March 3rd, 2023
7 Self-Care Fails to Avoid During Finals Week
Finals Week is almost upon us, and even though you won’t have to go to class, the week itself can still be stressful. Here are seven things you won’t want to do as you get through this week and into summer.
- Don’t skimp on sleep. if you pull all-nighters and don’t get your recommended six to eight hours of sleep each night, you might find your brain short-circuiting from exhaustion when you need it most. You’re not going to absorb your books through osmosis if you fall asleep on them. Better to build in a healthy sleep schedule so you’re well-rested and wide awake as you finish up the semester.
- Don’t eat your stress. It might be tempting to inhale a Snickers for a quick energy burst or stress-eat a bag of cheese popcorn, but it won’t fuel your brain or your body. Keep your energy up with good nutrition and hydration. Stock up now on healthy snacks and beverages, and plan for quick but nutritious meals. No one needs a blood-sugar crash in the middle of a chem final.
- Don’t treat yourself like a human studying machine. If you study for hours on end without a break, you will lose your mind, and it will not be well-timed. While it might be amusing for your classmates if you loudly rage-quit your history exam, it won’t do your GPA any favors. Plus, UWGB is a small school, and chances are, you’ll run into that professor again, and you’ll be mentally cringing every time you cross paths from now until you graduate. Take breaks and give your brain a much-needed rest. Remember your Pomodoro: Study for 25 minutes, then take a break for 5. After four cycles of this, take a longer 15- to 20-minute break. Your brain will work better—promise.
- Don’t be a slug. It might be hard to work in exercise when you have SO MUCH TO DO, OMG, but it can help boost your energy and focus. You don’t have to do a full hour of CrossFit or go on a masochistic hour-long run. Give yourself permission to simplify your workout routine to a ten-minute walk or a fast 15 minutes of yoga each day, and you’ll still have time to study without disrupting your exercise schedule. There are plenty of free YouTube videos for quick, low-intensity, stress-busting workouts.
- Don’t cave to peer or family pressure. Oh, sure, it’d be great to play a video game with your roommate for four hours, and yes, it’s hard to say no to mom when she offers to make your favorite spaghetti if you just come home for the weekend. But you know you should really be studying/working instead. Map out your busy days and times, and make it clear to friends and family that you won’t be available then. If you feel uncomfortable refusing them, practice saying, “I have an appointment,” which is a fine way to get people to ease off. If they press you for details, just give them a meaningful look. You know, the one that will cause them to back away and say, “Oh, THAT kind of appointment.” You don’t have to tell them that said appointment is actually with a stack of books.
- Don’t be a masochist. Try to do something you enjoy every day, so you don’t suck the fun out of the entire week. Remember The Shining: All work and no play makes Jack go on a murderous rampage, and we don’t want that. Take time to read a book, watch a trashy TV show, play a video game, or catch up with friends (then tell them “I have an appointment” and run away when it’s time to go). Despite the deadlines hanging over your head, you need at least a little time off daily for optimal brain function.
- Don’t forget to visualize the finish line. Just one more week, and you’ll have successfully finished another year of college and will be that much closer to your life goals. And, it’ll officially be time for summer sun and fun. (At least, we hope there will be sun.) Keep that in mind to motivate you as you run, walk, or drag yourself across this semester’s finish line. We’re proud of you!
—Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, Driftwood Advisor
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Finals Week is right around the corner, and unless you have amazing study habits (and we hope you do!), you might have found yourself pulling a few all-night cram sessions or essay-writing marathons in the past. Does the thought of doing that again sound awful? It is. But with a week-and-a-half left before the end of the semester, you still have time to prevent cramming and all the stress that comes with it.