get yourself back on track when you start to lose focus. Study time may not be the most fun you’ll have in college, but at least these tips will help ease the pain. Good luck!