1. Catch Up On Sleep. Let’s be real, at this point in the quarter we aren’t sleeping (or sleeping well). You’ve probably been average 4 hours a night (aside from the guilt naps we take when we skip class for ‘self care’). No amount of mini naps can really replace getting that good 8 hours with no alarm set. Challenge yourself to take a friday night in and SLEEP in on saturday with NO GUILT. When were sleep deprived, we really can’t function as normal human beings.
2. Iced Coffee is NOT a Meal. This is a reminder for me too. I’m always 2-3 Lee’s coffee in, caffeinated, and never hungry. It’s not until I get home that I’m miserable and can’t figure out why that I realize it’s the coffee. It’s because coffee acts as an appetite suppressant and we forget to eat on those long study hours.
Photo Courtesy of Christina Autry via Houston Eater
3. Call Your Family. I don’t know if it’s just me but I get SO homesick in this mid-quarter slump. Mostly because this is when I feel so sad to not doing fun fall and winter things with them. Nothing improves my mood more than hearing from my mom and talking to her on my hard days!
4. Go in the Sun. Being trapped in Orbach or your bedroom for too long is such an L. Take a quick stroll around campus, go to the botanical gardens for a mini-date with your friends, sit by the pool, or just in your backyard. That vitamin C is essential.
Photo Courtesy of UCR Today
5. Go to Office Hours!!!!! When I’m struggling, it’s so hard to get help because I let my pride get ahead of me. Chegg and crashcourse only get you so far. Once I go to office hours and my TA’s start seeing my face, my grades improved 10 times. Whether it’s the office hours actually helped me learn or the TA’s went easier on me because they suddenly knew me, going to office hours is such a game changer. It’s never too late!!!
6. Drink Water. Your body is like 70% water but during midterm season it’s probably 30% water, 30% iced coffee, and 10% tears you’re getting ready to cry out. So get your hydration on, your mood will surely improve, and your body will THANK you.
(Photo from Unsplash)
7. You’re Doing Great. I am so hard on myself during the midterm season, and it is so simple to get caught up in the “I’m not doing as well as X”. But just simple a simple reminder that we’re all human, we’re all doing our best (even when we’ve binged the Office instead of studying for the 3rd time this week), and we WILL make it through the quarter.