Study breaks are I M P O R T A N T. Even when your work is piled higher than a mountain, you still need to take a study break or two. Here are some of my favorite Do’s and Don’t’s for study breaks:
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Do: Clean your room.
When your room is clean and organized, you can invite all of your friends to study together with you! Sometimes you can get hyped up, so you end up taking longer for your study break than you planned – but, hey, that is okay. You have time to study…tomorrow.
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Don’t: Try to wash all of your clothes.
I know someone who does this. My roommate likes to wash all of her dirty clothes, her sheets, and sometimes even all of the clothes that are in her closet! No kidding, but she says it is therapeutic for her. For me, doing laundry drains my energy more than playing sports, so I trying to avoid it when I have a lot of work to do.
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Do: Watch how to cook video. Improve your cooking skills.
I know some of us like to eat healthily, but the truth is not all of us can make a delicious, healthy meal. I highly recommend watching how to cook videos so you could at least think there is still hope that you can cook by yourself and be healthy!
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Don’t: Cook.
When you cook, sometimes it gets pretty messy…especially for me. I can cook, but it takes a lot of time to prepare the ingredients, cook the meals, and clean up afterward. Especially since I cook mainly ethnic food, the smells usually are pretty strong and it definitely doesn’t help me focus on my homework.
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Do: Go to the gym.
Every time I go to the gym, I feel healthy. Hitting the gym for as little as 30 minutes can make you feel a whole lot more productive than you were before. Also, it is an excuse to watch YouTube videos while doing some cardio. The perfect time for me to go to the gym is around three pm, how about yours? You have to ask these questions, so you know what fits your lifestyle. Plus running will give you endorphins, which puts you in a good mood and gives you energy! Don’t just go to the gym because you want to lose weight or impress someone, go to the gym because you ‘want‘ to, not you ‘have’ to.
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Don’t: Open web browser other than your course materials (Facebook, Netflix, Youtube, etc).
I have a planner, but I also open WebAssign and Canvas to force myself to do the homework that I should do. Taking a study break for five minutes after opening Facebook/Netflix/YouTube is not always going to happen, or never happens. I always end up saying, “five more minutes, please” to everything. When the web is opened, you are going to get the “I am forced” feeling to send all those funny memes to your friends, to send birthday wishes to someone you barely talk to, to watch those three series of Grey’s Anatomy, or basically to just enjoy life. You should enjoy life – but sometimes you just have to wait and do your assignments first.
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Do: Take power naps.
Cocoon yourself in those cute fuzzy blankets, and get up when you are ready to tackle your day (which is never because you are too cozy in your bed).
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Don’t: Eat a heck of a lot of chocolate.
People are going to think that you just got dumped by someone when you are actually single and emotionally available.
Studying is an endless loop, but all you have to do is give it some balance: work hard, play a little.