Scene: Monday evening, Wednesday deadline, caffeine dehydration, Main Library, a very numb tailbone, 13% battery on your 2019 MacBook because your USB-C charger decided that this was the night to finally give up on you, and 1000 more words to go. What to do…
As we collectively brave this midterm season (then enter a post-Halloween, pre-exam flux), it is both good and necessary to find small ways to relieve stress and ease the exhaustion of biting academic work.
- Sweet treat: as a reward
Treat yourself to a small indulgence upon the completion of a task or an assignment as a minor but generally effective burst of motivation. These treats can range anywhere from a Lidl doughnut to a takeaway dinner to a £500 handbag you’ve had your eye on: anything goes! Truthfully, the handbag is a bit
intense, but as long as your sweet treat fits into your budget, anything goes. - Don’t stay at the library after hours
Be sure to maintain separation of space (both physical and mental) between your schoolwork and personal time. Stress is easily compounded; allowing yourself respite after a long day of uni is essential to overall academic productivity; it can be terribly unhealthy to blur the lines between work mode and rest mode, and prioritising rest mode will make for a sharper, recharged mind during work mode the following day! Regardless of impending deadlines or 20-page readings, be okay with going home when the school day ends and evening begins. - Reject Lothian Buses–choose to walk (sorry, Lothian Buses)
On occasion, as you make your way to your university study space of choice, try finding a scenic walking route to campus instead of alternative modes of transport (of course, only if you live within reasonable walking distance–I’m not going to make someone walk all the way to George Square from Leith). These
brief interludes before/after a hard day of work can be hugely effective in lowering stress levels by clearing the mind and providing much-needed breaths of fresh air.
The days now grow shorter, the winter winds more savage, and our bloated workloads add to the strain of a uniquely Scottish variant of Seasonal Affective Disorder. All we can do, truly, is take care of ourselves and remember to protect our identities and lives outside of this stress-filled human slow cooker that is midterm season. If anything, introduce self-care habits to your lifestyle now, before exam season is upon us.
Godspeed, my academic soldiers.
“Man Stressed At Work Illustration” by Ciphr Connect is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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