4 Ways to Get Through the Last Four Weeks of Classes Left

Penny from "The Big Bang Theory" is all of us. Thank you for being so relatable, Penny. 

Do you ever feel like you have hit a wall and no matter what you do you can't get through it? Have you ever thought about how nice it would be if you didn't have to do any more work ever? Have you passed being burnt out and skipped all the way to being an insignificant pile of ashes? Do all of the assignments due at the end of the semester make you want to cry and curl up in a ball? Would you rather have someone demolish both of your knees and elbows with a hammer and then run over your body with a fully packed camper instead of writing one more blog post? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then you are like me. We have both reached what I like to refer to as the slump point of the semester. You know you are in the slump when school seems overwhelming and you want nothing more than to go back to the past summer/winter break where you had no responsibilities and nothing to worry about. Another characteristic of the slump is that it is hard to get out of because doing any assignment or project seems like much more work than you are capable of achieving. Since I have recently found myself in the slump point, I thought it would be a good idea to share my ideas of how to escape the dreaded slump. Hopefully we can both learn something from these tips and finish the year strong and successfully. 

1) Set Benchmarks

Just as we set benchmarks for measuring social media analytics, we must set benchmarks to make the end of the semester seem closer than it really is. This is the number one thing pulling me through the rest of this seemingly never ending semester. I love this trick because on days like today I can tell myself that there is only one week until the start of  "tech week" for Ohio Northern University's upcoming production of "Sweet Charity." I then think about how fast tech week will go and then once I'm done being in the show, I will only have two more weeks until it comes time for finals to roll around. After these two weeks I will have a short finals week with finals in only three of my classes, and I will be able to leave after my finals and performance on Wednesday. I believe setting little goals like this can help you achieve making it through the rest of your classes by making the time seem to go by faster.

2) Make "To Do" Lists and Actually Do Them

This piece of advice is similar to the last tip, but relates to organizing the tasks you have left. The end of the semester often feels stressful because of the increased amount of responsibilities that students often face in all of their classes. Final projects, speeches, presentations and papers can be really stressful to deal with, but I find that keeping a "to do" list of tasks I have due coming up in order of how high up they are on my list of priorities helps. I think it helps because being able to look at a list and cross things off/delete completed tasks from the notes app on my phone gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes the seemingly overwhelming amount of tasks to do seem manageable. After having the list made you have to be sure that you are completing the tasks. I also find it helpful if I write the due dates down next to the assignment.

3) Make Sure You Are Taking Time for Yourself

This may sound simple, but when we are stressed out we often just procrastinate by freaking out over assignments you are ignoring. I find it is best to do some work and then reward myself by doing something I enjoy like going to the gym, getting a good snack from WOW Cafe and watching an episode of my favorite show online. While we are at college to work hard and get an education, it is still important to take care of both your mental health and soul. Other activities you can try are hanging out with friends, coloring, baking and playing games. We have to make sure we stay pleasant people as the stress of the semester builds and builds until it is finally over.

4) Stay Healthy

I mentioned going to the gym as taking time for myself, but it also fits in the category of staying healthy. High amounts of stress are bad for our bodies, so staying active and eating healthy are especially important towards the end of the semester. Getting enough sleep is also important to remember. Our bodies need so much sleep to keep our metabolisms in check and to regulate other bodily processes, and we need to be sure to provide it for ourselves. Try eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day and to be active for at least an hour per day.