Midterms. Exams. Tests. Quizzes. Study guides. Late nights. Early mornings. Stress. If I haven’t gotten you stoked for these next few weeks then I don’t know what I can do! Not. I’m right there with you; I am not excited at all for those words to come to pass.
I wouldn’t say I’m an expert at acing my exams, nor am I a miracle grade worker, but I am someone who has figured out a system that has gotten me through this overwhelming time of the semester. I hope that some of my own ideas will help you discover what can work for you. You see, it’s all about the simple and small that will enable big and lasting outcomes.
1. Power-balls
I don’t know about you, but food gets me through any problem this world can bring. If anything, food is something that I can look forward to and rely on always. See, and what is better than food that is portable, healthy, yummy, and full of chocolate?!
These little treats are some of the best I’ve had. Just think: you’ve been studying for hours and can’t read one more sentence. But then, you realize that you’ve got a little ball of magic that can and will get you through: http://thehonoursystem.com/2014/04/07/no-bake-chocolate-chia-power-balls/
2. Pinterest Breaks
If I can’t take a mini vacation, go on a shopping spree, or make a decadent home-cooked meal, I will gladly opt for a Pinterest session! It’s as simple as putting a Pinterest link right on your homepage and scrolling on for a good ten minutes – just enough to gain your sanity back. Make sure you don’t get carried away though or else you’ll be scrolling forever. Treat your Pinterest session as a “reward” for studying for a long period of time!
3. Treat yourself
After a long week, day, night, hour, whatever you want, of studying, make sure to treat yourself. Whether that be by watching an episode of The Bachelor, taking yourself out to dinner, or buying a cupcake from the bakery downstairs, make sure to treat yourself. You’ve been working hard! You deserve it.
4. Keep exercising
Exercising isn’t only good for the body, but it’s also good for the mind and soul. When you exercise, you release serotonin levels, which help to increase brain activity. It increases your awareness and enables your ability to take in more information. Ta – da! Both your legs and brain get a beneficial workout. Give your mind a break from your textbook and your body a break from your desk and get pumping!
5. Study Creatively
What’s more inviting than studying in the same building, table, and seat every study session? NOTHING. Pretty sure it’s a proven fact, according to my experience, that changing your horizon is actually beneficial. And no, not just in traveling – in studying too! Go study creatively; try out each local coffee shop and library around town. It’ll make study sessions more exciting and easier to look forward to. Plus, each of these has to have their special little treat section! (We get to go back to step 3!! Whoo! – two birds with one stone!)
6. Have something to look forward to
Keep your mind attentive and exhilarated by having something to look forward to. Make that Pinterest session a reality and plan a trip, go on a shopping spree, or make a yummy home-cooked meal after your exams. For me, it was planning a cruise for spring break. Whatever it may be, whatever means it takes to get there, give yourself something to look forward to. I promise that it’ll make that two-hour long law exam more easily endurable.
7. Remember what keeps you content
Yet through it all, and what I believe is the most important step: remembering what makes you content. Through these next few weeks, you’re going to feel stressed; you’re going to feel inadequate; you might even feel like sacrificing a limb instead of reading the last chapter of your chemistry book. But hey, remember to do those things that make you content. It can be something small like making your favorite smoothie, or something big like going for a morning hike. Whatever it is, this is what will keep you saint and get you through. I promise. The best thing about this principle? It’s not only applicable to studying, but also to all stressful moments in life.
So study up, work hard, stay content, and plan that vacation for Spring Break It’s all going to be worth it! I’ll be sending luck your way.